زلزلہ اللہ تعالیٰ کا بندوں کو تنبیہ

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "The Hour will not come until two great parties fight a mighty war between themselves, the claim of both being one and the same; and until nearly thirty such deceivers and liars appear, each of whom will claim himself to be a messenger of Allah." And he said: "The Hour will not come until knowledge is taken away from the world and earthquakes become frequent." (Bukhari and Muslim)

Allah the Almighty is more merciful to His servants than a mother and father, and when He created the creation, that is, the universe, He wrote in His Book, which is with Him upon the Throne, that "My mercy prevails over My wrath." (Reported by Bukhari, Muslim, Nasa'i and Ibn Majah)

But when a person makes it a habit to disobey His commands, and the aversion to sin and evil departs from hearts — indeed, when hearts grow intimate with sin — then from Allah the Almighty a warning is given, by way of admonition, through various afflictions and calamities. Today, in the world, somewhere there are adversities, somewhere hardships, somewhere floods, somewhere earthquakes; yet people are absorbed in their own world, engrossed in revelry, with not the least awareness of why these afflictions are descending and what their causes are. Those who have chosen for themselves this path of punishment and destruction — their conduct shows precisely that they regard the occurrence of these adversities and hardships not in the least as a lesson and admonition, but rather as related only to natural science. The physical causes of earthquakes, floods, and excessive rain or excessive snowfall are all set forth; thus the cause of an earthquake is said to be the slipping of rocks in the surface layer of the earth, and so on — but by whose command those rocks are set in motion, and by whose will the earthquake comes and destruction spreads, to this not the slightest thought is given.

Allah the Almighty says: "Then when Our punishment came upon them, they ought to have humbled themselves (that is, sought forgiveness for their sins); but their hearts hardened, and Satan made their evil deeds seem fair in their eyes." (Al-An'am — 43) That is, when nations, sunk in the lowness of morals and character, rust over their hearts, then even Allah's punishments fail to rouse them from the slumber of heedlessness and to shake them; then their hands do not rise before Allah to seek forgiveness, their hearts do not bow in His court, and their faces do not turn toward reform; rather, they draw beautiful coverings of interpretations and justifications over their misdeeds and set their hearts at ease.

Today we do not look at the causes of afflictions and calamities that the Glorious Qur'an and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ have set forth, and we begin to offer needless, illogical justifications. In the blessed age of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ a tremor of an earthquake was felt, whereupon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ placed his blessed hand upon the earth and said, "O earth, be still," then turned to the people and said, "Your Lord wishes that you seek forgiveness for your faults." After this the tremors of the earthquake ceased. (Reported by Ibn Abi al-Dunya)

In the time of Hazrat Umar Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him) tremors of an earthquake were felt, whereupon he addressed the people and said, "O people! This earthquake has surely come on account of some grave sin. If a tremor is felt again I will expel you from the city." He also said, "What new way have you adopted? So soon after the passing of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ your condition has deteriorated." (Reported by Musnad Ahmad)

Hazrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that he came, along with a certain person, into the presence of the Mother of the Believers, Hazrat Aishah Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her), and his companion asked her, "Tell us about the earthquake — why does it come?" In reply she said: "When people make adultery lawful, take to drinking wines, and adopt the pastime of singing and playing music, then the honour of Allah the Almighty is stirred and the earth is commanded to bring forth an earthquake. So if the people of that region repent and desist from their misdeeds it is better for them; otherwise there is destruction for them." (Reported by Ibn Abi al-Dunya)

Nowadays people's temperament has become such that when any affliction comes or they are caught in hardships they explain its causes philosophically and simply say, "This keeps happening in the world"; but they are not moved in themselves to forsake sins — this is not the way of a believer. O Allah, reform our hearts and forgive us out of Your grace and generosity; Your mercy is vast, and You are most kind and generous — have mercy on the condition of the Ummah. Ameen.