Mufti Menk – What happened in Turkiye is NOT the punishment of Allah

			Salam Alaikum, Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh, my brothers, my sisters,
		

			you and I know what happened in Turkey, Syria and a few of the other places few other countries were
affected as well.
		

			I want to start off by saying that those who say that this is a punishment of Allah, they have
absolutely no right, no authority from Allah Almighty to declare that there are so many innocent
souls who have lost their lives, children, widows, those who are who have struggled and suffered all
these years, men and women. And you cannot, you cannot just declare that this is the punishment of
Allah. In fact, a person who dies in this type of an earthquake would actually be considered a
martyr,
		

			in rank in the eyes of Allah subhanho wa taala. So it's very dangerous to make those statements. We
are saddened by what has happened. And this is, from what I see one of the worst that I've known in
my life.
		

			May Allah Almighty truly granted the alleviation to those who are struggling at the moment, I want
to quickly tell you that, at Abdullah aid, we've managed to send a planeload of aid through various
channels and Alhamdulillah. It has gotten to the destination. I have posted a few pictures of when
it was leaving, Amman, Jordan.
		

			And I will post a few videos and that shortly. But my brothers and sisters,
		

			what was required in the initial hours and still is required experts in rescuing those who are stuck
under the rubble. So for people like you and I, to go there, and you know, to try and help with
food, medicine, water, and so on in the initial days, they wanted us to back off a little bit in
order to make way for those who are professionals in rescuing people from rubble. And as time
passes, slowly, but surely, they are opening up to everyone else as well. But it's very important
that only relief workers and those who are seriously going to be helping out. As well as families of
those who are stuck like there are so many people across Europe whose and not just Europe, but
		

			across the world. A lot of people have Turkish origin and people who have loved ones there. They are
affected because their families are affected. So for them to go as well.
		

			It's very cold, it's icy weather. With that rescue operations people, a lot of survivors, many have
lost their lives. It's a very sad scenario. So the assistance that you and I can render is that of
food, blankets, water medication. That's the most important thing for now. As well as some warm
clothing, you know, there are going to be makeshift tents that we would have to put up already there
their makeshift tents for people to stay even though the weather is freezing. So it's really a tough
situation.
		

			I was very saddened by some Muslims saying no, this is the punishment of Allah. That is
unacceptable. You can't say that. And if you if you have said it, you know, you need to seek the
forgiveness of Allah Almighty because any calamity, anything that strikes, there are so many people
who were so close to Allah Almighty who was struck by the same. You cannot say that that was a
punishment. In fact, they returned to Allah as martyrs. And then there may have been some people who
must who might have been within the disobedience of the Almighty and so on. For them. It's a
different scenario. But nonetheless, whenever a calamity of this nature strikes, we must give people
		

			hope. We must reach out to them, we must make sure that we've done something tremendous for them to
the best of our ability. If you notice, each time there is a disaster, the next disaster seems to
eclipse the previous one in magnitude. And that's something worth noting because as time is passing,
it's becoming even worse. So we ask Allah Almighty to help us to guide us.
		

			And may Allah Almighty grant us ease and goodness, I'm seeing some of the comments here. It is
heartbreaking indeed. And people from across the globe
		

			are
		

			rendering a lot of assistance. You know, millions of dollars have actually come in. And I'm sure
there are so many legitimate bodies and organizations and charities that are carrying out the work.
Please make sure when you do donate, you give someone you trust. Because we wouldn't like them to be
scammed. We wouldn't like them to scam us either. The aid needs to get to the recipients by the will
of Allah subhanaw taala. And yes, indeed, it's not only in Turkey, although Turkey has been affected
the most, but other countries have been affected as well. You know, Syria, Lebanon, as far as Greece
and Egypt. You know, it's it's really mine. It's humongous, it's big.
		

			We ask Allah Almighty to protect all of us. And to make it easy. Someone says, Can you comment on
your post about this being the signs of the end of times, I wouldn't like to say this is the sign of
the End of Times, there have been 100 years back and even before that, there have been huge
earthquakes humongous ones far bigger than this as well. If you if you recall, and if you've
studied, you see, the huge
		

			geographical,
		

			you know, the geographical locations of the continents. Before it was actually
		

			almost one and or two, and then it's split into three and four. Those were huge, huge earthquakes,
and the huge tremors and whatever else it might have been. But indeed we are the closest to the end
of times than any other human being. That's fact because we're in the latest of the time how close
or far
		

			the day the Lord the final time is, is known by Allah.
		

			Allah says in Nomura Oh, no, but Eden or Nara who Caribbean, you know, we, they see it far we see it
near it's a matter of time. So for you and I, we need to turn to the Almighty, in our own
correction, in our own
		

			betterment in our own repentance. We need to turn to Allah and at the same time, reach out to
everyone that you can in this particular issue. Now,
		

			that having been said, my brothers, my sisters, remember, whenever there is a sad moment for others
don't show and express your happiness, no matter who they are, don't express happiness at the loss
or the sadness of another person, no matter who they are, may Allah Almighty grant us the ability to
be steadfast. And inshallah we will continue to give you updates. Like I say, I've been working with
Abdullah a but there's so many other charities in fact, we're having a unity appeal where many
charities have come together in order to try and get this coordinated and done in the best possible
way. And I just want to congratulate all those who've assisted who have contributed. And at the same
		

			time, those who have gone out there some who've actually made it all the way to where this has
happened. And mashallah, they are doing tremendous work with us two are not there in person yet, but
Alhamdulillah the teams are there working, distributing the much needed aid, like we said, the food,
clothing, the blankets,
		

			and the water and so on, you know, fresh water. Similarly, medication, and a lot of this is needed.
And also congratulations to the rescue teams, those who are rescuing Allah who we pray for them.
It's not it's not easy to you need to know how to rescue people from under the rubbles. And you need
to be dedicated, it's very hard work, you need to be fit, you need to have food and drink as well.
And you know, it's very strenuous. So may Allah bless everyone, every one of those who are doing
something about it, this has affected the globe. Everyone everywhere has relatives and families who
are affected by this. So may Allah subhanho wa Taala grant is Salam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa
		

			barakato.