Hurricane Sandy Has Struck Our
Morality: Sharia Stipulates That A Muslim May Interact
12 November 2012
By Dr. Hamad Al-Majid
The devastation caused by
Hurricane "Sandy" across the US has reached Arab
shores in the form of waves of controversy and debate.
On one hand, there are those who rejoiced at the
disaster and took pleasure in the rising death toll,
mass flooding and destroyed hones. For them, the US
remains the root of all evil and therefore all
Americans deserve the ordeals and catastrophes they
suffer, for they must reap what they sow. On the other
hand, there are those who consider Hurricane "Sandy"
to be a humanitarian disaster that has befallen
innocent people; people who are distanced from
politics in the same manner that America is distanced
geographically from the Islamic world. Yet no
religion, sense of ethics or humanity would allow one
to rejoice at the misfortune of others, regardless of
their religion, race or country of origin.
This debate essentially focuses on how we react to
ordinary people who have suffered great harm. We would
not have paid much attention to the extremist
viewpoints were they based on personal convictions,
but they actually stem from interpretations of the
Sharia. As such, there is a dire need to clarify
Sharia concepts with regards to dealing with the
misfortune of others, and apply them practically on
the ground. This is especially important in view of
the fact that natural disasters are a universal norm
that will continue to befall everyone. We must seek
assistance from specialists with a moderate,
comprehensive view, to put forth an explanation that
functions as a frame of reference for the majority,
not the minority, of the general public.
Without a doubt, the reason for the debate over
this particular issue is that each sect, by taking
matters to extremes, has failed to scrutinize the
details, hence confusing right with wrong. What we
find is that people resort to Sharia texts on some
occasions yet abandon them at other times, as was the
case with the tsunami that did great harm in
Indonesia. At that time, some people went too far in
their interpretations and even falsified fixed texts
governing the relationship between calamities and
sins, whilst others maintained that the tsunami
disaster had befallen them because revealing swimwear
was being sold in Indonesian shops.
Some have moved on from the stage of urging
misfortune upon peaceful non-Muslims and rejoicing in
it, to the extent that they now say that declining to
do so is itself a disavowal of Al Wala' Wal Bara'
doctrine. Such people would be better off shedding
light on the merciful nature of Islamic Sharia and its
moral treasures. Sharia stipulates that a Muslim may
interact with a non-Muslim in a humane and ethical
frame of reference even in the midst of a battle, let
alone at times of peace or during a natural disaster.
When the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was
asked to pray against the polytheists, he replied "I
was not sent to curse; I was sent only as a mercy".
The Sharia only permits us to pray for the misfortune
of others under specific circumstances, such as during
a war, where the enemy might even be another Muslim.
For example, given the massacres committed against the
Syrian people, we can invoke God against the regime of
Bashar al-Assad, his troops, media, thugs and whoever
defends the atrocities he commits.
Dr. Hamad Al-Majid is a journalist and former
member of the official Saudi National Organization for
Human Rights. Al-Majid is a graduate of Imam Muhammad
Bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh and holds an
M.A. from California and a Doctorate from the
University of Hull in the United Kingdom.
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