Abdul Rauf Tawana/ Major natural events such as earthquakes, floods and fires have always occupied the human mind throughout history. From a religious point of view, these events have sometimes been interpreted as a divine test and sometimes as a punishment or torment for oppressive societies. The recent incident of massive fire in Los Angeles, USA, which according to reliable reports, caused more than 150 billion dollars in damages, became the basis for various analyses. Some consider this incident to be divine punishment due to America's crimes, especially in supporting the Zionist regime and killing the oppressed people of Gaza, and another group with a scientific and secular approach considers this incident to be the result of natural factors.
Publish dateTuesday 14 January 2025 - 13:25
Story Code : 304688
In this note, relying on religious, historical and philosophical principles, we will examine the various dimensions of this incident in order to present a comprehensive analysis and discuss the concept of "divine punishment" and divine traditions in the face of oppression.
A) Causes of accidents from a philosophical and religious point of view
One of the important bases in the analysis of any incident is to know its causes. Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher, first proposed the theory of four causes:
1. Material cause: materials from which the phenomenon is made.
2. Formal cause: the shape and format that the phenomenon takes.
3. Active cause: the factor that creates the phenomenon.
4. The ultimate cause: the purpose and purpose that has come about because of that phenomenon.
Distortion of this view in the West
During the Renaissance, under the influence of conflicts between science and the Christian Church, Aristotelian philosophy was distorted and the two "active" and "ultimate" causes were removed from scientific analysis. This removal was the beginning of an era in which science was limited only to material and formal causes and the purposefulness of the world and divine will were neglected. This thinking became the basis for the emergence of materialism and secularism, and gradually the theological concept of torment or divine test was left out of scientific analysis.
b) Two approaches to the fire incident in Los Angeles
1. Four-cause approach (religious-philosophical)
This approach considers natural events to be the simultaneous result of material, formal, active and ultimate causes. In this view:
• Physical and material cause: fire is the result of climatic conditions, drought and extreme heat.
Active cause: God, as the creator and manager of the world, has allowed this incident to happen.
• Ultimate cause: This incident may have divine wisdom, including a warning to return to justice and justice, or a punishment for America's countless atrocities against the oppressed.
The Holy Qur'an says about this: "And these are the cities that We destroyed because of their oppression and We had a fixed date for their destruction."
2. Two-cause approach (materialist)
This approach, which originates from Western secular thinking, only pays attention to material and formal causes and attributes the occurrence of such incidents to scientific factors such as climate change, global warming, and human interference. This view rejects any connection between natural events and divine will and only relies on scientific justifications.
C) Divine traditions in the face of oppression
C) Divine traditions in the face of oppression
One of the fundamental principles in divine traditions is to support the oppressed and punish the oppressors. Almighty God says in the Holy Qur'an: "Indeed your Lord is watching" (Surah Fajr: 14) "Surely your Lord is in ambush [of the oppressors]."
The divine tradition is that oppression does not last and the oppressors will sooner or later be punished for their deeds. America, as the main supporter of the Zionist regime, has played an irreplaceable role in the crimes against the people of Palestine and Gaza during the past decades. Reliable reports, including Euronews and CNN Arabic, show that the United States has provided about 18 billion dollars in military aid to Israel over the past year; Aid that has been directly used to kill and displace innocent people in Gaza.
Circumstances of divine punishment:
1. The repeating history of oppressors:
Similar incidents have occurred throughout history that the Holy Quran mentions as lessons; including the destruction of Ad, Thamud and Pharaohs.
2. America's open cruelty and support for Zionist crimes:
By funding and arming the Zionist regime, America is directly involved in the crimes against the Palestinian people, and according to the divine tradition, every oppressor will have a bitter end.
d) Summing up: test or torment?
The fire incident in America can be both a test for the people of that land and a warning for the cruel rulers. We cannot definitively call this incident a divine punishment, but there are many similarities that bring it close to the divine tradition of punishing wrongdoers.
Finally, what is certain is that cruelty never goes unanswered. This incident should be a warning to all oppressive powers that sooner or later, the hand of divine vengeance will come out of the sleeve of events.
The final message
The Los Angeles fire, regardless of its natural causes, is a reminder of the fact that the world is not aimless and unaccountable. Oppressors should know that God is lurking and no injustice is hidden from His sight. Our duty is to stand against oppression and support the oppressed so that we do not neglect such traditions.
"And those who wronged will soon know where they will return."
avapress.com/vdciv5apvt1auq2.ilct.html
Top hits
