And if Allah should touch you with adversity, there is no remover of it except Him; and if He intends for you

good, then there is no repeller of His bounty. He causes it to reach whom He wills of His servants. And He is the Forgiving, the Merciful [Yunus 10:107] - Last week, we were discussing the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Sandy. I just read this morning that Governor Cuomo said in a statement that New Yorks estimated loss is $33bn! Yes, brothers and sisters, just NY state alone! All in all, its cost $50bnthat just goes to show you the Power of Allah! - Anyways we have to understand WHY such events happenNatural disasters have been explained differently by various people according to their understanding. For example, atheists will give you scientific reasons The Earth is like this and the wind was blowing this way etc. Environmentalists will say its because of what were doing to the environment, and the Earth is balancing it out, etc. Some religious people will say it is Divine Punishment. - I know I spoke about what the Islamic Perspective is but I wanted to expand it a little. I read a Note by an Imam from Sacramento and this is what he had to say: - Natural disasters affect three groups of people the deceased, the survivors, the spectators 1) deceased the time and place and manner of death has already been decreed by Allah. Some die in their sleep, some because of cancer, some because of car accident, and some by an earthquake. 2) the survivors and spectators- it is a test from Allah, a means of getting closer to Allah and a means of getting closer to one another.

And when affliction touches man, he calls upon Us, whether lying on his side or sitting or standing [Yunus 10:12] - You know theres an English proverb: There are no atheists in foxholesin light of the Quran this may very well be true. - Its been recorded and reported that during the Holocaust, when Hitler was persecuting the Jews, Muslims helped and hid their Jewish [cousins] in their homes! ICNA Relief has launched a campaign that costs $1mil called the Muslim Response to Hurricane Sandy Survivors (MRTS) Campaign.

- My brothers and sisters, this is what we should be doing; Praying for the people affected by Sandy. - We need to get out of this mentality that Ill only do something if the Muslims are involvedAllah says in the Quran:

You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind [al Baqarah 3:110] Dua for when you see heavy clouds:

"O Allah I seek refuge in You from the evil of what has been sent. O Allah, give us beneficial rain".

Dua for heavy rain:

"O Allah, let it rain around us and not on us. O Allah, let it rain on the peaks and mountains and the rivers and at the forests".

- On a lighter note, I remember one time I was working outside with a muslim brother and it began to rain. We read the dua and it rained even harderI guess we were near a forest. Dua for heavy wind:

When there is a heavy wind, sit in the position of attahiyat and recite:

"O Allah, let it be a mercy and not a punishment. O Allah make it a beneficial and not a destructive wind". (Mishkat) - Hadith of Bukhari reported by Abu Hurairah ' The Day of Judgment will not occur until a fire erupts from Hijaz, it will illuminate the necks of the camels of Boossra (NOT BASRAH).' Now, remember the Prophet left this dunya in the year 632 A.D. Over 600 years later, 1256 to be exact, Earthquakes occurred just outside of Medina, which caused fire to erupt (volcanic explosion). * EVERYBODY RUSHED TO MASJID TO PRAY TO ALLAH [in our day and age we want to get up close, record, take pictures]. The ruler of that time freed slaves. People broke musical instruments, broke bottles of wine. Lava was headed exactly towards masjid Nabawi, just a short distance before Medina (4km) it completely turned direction!!! The most amazing thing is that the lava began flowing uphill! A non-Muslim was asked how could this have happened. You know what his reply was, Theres no scientific explanation for this. Its sad that the people of that time prayed, well their prayers got answered. DUA IS POWERFUL. Shepperds in Boosra (Syria) described that they could see the necks of their camels. Harrat Rahat is what the area is now known as.

And never be of those who deny the signs of Allah and [thus] be among the losers.[Yunus 10:95]