Tom Facchine – Are Wildfires a Punishment from Allah

AI: Summary ©
The conversation discusses the potential risks of forest fires and the need for individuals to take initiative in addressing them. They also discuss the responsibility of municipalities and governments to improve society and advocate for a new framework for living life. The speakers emphasize the importance of community involvement in addressing issues and making changes for oneself.
AI: Summary ©
Fear and concern is growing tonight as flames
light up the Los Angeles hillside.
With the California fire still raging, it's something
that obviously is on a lot of people's
minds.
We've seen mosques burn to the ground, a
lot of people's homes have burned to the
ground, and it's a terrible tragedy.
Now, there's a lot of different dimensions to
this, and it's important to go over some
of them because, you know, you get people
that want to jump in and say this
is a lot of punishment, and you know,
there's individuals who might have done certain things
in the past that we might get very,
very happy and gleeful at their downfall.
And there might be some degrees to which
that's valid, but I think in SOF, you
know, being well rounded about it and being
mature about it, we have to recognize holistically
all the different dimensions to that.
So one of them, I mean, is something
that I have not seen a lot of
people talk about, at least in mainstream circles,
which is unecological nature with which we build
housing in America.
Now, I know that's not a very popular
topic, but there are ecosystems in the country
where forest fire is a natural part of
the cycle where the ground regenerates.
Being from southern New Jersey, the Pine Barrens
are like that.
I know there's places up in Oregon like
that.
I know a lot of places in California
are like that.
And many Native Americans in different areas like
this, they actually practiced controlled burning because that
was just part of the natural cycle.
Now, what happens is with the way that
we do urban planning, we just continuously sprawl
and expand and sprawl and expand and sprawl
and expand.
And you've got people building houses and leveling
earth, leveling, you know, land from trees and
everything to build homes in places that those
fires are part of the natural cycles.
And we do things to try to keep
those fires at bay.
But it seems that the more we try
to keep those fires at bay, they just
get bigger and bigger and more dramatic.
Maybe we delay it for a little bit,
but it comes back around again.
Allah's creation is undefeated.
This is just a structural thing.
And I think that it is important that
we talk about the structural elements as well
as the individual elements that we need an
intelligent and respectful philosophy when it comes to
where we build our homes and how we
build our homes.
And I think that as Muslims, as people
who are supposed to be conscientious of nature
and the sunnah of Allah, nature's cycles that
Allah subhana wa ta'ala has put in
the creation, I think that's something that would
be wonderful.
We don't think in the enlightenment tradition that
we are masters over nature and we torture
nature for its secrets and we just are
here to dominate nature.
And that's not going to work.
We don't believe in that.
So I would like to see Muslims actually
contribute to this contribution of sustainable housing and
intelligent urban design.
And I don't see a lot of people
talking about that.
So I hope that we can add something
to that conversation.
The other aspect is that, OK, anything that
happens can be a punishment from Allah subhana
wa ta'ala.
It can also be a test from Allah
subhana wa ta'ala.
It's both at the same time.
And you're not safe from it.
Right.
So even in a place like in the
east coast, like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, this year,
there was a water shortage.
And this is a place where it doesn't
often have risk of forest fires.
But there were there were wildfires and there
was a risk because things had gotten so
dry.
So don't ever think that you're safe.
Don't gloat to the point where you think,
oh, you know, these rich Hollywood snobs are
finally losing their third vacation home.
It's like even if you're right, the same
thing can happen to you.
And there are statements of the setup saying
that, you know, we've never criticized somebody with
a certain flaw, except that we've seen it
come back around and happen to us.
Or as they say, what goes around comes
around.
So just know that.
Just be careful.
Just be careful with that.
The other dimension to it is that we
have a responsibility to ensure that our municipalities
and our governments are spending resources wisely.
There's a lot of talk going on about
the L.A. Fire Department and budget cuts
and things that were taken, money that was
missing or mismanagement.
Now, I know just from studying the numbers
over this past 12 to 14 months that
most Muslims aren't involved in civic engagement and
they're not looking into city government and they
don't really know who's on their city council
or what they do or things like that.
Well, if righteous, God-fearing people don't pay
attention to this stuff and make sure that
corruption and graft doesn't happen, then what do
you think is going to happen?
You're going to see all sorts of nonsense
in the government at the local level, at
the state level, at the federal level.
So I do believe that Muslims need to
take more initiative when it comes to being
involved in these conversations to demand better and
to try to keep elected officials accountable and
to push policies that make sense for everybody.
We as Muslims are supposed to contribute to
society.
We believe that we have something special.
We believe that Allah gave us something special
and it would be selfish if we didn't
share that with other people.
And that is not just about tawheed.
It's not just about the Qur'an.
It's not just about the messengership of the
Prophet ﷺ.
It's also about the content of that guidance
when it comes to how to live justly,
how to live rightly, how to exist in
a space that's deferent and respectful to your
creator and also taking full measure to be
just to the people and the plants and
the trees and the ecosystem around you.
That's part of our responsibility.
And the final thing is that everything's an
opportunity.
Right now, whenever there is a need, whenever
there is a calamity, if Muslims are on
the ground helping, then that is something that
is part of dawah as well.
Even if they're evil celebrities?
Yes, even if they're evil celebrities.
By the way, people are losing their homes
that are normal people that are not just
evil celebrities.
But I'm saying even if we're all just
evil celebrities losing their third vacation homes in
Beverly Hills or Hollywood, then even then, if
Muslims get involved to try to alleviate the
situation or to help out, then this is
dawah.
And sometimes it's when people are most vulnerable
that they are most open to seeing a
new framework and a new way of life.
And considering making a change for themselves.