Are Earthquakes a Punishment from Allah? With Imam Omar Suleiman

The sadness we feel after the earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria is heightened by our Ummatic feelings of closeness to the worldwide muslim community. Many of those affected have been subject to years of civil war at the hands of a brutal dictator. Sadly, this is yet another disaster that has befallen this Umma and we pray that Allah has mercy on those that died and enter them into a place where there is eternal peace.

This week we interview Dr Omar Suleiman to discuss the issue of earthquakes and whether they are a punishment from Allah, as many ascribe to these natural events or whether they are a test. Human beings can never understand the wisdom of Allah (swt) and we are without knowledge of the ultimate good and bad impacts of natural disasters, so We ask Dr Suleiman to give us an understanding of the texts from the Quran and sunna that explain these events to us. Sadly, many especially in the West who may have not consolidated their Iman on a strong footing, question the wisdom of Allah and fail to develop the intellectual and spiritual resilience that is required to be a believer. We tackle how to build up this store of resilience. We also take the opportunity to discuss some of his political views on the broader Syrian civil war and the inconsistencies in some political activists.

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The Thinking Muslim Podcast Episode 83

00:00 - 0:46 Highlights
0:47 - 3:42 Introduction
3:43 - 12:25 How we internalise the situation of the earthquake? Are earthquakes a punishment from Allah swt?
12:26 - 21:10 Are earthquakes always the accumulation of the sins of the Ummah?
21:11 - 26:59 What are these tests that we should expect from Allah swt? How do i know if it's a test or a punishment from Allah swt?
27:00 - 31:31 Should we want to be tested more by Allah swt?
31:32 - 37:48 We should be less concerned about the specific wisdom of the calamity but more concerned about how we respond to the calamity. What should a believer do and what should they abstain from ?
37:49 - 42:12 Narration of the death of Fudayl ibn Iyad's son
42:13 - 47:16 People say, why are Syrian people facing calamity after calamity? People in the West question this situation as to why they are being tested so much?
47:17 - 48:37 Ghouta chemical weapons attack. How are these people reacting
48:38 - 54:02 Bashar Al Assad and the tyrants. People of Gaza
54:03 - 58:24 How can we be politically consistent when looking at Issues in the Muslim world? Muslim political prisoners/Rohingya
58:25 - 59:43 Abubakr Tambadou Gambian Justice Minister prosecuting Myanmar
59:44 - 1:05:12 We face maybe a sense of hopelessness, problems are acute. How should Muslims view these unprecedented tragedies. Turning on refugees in the Muslim world
1:05:13 - 1:11:03 How can we build our own spiritual resilience?
1:11:04 - 1:13:05 Additional Resources