Some shocking photos of Japan Tsunami and some after thoughts

These are some of the breathtaking photos of damages inflicted by the deadly earthquake and tsunami which stuck Japan last week. They are available Here

The Japanese are most disciplined people on the earth. Look at the fourth photograph. It depicts a traffic jam. Even in traffic jam the vehicles stand one after another. 

Immediately after this tragedy I received SMSs from many friends known and unknown describing the devastation caused by the tsunami as divine punishment. It said that Japan is the first to ban Hijab (It is not true). It also said that Japanese were against Islam (It is also not true.). And there were some similar absurd generalisations. In a nutshell the SMSs tried to say that Japanese DESERVE it. Similar sentiments were rampant among Americans too. PZ Myers, better known in the science blogging world as Pharyngula has compiled several Facebook messages of people saying that the Japan earthquake was due to revenge of Pearl Harbour.

I could not understand the thinking behind such SMSs. This world is Dar-ul-Amal ie a place for action. This is not Darul Jaza or Saza ie a place where judgement is delivered.

What happened in Japan is very tragic. It is not divine retribution. Calamity or Prosperity; Tragedy or Gaiety; Adversity or Felicity everything are tests for us. We are in examination hall. What we get is just a question paper. It may be in the form of blessings. It may be in the form of calamities. How do we cope with them is the REAL TEST. 

The Prophet of Islam has said : "The believer is in such a strange state. When calamity strikes him, he observes patience and gains reward from God. And when prosperity engulfs him, he shows gratitude and gains reward from God. It is indeed wonderful" In modern parlance this could be said as Win-Win situation. 

So we cannot declare anybody as pious or vicious on the basis of prosperity or calamity. A man may live perpetual poverty and misery, yet, he may be the best in the eyes of God. A man may live with all the comforts and good things in life, yet, he may be the worst in the eyes of God. 

We see so many tyrants, mass-murderers and wicked people roaming free. That does not mean that God is pleased with them. Similarly we see so many good, noble and pious people suffering all types of tragedies. That does not mean that God is angry with them.

Let us not make hasty conclusions about others. In our haste we tend to forget ourselves. It may lead us to far greater calamity than the thousands tsunamis put together. 

May God save us from such calamities. Aameen

Cross posted in Luthfispace 

UPDATE

As requested by Br Zafarullah Rahmani, the article written by Janab Maqbool Ahmed Siraj is being posted here.

Is credulity a Hallmark of Muslims?

By Maqbool Ahmed Siraj

Some easy chair browsers of the Internet keep looking for ‘Allah ki Rahmat’ (God’s mercy) on Muslims and ‘Allah ka Qahar’ (God’s retribution) for non-Muslims. Unfortunately, most of them do not even shirk taking aid of lies to prove their totally absurd notions about God’s partiality in matters of reward and punishment.

The image of a mosque (below) is being circulated through email by some ignoramuses, mostly the arm-chair variety of NRIs cocooned in the luxuries of Gulf countries.  Some of them, in all their stupidity, have posted it on the Youtube  too. It is being claimed that it is a Japan mosque that survived the recent tsunami.  Even the first look of that massive structure should have hinted us of it being part of a fake. Japan has few Muslims and fewer mosques. That space-starved nation does not deserve a mosque  of that grandiose proportions for small clusters of Muslims.  

I dug through the archives of the 2004 tsunami to find the same picture on BBC website. Not alone this, several mosques in Aceh region of Indonesia survived the devastating tsunami.  Not because God is partial towards mosques, but because most public buildings which include Hindu Temples, Churches, Synagogues and of course, Mosques, are public buildings and constructed to last longer and survive wear and tear. They withstand the calamities better than the private homes. No wonder then why they remain standing even after quakes and tsunami waves have returned to the sea. No great deal this.

I am myself a survivor of earthquake in Bhuj on January 26, 2001 and massive fire in the tent city of Mina on April 16, 1997.  (I had written an eye-witness  account report  in The Times of India, several editions on January 28, 2001.) I was witness to several mosques and dargahs crashing down in Bhuj and nearly 425 people burnt alive in the holy site of Mina in the midst of Hajj pilgrimage.  If at all Allah could be partial to Muslims, neither those mosques would have turned into rubble, nor those pilgrims would have perished.

 

Calamities do not differentiate between and discriminate against people of various faiths, what I have learnt during my 30 long years of reporting for various media.    

If indeed we could devote this time and energy to more creative pursuits and research, we might come up with some discoveries for the humankind, the lack of which have earned us ‘a burden on the earth’ image. 

Our credulity is leading to a lot of falsehoods being disseminated about our religion. We will be better off without much of this stuff.