This is a recitation of a wird (litany) to recite during a pandemic as recommended by Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah (text of the wird included below).
Pandemics are not new. Humanity has faced several in the past, the most recent of which was the Spanish Flu. However, given our modern advancements in early detection, increased hygiene practices, and vaccination programs, our generation has been for the most part spared the suffering our forefathers have endured during acute health crises that broke out at higher frequencies than they do now. Indeed, our scholars have recorded such events from the early period of Islamic history.
The current COVID-19 pandemic is causing many to panic as our primal instincts for survival are acutely triggered. However, for the believer, the coronavirus is not a random event and it is not an entity that has agency. It is not something worthy of fear, because ultimately, it is part of creation. It is a sign by which God manifests His Jalal (Majesty), exposing us to our utter weakness in the face of something seemingly so insignificant as an RNA strand that typically cannot withstand the natural elements and cannot even replicate on its own. Allah tells us in the Quran:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي أَن يَضْرِبَ مَثَلًا مَّا بَعُوضَةً فَمَا فَوْقَهَا ۚ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ ۖ وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَيَقُولُونَ مَاذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِهَٰذَا مَثَلًا ۘ يُضِلُّ بِهِ كَثِيرًا وَيَهْدِي بِهِ كَثِيرًا ۚ وَمَا يُضِلُّ بِهِ إِلَّا الْفَاسِقِينَ
God does not shy from drawing comparisons even with something as small as a gnat, or larger: the believers know it is the truth from their Lord, but the disbelievers say, ‘What does God mean by such a comparison?’ Through it He makes many go astray and leads many to the right path. But it is only the rebels He makes go astray.
[Quran 2:26]
The response of the believer during difficult times such as these is not to succumb to anxiety, fear, or panic. Rather, it is to see the world for what it is – a place of transition where every time we fall into heedlessness and forget about its temporality, Allah reminds us through His Signs that death is inevitable and that everything we hold dear other than Him is going to perish. Hence, when the vastness of the earth becomes constricted, we flee to the only refuge we have: Allah.
وَعَلَى الثَّلَاثَةِ الَّذِينَ خُلِّفُوا حَتَّىٰ إِذَا ضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ وَظَنُّوا أَن لَّا مَلْجَأَ مِنَ اللَّهِ إِلَّا إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُوا ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
And to the three men who stayed behind: when the earth, for all its spaciousness, closed in around them, when their very souls closed in around them, when they realized that the only refuge from God was with Him, He turned to them in mercy in order for them to return [to Him]. God is the Ever Relenting, the Most Merciful.
[Quran 9:118]
The lockdowns governments are enacting, and the subsequent enforcement of social isolation are akin to what happened to the Companions who fell for a moment of weakness and did not join the Beloved ﷺ for the Battle of Hunayn as they preferred their perceived comforts in this world. They were socially isolated and were not even able to have their greetings returned by others. They needed time to introspect and sincerely repent, without the distractions of society. We must do the same, for we have fallen for our weaknesses and in the process oppressed ourselves, one another, and even the earth which we were entrusted to maintain its balance and harmony. It is not far-fetched to consider the possibility that earth itself has invoked Allah for some relief from the volumes of blood unjustly spilled all over it and the damage to the land and sea we continue to inflict.
ظَهَرَ الْفَسَادُ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِي النَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُم بَعْضَ الَّذِي عَمِلُوا لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ
Corruption has flourished on land and sea as a result of people’s actions and He will make them taste the consequences of some of their own actions so that they may turn back.
[Quran 30:41]
May Allah manifest His Jamal (Beauty) and engulf us in His Rahma (Mercy) and forgive us for our transgressions against His limits and the balance He had placed on the earth, and return us to him in a beautiful way.
The full Arabic and English versions of the wird are available at Sandala.
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