• Fouzia Mohammad, an AboutIslam contributor from Morocco, shares experience after the deadly earthquake
• Here are three stories of survivors from the heart of Morocco

It was late at night when I called my family as usual to wish them good night. After a while, my phone started receiving incessant notifications of calls and messages. That was strange!

Upon checking my phone, I found friends and relatives bombarding me with disturbing news about the Marrakesh earthquake, checking up on me and my family.

This suddenly flicked in my memory the terrible experience I had when the earthquake of Al. Hoceima struck in February 2004, but the recent one was the hardest after the Agadir 1960 earthquake.

📚 Read Also: Muslim Charities Rush to Help Morocco after Devastating Quake

While rescue efforts are still ongoing, here are stories of some of the survivors.

Khadijah – Death is Predetermined

Khadijah, a woman in her late sixties, is the only survivor after the quake swallowed all her big family. For her, it was like a nightmare. In the blink of an eye, she found herself alone: no kids, no siblings, no family, and no relatives.

Khadijah is given another chance to live. For death is decreed, no one can ever know when, where, and how their end would be. No one on earth has control over his destiny. Only God does.

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Ahmed – Selfishness is Toxic

We’re living in a time of selfishness; it’s hard to say, but it’s a reality. Selfishness is drastically increasing, especially in the new generations.

Ahmed is a youth in his first teens. While the horrified people were checking on each other and running towards the fire exit, Ahmed wasn’t concerned about anyone around him, only himself and his PlayStation!

He was the first to get outside. Ahmed wasn’t thinking about death; he was happy to rescue himself and his PlayStation!

This can alert us to this increasing danger of selfishness in the ummah. We should look to each others’ interests, for seeking our own interests can ruin everything in our ummah.

📚 Read Also: Muslim Charities Rush to Help Morocco after Devastating Quake

Landlord & Tenant: Both Homeless Now

A landlord was nagging at his tenant to pay the rent before it was due and alerted him about the rent increase. A few days later, the landlord and the tenant became homeless side by side!

Is this life all about money? What if this landlord was kind and patient with this poor tenant and had empathy for him? Wouldn’t his kindness be a lasting deed that would rescue him in the hereafter?

Earthquakes come to wake us up, shake us from our heedlessness, and root us from the monster of materialism that is about to devour us.