Mister Corona, thank you.
Thank you for bringing me back Home!
Thank you for purifying my soul to rely only on the Almighty.
Thank you for teaching us how to adopt good hygiene after we considered ourselves as civilized people.
Thank you for showing how weak and ungrateful we, human beings are!
Thank you Mr Corona for showing us the true sense of solidarity, and how we can help each other with compassion. InshaAllah, we have truly learned and understood your lessons.
But did you know Mr Covid-19 that someone, the prophet Muhammad (PBUH), taught us all these teachings and precautions 1400 years ago? Just let me list for you here some of his recommendations:
1. Stay at home:
“If you get wind of the outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; and if it breaks out in a land in which you are, do not leave it. Agreed upon.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
2. Isolation and social distancing:
“Those with contagious diseases should be kept away from those who are healthy.” [Bukhaari (6771) and Muslim (2221)]
3. Cleanliness:
“Cleanliness is half of faith.” [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 223]
4. Generosity:
“The merciful will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Be merciful to those on the earth and the One in the heavens will have mercy upon you.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhī 1924]
5. Covering your mouth when sneezing:
“Whenever the Messenger of Allāh (SAW) sneezed, he would cover his mouth with his hand or a piece of cloth.” [Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi]
You see now Mr Corona that you didn’t come out with new instructions. You see that our problem wasn’t simple ignorance. But why didn’t we learn from the past? Why do we remain slaves to our desires?
Self-Accountability and Reflection
For sure, this virus will end in the near future, inshaAllah, but the most important question is: are we ready yet to change our habits? Or will we go back to our bad routines as usual, until we are reminded by another virus?
Perhaps this pandemic is reminding us to repent of our sins and turn to Allah the Almighty.
When the suffering reached them from us, why then did they not learn humility? On the contrary their hearts became hardened, and Satan made their (sinful) acts seem alluring to them. ‘’
[Al-An`am 6:43]
Indeed, viruses are not our enemies, our bad habits are. Therefore, it’s time for us to review ourselves and our deeds.
Many thanks to our front liners and healthcare workers who are risking and sacrificing their lives to ensure our safety from this deadly pandemic. We pray for all the victims of this horrible virus. May Allah (SWT) forgive us and protect us all.
