IslamCrunch Forgiveness in Islam: The Healing Power of Mercy: Life

According To Islam Here Is The Cure For Coronavirus

The deadly coronavirus has encircled the whole world. In this time of utmost adversity, there are few Hadiths that can act as a panacea. Apparently, there is no cure to the deadly virus that exists, which is soaring; nevertheless, in Islam, there is always a cure.

Islam, which is a complete way of life, exhibits that death and life are in the hands of Allah. However, religion also says there is no disease that cannot be cured.

Prophet Muhammad about a Viral disease

Narrated `Aisha: (the wife of the Prophet) that she asked Allah’s Apostle about the plague and Allah’s Apostle informed her saying, Plague was a punishment which Allah used to send on whom He wished, but Allah made it a blessing for the believers. None (among the believers) remains patient in a land in which plague has broken out and considers that nothing will befall him except what Allah has ordained for him, but that Allah will grant him a reward similar to that of a martyr. SAHIH BUKHARI HADITH NO. 5734.

In light of the above Hadith, Plague (plague here refers to any pandemic disease) is a blessing for the believers and the one who dies owing to the viral disease is a martyr.

Moreover, according to Islam, everything comes from the Almighty; death is written, a believer must not fear anything as his life is in the hands of Allah. Notwithstanding, the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) has forbidden people from going to an area where an epidemic has broken out. This means, undoubtedly life and death are in the hands of Allah but taking protective measures is necessary. Therefore, we must take precautionary steps regarding coronavirus, and on the other hand, we must not fear anything except Allah.

Cure of Diseases (Coronavirus) In the light of Hadith

Narrated `Aisha: During the Prophet’s fatal illness, he used to recite the Mu’auwidhat (Surat An-Nas and Surat Al- Falaq) and then blow his breath over his body. When his illness was aggravated, I used to recite those two Suras and blow my breath over him and make him rub his body with his own hand for its blessings. (Ma`mar asked Az-Zuhri: How did the Prophet use to blow? Az-Zuhri said: He used to blow on his hands and then passed them over his face.) SAHIH BUKHARI HADITH NO. 5735.

As per the above hadith, (Surat An-Nas and Surat Al- Falaq), can cure any grave illness.

Narrated Ibn `Abbas: (The Prophet said), Healing is in three things: A gulp of honey, cupping, and branding with fire (cauterizing). But I forbid my followers to use (cauterization) branding with fire. SAHIH BUKHARI HADITH NO. 5680.

As per this Hadith, honey, cupping and cauterizing, have healing powers. Therefore, they can be used to fight against deadly coronavirus.

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever eats honey three mornings each month, will not suffer any serious calamity.”

Again the Prophet mentioned honey as an agent of healing. Thus, one must eat honey in the morning.

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Use this black seed. For indeed it contains a cure for every disease except As-Sam” And As-Sam is death.

There are certain healing properties in the black seeds. As per annals of medicine, the seed is being used in medicine for the last 2000 years. In the black seed exists various antioxidant, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Hence, black seeds can fight against coronavirus.

How a Muslim should react to the COVID-19

There is no disease, which has no cure. Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment.”

In the Quran, Allah has stressed upon “Taqwah” (god-fearing) and “Tawakal” (reliance upon god). This is because a human can’t control certain things. There are a plethora of things, which are beyond the control of a Homosapien; at this time what one should do? As per, Islam one should strengthen one’s beliefs regarding death, calamity, happiness, respect honer, disrespect as all of them come from Allah Almighty.

As per Islamic sayings, Allah loves a person much more than his mother does. Islam is the religion of love and peace. Therefore, how can the one who loves you will make you suffer? Allah is love and He loves His creation. Now the question arises if He Loves us then why we face predicaments, such as coronavirus? Well, a human has limited knowledge. We do not know what is beyond the wall. We are hasty, we do not puzzle out what is Sabr (patience).

But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you, and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not. Surah Al Baqra (216). As per this verse, a human being does not know what’s good and what’s bad. At certain junctures in life, a man cannot perceive what is right; rationality and logics fail at such junctures due to the limited perspective of a human.

A Zero-Waste Life Style is an Islamic way of Life

Refusing, Reducing, Re-using, Recycling, and Rotting, are not novel notions to our faith, guest writer Nafisah Kara argues.

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By Nafisah Kara

Almost every follower of the zero waste movement seems to have started their journey reading Bea Johnson’s Zero Waste Home. After reading this from book cover to cover (and making countless handy notes), I have come to the conclusion that the principles of zero waste coincide completely with our religion – Islam.

To achieve a zero waste life Johnson swears by a five-rule mantra to apply when considering one’s consumption or disposal of waste. Refuse, Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, Rot.

As Muslims, with everything new we learn, we must always consider what Allah

and our Prophet Muhammad

have to say on the matter through the Quran and Hadith.

On reading Johnson’s guide many quotes and sayings came to mind which resonate with the Islamic teachings – parts of the religion I had never truly implemented. This book was very useful in how to implement these teachings in today’s world.

REFUSE

Refusing what you don’t need seems self -explanatory, but our inability to refuse freebies that we don’t need is remarkable. How many leaflets, pens, key rings, and business cards do we collect and leave lying around the house or simply throw into the trash? Refusing these items will lessen demand for marketing companies to produce so much and encourage them to adopt better creative and sustainable ways to promote their businesses. These ‘freebies’ are using up unnecessary resources which are often non-recyclable.

REDUCE

There are plenty of Ayahs from the Quran which speak against being excessive in material possessions and diet.

الَّذِي جَمَعَ مَالًا وَعَدَّدَهُ

“(Woe unto him) who amasses wealth and counts it a safeguard” [Surah Al-Humazah – 104;2]

يَا بَنِي آدَمَ خُذُوا زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ وَكُلُوا وَاشْرَبُوا وَلَا تُسْرِفُوا ۚ إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ

“O Children of Adam, take your adornment at every place of prayer, eat and drink, but be not excessive – Indeed Allah likes not those who commit excess” [Surah Al-A`raf – 7;31]

Regarding food consumption:

“The first calamity for this nation after the Prophet’s death is fullness of their stomachs; when their stomachs became full, they became obese and their hearts weakened and their desires became wild” [Bukhari]

The Quran is clear in warning us of the tests that come with attaining material possessions or being excessive in our consumption. The more you possess, the more distracted you are from focusing on Allah

. Taking care of all of our ‘stuff’ is time consuming – it requires constant maintenance, organizing and causes us stress which we don’t need. The more we consume, the greedier we become.

RE-USE

The Prophet Muhammad

would mend his cloths and repair his own shoes in times of poverty, but also in times of ease. The idea of not being wasteful is not a new phenomenon but something which was practised by many prophets of the past.

Prophet Muhammad

also taught:

“He who sleeps while their neighbor is hungry is not one of us.” [Muslim]

This is the motivation behind many charities led by Muslim organizations running soup kitchens and food banks around the country. Food banks are run on donated food items, as well as warm clothing to keep warm in winter. These items are critical for those who are sleeping rough or families living in poverty around the UK (or anywhere else in the world). Finding a second life for many of our possessions does not require much effort and reduces how much we waste. There are thousands living in poverty in our, countries in desperate need of items we would usually chuck away.

RECYCLE

Islam is a religion that provides guidance on every aspect of our daily lives. Disposing waste appropriately is also mentioned.

“Abu Barza once asked Muhammad : ‘Teach me something so that I may derive benefit from it.’ He said, ‘Remove the troublesome thing from the paths of the Muslims’.” [Muslim]

ROT

Rotting our waste is a great way to reduce what we throw into landfill. Food waste such as vegetable peelings, egg shells and old left overs can be thrown into the food waste to produce nutritious compost for your garden. Paper, ash and wood items can also be thrown into compost bins in your back garden to feed the mini ecosystem, feeding thousands of tiny insects.

Our Plastic Problem

So now that we know that Islam supports a zero waste lifestyle, how else can we motivate ourselves to adopt this lifestyle? After all it requires more work, extra planning and can be time consuming. To become passionate about living zero waste, we must become aware of our current relationship with plastic.

Putting it simply, plastics are great for durability. It is this durability however which means that once a plastic product is made, it will remain on this earth FOREVER . Every single piece of plastic ever thrown away is harming our habitats, environments and oceans.

Here are some worrying statistics which should motivate every Muslim to make changes:

Over 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic has been thrown away in the last 68 years
80% of this plastic has leaked into the ocean killing marine life and seaming into our food chain – That is the weight of 8 billion elephants or 55 million jumbo jets.
In the UK alone, 13 billion plastic water bottles are thrown away a year – only 3 billion are recycled.
Every human being on the planet will use 136 kilos of single-use plastic a year

If these figures aren’t frightening enough, it is expected that by 2050 plastic production will treble.

So what can we do?

To start, we can stop using disposable plastic products such as plates, cups and cutlery. We can find wood, metal or glass alternatives to items we use in the home. In Johnson’s guide, she provides countless of examples on how she replaced items in her kitchen, bathroom and other aspects of her life with sustainable products.

We must remember that Allah

appointed us as stewards upon the Earth.

وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَكُمْ خَلَائِفَ الْأَرْضِ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَكُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ لِّيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِي مَا آتَاكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ سَرِيعُ الْعِقَابِ وَإِنَّهُ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

“And it is He (God) who has made you successors (khala’ifa) upon the earth and has raised some of you above others in degrees [of rank] that He may try you through what He has given you. Indeed, your Lord is swift in penalty; but indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful.” [Surah Al-An’am – 6;165]

Every Muslim is a steward upon the Earth, and Islam is a religion of Justice. We must strive to live in harmony with the environment by supporting organic farmers, fair-trade brands and make eco-friendly choices with our consumer power. It is a great shame that many other communities lead in these movements although it is in our own tradition to respect Allah’s

creation which includes animals and the Earth.

Also remember, change does not come overnight. Embracing these changes will take us time, but will InshaAllah bring us closer to Allah

My Mother Was a Secret

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A hidden diagnosis and a lifetime of pain

By Naureen Ahmed

My parents married each other in the late 70’s in Karachi. They moved to Brooklyn, NY, where my mother gave birth to my two sisters in a span of 13 months. My father, a surgeon, was going through residency at the time.It wasn’t easy being a wife of a busy resident, in a new country, with two small babies to look after. She was soon diagnosed with “baby blues” also known as post-partum depression. My father now shares with us scary stories about her violent fits in their small one-bedroom apartment.

A few years later, they moved to a small town in Arkansas, where I was born. My father says they went through 3-year cycles–first year was good, second-year bad, third-year worse, rinse, repeat. This continued for the 9 years of their marriage. So if I do the math, I guess I was born in a bad year. They were legally separated, then reconciled, but ultimately divorced in 1986.

My mom was stuck in 1986 until the day she died.

My father remarried a few years later, and this triggered my mother’s first psychotic “nervous breakdown”. She was in a psychiatric hospital for a few months. I remember visiting her in the hospital, looking at her vacant stares, forced smiles as she showed us the pottery she had created for us. But we couldn’t tell our father. We were warned that we’d never see our mother again if we did.

So it was a secret. If we told anyone, there would be consequences.

My sisters and I carried on through life telling people she had “chemical imbalance and depression.” I never heard the word schizophrenia until I was 25.

She came back home. From the moment my mother would wake up, she’d pace the house–bedroom, living room, kitchen, and back….and forth…until she fell asleep again at night. And she wasn’t quiet while she paced. She ranted and raved about all the wrong everyone had done to her in her life.

And then there were the psychotic fits…brandishing knives, threatening to kill herself. She would violently attack my grandparents and sometimes us. The three of us, scared, would either lock ourselves up in our bedroom, or sit on the top steps, peeking and watching her lash out at anyone and anything in her path.

We were neglected. There was no one to calm us down, tell us it would all be alright: “Sojao, go to sleep, everything will be fine in the morning.”

Some nights she would kick all of us out of the house. We would sneak into the backyard and watch her through the curtains as she wailed and cried and screamed for hours on end.

Life went on, and we just dealt with it, learned how to manage her. My grandparents moved out, they were too old to take her physical assaults. They would pick us up and take us to school in the mornings and drop us home in the evenings with food. But mostly, we were left alone with her.

NEGLECTED

Some days, she was happy, blaring Bollywood music on the stereo, singing in her beautiful sing-song voice, with freshly brushed hair and red lipstick. She loved makeup. She loved fashion, wearing beautiful shalwar kameez. At times she would even raid my sisters’ closets. Those were good days. I loved those days. Cherished those days.

But most days were spent pacing, or sitting in bed with wild hair and bloodshot eyes, crying and begging us to tell her everything would be okay. Us, her children….. we were now the parents, and she was the child.

I hated her. “Snap out of it!” “Stop being depressed!’ “Can’t you just be my mother?!?”

She didn’t take care of me. She didn’t cook, didn’t clean, didn’t come to Parent/Teacher conferences, didn’t make my class cupcakes on my birthday, or come to my basketball games. She was a shell. There was no one inside. My sisters taught me about puberty. My sisters cleaned up our room. My sisters packed my lunches until I could do it myself. My sisters and I did our own laundry. I barely learned to read the Quran, and had only memorized 3 surahs by the time I was 17.

We grew up too fast, like animals, just trying to survive.

The school was my outlet. I was popular, loved to laugh and spend time with my friends. But no one could come over. I learned my lesson trying to do that once. Having my friends over meant them asking, “Why is your mom walking back and forth? Why is your mom staring at me?”. I would try to laugh it off as my mom just being an immigrant.

All of us were top of our class, somehow. Through all the madness, we focused on our studies. It was our only way out. Study, go away to college, find a job, get married, get away, whatever it takes.

So we did. We all got married within 9 months of each other. I was the youngest bride at 19 years of age. My sisters stayed in Arkansas, but I moved as far away as possible, to Chicago. I visited my family every year, for a week here and there. I could only handle her in small doses.

I FOUND ISLAM

I stopped hating her after I found Islam. Especially after my sister read about schizophrenia and confronted our family with her newfound facts. They had no choice but to admit her diagnosis. Then I read everything, and I understood. And I was more compassionate towards her, more patient.

But then she died.

What was the point of her life? All she did was suffer! My grandparents suffered. We suffered. I SUFFERED! But she suffered….. she was so beautiful, innocent, affectionate, artistic…. why God, ya Allah, why?

So we took that pain, and we created SEEMA: Support Embrace Empower Mental health Advocacy. SEEMA was created to support families like ours, who are shamed by the stigma of mental illness, are isolated by their communities, and are suffering alone. Through support groups and workshops, SEEMA will make sure no one suffers alone anymore.

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