How to deal with the pandemic as a Muslimah

Sister Yasmin Mogahed

We are living in unprecedented times. The world is terrified. And this time, the *entire globe* is in this together. Today, the West is just as scared as the East. The rich are just as vulnerable as the poor. This threat does not discriminate. The rich and famous have not been spared. 

But in this forced isolation and the uncertainty surrounding us, how can we process what is happening? There have been countless measures put in place regarding how we should respond. And all of these must be taken extremely serious. But many of us are still panicked, because this question remains: 

how should the heart respond?

Remember that Allah says: "And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to those who have Sabr. Who, when disaster strikes them, say, 'Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.' Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided." (2:155-157)

What is "Sabr" in this situation? What does it look like?

It is patience, perseverance, and self control. Patience through the total upheaval of our lives and our neatly crafted plans. Perseverance through the fear and hysteria. And self control when our reflexive reaction is to give in to mass panic. Self control over the internal screams of "nafsi, nafsi!" "Myself, myself!" Self control over the nafs that commands us to hoard, at the expense of others. 

And tawakkul. Trust. Reliance on Al-Mumin: the Source of security, the *only one* who can protect us and our loved ones. And the only One who can give us security of heart. We must do our part to "tie our camel". Social distancing. Hand washing. Yes. But don't be deceived. It is not our efforts or actions that keep us safe. 

It isn't an injection, because there is no vaccine.

Reliance on Al-Shafi, the One who cures. The *only one* who cures. Remember that the vast majority of people who contract the Coronavirus will recover. Who is it that will allow the majority of people to live through this sickness? Who will give the vast majority their health again?

It isn't a medicine, because there is no cure. 

And so, above all, this is a trial which has shaken us awake. It has turned our hearts back to true tawheed. We are faced with an unseen threat that has no vaccine to protect us and no cure to heal us. So where does that leave us?

It directs us back to "la illaha illa Allah." Tawheed is not just a robotic utterance. Tawheed is seeing through the fog of our own panic, and seeing only Allah. It is "la hawla wa la quwat illa billah"....The firm, unshaking conviction that *truly* there is no change in circumstance and no strength, except by God. 

Use your sanitizer. Stay at home. Guard yourself and your family. Take precaution. But please, please don't miss the point. Allah has shaken us out of our slumber...the autopilot of our lives. From home, to work, to social media, and back again. He has shaken us awake. He has reminded us of our own mortality, our frailty as human beings, and our desperate need for Him. 

With one single microscopic creation, He has brought superpowers to their knees. 

Allahu akbar. 

And that's just it. Allahu akbar. God is greater. Greater than our efforts and "precautions". He is greater than our fear. Greater than our plans. Greater than our own desperate attempts to protect ourselves from something unseen. What a reminder it is, that truly, only Allah can protect us. From any seen or unseen harm. And perhaps that is exactly why Allah allows some harm to be unseen. So that we cannot be deceived. To remind us where the *only* true Refuge is. 

And to remind us, as "things are known by their opposites", of all the blessings we perhaps took for granted. 

But finally, let us find comfort in knowing that the Most Merciful is in charge. It is not you or me, or our helpless governments. It. Is. Allah. The One who has more mercy for us than our own mother.

Sister Yasmin Mogahed