Land slide in Setiawangsa

A public announcement by Syeikh Afeefudden regarding his collapsed house in Puncak Setiawangsa

 

As salamu 'alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

 Dear brothers and sisters.

Allah subhana wa ta'ala says in the Holy Quran:

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَش...ِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ. الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ. أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ.

"We shall certainly test you by afflicting you with fear, hunger, loss of properties and lives and fruits. Give glad tidings, then, to those who remain patient, those who when any affliction touches them, they say: "Verily, we belong to Allah, and it is to Him that we are destined to return. Upon them will be the blessings and mercy of their Lord, and it is they who are rightly guided." (Surah Baqarah, Chapter 2, Verses 155 to 157)

Alhamdulillah, we have experienced a test which affected our house but not our health nor our souls. After I had noticed pre-cracks on Thursday evening, I asked a friend of mine, who is a civil engineer, to give his assessment on the condition of my house. He advised me to call DBKL to investigate as the crack appeared on the slope of the hill above which my house is located. On Friday, the next day, the cracks increased and the DBKL team that came to inspect the condition advised me that the situation was critical and that I had to evacuate the house. Alhamdulillah, we managed to leave the house after Solat Jumat, at around 3pm.

Around 10 pm, after delivering my lesson (Tazkirah) at Masjid Baitul Aman, my house guards called me and informed me that the back part of the house had collapsed.

Upon hearing this, I immediately said:
لا حول ولا قوّة إلا بالله العلي العظيم، حسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل. اللهم أجرني في مصيبتي وأخلف لي خيرا منها. الحمد لله على كل حال.

There is no might nor strength except with Allah. Sufficient is Allah for us and He is the best disposer of affairs. O Allah, reward me for that which has afflicted me and give me a replacement better than it. Praise belongs to Allah in all conditions. (Hadith as narrated by Imam Ahmed)

With God's grace, my heart has remained calm and unaffected after receiving the news, for I have the deepest conviction that Allah with His infinite mercy and wisdom knows best.

I recalled an incident that affected a companion of the Holy Prophet (Blessings and salutations of Allah be upon him) who had his leg amputated in the morning due to an infection and lost his son in the late afternoon. When the people came to offer condolences to him (ta'ziyah) in the evening, they were shocked by his cheerful and calm state. He said to them, "Praise be to Allah. He has given me two arms and two legs and has taken just one of them. He has given me six sons and taken away only one of them after all these years of enjoying his company."

Our beloved Prophet, in fact all prophets and messengers, were tested with trials and tribulations far greater than that which we have ever experienced. Those trials were some of the reasons for them to be raised in spiritual degrees and proximity to Allah; for the real test of faith lies in facing trials and our reaction to them. May Allah bless us as He blessed those chosen men of God with patience, blessings and proximity to Him.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank all those who have called me, sent me messages through text messages, e-mails, Facebook, Twitter and all other means as well as those who visited me to offer their support and share their concern for this unfortunate incident that has also affected many others. I pray that Allah rewards them for their concern and prayers.

May this incident be reason for us to reflect upon the many verses in the Holy Quran that talk about the fleeting nature of this world and the following verse in the chapter 'Ar Rahman': "All on the face of the earth shall perish and only the countenance of the possessor of glory and honour (Allah) shall abide forever." Surah Ar-Rahman, Chapter 55, Verses 26 to 27

Afeefuddin Al-Jailani