An elderly man lies face down in the ICU of the hospital. He is gasping for breath. Surrounded by nurses in full protective gear. He is on oxygen.
On this occasion, he reaches for his cell phone, he is isolated from his family.
The nurses are tremendously busy, and exhausted by so many Covid patients, yet they try to comfort him. They plan to put him on a ventilator. They tell him, just in case, he should say goodbye to his family…
He says goodbye tearfully to his family, as his family weeps. Then he says shahadah and proceeds to be incubated. He prepares perhaps to die alone.
Rate of Disease
Here in Southern California, 1 in 4 people have Covid. A great percentage of them have no symptoms, but many die from it.
There is no way of knowing who will survive. There are no beds for patients. Patients are in isolation and there is no way to say goodbye. There is not even enough room in mortuaries to take care of the dead.
There is no proper burial or funeral. Muslims are afraid. How do we as Muslims deal with this situation?
What does the Prophet Say?
At the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him, there was a pandemic. The Sunnah of the Prophet he told his followers to follow was to isolate themselves, to protect others. It is like today, how we protect ourselves, and wear masks.
“If you hear that there is a plague in a land, do not enter it; and if it (plague) visits a land while you are there, do not leave it.” (Al-Bukhari & Muslim)
Taking Care of Ourselves
If you think of it, we may die any minute. We can wake up one morning, and not make it to the evening. So, we must always be prepared. How can we best explain how illness happens?
Some believe that it is part of nature, and nature runs it course. But Allah can make it easier on us if we have faith. We should find strength in Allah, that there is a purpose in this.
Allah commands us as a part of ibadat that we should take care of ourselves physically and mentally. This can help us from dying early deaths.
We have a responsibility to those we love to take care of ourselves. We have a responsibility to families, our society and ourselves. Here in the United States, the major causes of death are heart attacks, diabetes, and obesity. These can all be prevented. We should remain clean and keep our homes clean.
We can take care of our stress levels through prayer, dhikr, and meditation every day. Our prophet, peace be upon him, told us not to overeat, eat good food, and to drink water. We should prepare for the Hereafter by doing what the Quran and Sunnah tell us to do, and to live a life of integrity and virtue, and not hurt anyone. We should have patience.
“Only those who are patient receive their reward and it is full without limits Quran” (39:10)
Acts of Worship
By devoting ourselves to prayers, to others, to the earth, and every living thing, we feel peace. Allah commanded us to take care of the earth.
One of the reasons perhaps, we are having more pandemics is because of climate change. We are all guilty for this, by wasting food and an overconsumption of plastic and materials and pollution, which is killing and making extinct many living things, and vegetation.
Martyrdom
Those who suffer a great deal from disease, through their suffering their sins are forgiven. If they die, they become martyrs. They will be joined with the Prophets, and with Allah. Especially the situation where the body has not been properly buried. This should bring a great deal of comfort to families of the diseased.
Losing someone is greatly painful to us. At times we do not see the reason. Even in losing someone, we should still think that Allah has a purpose for us. It is very difficult. But one can find comfort that we will be united again with those who have passed on, and there is an afterlife.
Allah is kind and Merciful. Their existence in the next life is far easier than our own, what we experience now. We should hope for that, and live good lives of integrity, and decency, following the Quran, and the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
A woman is now a widow, after losing her husband to Covid. Her children are small.
How could he die so young? The poor widow finds no purpose to live. She feels immense grief. Allah (SWT) says:
“And when my Servants ask you, O Muhammad) concerning me, indeed I am there. I respond to the invocation of the Supplicant when he calls upon me. So, let them respond to me by obedience and believe in Me, that they shall be rightly guided.” (Quran 2:186)
Allah (SWT) also says:
“And most certainly, shall we try by means of danger, hunger, and loss of worldly goods, of lives, and wealth. But give glad tidings unto those who are patient in in adversity, who in adversity calamity befalls them, Say: Verily unto Allah shall we return, It is they upon whom their sustainer’s blessings and grace are bestowed, and it is they, who are on right path.” (Quran 2:155)
Trust in Allah
We cannot trust Allah if we live in fear. So, accept that He is in charge of everything. Be at peace with that, and with any calamity.
If we just put our trust in Him, we will find peace. He is our comfort, closer than our own hearts.