COVID -19 is torment for those who do not believe, and a test and trial for those who believe in One Almighty God. The relentless spread of COVID-19 has caused sweeping chaos and panic throughout the world as the number of people who have contracted the viral disease continues to mount globally – nearly half of a million confirmed cases have been reported. COVID-19, a previously unknown strain of coronavirus designated by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic, has upended day-to-day life in ways previously unimagined. The virus originated in the Wuhan province in China in December of 2019 and has surfaced in nearly 200 countries and territories in a rapid spread around the globe, as the death toll exceeds 20,000 worldwide.
Countries are employing extraordinary measures, including social isolation and closing borders, in a race to stem the spread of the infectious disease. In the U.S., where cases have multiplied exponentially, at least 48 states have declared states of emergency. Most have shut down schools, decreased the workforce, and banned gatherings, while some have gone a step further by issuing shelter-in-place orders. The magnitude of the economic devastation cannot be quantified, as international markets plunge and experts forecast a global recession amid the universal health crises.
However, the world should know that COVID-19 is in fact Divine wrath from the One Almighty Creator. It is a result of the abandonment of the Ten Commandments, open acts of perversion and lewdness, and the increased embrace of immorality. Throughout the annals of time, the One Almighty Creator punished those who rebelled and disobeyed His Commands in the form of calamities such as floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and plagues. When the people of Hazrat Nuh, Noah in English, (Peace be Upon Him) practiced polytheism The Almighty Creator punished them and they perished in a devastating flood. When the people of ‘Ad rejected the message of Hazrat Hud (Peace be Upon Him) by practicing polytheism and claiming to be mightier than Allah, they were punished and destroyed by a windstorm. When the people of Sodom engaged in homosexuality and ignored the warnings of the Hazrat Lut, Lot, (Peace be Upon Him) the Almighty Creator destroyed them by raining molten stone down upon them.
COVID- 19 is not an evolutionary fluke of nature. Nor was the fate of the people of Hazrat Nuh, Hazrat Hud and Hazrat Lut (peace be upon them all), of which proof exists today unearthed by archeologists and visible to the naked eyes as a warning for mankind. Mankind’s accountability to obey the Almighty Creator’s Laws will never change and the Almighty Creator’s response to disobedience will not change. This is the immutable law of the Almighty Creator: “As you sow, so shall you reap”. We see signs of this manifested from the beginning of creation up till today with the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Scientists and researchers are in a race to find a vaccine, while doctors are forced to decide who should live amid taxed hospitals straining to provide beds, needed medical supplies and crucial ventilators to treat the respiratory disease. Yet, a cure/vaccine already exists. Abu Huraira narrated that, “The Holy Last Messenger (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) said, “There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He has also created its cure.” Mankind must change its ways. Allah, The Almighty, has promised that He will make those who breach His laws taste torment in this life and the next. The believers who wish to be saved should read the Arabic Manzil, a special collection of 36 ayaat or verses from the Holy Quran known by Muslims world-wide to provide safety and protection, in the morning and in the evening. As for the disbelievers – repent, have belief in One Almighty God, follow the Ten Commandments and stay away from immoralities and perversions. Only then can one be saved. The Almighty Creator promises such in the Holy Qur’an: “Except for those who repent and reform themselves and make evident (what they concealed). So I (will) accept their repentance. And, verily, I am the Most Relenting, the Ever Merciful.” (Surah Al- Baqarah, line 160)
