“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 the patient, Who, when disaster strikes them, say, “Indeed we belong to Allāh, and indeed to Him we will return.”[1]

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

As believers who believe in Allah (swt), we all know and believe that we were sent to this world to be tested. Allah (swt) created life and death to test us. Allah (swt) has always reminded people of his existence by sending prophets and revealing books.

He informed through verses that troubles and calamities are a test, and that those who do not rebel but are patient will be given great rewards and taught them through his prophets. As a matter of fact, the Prophet (saw) has said: “How wonderful is the case of a believer! There is good for him in every situation and this applies only to a believer. If something good happens to him, he thanks [Allah] and this is good for him.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Again, we are faced with a great challenge. The 7.7-magnitude earthquake, the epicentre of which was Kahramanmaraş on Monday night, caused heavy damage in the surrounding provinces and in Syria. We lost a lot of our people. Collapsed buildings, cities in ruins, those under the rubble… These horrific pictures we saw have burnt our hearts.

Dear Jama’ah!

As soon as we heard of this horrific disaster, the first words that fell from our lips with tearful eyes were “We certainly came from Allah, and to Allah we will return.” We wished the status of martyrs from Allah (swt) to our deceased, because our Prophet (saw) said, “The one who is crushed under a collapsing building and dies is a martyr.”[2]

Dear Jama’ah!

A Muslim should look at everything that happens to them as a lesson. Through this disaster, we witnessed once again how helpless human beings are, how helpless they are in the face of disasters, how great Allah’s power is, and that no one will be able to withstand Allah’s might! We realised once again that the world is temporary, that we live without knowing what will happen to us tomorrow, and that we have to rely only on Allah!

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

After all these experiences, our duty is to ask Allah (swt) for help with dua and patience. For Allah (swt) is with those who are patient. Today, our most important responsibility is to come to the aid of our people who are victims of disasters. Because now is time for solidarity, now is time for brotherhood, now is time for help! Our Hasene Humanitarian Aid Organisation set out on the morning of the earthquake in order to deliver your aid to the earthquake regions and to heal the wounds of the earthquake victims. Our teams, who arrived in the region, have distributed hot meals, blankets, tents and all kinds of humanitarian aid materials since the first day, and they continue to do so. A crisis desk was set up by our volunteers from Europe in order to identify the needs and to produce quick solutions.

Our communities did not hesitate to extend their helping hand. May Allah (swt) bless you for your support of our Emergency Aid Campaign. We would like to thank you, our precious community, for your intense participation by giving great support.

We pray for mercy to those who lost their lives in this tragic incident, patience to those left behind, and a speedy recovery to the injured. “May Allah protect all humanity from similar calamities.” I would like to end my khutba with the following verses that give the news of the great earthquake that will take place on the Day of Judgment: “When the earth is shaken with its [final] earthquake And the earth discharges its burdens And man says, “What is [wrong] with it?” That Day, it will report its news Because your Lord has inspired [i.e., commanded] it. That Day, the people will depart separated [into categories] to be shown [the result of] their deeds. So whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it, And whoever does an atom’s weight of evil will see it.”[3]

[1] Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:155-156

[2] Buhârî, Cihâd 30; Müslim, İmâre 164

[3] Surah Az-Zalzalah 99:1-8

Khutba – Patience Against Natural Disasters