At the beginning of the crisis of the coronavirus that swept the world, and in the wake of its social and cultural repercussions, I began writing on what could contribute to building and clarifying a sound culture of engaging with the epidemic, through our reading of religion and our understanding of human impulses.
Here I set down what I wrote on the Twitter platform exclusively, because it relies mostly on brevity and allusions. Now, after several months of the epidemic spreading ever wider, and with differences appearing in how it is engaged with, I saw it necessary to publish what I had written earlier, as a reminder of it, and because of the divergence in engagement that I saw appear later, to which what we mentioned earlier may apply.
So what you will read is not a set of replies to a particular person; rather, it is treatments of a culture of reading and engagement.
Here is what we wrote, in order of date.
***
Corona is a test of a person's mettle and culture.
A test for governments.
A test for society.
A test for those infected.
So look where you stand, what logic you will adopt and what conduct you will follow, and watch the world from this angle.
We ask Allah to favor the sick with healing and relief, governments with justice and compassion, and peoples with fairness and good conduct.
***
Corona is a virus hidden from sight that has thrown the world into confusion. Let us reflect on the cosmic dominion of Allah the Exalted and on the weakness of the human being, so that he neither does wrong nor acts arrogantly; and the wronged has recourse to the greatness of Allah.
In Duʿaʾ Makarim al-Akhlaq: O Allah, bless Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad, and let me not be wronged while You are capable of defending me, and let me not do wrong while You are able to hold me back.
***
Corona and the Most Eloquent Lesson
1- All the events of the universe, the bad of them and the good, are Allah's messengers to the intellect; revelation has given reminders through them, and they lead to the knowledge of Allah and to faith in Him. So the rule: “Soon We shall show them Our signs in the horizons and in their own souls until it becomes clear to them that He is the Real” (Qurʾan 41:53), continues as long as there is still breath in people, and as long as there is still rubble on the intellect.
2- Among events are those that are the direct making of human beings, and among them are those whose outward appearance is otherwise. After the cause of the financial collapse in 2008 was the black swan theory, through human action, here is the green swan theory sounding the alarm bells of a new global financial crisis, due to climate change, which, as it appears to us, is beyond human will.
3- All of that is outwardly beyond human will, but it is connected with it in one way or another, namely the connection of cause with effect; yet the connection between them lies outside the calculations of materialist logic, in what they understand of the laws of logic, philosophy and physics.
In Allah's reckoning they are of various kinds, gathered together in His words, Exalted is He: “and We will test you with good and ill by way of test, and to Us you will be brought back” (Qurʾan 21:35).
4- The event of the coronavirus, whether its phase is folded away quickly or extends, we must consider one of Allah's messengers to minds, that perhaps they may return to their Maker and shake off the impurities of atheism and arrogance, and that man may give up his haughtiness toward the All-knowing Creator on account of the material progress he has attained.
5- Let us turn right and left and read what corona, the hidden being, has brought about: we will see the weakness of bodies and the weakness of the measures against it. This poor human being, shrinking before the greatness of the Lord, forgets that he is (one whose ailments are hidden.. a gnat pains him, a choking kills him, and sweat makes him stink).
6- - Because of corona, sums of money that are hard to count have been drained; all sectors have been affected in one way or another. China alone has done without buying 20% of oil, equivalent to the needs of Britain and Italy combined; add to that the halt of air traffic and the decline of transport, which means that the oil market is in a frightening decline.
7- And turn your gaze to the industrial sectors and the total or partial shutdown of factories, which has inflicted heavy losses on major companies in the field of technology; then cast your eye on the expenditure of states on prevention and treatment, and the stoppage of some administrations and businesses connected with it: we are facing a torrent of billions..
8- If matter is the fundamental value, and if atheism is the refuge of minds, then here is matter being scattered by the winds, and here is this helplessness closing in on human beings, even if that is temporary, because it is a message; and it is the nature of messages to be concise, and the nature of messengers to communicate in clear terms. So seek Allah, the Powerful and All-strong.
9- Before this scene, and before every cosmic scene that passes before us, let us remember the words of Allah the Exalted: “O people! Listen to a parable that is being drawn: Indeed those whom you invoke besides Allah will never create [even] a fly even if they all rallied to do so! And if a fly should take away something from them, they can not recover that from it. Feeble is the seeker and the sought!” (Qurʾan 22:73).
10- And if faith in Allah is our greatest value, then events only increase us in faith and in turning back to Allah: through patience in hardships, so that He may pay us in full the rewards of the patient, and through knowledge with which we confront them, so that we may overcome the challenges and He may pay us in full the rewards of the virtuous. Do you not see that whoever does not take Allah into his reckoning, even if he achieves things, is in a wilderness, tossed about by events?
11- By Allah's leave and with His grace, man will succeed in reaching a cure for corona; but some will come out of the experience with losses on every side, and some will come out winning on every side: winning in the awakening of the intellect, in the increase of faith, and in the raising of ranks..
12- Moreover, events, in their social messages, are no less than in their messages about faith in general: Is cooperation present or absent? Where do we stand on fairness and sympathy? Has the current of panic and greed swept us along or not?.. All of that is under the eye of Allah the Exalted.
***
The Bloomberg agency reported that a group of the world's richest people lost 444 billion dollars in a single week.
Glory be to Allah, all this because of the coronavirus
“He supposes his wealth will make him immortal!” (Qurʾan 104:3)
***
Corona is like any other illness in how it is dealt with.. As a Muslim, you must have recourse to two sides:
1- Recourse to natural means for prevention and treatment, and its source is the doctors.
2- Recourse to unseen means (supplication and seeking intercession), and its source is the narrations.
So do not neglect either of them; in challenges, balance must breathe forth from your conduct.
***
There is a view that the husayniyyas must be closed for a period of two weeks as a precaution against corona, and some husayniyyas have decided to close; and there is a view that holds to continuing the activities.
Each has a point of view. Let us learn freedom in expressing an opinion, and let us learn good manners in the way an opinion is put forward.
***
The Various Litanies for Warding Off Affliction
Absolute acceptance is due to all the litanies transmitted from the Ahl al-Bayt (a) for calamities and needs; in them is all-embracing good, and they are the greatest elixir. When we find the scholars recommending this particular remembrance or that one specifically, that is for numerous considerations, among them:
1- That some of them are more effective by virtue of their intrinsic particularity.
2- Some of them take effect because of their particular relevance to the matter sought.
3- Through the contents of some of them one can ascend by way of one's degree of knowledge.
4- Some of them depend on a specific manner (textually stipulated or deduced).
5- Some of them produce an effect in relation to degrees of certainty.
6- Some of them are taken up out of trust in the experience of the scholars, together with what has been mentioned above.
7- Then, the matter belongs to Allah; He brings about what is for a person's good in this world and the Hereafter.
So whatever is taken up in the spirit of acceptance is beneficial, Allah willing.
“So flee toward Allah.” (Qurʾan 51:50)
***
When there is disagreement in diagnosis, one-upmanship usually begins (from some).
It is not one-upmanship to state your opinion and give your justifications.
But it is one-upmanship to see yourself alone as the faithful supporter, while others seek only defeat and betrayal.
***
When one-upmanship abounds in disagreements, it becomes a higher priority that every holder of an opinion bear responsibility for his opinion: let him try to write under his real name, or keep to the highest degree of self-watchfulness in choosing his words, for what is hidden from people will not be hidden from the Lord of people.
***
Preserve the value of (keeping alive the cause of the Ahl al-Bayt (a)) – according to the criteria of the Shariʿa – in the manner that suits your situation.
For a difference of method does not mean that the (value) is impaired in you; it means only your holding fast to the light of wilayah in various circumstances.
***
Everyone who has mocked our belief in seeking intercession through the Ahl al-Bayt (a) thought he had scored against our belief when precautions were taken in disinfecting the shrines for the safety of the visitors.
But in truth he has established the conclusive argument against himself, because he saw how precautions are taken at the Sacred House because of corona. If he has a heart. Through_you_the_sick_are_healed
***
Instead of grumbling, busying yourself with rumors and fishing in troubled waters during the ordeal of corona, look for the lessons.
For Allah has a purpose in every affair.
In illnesses and epidemics there is:
1- Punishment for the disbeliever.
2- Expiation for the believer.
3- Penitent return for the sinner.
4- Deep-rooted loyalty for the devotee.
***
Tales of Merits
Two brothers intended to have the honor of visiting the purified shrine, and both were struck by an ailment in the back. One of them put his hand on the place of the pain and said: I will rest and go tomorrow to visit in good health.
The other said: I will go for the ziyarah now and ask Allah for healing beneath its dome. As he was about to leave, his brother said to him: I charge you with the supplication and the ziyarah, and he handed him a crutch to lean on.
***
Sectarianization in the Corona Crisis
The good thing is that history records the stances of evil and disgrace for people to see.
And better still, Allah is indeed ever watchful.
Raise your head, O devotee, for you have learned from the Ahl al-Bayt (a) to shine in crises..
The corona crisis as an example..
***
The corona epidemic will depart as epidemics have departed before, and the traces will remain.
So be keen to leave a good trace, in opinion or in deed.
***
In the ordeal of corona we need: understanding, cooperation, and seeking intercession.
We understand the nature of the epidemic in order to take precautions.
We cooperate with the competent authorities to limit it.
We seek intercession through the Ahl al-Bayt (a) for the lifting of this distress.
***
It is reported that the shrine of Imam al-Rida (a) will be closed for three days for disinfection purposes. If the news is true, I call upon myself and my brothers to perform the ziyarah of Imam al-Rida from afar, in our homes, throughout the three days.. for visiting them is succor from heaven.
***
What I fear most is that the corona measures will last a long time, and that we will go on wasting time following the details, what has happened and what will happen.. We all need a plan to manage our time in what is beneficial.
***
Some, until now, do not want to believe that it is possible to agree in opinion and position with those with whom they have disagreed all their lives.
So you see him trying to outdo his community and its scholars, and even himself, without evidence. He is simply shocked by the fact that people can cooperate in what they agree upon. And this is the reality of unity amid plurality.
***
Is corona biological warfare or a natural epidemic?
I do not know.
But I know that it is a trial, and we must come out of it successful and prospering.
1- That we return to Allah.
2- That we seek intercession through the Ahl al-Bayt (a).
2- That we help ourselves and others.
***
The Fiqh of One-upmanship
(Mixing up the categories as an example).
Concerning (the scarcity of visitors, their refraining and their being prevented), there is a vast difference among the categories found in the narrations, according to whether it is due to (amusement), (ignorance), (denial), (indifference), (prevention by a tyrant), (illness), (occupation), (distance), (poverty), or (a more general excuse).
Each category has a discourse that suits it. So whoever does not grasp the indirect allusions in the speech of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and has not plumbed its depth, and does not grasp where to place the category of (caution and wariness) and (the safety of the visitors), let him not give people fatwas without knowledge, and let him leave fatwas to those qualified for them.
***
Morals: this is their prime time—the morals of cooperation, generosity and consideration, the morals of dealing with others and of disagreement.. stances that will not be forgotten.
***
After the corona epidemic has ended, and we are well and in good health, I will ask myself: What have I achieved, and what have I gained?
Will you ask yourself?
***
We may seek intercession through the Imam and not be answered; so what is the secret?
1- I may have impediments, so I am given other than what I asked for.
2- I may ask for something while the Imam sees my need for what is more fitting than it, of which I am unaware.
For the one who seeks intercession can never return disappointed, and the least that the visitor obtains is protection; so whatever you have not obtained, be sure that you have obtained what is higher than it.
***
Since you have fully understood the suppression of freedoms as human measures for the sake of your health interests, the argument has been established against you to understand the measures concerning a few of them as divine measures, for what serves your social, religious and otherworldly interests.
“and Allah knows and you do not know.” (Qurʾan 2:216)
***
Your Program in Home Isolation
1- Self-Reckoning
The pace of life is fast; it sweeps away thought and contemplation. So you are in urgent need of calm in order to play back the reel of life slowly, so that you may take account of yourself, weigh your words, correct your deeds, abandon your mistakes, and do more of what you do well.
Imam ʿAli (a) said: (Take account of yourselves before you are taken to account, and weigh yourselves before you are weighed).
2- The Family
Your family is the gathering to which you will go on belonging all your life; so strengthen that belonging through understanding, set it right through sincere mutual advice, develop it through cooperation, and make it a paradise through harmony.
The Messenger of Allah (s) said: (The best of you is the best of you to his family).
3- Prayer
Prayer is the pillar of religion, so do not make it the weakest of your deeds, for it will carry your religion and protect your worldly life. So seize the opportunity to refine it by learning its rulings, perfecting its actions, understanding its words, and luxuriating in its humble devotion.
Imam al-Sadiq (a) said: (Whoever prays two rakʿas knowing what he says in them finishes with no sin between him and Allah).
4- Remembrance
In the blessed days there are abundant favors and gifts from Allah, so call them down through a regimen of short (remembrances), such as seeking forgiveness, declaring that there is no god but Allah, and invoking blessings upon the Prophet and his Household; every month has its own remembrances, so accustom your tongue to repeat them constantly. They are laborers who build your gardens, and keys to the doors of your needs.
Imam al-Sadiq (a) said: (Allah says: Whoever is kept busy by remembrance of Me from asking of Me, I give him the best of what I give to whoever asks of Me).
5- The Qurʾan
Theories draw a person's worldview, a view that determines his paths in every direction and determines his relations with all existing things, and you will not find anything better than the Mighty Book of Allah to provide you with that view. So form a relationship with the Qurʾan by reflecting on its verses, so that you may climb the ladder of that worldview. It is the light with which Allah illuminates life, the guidance with which He shapes the human being, and the insights with which He establishes civilization.
Imam ʿAli (a) said: (Reflect on the verses of the Qurʾan and take lessons from it, for it is the most eloquent of lessons).
6- Reading
Allah has made gardens a pasture for souls, and among the most important of them are the gardens of the scholars, which are (books). So do not deprive yourself of roaming their grounds and smelling the fragrance of their flowers, for in them is the knowledge that strengthens your religion, gives you insight into your steps, brings success to your pursuits, straightens your personality, and raises your standing with Allah and among people.
Imam al-Sadiq (a) said: (There will come upon people a time of turmoil in which they will find comfort only in their books).
7- Experiences
Do you know that you can shorten time? Indeed, you can travel toward history! Yes: all those older than you in age and experience (your father, your mother, your brother, your sister or others) carry in their memory many experiences, whether of success or of failure. Open yourself to them and sail into time gone by, then come out of it with the laws of taking lessons.
Imam ʿAli (a) said: (In experiences there is fresh knowledge, and taking lessons leads to right guidance).
8- The Imam of the Age
The Imam of the Age, absent in his person, present in his wilayah: upon him mercy descends, and through him the earth is watered so that it swells and flourishes. So the best means through which we connect with Allah the Exalted and graze in the good life is connecting with the Imam of the Age by seeking intercession through him (tawassul), praying for him and constantly remembering him, seeking to call down his care and awaiting his relief.
Imam Zayn al-ʿAbidin (a) said: (Awaiting the relief is among the greatest of relief).
9- Children
Children are the fruits of the family, which society picks in its formation, and fathers and mothers are the ones who water those fruits. Treat them with honor, to pave the way for their accepting discipline; then your telling them what is right and what is not right will rest lightly on their hearts, and the practical correction of their behavior will be gentle on their limbs.
From the Prophet (s): (Honor your children and discipline them well, and you will be forgiven).
10- Spending
No household stands except through sound management of money. Take some time and determine what is yours and what you owe of the rights of people and the right of Allah; then determine what is recommended for you and what is obligatory (wājib) upon you. For in economy of spending lies the mainstay of livelihood, and in spending for Allah lies the blessing of living.
From Imam al-Sadiq (a): (Upon every person who gains or earns: the khums of what he has obtained).
11- Skills
Be keen to acquire life skills in times of ease, for you will be most in need of them in times of hardship; indeed, they are the balm of a life of ease, however much wealth you may attain. So learn the skills of the home, the kitchen, personal affairs, collective management and all the other arts. The Prophet (s) used to milk the goat, ʿAli (a) used to sweep the house and mend sandals, and Zayn al-ʿAbidin (a) used to cook for those offering condolences.
Imam al-Sadiq (a) said: (The worth of every person is what he does well).
12- Listening
There are specialists who have spent time and effort presenting scholarly and cultural material in cyberspace, so that you may watch it and listen to it at any time and in every situation. All you have to do is search for reliable, beneficial material, to listen to it even in times of relaxation and exercise, or when you are doing light tasks.
Imam ʿAli (a) said: (Whoever listens well gains benefit quickly).
Sayed Mahmoud Al-Mosawi
@mmosawy
