The full text of the lecture by Mufti Sheikh Ravi Ainuddin is brought here for more detailed study of his views on the new coronavirus pandemic in relation with the topic of the Islamic Unity Conference 2020 on "Islamic Cooperation in Face of Calamities and Disasters"
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his companions.
Dear brother Hamid Shahriari, dear brothers and sisters, dear participants in the 34th Conference on Islamic Unity and Islamic Cooperation in the Face of Disasters and Calamities;
On behalf of the General Directorate of the Muslim Clergy and the Council of Muftis of Russia, I would like to express my greeting to you. May peace and blessings be upon you, and I pray to God Almighty to help us all to achieve the desired results in this conference, so that this event can bring our hearts closer together and expand brotherhood and sympathy among us Muslims and increase solidarity among the Muslim Ummah.
On behalf of the population of 25 million Muslims in Russia, I would like to thank the World Forum on the Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought for organizing and holding this conference. You have managed to hold this conference properly, despite all the limitations and problems of today. This conference has created a great opportunity for all members to discuss the most important issues of the Islamic Ummah and humanity and to be able to propose practical solutions for the existing problems of the Islamic Ummah.
The coronavirus pandemic has plagued humanity today with many issues and challenges, including economic, social, scientific and political. But we all understand today that the core of the Coronavirus pandemic is a moral challenge. That is, how we behave in the face of this issue and what human characteristics change in critical situations. These times and the difficulties and the change of behaviors show that we have been put to a great test of humanity and morality. Our individual and social behavior in this crisis will be an indicator for the continuation of our way of life. Therefore, we must be extremely careful in our behavior in critical and extraordinary situations.
We all have thought about these fundamental questions: What can we do as members of society to solve this great problem? Is today’s man able to maintain his sanity in the face of extensive, forced changes in the normal course of life and the critical and indecisive conditions? Can people be patient and generous and continue to accomplish good deeds? We should be happy if the crisis has not been able to disrupt our wise and moral decision-making power and, on the contrary, has made us more determined to help and love, because God has destined us to get through the crises and become stronger to face future adversities. We all know that these hardships will pass and what remains is the behavior of human beings in this critical period and special circumstances.
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds. We are human beings who firmly believe in God's assistance in every moment and place and are therefore not unaware of God's help and mercy in times of crisis, because faith and belief, like strong supports, bring us spiritual power; and it is in this situation that every human being should help others to the best of his ability and strength, and not neglect to accomplishment good deeds, so that the needy in society, who are in dire conditions do not suffer further. The impoverished segments of society are going through hard times these days. Those who have lost their jobs and daily livelihood should not despair of God's mercy, and this will be achieved through God's will and the help of other people. Much has been said in the Holy Qur'an about divine power, as in the verse: I seek refuge in God from Satan.In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Allah charges no soul except to its capacity.
God, with His decisive knowledge, puts the tests in the way of the servants who know that they can pass it proudly, and Allah charges no soul except to its capacity. Relying on this Qur'anic principle, with sincere prayers, we ask God Almighty to give us the strength to move in the right path and to hold our hands in this path so that we can pass through this critical period like pure believers.
Our strength lies in prayer and faith. Our consolation is in helping others and supporting the poor, no matter what their religion. 2020 will be recorded in history as the year whose central theme is the coronavirus infection. But this year in Russia has become a year for Muslims to do more good and God-pleasing deeds than ever before. Muslims helped all the needy in various ways, including by providing them with food and financial aid. And in the form of voluntary groups, they rushed to the aid of doctors and nurses.
Now, several months into Covid time, the question for many is, what will happen next in life? We remember that before the coronavirus pandemic, some politicians scared people around the world of global catastrophes, World War III and the like; they forgot who built the world and who owned the Earth and the Heavens. They only talked about their plans, but God also has plans for humanity and human life. In addition to creating living conditions and granting mercy upon human beings, God has also undertaken to establish order and structure in the world of humanity. Hence, we come to understand that man is responsible to his Creator.
Another question is, are we going back to the pre-Corona way of life? Many have come to believe that man and his world have reached a point where other goals and paths await him, and that new rules and regulations are to come into force for him.
God Almighty has warned in the Qur'an: “And do not cause corruption upon the earth after its reformation.” What is rightly placed in the world should not be destroyed. Man has been given the opportunity to correct his mistakes and prevent the distortion of reality and not allow oppression, corruption and injustice.
God, the Omniscient says in the Holy Qur’an:
When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way.
In our speeches and conversations with our colleagues during religious ceremonies, we ask the believers to be sincere and pure in their prayers, to look to the future with hope, and to be firm and steadfast in all divine tests, because God Himself has these attributes and he has bestowed them upon human beings, the most noble of His creation.
God tests the creatures which have been given the power of free will, the power of reason, the ability to solve problems. God has given man the power to think, and therefore man is free to choose between good and evil in all stages of his life.
We pray to God Almighty to strengthen our faith and to not destroy the attribute of God-fearing in us. We ask God to open the way of truth for us and our relatives and all the believers and to put us on the straight path, and to keep our souls pure so that the candle of faith in us becomes brighter day by day and illuminates our existence. We ask God to be merciful and pray that He accepts all our worship, including our prayers, fasting and good deeds, forgive our mistakes, sins and negligence, protect us from all evil, and guide the Muslim Ummah to the path of truth until the Day of Judgment.
I pray that the entire Muslim Ummah and all the countries and people of the world will be in peace and tranquility and God’s mercy and forgiveness be upon us all.
