Sermon Title: Earthquakes: Lessons and Insights
Themes of the sermon:
1. Allah’s Omnipotence and Majesty
2. Earthquakes as signs of Allah’s power
3. Divine Wisdom behind earthquakes
4. How should believers respond to earthquakes?
5. The Danger of Earthquakes that Destroy Religion
Praise be to Allah, with Whose power alone everything comes to move or stands still. He created everything and made it subject to His command and decree. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah, alone without partner, to His Omnipotence and Majesty the heavens and the earth surrender. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. May Allah's frequent blessings and peace be upon him, his family, and his companions until the Day of Judgment.
To proceed,
O servants of Allah, fear Allah as He should be feared, and be mindful of Him in private and public:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُسلِمُونَ
“O you who believe, fear Allah and be with those who are truthful.” (9:119)
Allah has created the heavens and the earth as signs and evidence of His Power. He raised the sky without any pillars. He made the earth an even expanse and a resting place, and set mountains on it so that it would not shake or tremble with people. Allah says,
خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ بِغَيرِ عَمَدٍ تَرَونَهَا وَأَلقَى فِي الأَرضِ رَوَاسِيَ أَن تَمِيدَ بِكُم وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ دَابَّةٍ وَأَنزَلنَا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَنبَتنَا فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ زَوجٍ كَرِيمٍ * هَذَا خَلقُ اللَّهِ فَأَرُونِي مَاذَا خَلَقَ الَّذِينَ مِن دُونِهِ بَلِ الظَّالِمُونَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ
“He created the heavens without pillars that you can see, and He threw mountains upon the earth so that it would not shake with you, and He scattered in it all kinds of creatures. And We sent down rain from the sky, and We made every kind of noble pair grow in it. This is the creation of Allah, so show Me what those other than Him have created. The wrongdoers are in clear error.” (31: 10-11)
It is a manifestation of the Might of Allah that He commands the earth to shake and quake with its inhabitants. People may be settled in peace and engrossed in their affairs in tranquility, then they suddenly find the earth shaking under their feet and everything falling. Allah shows people signs of His Power and Might to remind them of their need t to reflect, repent to Him, and remember Him. By this, human souls may awaken from their heedlessness, and hearts regain their softness after being hardened by sins. Allah says:
ظَهَرَ الفَسَادُ فِي البَرِّ وَالبَحرِ بِمَا كَسَبَت أَيدِي النَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُم بَعضَ الَّذِي عَمِلُوا لَعَلَّهُم يَرجِعُونَ
“Corruption has appeared on land and sea because of what people's own hands have earned, so that He may make them taste some of what they have done, so that they may turn back.” (30: 41)
Servants of Allah!
Earthquakes are a result of Allah’s decree and command. They are among His soldiers that afflict whomever He wills among His servants. Although there are known material causes for earthquakes such as the movement of tectonic plates, it is Allah Who creates these causes and decrees them. It is He Who sends them a punishment or a test for whomever He wills among His creation.
Servants of Allah!
A part of the wisdom behind earthquakes is to remind humans of Allah's power and His great strength, as well as to remind them of their own weakness, need, and helplessness. The entire universe is subject to Allah, and nothing, on earth or in the heavens, can defeat His power. When He wills something, He simply says "Be," and it comes to ‘be”. Humans, no matter how powerful, knowledgeable, or advanced they may be, cannot prevent the earth from shaking when earthquakes occur, or stop disasters from happening.
Earthquakes that afflict our nation are among the greatest signs that Allah sends to remind and warn His servants. Allah says:
وَمَا نُرسِلُ بِالآياتِ إِلَّا تَخوِيفاً
“And We do not send the signs except as a warning” (17: 59).
These earthquakes should be viewed as a warning because Allah has punished some peoples with them and made them a cause of their destruction, as He says:
فَأَخَذَتهُمُ الرَّجفَةُ فَأَصبَحُوا فِي دَارِهِم جَاثِمِينَ
“So the earthquake seized them, and they became within their home [corpses] fallen prone.” (11: 68)
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Allah continues to send signs to His servants that warn and remind them.” These incidents come as a warning when people openly commit sins and boast about indecency, and corruption increases, while the number of righteous reformers decreases. At such time, the appearance of earthquakes becomes a warning from Allah to the people of the earth. Allah says:
أَفَأَمِنَ الَّذِينَ مَكَرُوا السَّيّئَاتِ أَن يَخسِفَ اللَّهُ بِهِمُ الأرضَ أَو يَأتِيَهُمُ العَذَابُ مِن حَيثُ لاَ يَشعُرُونَ
“Then do those who have plotted evil deeds feel secure that Allah will not cause the earth to swallow them or that the punishment will not come upon them from where they do not perceive?” (16: 45),
إِن نَّشَأ نَخسِفْ بِهِمُ الأرضَ أَو نُسقِطْ عَلَيهِم كِسَفاً مِّنَ السَّمَاء إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَةً لِّكُلِّ عَبدٍ مُّنِيبٍ
And He says:
“If We will, We can cause the earth to swallow them, or We can let fall upon them fragments from the sky. Indeed in that is a sign for every servant turning back [to Allah].” (34: 9)
Therefore, when an earthquake struck Medina during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), he stood up and admonished them, saying: “You must have innovated something wrong in your religion! You have hastened to incur [Allah’s wrath]. If it is to occur again, I will depart you.”
Among the lessons behind earthquakes is to remind people of the quaking of the Day of Judgement and its tremendous horror, and to warn them that this day is true and soon. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “The Hour [Day of Judgement] will not come until knowledge decreases, ignorance spreads, and earthquakes increase.” The increase in earthquakes refers to their frequency and greatness, as explained by Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (may Allah have mercy on him).
Earthquakes serve as a reminder of the great quake of the Hour. Allah says:
يا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُم إِنَّ زَلزَلَةَ السَّاعَةِ شَيءٌ عَظِيمٌ * يَومَ تَرَونَها تَذهَلُ كُلُّ مُرضِعَةٍ عَمَّا أَرضَعَت وَتَضَعُ كُلُّ ذاتِ حَملٍ حَملَها وَتَرَى النَّاسَ سُكارى وَما هُم بِسُكارى وَلكِنَّ عَذابَ اللَّهِ شَدِيدٌ
“O mankind, fear your Lord. Indeed, the convulsion of the [final] Hour is a terrible thing. On the Day you see it every nursing mother will be distracted from that [child] she was nursing, and every pregnant woman will abort her pregnancy, and you will see the people [appearing] intoxicated while they are not intoxicated; but the punishment of Allah is severe.” (22:1-2).
The earth quaked because of sins spread;
The sleeping ones have jolted awake,
and the awakened ones panicked!
A quake for seconds has terrified us,
how about the greatest quake when befalling us!
Servants of Allah!
All of Allah's actions are wise. All good is within His hands and evil does not pertain to Him. Even though earthquakes may cause destruction and annihilation to the wicked, for the believers, they serve as means of admonition and expiation of sins, and as a way to avoid the greater punishment, as long as they receive these catastrophes with patience and hope in Allah's reward, they resort to Allah. Allah says:
وَعَسى أَن تَكرَهُوا شَيئاً وَهُوَ خَيرٌ لَكُم
“Perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.” (2: 216)
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: “My nation is a nation that is shown mercy. There is no punishment for them in the Hereafter; their punishment is in this world: trials, earthquakes, and killing.”
Another part of the wisdom behind earthquakes is to distinguish between the patient and the righteous believers and the wicked and disobedient ones. Allah chooses from among the believers those who will be martyrs, as the one who dies by a house falling on him is a martyr as the Prophet (ﷺ) told us.
Only the believers can benefit from these signs, while the disobedient ones only go on their transgression and disobedience. Allah says:
َمَا تُغنِي الآيَاتُ وَالنُّذُرُ عَن قَومٍ لَّا يُؤمِنُونَ
“And the verses and warnings of Allah do not benefit a people who do not believe” (10: 101)
وَنُخَوِّفُهُم فَمَا يَزِيدُهُم إِلَّا طُغيَاناً كَبِيراً
And He said:
“We threaten them, but it increases them not except in great transgression.” (17: 60).
May Allah make His Book, the Glorious Qur'an, a blessing for you and me, and may He make us avail of its verses and reminders contained in it. With that said, I ask Allah’s forgiveness for me, for you and for all the Muslims. So, you also should ask for Allah’s forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Sermon
Praise be to Allah, and may Allah exalt and send peace the Messenger of Allah, his family, companions, and those who follow him. To proceed:
Servants of Allah!
We are very sad because of the catastrophe that befallen our Muslim brothers recently after the destructive earthquake struck their lands. The Prophet ﷺ informed us that “The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy are just like one body. When one of the limbs suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever.”
It is our duty to assist our brothers as much as we can and relieve their suffering as much as possible. We must provide aid to those in need, rescue those who are trapped, heal the wounded, comfort the distressed, console the grieved, and pray that Allah may alleviate their sufferings. The Islamic nation is one community, and the believers are brothers.
What also deeply pains our hearts and rends our souls is the spiritual quakes that the Muslims experience, which demolish the foundations of faith in their hearts and undermine their belief and morals. Just as physical earthquakes that shake the earth and convulse its foundations have painful consequences and serious repercussions, the spiritual quakes that subvert belief and weaken faith and morals also have severe, and even more serious, effects repercussions.
A quake that strikes cities and buildings is felt by all those affected by it. However, people often do not perceive the quake that weakens their hearts and beliefs. The physical quake results in the loss of bodies, while the spiritual quake of faith, morals, and beliefs results in the loss of belief. The physical quakes cause the loss of this world, while the spiritual quakes cause the loss of the hereafter.
I ask Allah, the Almighty, to preserve our religion and our faith, and to keep us steadfast on the truth until we meet Him.
Pray to Allah to send His blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad. O Allah, may Your blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions.
O Allah, guard our Muslim brothers and sisters in every place; guard them from what is in front of them, and behind them, from their right, and from their left, and from above them. We seek refuge in Your greatness from harm coming to them from beneath them. O Allah, ward off from us high prices, plagues, usury, fornication, earthquakes, trials, and evil temptations, both manifest and hidden. Our Lord, forgive us, our parents, all Muslims - men and women, and all believers - men and women. O Allah, guide our leader to that which pleases You, direct him to righteous and good deeds. Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Hellfire.
Servants of Allah, remember Allah much and glorify Him morning and evening. And our final prayer is all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
