These days we are facing a problem which is perhaps the greatest crisis of history. This is the issue of coronavirus. The issue of coronavirus has struck humanity not so that we begin to speak negatively of the situation. Rather, we should call out to our Creator, the Lord of the worlds, who has created all of us. The Quran says: “I created the jinn and mankind only so that they might worship Me.” (51:56) The coronavirus crisis has come to awaken this spirit in us. This crisis is not meant as a punishment. It does not herald the coming of the Day of Judgment nor is it meant for our destruction. Rather it is meant for us to remember God, call out to God. According to a hadith, I can say that God has come very near to man now. This is so that people call out to God and that He may answer them.
This moment is not for blaming someone or speaking negatively. Rather, the whole world, all people, should come together to call out to their Lord. When all humanity calls out to their Lord, it would not be so that God would refuse to answer them. This is not possible. I believe that now we have to do two things: first, we should follow the advice of the people on the crisis front, that is, the people from the government and doctors. Second, we must fall down before God in His remembrance. We need to follow the guidelines of the government and the doctors, because they are experts on this matter. We must observe the guidelines given by them. Second, we must call out to our Lord. We must remember God Almighty. When a person calls out to his Creator, He definitely answers him. It is not possible that when man calls out to his Lord, He would not respond.
I pray to God Almighty to have mercy on His helpless servants, to have mercy on His people whom He has created. This moment is to awaken the spirit of servitude in us. This moment is for a person, who had forgotten his Lord, to again remember Him.
These days I often say a prayer: “Ya hayyu ya qayyum, bi-rahmatika astagith.” This means: “O Living God, O Sustaining God, in your mercy we seek help.” I have witnessed a scene in my life, in the year 1940. In that period, I was in Sarai Mir in UP. There was a great drought in that period. There were no rains and all people were very troubled. In those times we had an Ustad, Maulana Sayyid Sb, whom people venerated a lot. At the insistence of people, he went out to a field with some persons. He prayed to God with outstretched hands: “O God, Your servants are thirsty! Will You not pour down rain upon them?” I too was present in this gathering. We all read two units of prayer afterwards and returned to Sarai Mir. When we had left for the field, it was all dry around us, but while we were returning, it had started raining. We had started our journey amidst dryness, but on our return journey our clothes had become wet. This happened right before my eyes in the year 1940.
I pray to God: “O Lord, O Merciful God, O Creator, have mercy on us! Bring an end to this crisis. Take this difficulty away from us. Have mercy on us. Have mercy on those whom You have created. They are waiting for Your mercy. O God, we are helpless. We cannot do anything without Your help. Have mercy on us. Take this crisis and difficulty away from us. O Noble God, have mercy on us. O God, Your Messenger had said: ‘Ya hayyu ya qayyum, bi-rahmatika astagith.’ I will repeat this. ‘Ya hayyu ya qayyum, bi-rahmatika astagith.’”
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