Deep Sorrow for the QZ 8501 Tragedy

 

The Missing Plane
The Missing Plane

Many people were surprised when learning about the missing Air Asia QZ 8501 flight on the morning of Sunday, December 28th, 2014. The Airbus A320-200, which carried 162 passengers and crews from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore, took off at 5:32 am, but had a lost contact and disappeared from radar around 6:18 am local time near Borneo Island.

Speculations arose analysing the causes and how the plane became missing. The strongest allegation is because of bad weather and Cumulonimbus clouds. Indonesian aviation experts, army air force, navy, Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, even foreign aid from neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Australia have been trying to find the plane.

A day after being missing, an eyewitness claimed to have seen a low-flying aircraft with characteristics similar to the Air Asia airplane. Additionally, a fisherman who had returned from fishing testified that he heard a loud thump from the area around Pangkalan Bun, Kalimantan (Borneo) and saw something like a cloud that fell into the sea.

On day 3, the search team found plane parts, luggage, and human bodies around the Karimata Strait, south-west of Pangkalan Bun in the province of Central Kalimantan Borneo and confirmed that they are part of the Air Asia plane.

O Allah…..indeed we are small and helpless humans. Just by Your sending thick clouds, strong winds, heavy rain, and lightning strikes, You can destroy the hopes of passengers who planned to enjoy the New Year holiday in Singapore.

The Cumulonimbus clouds (or similar to it, wallahu a’lam) are described in the following surah:

Do you not see that Allah drives clouds? Then He brings them together, then He makes them into a mass, and you see the rain emerge from within it. And He sends down from the sky, mountains [of clouds] within which is hail, and He strikes with it whom He wills and averts it from whom He wills. The flash of its lightening almost takes away the eyesight. (QS An-Nur 43).

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The dissapearance of AirAsia. Aljazeera.
The dissapearance of AirAsia. Aljazeera.

The first days after the accident, I was so sad, and scared, because we also live in an overseas country where we need to travel by plane to be able to visit with our beloved families. If there is another option besides a plane I would probably prefer it, but is this a good attitude?

In fact, it is possible that anytime, anywhere, in any way, any person can die if it is his or her time, is not it? In fact, when we are sitting in the house, relaxing, writing a story in front of a computer . . . the Angel of Death could come upon us when it is the time, right?

It is reported too that there are some passengers who missed the flight because of a miscommunication with the airline agent and so they were late to check-in, and there were those who cancelled because of very important family events or other reasons, so they could not meet the flight, then indeed Allah (SWT) predestined them to live longer.

O Allah, if I remember death, I am sweating. I am ashamed and embarrassed because of the shallowness of this faith. We should realize that although technology is sophisticated and there are capable pilots, human abilities remain very limited! Human life is often tested by Allah (SWT) which can be in the form of fear, loss, or hunger because if humans are not tested then they often neglect and forget to the Creator.

Allah (SWT) has mentioned:

And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient. Who, when disaster strikes them, say, “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.”  (QS Al-Baqarah 155-156).

The greatest wisdom behind any disaster is to abolish sins and earn rewards so that we will reside in the heaven of Allah the Almighty, In Shaa Allah.

The Prophet (SAW) said:

“There is a great reward along with a big test. If God loves someone, He will test him, whoever is pleased then Allah is pleased at him, and whoever is in wrath, Allah (SWT) sends wrath on him.” (Sahih narrated by al-Tirmidhi).

From Anas bin Malik, the Prophet (SAW) said:

“If Allah wants goodness on His servants He hastens His punishment in the world. And if Allah wants vices on His servants, He detains his sins until He completes it on the Day of Resurrection.”(Hasan sahih. History of Al-Tirmidhi).

Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. “Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people. “ (QS Al-Baqarah: 286).

No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register (in Lauhul Mahfuz) before We bring it into being – indeed that, for Allah, is easy -In order that you not despair over what has eluded you and not exult [in pride] over what He has given you. And Allah does not like everyone self-deluded and boastful – (QS Al-Hadid: 22-23).

May we be included with those who are patient and who have tawakal during every calamity that befalls us and our families. Aamiin ya Rabbal Alamin.

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