Allah’s decree governs both tragedy and rescue. His attributes of justice and mercy operate together. A calamity can be a test, a purification, a warning and a hidden mercy. An unexpected rescue is another aspect of the same divine wisdom. The believer reads both events within a single framework of tauheed and qadar (Divine decree)

The Holy Qur’an affirms that Allah created a world Allah made the world work in a regular, orderly way, with causes that lead to effects. Yet all causes and effects remain under His command and control. He is the Creator of all things and the Disposer of all affairs. Allah says:

“Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is Guardian over all things”  (Az Zumar 39:63)

Every natural process operates by laws which He has set. An earthquake follows the physical laws of the earth. But who is taken and who survives lies within His sovereign will. A rescue team is a means. The true Rescuer is Allah.

The Holy Prophet^(sa) explained that what appears as chaos is, in reality, a measured decree. He said that what strikes a person was never going to miss him, and what misses him was never going to strike him. This hadith reflects the Momin’s certainty: events in creation do not fall outside divine knowledge and will. The collapse of a building and the miracle of a survivor days later both lie within the same decree. Human effort matters, yet the Giver of life and the One who takes life is always Allah.

The Holy Qur’an presents a nuanced view of calamities. Some are punishment, others trials, and many a means of mercy and elevation. At times, the same event carries different meanings for different people. Allah states:

“And whatever misfortune befalls you is because of what your hands have wrought, and He forgives many of your sins.” (As Shura 42:31)

This shows that some suffering may reflect sin. But even then His pardoning overwhelms. Allah says:

“And We will, surely, try you with something of fear and hunger and loss of wealth and lives and fruits; but give glad tidings to the patient.” (Al Baqarah 2:156)

The purpose is to test patience and to grant glad tidings to those who are steadfast.

The Holy Prophet^(sa) explained this in relation to epidemics. He said that a plague can be a punishment that Allah sends on whom He wills. At the same time Allah makes it a mercy for believers. This means that one and the same event may carry different spiritual meanings. For some it may be retribution. For others purification, forgiveness, or higher rank. For all it is a reminder of their dependence on Allah. Hence Muslims are cautioned not to speak with certainty about the inner status of particular victims. We are instead commanded to respond with repentance, humility and compassion.

Islamic theology teaches that Allah’s mercy is wider than His wrath. The Qur’an says : 

“My mercy encompasses all things.” (Al A’raf 7:157)

This theme is further reinforced by the constant recurrence of the names al-Raḥmān and al-Raḥīm in the basmala, appearing 113 times, and once more within Surah al-Naml (27:31), opening every surah except Surah al-Tawbah. This framing clearly signals that mercy is paramount and envelops all other attributes.

This constant repetition of al-Raḥmān and al-Raḥīm anchors the believer. Even when the world seems harsh, the ultimate reality is the Rahmaniyyat and Rahimiyyat of Allah. Seen in this light, calamities may dwell within mercy.

The Holy Prophet^(sa) stated  that no fatigue, illness, sorrow, grief, harm, or distress afflicts a believe, not even the prick of a thorn, except that Allah removes sins through it. A small pain can wash away a large burden. The Prophet^(sa) also said that those who endure patiently will receive reward without measure. The Holy Qur’an re-affirms it saying  :

“Verily, the steadfast will have their reward without measure..” (Az Zumar 39:11)

Thus a believer may experience worldly hardship as the price of eternal happiness. Or as a cleansing of the soul before meeting Allah. When Allah loves a servant He refines that servant. Refinement often comes through trials which awaken hearts and detach them from worldly illusions.

A classical insight in Islamic tradition is that the believer may be deliberately given trials in this world so that he meets his Lord lighter and purer. An oppressor may be left in apparent comfort as respite. That comfort is not love. It is often istidraj, a gradual leading towards accountability. This distinction helps reconcile love with suffering. The absence of trial is not always a sign of divine favor. The presence of hardship is not always a sign of anger.

The amazing survival of a person under rubble after many days is commonly called a miracle. Islamic teaching distinguishes between the stable course of nature and those special events that appear to sit at its edge. The Holy Qur’an speaks of “ayat” or signs. It also allows for “karamat” or extraordinary favors granted to the righteous. Yet even these signs do not break the sovereignty of law. Rather they express an aspect of divine power which we do not fully grasp.

At the same time, Islam honors human effort. Rescuers, doctors and volunteers are praised as instruments of divine mercy. The Holy Prophet^(sa) said that whoever relieves a believer of a worldly hardship, Allah will relieve that person of hardship in the Hereafter. In this saying the Prophet^(sa) links human action with divine response. When a survivor is found, both dimensions are true. The event is contained in divine decree. It is also the fruit of human courage, skill and sacrifice. Those who search, dig and treat, act by Allah’s guidance and enabling..

A visible calamity may avert a greater unseen calamity echoes a Qur’anic theme. The story of Khidr and Musa  (as) in Surah al-Kahf shows actions that looked harmful outwardly but concealed deep mercy: the boat damaged to save it from a tyrant, the boy’s death ultimately being a protection of the parents’ faith, and the wall repaired to safeguard orphans’ treasure ( Al Kahf 18:66–83).

Here Allah explicitly teaches that His wisdom often lies beyond our immediate horizon; what we call “evil” may be shielding us from something far worse, or preparing us for a greater good.

In each case Allah reveals only later that His design was suffused with justice and mercy. The lesson is that much of His wisdom remains veiled from immediate perception. The same surah thus becomes a key text to understand that a lesser visible harm can shield from a greater unseen harm.

The Qur’an also states that a person may dislike something while it is good for him. He may love something while it is bad for him. Allah knows and we do not know. (Al Baqarah 2:217)

This simple, repeated teaching guides us in every earthquake and personal trial. We cannot see the chain of consequences that a disaster sets in motion. We do not know what greater injustice, moral decay or spiritual ruin might have followed had events taken another course. We do know that Allah’s knowledge covers all and that He is never unjust to His servants.

When we bring these elements together, several points become clear. A believer affirms both divine decree and real causes. He does not deny the science of seismology. Nor does he grant it independent power. He sees natural explanations as descriptions of the way Allah usually acts. It holds that natural law itself is an ongoing act of God. Every tragedy and every rescue unfolds within this continuous creative activity.

The believer also avoids hasty judgments. He does not claim certainty that a particular earthquake or flood is punishment for this or that population. At most he says that such events resemble the kinds of punishments mentioned in scripture. He focuses on his own condition. He asks what sins he must repent of. What injustices he must correct. What compassion he must show. The event becomes a mirror in which he sees himself.

Further, the believer reads tragedy through the lens of the Hereafter. Ultimate justice and mercy are not exhausted in this short earthly life. Many wrongs appear unresolved in this world because their resolution belongs to another realm. Some die oppressed. Others die oppressors. Faith teaches that death is not the end. Once this perspective is internalized, the problem of suffering is reframed. The question is no longer why this person suffered. It becomes how this suffering will be weighed and transformed when Allah gathers all people and judges with perfect equity.

The Holy Prophet^(sa) described the condition of the believer in a famous hadith. He said that the affair of the believer is wondrous. All of his matter is good. If something pleasing occurs, he is grateful and that is good for him. If adversity strikes him, he is patient and that is good for him. Gratitude and patience thus become the believer’s twin responses to the whole range of experience. Joy does not lead to arrogance. Pain does not lead to despair. Both states become means of nearness to Allah. 

The Holy Qur’an crowns this vision with the declaration:

“He cannot be questioned as to what He does, but they will be questioned.” (Al Anbiya 21:24)

This is not a call to passive resignation or helplessness. It is a reminder of the radical difference between the Creator and the created. Human beings, with limited knowledge, are in no position to sit in judgment over Him. Our role is to use the guidance given, act justly, show mercy, and maintain trust even amid ruins.

In practical terms, when a disaster such as the major earthquake occurs, a Momin  holds several attitudes together. He feels deep sadness for the victims. He rushes to help with wealth, skill and prayer. He makes istighfar and reviews his own moral state. He reflects on the fragility of life and the certainty of death. He does not reduce the event to a single explanation like punishment or randomness. Instead, he recognizes that the calamity may be many things at once. For some it may be purification. For others a warning ignored. For yet others a moment of awakening that turns their hearts permanently to Allah.

In this way love and mercy of God are not denied by tragedy. They are sought and found within it. Both the act of tragedy and the act of rescue belong to Him. The believer’s reconciliation lies not in fully understanding every divine purpose. It lies in trusting the One whose wisdom embraces all outcomes, seen and unseen.