Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 253
Malfuzat - Volume I 253 if a snake is ever sighted in a certain home or house, people become frightened. Even if the snake is killed, people will not enter the home again when it is dark. This is a natural human instinct. It is astonishing that a person should know of an imminent danger to exist somewhere, and then for them to remain there in peace and comfort. Is it possible that death upon death should strike a certain home, and its residents continue to abide therein? Obviously, the residents would aban- don such a home themselves at once and will move away from it, deeming it to be unblessed. Had these people been left to their own designs and if the government had not intervened at all, these people still would have done what the govern- ment is undertaking now. The fact of the matter is that people are not fully aware of the seriousness of the plague; they consider it to be a common illness like the cold or catarrh. The Plague Is a Punishment Allah has named this illness rujz and punishment is also referred to as rujz. The lexicons state that rajazun is a disease in the camel's rump. A form of bacteria, re- ferred to in Arabic as naghafun, attacks the muscle. From this we learn a deep and subtle point. Since camels possesses somewhat of a rebellious nature, this dem- onstrates that when humans become rebellious they are afflicted by the painful punishment just mentioned. The lexicon states that rujz also refers to something which is continuous or lasting and the disease in discussion is also one which lasts for lengthy periods of time and leaves only after it has claimed the lives of entire households. This also demonstrates that the calamity of the plague wipes clean the homes of men, makes orphans out of children, and turns many a helpless woman into widows. Unhealthy Environments Give Rise to the Plague Upon reflecting over the meaning of the word rujz the cause of this disease also becomes clear. This illness is caused by filth and impurity. Places that are not properly cleaned, where the walls of homes are unkempt and resemble graves, where there is no light or ventilation, the noxious substance that is caused by filth takes birth, which results in the spread of this disease. The Holy Quran states: i. e. shun all forms of uncleanliness. The Arabic word hijr means to 1 al-Muddaththir, 74:6