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Divine Punishment Vs Disaster Today
The Quran has stories about transgressing nations that had Allah’s punishment in the form of flood (Noah) or sulphuric rain (Lot) but in the present when a massive earthquake happens like in Turkey or Pakistan, we don’t assume it is a punishment but just a natural occurrence. Why? Did Allah promise there will be no more divine retribution on Earth? If so, where did He say that?
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Divine Punishment Vs Disaster Today
updated 2 years, 6 months ago
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It is said here in the Quran:
وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّىٰ نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا
We never punish [any nation] unless We send a messenger [so that he is able to conclusively communicate the truth to it before being punished.] (17: 15)
However, if a nation crosses a certain limit of transgression in terms of morals, it is destroyed too. This can happen even today. This is technicaly called Halakat, not Azab in Quran. See the following verse:
وَإِن مِّن قَرْيَةٍ إِلَّا نَحْنُ مُهْلِكُوهَا قَبْلَ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ أَوْ مُعَذِّبُوهَا عَذَابًا شَدِيدًا ۚ كَانَ ذَٰلِكَ فِي الْكِتَابِ مَسْطُورًا
[They should not go about hastening the punishment. In reality,] there is not a city that We shall not destroy before the Day of Judgement or not inflict with a severe punishment. This is written in the register of God.
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Thank you for the clear answer. If I take this only as information but never apply it to situations, is that acceptable? For example: when AIDS struck the gay community disproportionately or when Covid ravaged India and Italy worse than other places, I don’t assume it is because of sin. In fact I denounce other people who judge this way. I don’t think this is un-islamic. Am I correct?
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Small-scale warnings come from God as a reminder to humanity as a reminder to let them correct their ways. However, natural calamities occur on their own too. Since we do not know which phenomenon belongs to what principle of God in the application, we take it all as a reminder and find an opportunity to correct our ways. We may have an assumption, but can’t say for sure, therefore we should not judge others on the basis of the calamities they meet.
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