Today after ‘Eid prayer I witnessed the Power of the Almighty – Allāhu Akbar wa lillāh il-Ḥamd!
وَقُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ ۚ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا
And say, “Truth has come, and falsehood has perished. verily falsehood is by its nature bound to perish.” [17:81]
Just an hour or so ago I just an amazing sight, I saw a 7.2 earthquake sent by Allah destroy a house of shirk before my very eyes!
We gathered in the morning to pray the ‘Eid prayer and at the end of the ‘Eid Khutbah the Imam was making duʿā’ and he said ‘Allāhumma dammir ash-shirk wal-mushrikīn’ (Oh Allah, destroy shirk and the polytheists) and we all said loudly ‘Āmīn!’ When the prayer finished I went with some others to go and get something to eat nearby.
As we were walking to the restaurant some beggars were selling candles and were trying to get me to buy them. I asked those with me why they were selling candles and they told me that it was so people could make ‘offerings’. I realised then that we were in front of a church and they were calling us to give offerings to their idols.. I was disgusted at seeing this, as any Muslim is when they see shirk. As we walked further I realised how big the church was, and those with me told me that it is the church of Santo Niño which is the most famous idol that is worshiped in the Philippines. I knew about this church, as it is a symbol of the Spanish crusaders who had come to fight the Muslims and they had given this idol to the Filipinos who worship it and have big ceremonies every year in which they pray to it.
I had always been repulsed by this church ever since I read about it, especially as it is the symbol of shirk and Christianity in the Philippines, and it stands on land that was ruled by Muslims before the Crusaders fought them and drove them down to Mindanao. As I passed by it I watched the mushrikīn entering it to go pray to their idol and I prayed in my heart that I would be able to destroy their idol and the house of kufr that holds it.
We went across the road to the restaurant and the whole time I was looking at the house of kufr wishing that I was able to destroy it. As we ate I felt the ground begin to shake, at first I ignored the tremors thinking it was just my imagination, however the shaking became more intense and everyone got up and were screaming trying to rush outside at the same time. I got up slowly and instantly began saying ‘Aʿudhu billāhi min ash-shayṭān ir-rajīm’ as I realised what was happening. We were calm and got up and started to walk outside as the roof was beginning to collapse and parts of it were falling on our tables. I felt an ease in my heart that I would not imagine I would feel in such a situation.. I knew that this was from Allah, and if it were my time to die then I could not escape it, so I began to praise Allah and was ready for whatever would come, and I calmed those with me making sure that they were not worried.
As we stepped outside I saw people running around screaming, it was hard to stand up and I was losing my balance as the earth below us shook by the command of Allah. Though my limbs shook, my heart was firm and thankful to Allah, as I think about what happened I cannot begin to describe the peace that I was feeling knowing that in a moment we might return to our Lord after having prayed to Him and glorified him with the jamāʿah of the Believers.
[subhanAllah, whilst I type this right now there are aftershocks and the ground is still shaking]
As I stood there in the street seeing the chaos around me I looked up towards the church and the moment I laid my eyes upon it I saw it begin to crumble! The bell tower fell apart and smashed into the road and the building began to shake and fall to pieces. The massive stone structure was struck by the Power of Allah and was torn apart and its stone was strewn all around us. When the people saw this they began to scream more intensely, however my instant reaction was to raise my hand and extend my pointer finger and proclaim loudly “Allāhu Akbar wa lillāh il-Ḥamd! Allāhu Akbar wa lillāh il-Ḥamd!!” (Allah is the greatest and all praise belongs to Him!) The house of kufr had been destroyed by the Almighty! The mushrikīn were crying and in chaos however we stood there proudly and thanked Allah for the Blessing that he had bestowed upon us, being able to see shirk demolished before our eyes! What a beautiful Eid gift it was indeed.
We began to walk away from the church not wanting to be hit by the large falling debris, and it was amazing that we saw the people around us and they were clearly divided into 2 categories. The mushrikīn were all crying and shouting, and the Muslims were all calm and did not show any fear at all. A 7 year old Muslim boy was there and he was not at all afraid, whilst the adult men of the mushrikīn cried like babies. This is the sakīnah that Allah places in the heart of a believer, that even in such times of calamity we are strong due to our faith and conviction in Allah.
When the ground had stopped shaking we went over to the church which had fallen apart in large sections and took some photos of it, still praising Allah as we stood there before it. The people began to gather as they stood there in shock at what had happened to the house of their idol. I did not want to miss this chance to wake them up and call them away from idol worship and to come to Tawḥīd. I stood in front of the ruins and said –
“O people, this is the fate of Christianity and those who follow it! Look at how Allah has destroyed the house of this idol, this is a sign for you to worship none but Him! Where is Santo Niño now? He could not even protect his self! Do not take him as a god besides Allah!”
One of the men began shouting “And where is your God?” So I told him, “My God is Allah, and He is the most powerful and has caused your false idol to be destroyed!” Most of them stood in silence with nothing to say in response, however some of them started to shout and curse in defence of their idol. Realising that it was not the time to fight we left them knowing that the damage had been done and they were the losers, hoping that they would wake up and see this sign and leave their false idols.
As we continued walking we saw a large group of Muslims who worked in the area. They were around the corner so did not realise that the church had fallen apart from the earthquake. I greeted them and told them what had happened, and showed them the photos of the destruction. They all began to shout ‘Allahu Akbar!’, and were praising Allah upon hearing the news that the house of the idol had been struck. I stayed and gave a short talk to them about the power of Allah and how Allah will protect the believers and grant us victory so long as we worship Him with sincerity. They all began to shout again ‘Allahu Akbar!’ about 30 of them all at the same time.
The city in which this occurred was the main city that sent troops to fight the Bangsamoro Mujahidīn in Zamboanga, only weeks ago. Most of the fighters came from this city and now look at what calamity has struck them! Their most famous church, the centre of shirk in the Philippines was struck by the Power of Allah!
I am thankful to Allah for protecting us and for having guided me away from the shirk that we saw and shown me the true path that leads to His Mercy. Truly this is a sign for those who believe.
إِن يَنصُرْكُمُ اللَّهُ فَلَا غَالِبَ لَكُمْ ۖ وَإِن يَخْذُلْكُمْ فَمَن ذَا الَّذِي يَنصُرُكُم مِّن بَعْدِهِ ۗ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
“If Allah should assist you, then none can defeat you. And if He forsakes you then who can assist you after Him? So let the believers put their trust in Allah.” [3:160]
*As a note for those asking, I am already out of the city. I was only visiting for Eid and am out now and safe.
The Muslim Independent 