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Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear brother, thanks a lot for your question, which shows your eagerness to understand the teachings of Islam. May Allah alleviate the suffering of the victims and reward those who hurry to aid them.
Earthquakes are signs of Allah. People should reflect over these signs and return back to their Creator, the All-Powerful, the All-Merciful: (We will show them Our Signs in the universe, and in their own selves, until it becomes manifest to them that this (the Qur’an) is the truth. Is it not sufficient in regard to your Lord that He is a Witness over all things?) (Fussilat 41:53).
Therefore, it's our duty to repent to Allah, to seek His forgiveness, to do good, to avoid the prohibited, and not to gloat over the misfortunes of people. Rather, a Muslim in such times of crises should hurry to help and aid the suffering victims.
In his response to your question, Sheikh Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Ash-Shanqiti, Director of the Islamic Center of South Plains, Lubbock, Texas, states:
Earthquakes are signs of Allah's might. They may take place as a punishment for the sinners, or as a message to awaken those who neglect their religious duties, or as a test of the believers' faith. We do not know the divine wisdom behind each earthquake except that which was revealed to us (in the Qur'an or Sunnah) in this regard, such as the earthquake that shook the people of Prophet Lut (peace and blessings be upon him) due to their indulgence in the sin of homosexuality and their refusal of faith.
As for the earthquake and tsunami that have struck southern Asia recently, whatever is the divine wisdom behind their occurrence, we should not gloat over the misfortunes they caused to the Asian people. On the contrary, Islam requires Muslims in this situation to help the afflicted people among them, be they Muslims or non-Muslims. Muslims are also required to reflect on others' misfortunes and praise Almighty Allah that He has spared them being afflicted with similar calamities.
Relating the misfortunes that take place to some sinful people to their deserving punishment for the sins they commit is a thoroughly mistaken view. Muslims who hold such an opinion should review their attitude in this respect. Hence, when a sinful person is sick with a disease, for instance, it should not be said that he deserves this because of his sins. Refusing to help him in this situation is considered a negligence of one's religious duty towards one's fellow people. Rather, one is required here to help the suffering person, not to gloat over his suffering.
Moreover, gloating over sinful people's misfortunes implies boasting and admiring one’s own deeds. It is as if one says ''I am better than those people; they got hit with misfortunes because they deserve them, while nothing of the kind has hit me."
In fact, if we all contemplated our own sins and mistakes, we would find that we deserve punishment any way, and that but for Almighty Allah's mercy to us and His deferring the punishment and reward (until the Day of Judgment), He Almighty would have destroyed us in this world. He Almighty says: (If Allah took mankind to task by that which they deserve, He would not leave a living creature on the surface of the earth) (Fatir 35:45).
Hence, we are to be mindful of Almighty Allah, help the distressed and afflicted, and seek repentance every now and then before it is too late. You can also read:
Earthquakes: Allah’s Punishments or Signs?
Why There Are So Many Earthquakes
Why Does Allah Allow Suffering and Evil in the World?
Paying Zakah to South Asian Quake Victims
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