THIRD REMINDER. Thursday. Let's continue on our topic today on disasters been part of Allah's Mercy. BismilLahir Rahmaanir Raheem. Indeed! Allah grasps the heavens and the earth lest they should move away from their places, and if they were to move away from their places, there is not one that could grasp them after Him. Truly, He is Ever Most Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving. (Fatir 35:41). Cyclones, earthquakes and Tsunamis, along with volcanoes, tornadoes and all other forces of nature, bring widespread suffering in their wake. Science tells us how these things happen but precisely why anything happens only Allah knows for certain. One thing we do know is that this life was never meant to be a paradise without pain and suffering. The Holy Quran repeatedly tells us that ALLAH will test us in order to see who is best in their behaviour. “Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem! Tabaark al lathee biyadihil Mulk wa huwa alaa kulli shay in qadeer. Al lathee khalaqal mawta wal hayaata liyab’ luwakum ay-yu kum ahsanu ‘amalaa. Wahuwal ‘azeezul ghaffoor!” “In the Name of Allah, most Merciful, most Compassionate! Blessed is He, in Whose Hand is Dominion, and He has power over all things. He Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed; and He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving.” Sura Mulk; Ch 67:v1 In Sura Al-Baqara v 114, we read: “Do you think that you will enter heaven without being tested like those who passed away before you? Poverty and afflictions befell them and they were violently shaken until the Messenger and those who believe along with him said, `When will the help of ALLAH come?' Yea, surely the help of ALLAH is ever near.” ...."Ala inna nasrallahi qareeb." Brothers and sisters, no one should be surprised to encounter hardship and suffering. This is part of our human condition. It does not mean that Allah is angry with us or that He has forsaken us. Think how His beloved Prophets lived. None of them had an easy life. Every Prophet and Imams of the Salaf, had to endure unspeakable hardship in order to set a good example for us. They showed us patience, perseverance and dignity in accepting whatever Allah has decreed for us. Let us study the lives and times of all the Prophets, and see how much we can learn from them, how we can increase our faith, our patience and endurance. Let us do what we can to help lighten the burdens of all those who have lost loved ones and material possessions through natural and man-made disasters. May Allah increases us in beneficial knowledge of Islam. Aameen.