In our current situation with COVID-19 lockdown and living in isolation, everyone is being given a golden opportunity to reconnect, consciously, to the LORD of the worlds, the One who created human beings and the entire universe.

Time For a “Re-Set”?

Our bodies and souls have been connected, as a matter of fact, eternally with our Creator Allah since the time when we came into existence right within the wombs of our mothers. We have never been disengaged from or left unaccountable to the eternal system. How can we forget the everlasting relationship, the connection we have with our Lord, the Creator?

All that Allah wants from human beings in exchange for His favors is for us to obey him, to worship him alone (without associating with him any partners), to stay connected with him while sitting, while lying in bed, while waking up, while meeting people;  our Creator is reachable to us anytime and anywhere. All that you need is to realize is that Allah, our Creator, is watching over and hearing you —and to keep the connection intact and continuously active by remembering Him.

“And It is We who have created man and know what his soul whispers to him, for We are closer to him than is [his] jugular vein.” [Sûrah Qâf, 50:16]

What more proof do we need than the Creator himself confirming that He is hearing of even the dark thoughts that your inner-self whispers to you, and that He is closer to you than you are to your own body!  So, close your eyes and converse with him, and re-activate your connection.

The Garden of Eden?

American ecologist Dr Ellis Silver in his 2017 book, Humans are not from Earth: A Scientific Evaluation of the Evidence American ecologist[1] argues that humans may well have originated outside of the Earth – and may have arrived separately from the other creatures living here. His extensive collection of evidence also asks whether aliens might have put humans on our planet as recently as tens of thousands of years ago. He suggests that the Earth might be a prison planet—since humans seem to be a naturally violent species—and that we are here until we learn to behave ourselves. His research concluded with,

“My thesis proposes that mankind did not evolve from that particular strain of life [Neanderthals such as homo erectus] but evolved elsewhere and was transported to Earth (as fully evolved Homo sapiens) between 60,000 and 200,000 years ago”.

This interpretation reminds us of the account in the Bible and in the Qur’an wherein Adam and Eve were created in a Garden—from which they were expelled after knowingly disobeying the instructions of their Creator.

Dr. Silver’s scenario, whether true or not, raises thought-provoking questions for a generation that has forgotten or ignored their Creator; it bolsters our sense that we are not on earth to live permanently but will return to our Creator for an assessment (The Day of Judgment) once we have fulfilled our allocated time on earth.

The “Best” Creation – Our Challenge

Allah is saying in the Qur’an that He has created human beings as the best creation on earth and that all which has existed in the Universe, the living and non-living things, have been created exclusively for the benefit of his best creation, i.e., for human beings. What a great honor we human being have been given by our Lord and Creator.

“We have honored the sons of Adam, provided them with transport on land and sea, given them for sustenance things good and pure, and conferred on them special favors, above a great part of Our Creation.”  [Sûrah Al-Isrâ’, 17:70]

Also,

“We have indeed created man in the best of forms; then do We abase him [to be] the lowest of the low, except such as believe and do righteous deeds: for they shall have a reward unfailing.” [Sûrah Al-Tîn, 95:4-6]

Also,

“Those who have faith and do righteous deeds—they are the best of creatures.”  [Sûrah Al-Bayyinah, 98:7]

The substance of the best creation is his free will with autonomous authority and the ability to control his choice of the path he will take. Herein lies our challenge: To use that free will and autonomous authority wisely. Our Creator, Allah, will hold us accountable on the Day of Judgment—recompensing us with punishment or reward—based on this human ability and the self-control given to us.

Bear in mind, that the spirt/soul we have in our bodies is attended by both angels and devils; the angels encourage you to do good whereas the devils want to convince you for the bad; accordingly, it is your soul that allows one of them to win. If you allow the bad things to win then you’ll become a bad person, and if you allow the good things to win, you’ll become a good person.

What a mercy/blessing on us, and we often forget to ponder over our own creation —the body, the organs, the systems inside our bodies—functioning, in fact, in obedience to the Lord of the Worlds, even without our conscious choice. The universe, and all that exists in our surroundings are clear signs that all this cannot be by chance but has been created purposely. A person is invited to ponder over the signs of His Lord:

Allah says in the Qur’an:

Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of the night and the day, and the ships which sail through the sea with that which benefits people, and what Allah has sent down from the heavens of rain, giving life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and dispersing therein every kind of moving creature, and His directing of the winds and the clouds controlled between the heaven and the earth— [all] are signs for people who use reason. [Sûrah Al-Baqarah, 2:164]

We must praise and give thanks to our Lord and Creator without any extraordinary reason because the signs of Allah surround us and are within us, day-in-and-day-out.  We breathe in, breathe out, and our bodies are in constant motion, all because of the oxygen that exists in the atmosphere and the gravitational force that pulls us down and keeps us firmly on the ground. Imagine what would happen if the oxygen we breathe were to be missing from the earth for a while; the whole world would suffocate to death. The presence of oxygen in the air is something we take for granted because we have never been without it, but without it there would be no question of our life existing on earth. In fact, all of the wonders of Allah’s creation are always accessible – our beating heart, our breathing lungs, our digestion of food.  Do we remember our Creator Allah, wonder at it all and give thanks, praise and worship?  We should.

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic instills fear among every individual of being infected and dying., While each one reacts differently to stressful situations, many have failed to realize that it is our Creator who has appointed us to stay on earth for a fixed time. Thus, no one beside him can cause you to die: If you are going to die thru this pandemic disease, then no one in this world can save you from that death at Allah’s appointed time.

Be sure We shall test you with something of fear…  …but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere, who say, when afflicted with calamity:  “We surely belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. [Sûrah Al-Baqarah, 2:156]

Lessons to Be Reinforced During This Time of Pause

This pandemic spread has at least created an awareness among everyone in our mass media world regarding the preventive measures to protect themselves from being infected or getting others infected. However, in spite of this prevention effort, the fear of death leads to several other diseases such as anxiety and depression. The best way to prevent these ‘side effects’, is to make sure you are connecting with our Creator, sharing all your grievances with him and begging forgiveness with him and using this renewed way of living as an opportunity for Him to bestow on you His favor; so avail yourself of this reminder to re-connect and reach out to Him.  Let yourself be reminded that He is surely enough for us.

Adjust to this new normal living condition, ponder more on the creation, the purpose of life on earth, look ahead, keep resilient, and have absolute faith in Allah that this pandemic will one day abate! In fact, this is a test from Allah as He wants to show who is standing firm in the face of this calamity so that he will be rewarded. Allah always provides opportunity to his ‘slaves’ to respond to His call so that he’ll be rewarded. The one who follow and surrenders himself—surrenders his willful choices—to Him is rightly to be called a ‘Muslim’) and those who are following the path of Shaitan are failing themselves. .

Learn lessons from the life of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). His life is the best example for us to adapt and to live out as the Muslims we claim to be. In fact, the Prophet’s example correlates to Allah’s commandments in the Qur’an. There is a widely-quoted hadith narrated by Aisha herself responding to a question regarding the character of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) and the response of Aisha was:

“His character was the Qur’an.”

Allah has given us yet another chance—during this social distancing and living in isolation period—for us to reconcile ourselves in our connection with Him. Do not miss this opportunity; do not ignore this warning from your Lord—as this could be your last chance before you get absorbed again with your worldly affairs.

Take the current situation as a positive opportunity: The Lord of the Worlds in fact has knocked at our door to say, “Hey! I am your Lord and My small and invisible army of viruses has invaded your wishful thoughts, pushing you to take stock of your activities that are in non-compliance to what is prescribed in the Book. Are your mind and soul polluted with mundane (worldly) things? Do you understand that this invisible army forced you into isolation to give you time to think about your Lord? Nothing will save you from yourself except your Lord! So, recognize the power and authority of your Lord and come back to him repenting and seeking forgiveness so that you may be forgiven and reconciled to living your Muslim way of life.

We are not left alone by our Lord and even if you don’t remember Him, He remembers you. Remind yourself that He will hold us all accountable on Judgement Day for our conduct. Never forget that we did not create ourselves: We are eternally and inescapably connected to our Creator, body and soul.

May Allah show us the straight path and shower blessings of guidance on us and take us out from this affliction.

[1]    Dr Ellis Silver (2017) Humans are not from Earth: a scientific evaluation of the evidence, Ideas4Writers, Devon, U.K., 646 pages.