Thu03282024

Last updateSun, 20 Aug 2023 9pm

Back You are here: Home Library God The Justice of God D. SUFFERINGS AS WARNING OR PUNISHMENT

D. SUFFERINGS AS WARNING OR PUNISHMENT

D. SUFFERINGS AS WARNING OR PUNISHMENT

It should be mentioned here that sometimes suf­fering and disaster is used not as a test, but as a warning to sinners or a punishment for transgres­sors.

 Examples of such warnings may be found in th. traditions of the Prophet such as the following: "When Allah is displeased with a people [and yet does not want to wipe them out completely], the prices go up and up, life‑span becomes shortened, trade brings no profit and the land bears less fruits."

 The Prophet also explained that adultery, when practised openly, increases the accidental and sud­den death, brings such plagues and diseases which had never been heard of before. When people resort to cheating in weight and measure, warning comes in form of famine, underemployment, and tyrants. When rich people withhold zakat, poverty strikes the community. Imam 'Ali bin Abi Talib said, "If all liable persons paid their zakat, there would not be a needy person in the community." These are but a few examples of how God gives us warning so that we may amend our ways. [2]

 And examples of sufferings as punishment may be found in the stories of Pharaoh (Fir'awn), Nimrod (Namrud), people of Prophets Lot (Lut), Shu'ayb, Noah (Nuh) and Salih. It will not be out of place to mention here that the outright destruction (like that of the people of Lot, Pharoah and Nimrod) has been removed from the Muslim ummah as a respect to the Holy Prophet who was "a mercy to the universe." But the suffering to warn the transgressors continues.

 However, one should always remember that God, in His mercy and grace, has hidden the true purpose of a? particular suffering from our eyes. Therefore, we should never say that, for example, a certain person suffering from a chronic disease is a sinner who is undergoing punishment. Why? Be­cause, he may be a good person undergoing a hard test for his virtues. So we should never judge anybody by his apparent affluence or poverty, by his good or bad luck, by his physical strength or weak­ness, by his fortune or misfortune. We should, in­stead, concentrate upon our own spiritual and moral upliftment.

Notes:

[1]. Hilli,  al‑Babu 'l Hadi 'Ashar, p. 52.

 

[2]. al‑Majlisi, Biharu 'l‑Anwar, vol. 70 (chaps. 137, 138) pp. 308-377 which altogether contain 112 traditions

 

You have no rights to post comments

Find us on Facebook