Boy assaulted raped in masjid why Allah not help
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Assalam
Alaikum
I have several questions regarding Allah/Islam but there is one that I find
very troubling and have not received a satisfactory answer to this day.
Inshallah, you will be able to give me an answer.
I`ll frame my question using a real-life example - a story that had an immense
effect on me, to the point I had trouble sleeping. A little boy, no more than 6
or 7, in a Masjid in
We are
told we do not understand how Allah functions. I hope I have communicated my
question well. I am a Muslim and mean no disrespect, only understanding to
remove all doubts.
Jazak Allah Khair
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Boy assaulted raped
in masjid why Allah not help
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Your
Question: …The boy had committed no sin. He suffered horribly and died a
terrible death in a place dedicated to the worship of Allah. Why did Allah not
protect him?
Allah says in the Holy Quran in Chapter 67 Surah
Al Mulk verse 2:
He (Allah) created death and life that He may test
you, to see which of you is the best in deeds.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 21 Surah
Anbiyaa verse 35:
35 Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good (only) by way of trial: to Us
must ye return.
Respected brother in Islam, the life of this short and
transitory world is but a period of tests and a trial from the Lord, Most Gracious
Most Merciful…..the real place to receive rewards and punishments is only the
Hereafter.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verses 155-157:
155 Be sure We shall test you with something of fear, and
hunger, some loss in goods, or lives, or the fruits (of your toil); but give
glad tidings to those who patiently persevere.
156 Who say when afflicted with calamity: "To Allah we belong and
to Him is our return."
157 They are those on whom (descend) blessings from Allah and Mercy; and
they are the ones that receive guidance.
For the period of one life, and only as a test, the Lord
All-Knowing All-Wise has allowed and permitted man to choose to do good and/or
evil as he wills and pleases.
If one chooses of their own will to submit to the Guidance
revealed by their Lord and chooses to do good, Allah will be pleased with them,
and will reward them for their good in the Hereafter.
If one chooses of their own will to reject the Guidance of
their Lord, and opts to do evil, even though Allah Subhanah in His Wisdom and
Knowledge, permits and allows that evil to take place….He is extremely
displeased with that evil, and will take full retribution for that evil from
that person on that Inevitable Day of Judgment!
Your
Question: …..Why did Allah not protect him?
Allow us to relate a simple example which would clarify
your query, Insha Allah….
When a student is giving a test or an exam in a classroom,
during the duration of the test period, the examiner neither encourages, nor
pats the back, nor endorses the student who is writing the right answers…..nor
shouts, nor rebukes, nor tries to stop the student who is writing the wrong
answers! If the examiner were to
encourage the student writing the right answers or tries to discourage the
student writing the wrong answers, he/she would violate the sanctity of the
exam itself!
For the duration of the exam, the examiner allows the
student to fulfill their exam whichever way they wish and please, right or
wrong! It is only when, after the
expiration of the time period allocated for the exam, that the examiner makes
it known who amongst the students passed their exam and who failed it.
Because Allah Subhanah has involved man to a test for a
period of one lifetime, He allows and permits man to choose between
obedience/disobedience; good and/or evil for this specific ‘test’ period. If Allah were to stop every evil which man
were to commit on this earth, the very sanctity of the test which the Lord Most
Exalted, in His Supreme Wisdom has Decreed for man, would be severely violated.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 42 Surah
Ibraheem Verses 42-46:
42 Think not that Allah does not heed the deeds of those who do
wrong. He but gives them respite against
a Day when the eyes will fixedly stare in horror!
43 They are running forward with necks outstretched, their heads
uplifted, their gaze returning not towards them; and their hearts a (gaping)
void.
44 So warn mankind of the Day when the Wrath will reach them: then will
the wrongdoers say: "O Our Lord! Respite us (if only) for a short term: We
will answer Thy Call and follow the Messengers!" "What! Were ye not wont to swear
aforetime that ye should suffer no decline?”
45 "And ye dwelt in the dwellings of men who wronged their own
souls: ye were clearly shown how We dealt with them; and We put forth many
parables in your behalf!"
46 Mighty indeed were the plots which they made but their plots were
(well) within the Sight of Allah even though they (their plots) were such as to
shake the hills!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 21 Surah Anbiya Verse 47:
47 We shall set up Scales of Justice for the Day of Judgment so that
not a soul will be dealt with unjustly in the least. And if there be (no more than) the weight of
a mustard seed (good or evil), We will bring it (to account): and enough are We
to take account!
In the specific related by you, the person committing the
heinous evil, the innocent victim itself, the parents, relatives and loved ones
of the innocent victim, the believers and the community at large, and the
authority of the nation where the crime was committed…..were all involved in
the trial by their Lord All-Knowing, Most Wise…..to see who does what in their
trial.
Rest assured brother that, on that Tumultuous and
Inevitable Day of Judgment, no doer of evil will be left unpunished for his
evil; every innocent victim will receive full and due retribution for the evil
committed against them; and every soul will be Judged with Absolute Justice in
the Very Presence of their Lord All-Knowing, All-Wise, All-Mighty,
All-Just.
The very purpose of the creation of this short and
transitory life on this earth is so that man is allowed to choose between
obedience and disobedience, good and evil….and that there in is their very
‘test’.
Allah says in the Holy Quran in Chapter 67 Surah
Al Mulk verse 2:
He (Allah) created death and life that He may test
you, to see which of you is the best in deeds.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 21 Surah
Anbiyaa verse 35:
35 Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good (only) by way of trial: to Us
must ye return.
If The Lord Most Exalted were to exhort every doer of good
to continue doing their good, or He were to rebuke or stop every doer of evil
to stop their evil deed….it would violate the very sanctity of this sublime
‘test’ and the very purpose of this short and transitory ‘test of life’ Decreed
by the Lord Most Wise, and the very advent of that Appointed Day of Judgment
would be hollow, meaningless, and absolutely futile!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 35 Surah
Fatir Verse 45:
45 If Allah were to call to account men according to what they deserve,
He would not leave on the back of the
(earth) a single living creature! But He gives them respite for a Stated Term:
when their Term expires, verily Allah has in His Sight all His servants.
Respected brother, as much as your heart goes out to the
brutality of the evil committed against an innocent soul, and as much as your
heart calls out for revenge against the doer of this heinous evil…..rest
absolutely assured that your Lord Most Exalted is well aware of whatever
transpires on this earth, is well aware of exactly who did what in their
Decreed ‘test’, and rest absolutely assured that He will take full and due
retribution from every doer of evil, and He will generously reward every doer
of good……as soon as the Term and Period Stated and Decreed by Him for the
‘test’ is brought to an end (ie. on the Promised Day of Judgment)!
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister