Corona Virus: A Muslim's Perspective

Within a few short weeks, the entire world has been swept by the news of  Coronavirus: a new illness that affects your lungs and airways. Governments from across the globe are taking precautions by closing schools and colleges, and cancelling major events like Euro 2020. It's the biggest news story at the moment, and has caused worldwide panic as to what ramifications it will bring in the near future. This sudden and frightening illness has caused uncertainty for students taking official examinations in a few months as well as flights being cancelled.

Videos of empty supermarkets and people fighting over toilet paper and pasta are going viral. But for once we aren't making a joke out of it. Because we understand the seriousness of it. Everyone is out for themselves and no one has ever been so greedy. People are buying excessively and not taking into consideration the needs of their community. Isn't one of the signs that it will be hard to find food? We might not be there yet, but we're definitely heading in that direction.

At first I thought of writing about the virus in general, the symptoms, actions taken by governments, statistics etc. But there is enough out there online to be informed, with information being updated every few minutes. Instead, I've decided to write about the impact it has had on me as Muslim, and the realisations I've had because of it.

Living in the West is something I consider to be a blessing. The privileges I have been blessed with here and the easy lifestyle I live is an untouchable dream to those living in poorer war torn countries. However, with that also comes the difficulties: of trying to stay true to your religion and keep your relationship with Allah alive. Living in a non Muslim country means you are surrounded with more distractions and sin, which can sometimes no doubt sway you in the wrong direction. Each and every one of us have dips in our eman, and sometimes it takes a bad situation or diversity for us to get back on track. I think for some of us, that may have been the case with the Corona. Whilst in its entirety, its a negative calamity that has struck the world, we have to remember, it came from Allah. The only being who is worthy of worship and the only one who not only knew this was going to happen before we were born, but also the only one who has the power to cause something this huge.

This virus made me remember (as I had quickly forgotten) the temporary nature of this world. Hearing about the deaths and thousands of cases whilst is saddening, reminded me that each and every one of us, will part from this world we call home. Whether an illness, accident or old age will take us, is trivial in the bigger picture. We will all have our last conversation, eat our last meal and take our last breath. I saw something on Instagram that I thought worth including:

"Your chances of dying from Covid -19 are less than 0.5%, but your chances of meeting the angel of death at an appointed time you do not know and are not prepared for are 100% and a fortress of toilet paper and fully stocked shelves will not save you."

I don't mean to make the Corona virus a morbid topic, because chances of a young healthy person actually dying from it are quite low. Nonetheless, that's not to say we go on about our lives, ignoring such a big sign from Allah. Whilst its not ideal to sit at home all day with nothing to do, we should take all the free time we have trapped indoors as an opportunity to rebuild our relationship with Allah. For a lot of us who are in education/ in the workplace, this sudden break from a structured routine and busy lifestyle has been a shock to our system. Maybe Allah is giving us this time to get back on track. Even though Ramadan is right around the corner, we should start now with the extra duas, the extra pages of Quran, the extra salah. In fact, its looking as if this virus may  be problematic for the usual traditions and practises of Ramadan: Taraweeh, big iftars, lots of food, the beautiful presence that the special month of Ramadan brings about. And aside from religion, we've now been given the time to do all the things we said we had no time for. Spending time with our loved ones, reading, learning more about the world, being creative, studying.

The saddest thing for me is when I saw the picture of the empty haram. No matter what time of year, what time of day, what is going on around in the world, sunshine or rain, the haram is always full. It's brimming with people of every age, colour and race. Nothing has stopped people from performing Umrah and Hajj, and they have been able to work around financial problems. But now with the closing of borders, it seems as if Hajj will also be cancelled at this stage- something that has never happened before.

The Corona Virus has reminded me that as human beings, we are helpless and powerless. Allah, the Creator of the Heavens and Earth, and Master of the world has paused our busy lives and stopped so many luxuries we enjoy. But it isn't because He is an evil spiteful being that sadly people view Him as. It's because He is all Knowing and all Wise, and has a plan for each and every one of us. Once we understand and accept this, no virus or struggle can stop us from fulfilling our purpose and being content.

Whilst we all hope and pray that this adversity passes, and we can get back to normal, it's imperative we understand the dangerous times we are living in. It's times like these where we must hold on to our faith and prayer, and cling on to the duas that protect us. The same way as an Ummah we come together in times of joy and happiness, we must also come together in times of fear and sadness.
As our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: ''The believers are like one body. When one of the limbs suffer, the whole body responds to it.''