Caliph commanded that everyone to strive anew to stop all prohibited acts…
The novel coronavirus is a hot topic of concern from an individual level to the government level. The virus has claimed more than 2500 lives and over 80,000 are infected in China where the disease first emerged, from the animal market of Hubei province of Wuhan.
It then gradually affected Iran where it is believed to have infected over 60,000 people, including the top regime officials.
Unfortunately, coronavirus was introduced into the Arab lands through infected pilgrims who travelled back from Iran’s Qom shrine. Currently, positive coronavirus cases are detected in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and now Saudi Arabia.
However, a disease that resembled Coronavirus was documented by Imam Ismail ibn Katheer, a highly influential historian, exegete and scholar during the Mamluk era in Syria.
He wrote about a disease called “Taoon” which was accompanied by severe fever and it was widely spread in Iraq, Syria and the Arabian peninsula under the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Muqtadi bi Amrillah (1075-1094 C.E).
He wrote, that the animals and insects that lived in these provinces died. Black winds emerged and the trees fell down.
In order to combat this strange disease, the Caliph commanded that everyone to strive anew to stop all prohibited acts. Every musical instrument were crushed and destroyed. Soon the disease Taoon and other diseases disappeared.
This is how he combated the disease by enforcing his subjects to repent from the prohibited acts and seek God’s forgiveness.
In the present scenario, every single individual is involved in some kind of prohibited act that varies from adultery, fornication, pornography, gambling, drug addiction, intoxication, music and a lot more.
Observers of this historical incident suggest that if people give up such prohibited acts, and return to God with full submission, additionally taking considerate attention to the medical precautions, the novel Coronavirus can be defeated.
