A faith-based reflection on sudden Disasters, Resilience, And human responsibility – Dr. Nouna Ammar Sammari
*Fiqh al-Nawāzil wa al-Jawā’iḥ*
A Faith-Based Reflection on Sudden Disasters, Resilience, and Human Responsibility.
Dr.Nouna Ammar Sammari.
Researcher in thought and the philosophy of Communication .
Former Usim , Iium universities.
When human beings encounter something that exceeds their ability to control, they are tested in their understanding of God, of this worldly life, of themselves, and of their responsibility as stewards entrusted with the earth.
Therefore, the question that should remain alive in our conscience is:
How can we learn from sudden catastrophic events?
Perhaps this is where we begin to rebuild our inner awareness and strengthen our faith.
1. From “Why did this happen?” to “What are we meant to learn from it?”
We cannot always know the precise wisdom behind every event, nor are we entitled to claim with certainty that a particular disaster is a punishment for a particular sin.
But we can always learn from what happens.
The Qur’an says:
«“So that perhaps they may return.”
(Qur’an 30:41)»
A trial, therefore, may become a doorway to reflection, return, correction, and reform.
The question is not only what happened to us, but what the event is calling us to reconsider within ourselves.
2. Redefining Certainty
Certainty in God does not mean being guaranteed a life without suffering, that our homeland will never face disaster, or that everything we love will remain forever.
Rather, certainty means knowing that:
God is present when we understand, and present when we are unable to understand.
His wisdom does not depend upon our ability to comprehend it.
And His divine governance is far greater than the scene before our eyes.
The Qur’an reminds us:
«“Perhaps you dislike a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. God knows, while you do not know.”
(Qur’an 2:216)»
True certainty, therefore, is not the illusion that we understand everything.
It is the ability to trust God even when we do not understand everything.
3. Correcting Our Understanding of Tawakkul
A disaster teaches us that tawakkul—reliance upon God—is not the abandonment of means.
If a wildfire exposes weaknesses in prevention, preparedness, environmental management, or emergency response, faith should not lead us to say:
“This is God’s decree, and that is the end of the matter.”
Rather, faith calls us to believe in divine decree while seeking the causes, correcting failures, preventing recurrence, and preparing for the future.
Prevention, knowledge, planning, early-warning systems, forest protection, environmental management, and public training are all part of taking the necessary means.
Faith, therefore, should become a force for building human beings and protecting life—not a justification for passivity.
Tawakkul does not replace action; it gives action its moral foundation.
4. Learning That Blessings Are a Trust
Forests, water, agriculture, animals, air, and the earth itself are not merely economic resources.
The Qur’an says:
«“He brought you forth from the earth and settled you therein.”
(Qur’an 11:61)»
Human beings are therefore entrusted with the earth.
We are not its absolute owners, free to treat it without limits or consequences.
From this perspective, protecting a tree, a forest, a water source, an animal, or an ecosystem becomes part of our moral responsibility and divine trust.
Environmental protection is not merely a technical or economic issue.
It is also an ethical one.
5. Learning That Human Beings Are Vulnerable—but Not Powerless
A fire may destroy in a matter of hours what took decades to build.
Homes disappear. Forests burn. Animals perish. Livelihoods are disrupted. Memories become ashes.
At such moments, humanity is confronted with its vulnerability.
Yet the Qur’an does not allow vulnerability to become despair:
«“Do not despair of the mercy of God.”
(Qur’an 39:53)»
Our weakness in the face of disaster should therefore generate humility before God, solidarity among people, mobilization of knowledge, and the determination to rebuild.
This is the strength through which wounded communities rise again.
Resilience does not mean that we do not grieve.
It means that grief does not prevent us from rebuilding.
6. Rebuilding Faith Through the Understanding of Divine Decree
This becomes particularly important when societies face psychological, economic, environmental, or social disasters.
We must learn to hold four principles together:
Faith in God → Faith in Divine Decree → Taking the Necessary Means → Fulfilling Our Responsibility
We should not say:
«“Everything is predetermined, so there is no need for prevention.”»
Nor should we say:
«“Science alone can prevent everything.”»
Rather, we say:
«“We believe in God’s decree, and we use the reason, knowledge, and abilities He has granted us to protect life, protect ourselves, and strengthen our faith through sincere belief, perseverance, and seeking His reward.”»
Here, faith meets science, belief meets responsibility, and tawakkul meets action.
This is not a contradiction.
It is a balance.
7. We Must Not Turn Disaster into a Judgment Against People
One of the most dangerous theological and psychological mistakes is to witness a collective tragedy and immediately declare:
«“God has punished them because of such-and-such.”»
This is a claim about the unseen that we do not possess the authority to make.
A disaster may be a test.
It may be a warning.
It may result from natural processes.
It may result from human actions.
It may arise from a complex combination of causes.
God alone knows the full wisdom behind it.
Therefore, rather than turning victims into defendants, we should ask a more constructive question:
What has this disaster done to us?
Has it made us more compassionate?
More prepared?
More cooperative?
More responsible?
More conscious of our dependence upon God?
More committed to protecting the earth and preserving life?
More aware of what it means to be entrusted with the earth?
If so, then the disaster has become more than a tragedy.
It has become a school of faith and moral awakening.
From Catastrophe to Renewal
We can summarize this journey in a simple sequence:
Sudden Disaster
↓
Shock
↓
Reflection
↓
Correcting Our Understanding
↓
Reviving Certainty
↓
Learning the Lesson
↓
Taking the Necessary Means
↓
Reform
↓
Rebuilding
Perhaps the most important lesson is this:
«We do not rebuild certainty by giving people answers to everything that has happened. We rebuild it by teaching them how to remain steadfast with God when they do not have the answers.»
True faith does not mean that we understand everything that happens.
It means that we trust the One who knows what we do not know—and then do everything within our ability to repair what can be repaired.
The deepest response to catastrophe is therefore not simply to rebuild what the fire destroyed.
It is to rebuild the human being who will protect what remains.
Faith without fatalism.
Science without arrogance.
Tawakkul without passivity.
Responsibility without despair.
And reconstruction without forgetting the lesson.
May God grant us a certainty that fills our hearts with conviction, contentment, and steadfastness.
And may He grant us the wisdom to protect life, preserve the earth, and honor the trust entrusted to us.
Dr. Nouna Ammar Sammari