Towards the Construction of a New Life
Rich or influential countries like Israel, have already reached rates of over 60%, or are getting there quickly, because they obtained them before the others, particularly the vaccines which are, according to them, the most effective. Some are starting to inoculate [i.e. vaccinate] those who are less at risk, such as their teenagers and even their [small] children. At the same time, in Africa, where less than 2% of the vaccine doses produced against COVID-19 is administered, even medical personnel do not have the opportunity to be vaccinated.
Less effective vaccines are for the poor because the powerful pharmaceutical companies do not want to share their patents and allow countries, like India or South Africa, to manufacture them en masse at a lower cost for their neighbours and for themselves. Forbes magazine has several hundred new billionaires, especially more than 40 enriched thanks to COVID-19, including those at the head of vaccine production, such as Moderna and BioNTech. Now imagine if tomorrow there is the requirement of other additional doses or even new vaccines every year!
If we are not vigilant, some people will make us hate the oppressed and love those who oppress them. Some may end up denying the people of this world vaccination when demand greatly exceeds supply, especially for vaccines they claim to be more effective. But as I’ve said several times, yes, man at his level is struggling to curb viral infections with COVID-19, but admittedly even the most “effective” vaccines won’t save lives.
Remember, I told you before that the vaccines which are supposedly composed of the dead virus, will come back active again in the human body, and we have all seen how this has been fulfilled. Many of those who were vaccinated found themselves infected with the virus soon after. The vaccine itself is responsible [to transmit the virus]. A vaccine that is supposed to protect becomes the tool of contamination! Still, the world sees itself in a terrible stalemate. It is open to all possibilities to thwart the virus, even if it means being vaccinated, taking a health risk to either survive or die. True, the human [health] constitution is different from person to person, and only God knows where the virus is and who will be its next victim.
But at the social
level, the various authorities and NGOs, as well as social networks and the
media have their share of responsibilities in this relentless fight against
devastating viruses. Just like it is also that [i.e. the responsibilities] of the
political, administrative and religious authorities who are overwhelmed by the
events and who no longer protect their respective people. As an English saying
goes, we have arrived at a situation of “survival of the fittest”, [in
other words, only the strongest one/s will survive]. But in the religious
context, as Muslims, we have to keep in mind that nothing happens without God’s
permission. Allah has the power to build and also to destroy. We have entered a
critical period of the end of the world, and the strongest will be the one who
has the most fear of God and turns to Him in repentance.
In the meantime we go from confinement [lockdown] to (re) confinement, sometimes partial and sometimes total. We see all colours [indication], from red areas to black streaks of crimes and scandals of all kinds. It is high time we put an end to the controversies when we see that we are stalling. Once our decision is made, let’s move on. You have to trust yourself. What God decides will only happen!
About the future, we do
not know and that is our freedom. So, we must act, together, with all our
intelligence for the good of all. The struggle for a better life is not only to
reserve a better future for the next generation but also to reassure ourselves
of the good of the hereafter, not only for us but for them as well. And without
a fair and equitable education in the divine commandments, and the application
of this education in our daily life, we will not be able to move forward.
God wants our submission to Him alone. He wants to see us strive in His direction. Islam represents this submission that we owe to God. Let us remember that in undertaking his emigration [Hijrah] the Holy Prophet (pbuh) and the believers made the choice to live in a new society. It’s not just about a change of location. The context is different and will continue to change over the years. In Hegira there is a major lesson for all of us as we seek a new normal life.
Our space is the same, but both with these new viruses known as COVID-19 and its variants and with another phenomenon that we underestimate too much, such as climate change, we have changed times. In order to assume, as a community, the choice to stand up, to overcome these challenges and to live in a new era, it is necessary to revisit the history of Hegira and to learn a lesson from it.
Before Hegira, Medina
was called Yathrib. An oasis in the desert [indeed], but not without its swampy
areas and disease, including the Yathrib fever which was particularly feared by
those who passed through the city on business to Syria or Palestine and other
places. Let us remember that in the interval of his first six years, in the
vicinity of Medina during their travels, first the father and then the mother
of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) died when he was a child. Yet it was this city
that would become the starting point, if not the centre, of the new Muslim
society.
Some Companions of the Messenger of God (pbuh) fell ill as soon as they arrived in Medina. Among them was Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), the faithful companion who despaired of the disease, even thinking of near death. Hazrat Bilal (ra), who would later become the first muezzin, even compared Yathrib’s fever to the agonies he suffered in Mecca at the hands of his oppressors. Hazrat Ummul Mumineen Aisha (ra) claimed that there was no unhealthier locality [than Medina] in all of Arabia then. Despite this, this was where Muslims had come to live, fleeing death in Mecca.
But then, what did the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) do to uplift the morale of the companions, some afflicted by illness and others also by longing for their native land [i.e., Mecca]?
All had suffered
financial and material losses because they had had to leave almost everything
in Mecca. Families were divided. How do you get down to living and meeting the
challenge of a new era, when enemies were never too far away?
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) begged, “O God, make us love Medina as we love Mecca, even more!” The teachings are numerous in this invocation: the fact of turning to God alone without associating partners in His worship, imploring Him to acquire the gift of love, the recognition that God transforms hearts, and that in the face of test of illness, even fear and despair, love becomes a source of energy, appeasement and motivation. Help comes from God. There is also all the leadership of the Messenger of God (pbuh) who stands against all fatality, determined to make the Hegira an eternal success by the grace of God. The fact that his parents died there never got the better of his determination.
He also implored God to
bless the food in Medina. For even though there were orchards in Yathrib,
before Hegira these crops were not fertile. Indeed, the internal wars between
the inhabitants of Yathrib before Hegira originated in competition for its
limited resources. And the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) also invoked God for a
climate that would be beneficial for Medina and its inhabitants and that then
cease the diseases which made them so much suffer.
In the attitude of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), we must hold back the strength, enthusiasm and hope that he stimulated in the companions by simply asserting that they came to Medina to live, and not to die. His communication was clear and did not fail to animate among believers, including the sickest, a constructive posture, a positive mentality, a will to live which would subsequently mark in golden letters the largest pages of human history. First of all, Muslims had to live for God.
The Messenger of Allah
(pbuh) could have directly or strictly reminded them to hygienic gestures or to
cover themselves in order to protect themselves from diseases. Or tell them to
trust God. He will do all of this later, very often even, adding a spiritual
dimension to all acts, whether it be ablution, clothing or even prayer rituals.
But as a leader, the leader and guide of this community that was going through
a bad phase, he gave them above all a taste for living for God, by turning to
Allah.
Faced with the changes of seasons and, here in Mauritius where we are in the midst of summer, we are seeing resurgent records of COVID-19 and especially its variant named Delta. For the small island of Mauritius, it is with sadness that we see deaths due to these viruses even more deadly than COVID-19, and unfortunately for the people of Mauritius, and even the other countries of the world, there is no effective vaccines against these dangerous variants. The world must now take its health precautions. Don’t assume that people will be safe when they get vaccinated and wear masks. Even wearing a mask is dangerous, especially for children and those with breathing difficulties, but no choice! The guidelines must be followed, of course, but believers must place their trust in their Creator and take our beloved prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as a model of inspiration, excellence and leadership. What Muslims lack nowadays is also faith in God, the true faith, devoid of materialism or selfishness.
Nowadays, the world is facing a crisis of confidence with the result that people don’t really know what to do anymore. Close or open, get vaccinated or not, isolate or go out, work or confine oneself? The Hegira and the prophetic example show us the way of a society that chooses to live, to live for God and in God.
May Allah allow us to
build this life based on His existence, and that our existence remains at His
command, virus or not! Insha-Allah. Ameen.