When those who experienced the damage know that the benefit is more than the damage, they will not be upset – this is of course if they are not selfish. The same goes for earthquakes and other incidents; if the benefit and the gain exceed the loss, they are not evil but pure good
Anwar:But what is the fault of those affected by the damage?
Hasan:Misfortunes and disasters do not always happen because people commit sins, so we should not be surprised here, and even if it was because of the sins, it is still good because the pain and the damage occurring to the sinners will be a form of expiation to their sins.
Anwar:Yet, what is the fault of the believers who suffered from the damage?
Hasan:You are still preoccupied by the idea that these incidents are only for revenge or punishment. No, my brother! We have just shown that the benefit they might have for others. Those who get affected by those misfortunes will be compensated by either expiating their sins or raising their rankings for those with no sins!
Moreover, if believers were to choose between misfortunes of this life and raising their rankings in the afterlife, they will definitely choose the raising their status and rakings in the afterlife; that is what every sane person would do.
To assure you, I will quote from Imam Al-Sadiq (PBUH):“If believers knew what a reward they will receive from their misfortunes, they would wish to be cut off with scissors”.
Thus, if believers were to know what a precious reward the Almighty Allah is hiding for them when they face misfortunes in this life, they would wish that they experience not only misfortunes but be torn apart in order to get more of that reward in the afterlife. So, how is that you judge disasters and misfortunes to mankind as an act of revenge or retaliation?
Anwar:But?
Hasan:Leave that but for next time, Inshallah.
Symposium 19
Are Misfortunes Punishment?
Anwar:I was going to ask a question, but had to stop. I was wondering why the Noble Quran says that some people experience misfortunes as a form of punishment. How can we explain this?
Hasan:Yes, there are two types of people: the first type is the believers who are sinners, and the other type is the infidels or the oppressors. The punishment for the second group is that they become an example for others. Even though, when God punishes people in this life, He is to commute a punishment or penalty for those who deserve it. This is relevant only to the second type, of course.
Anwar:I think you said there are benefits to
misfortunes. What are there?
Hasan:Benefits of misfortunes are as the following:
· They are a means to explode capacities: misfortunes force people to take precautionary procedures to protect themselves from these misfortunes. This will lead to inventions and discoveries because ‘need is the mother of innovation’ as they say and as Amir Al-Mu’menin (PBUH) explains: “Nevertheless have terrestrial trees harder wood, and have great greens more gentle skin, and are Bedouin plants burning faster and going out slower”. This is also supported by the word of Allah, Praised Be His Name:(it may happen that ye hate a thing wherein Allah hath placed much good)4;19.
· Misfortunes are warning bells: indulgence in pleasures and running after earthly affairs make people forget about the afterlife, so they need to be reminded of their Creator and the afterlife, and what is better than disasters and misfortunes to bring those gone astray back to their Lord.
· Misfortunes help to appreciate the blessings: if
·
· people always had a joyful life, they would have less respect for the blessings. This is because they got very used to it and never knew how it would feel like to lose it. So, by losing certain blessings, people would appreciate these blessings and make sure to maintain them. Tasting the sweetness and the bitterness of life is what make us understand the value of the blessings the Glorious Allah gave us. These are the benefits of misfortunes and disasters in general.
Anwar:Justice is a Pillar and there should be subdivisions originated from it. What are they?
Hasan:What results from the Divine Justice is understanding the purpose behind punishment; is it to take revenge or to make an example? It is far above the Almighty Allah to act out of emotion and agitation. So, it is not true to consider revenge as a pure purpose of punishment. It is true to say the Almighty Allah punishes to make an example for other people but this is only true for this life and not the afterlife.
Anwar:So what is the purpose behind punishment?
Hasan:I will give you a brief but conclusive answer now;
punishment has a positive effect due to the correlation between the criminal and the punishment. We can illustrate this in two ways:
First, the criminal and lawful acts create a special ability in person as a result of repeating those acts so much that this ability or aptitude becomes part of their existence. Both virtuous and vicious people are raised from the dead with these aptitudes that are again born due to constantly doing good and bad deeds. In other words, it is these aptitudes or special abilities that make heaven and hell.
Second, there are apparently two sides to human deeds, a worldly side and an otherworldly side, and so human deeds take different forms depending on each different situation. For example, prayers have a specific form in this world, i.e. there are certain moves and steps and certain words to praise the Lord, but they have a different in the next world. This is supported by the words of God:
(And let not those who hoard up that which Allah hath bestowed upon them of His bounty think that it is better for them. Nay, it is worse for them. That which
they hoard will be their collar on the Day of Resurrection. Allah’s is the heritage of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is informed of what ye do)3;180.
Here are more of God’s words as a proof:(On the day when it will all be heated in the fire of hell, and their foreheads and their flanks and their backs will be branded therewith and: Here is that which ye hoarded for yourselves. Now taste of what ye used to hoard)9;35.
Anwar:Now it is crystal clear that punishment is the outcome that criminals make for themselves. It is not forced on them. God bless you!
Hasan:God bless you too! We will continue next time, Inshallah.
Symposium 20
Is Punishment Equal to Sin?
Anwar:Salam ‘Alaykom, Akhi Hasan!
Hasan:‘Alaykom As-Salam Wa Rahmatollah Wa Barakatoh! I can see you already have a question.
Anwar:Indeed! Usually, punishment is equal to the crime committed, quantitatively and qualitatively. Yet, we see that this formula is not achieved for the otherworldly punishments; researches confirm that some criminals remain in fire although their sin is less in time than that of their punishment. How is that?
Hasan:You are saying that the punishment has to be equivalent to the crime; this is what the man-made or manufactured punishment is about. However, when the punishment has a positive effect towards the criminal act, we do not see this consistency neither in quantity nor in quality.