Lessons from the Tragedy of Flight MH370 (1)

Introduction

Alhamdulillah… All praises and thanks are due to Almighty Allah, Who created death and life, to test us as to who among us, is best in deed. May His Peace and Blessings be upon Habibi Muhammad, his household, companions and all those who follow his guided path.

The day the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 went missing (8/3/2014) will remain a sad day indeed. The missing flight left Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian and was bound for Beijing, China. On 24/3/2014 at 2200hrs, after sixteen days of searching in all locations, where the flight might have possibly ended, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that flight #MH370 is officially lost in the Indian Oceans and there were no survivors.

As a frequent traveller, this tragic incident came as a big shock and terrifying. It therefore reminded me to review how I prepare myself before I embark any journey. Thus, this article comes as part 1 of a series of articles in which I extract some reflections and lessons from the tragedy. Reflections and lessons presented here are all based on the information officially released by the Malaysian government, which (up till now) continues to investigate cause of the tragedy.

Let's begin with condolences to the families of the lost souls…

Condolences

Allah states in the Qur'an, Surah Luqman, 31:34:

وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَّاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا، وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ

It means, “No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die.”

We pray that He bestows His Mercy and grant His Forgiveness upon any lost soul, which passed in this tragedy as Muslim. We also pray that He grants patience to the family members of all the souls lost in the tragedy.

Could the Crash Been Prevented?

According to the online edition of Today Newspaper, “Malaysia Airlines has established a record as one of the Asia-Pacific’s best full-service carriers in terms of safety and service.” This good record in safety couldn’t prevent the worst from happening. More than 24 countries are still conducting a collective search (and rescue) but have failed to locate neither the flight nor its debris for almost three weeks now. We all know that the most advanced technology is being used in the process.

We are certain about death. Yet, death is the least we prepare ourselves for. We assume death to warn us before its arrival. This is despite our confirmed knowledge that death comes without warning, and that when it comes, no one is given extra time to live or dies ahead of his time.

فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهُمْ لَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً، وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ

It means, “…and when [the end of] their term approaches, they can neither delay it by a single moment, nor can they advance it.” [Surah Al-A’raaf, 7:34].

One may ask; could the crash been avoided? Sadly, the answer is no. No one can prevent what God has destined from happening. Thus, the crash couldn’t have been avoided by any means. If someone on board of the flight was meant to meet death at the time the flight ended its journey (crashed), and happened to have missed the flight, the person must have still died, at the same time that the flight ended its journey, even if he was on his bed, or in a different circumstance.

I believe that any passenger, who was not destined to be part of the missing flight, could not board the flight, even if he has made bookings to take that flight. It’s worth mentioning that, according to the Malaysian authorities, no passenger failed to board the plane after a boarding pass was issued to him or her.

We agree that the incident couldn’t have been avoided. But this will not discourage us from travelling in the future. Any of us may experience a similar situation (may God forbid) in future. Whether this may happen or not, what are some of the etiquettes of travelling we are supposed observe as Muslims?

Some Etiquettes of Travelling as Muslims

As the life of every Muslim is for God, all our activities are encouraged to be devout. This includes our journeys and how we plan and prepare for them. The etiquettes mentioned here are applicable in all types of long journeys.

We are encouraged in the Sunnah to perform two Raka'ahs, immediately before leaving home, to start our trips. This should be the last thing to we do before leaving.

Once we step outside of the house, we recite the du’a of going out of our homes, which is:

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ، تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ، وَلاحَوْلَ وَلا قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِاللَّهِ. اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ أَنْ أَضِلَّ أَوْ أُضَلَّ، أَوْ أَزِلَّ أَوْ أُزَلَّ، أَوْ أَظْلِمَ أَوْ أُظلَمَ، أَوْ أَجْهَلَ أَوْ يُجْهَلَ عَلَيَّ

It means, “In the name of Allah, I place my trust in Allah, and there is no might nor power except with Allah. O Allah, I take refuge with You lest I should stray or be led astray, or slip or be tripped, or oppress or be oppressed, or behave foolishly or be treated foolishly.”

When we board our vehicle, it’s Sunnah to recite the du’a of riding vehicles, which is:

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ، سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي سَخَّرَ لَنَا هَذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لَهُ مُقْرِنِينَ، وَإِنَّا إِلَى رَبِّنَا لَمُنْقَلِبُونَ

It means, “In the name of Allah… Glorified is He, the One Who has placed this (transport) at our service, and we ourselves would not have been capable of that, and to our Lord is our final destiny.”

Next, once our vehicle (flight, car/bus, bike or animal) moves, we should recite the du’a of voyage, which is:

اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ.. اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ.. اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ. سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي سَخَّرَ لَنَا هَـذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لَهُ مُقْرِنِينَ. وَإِنَّا إِلَى رَبِّنَا لَمُنْقَلِبُونَ. اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ فِي سَفَرِنَا هَـذَا الْبِرَّ وَالتَّقْوَى . وَمِنَ الْعَمَلِ مَا تَرْضَى . اللَّهُمَّ هَوِّنْ عَلَيْنَا سَفَرَنَا هَـذَا. وَاطْوِ عَنَّا بُعْدَهُ. اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ الصَّاحِبُ فِي السَّفَرِ. وَالْخَلِيفَةُ فِي الأَهْلِ. اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ وَعْثَاءِ السَّفَرِ، وَكَآبَةِ الْمَنْظَرِ، وَسُوءِ الْمُنْقَلَبِ، فِي الْمَالِ وَالأَهْلِ

It means, “Allah is the Greatest… Allah is the Greatest… Allah is the Greatest. Glorified is He, the One Who has placed this (transport) at our service, and we ourselves would not have been capable of that, and to our Lord is our final destiny. O Allah, we ask You for birr and taqwaa, in this journey of ours, and we ask You for deeds which please You. O Allah, facilitate our journey and let us cover its distance quickly. O Allah, You are the Companion on the journey and The Successor over the family, O Allah I take refuge with You from the difficulties of travel, from having a change of hearts and being in a bad predicament, and I take refuge in You from an ill-fated outcome with wealth and family.”

When we are on our way returning, we say the above, and add the following:

آيِبُونَ، تَائِبُونَ، عَابِدُونَ، لِرَبِّنَا حَامِدُونَ

“We return… We repent… We worship… And we praise our Lord.”

Observing these etiquettes may not prevent us from facing ordained challenging situations in our trips, but it strengthens our belief (Iman) and mental state, in a way that, no matter how challenging a situation can be, we face and accept it with contentment and satisfaction. We accept it as from God and carry on. With that we are rewarded and granted good life here and in the Hereafter.

The Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu ‘alaihi wasallam, said in a Hadeeth reported by Imam Muslim:

عَجَباً لأَمْرِ المُؤْمِنِ، إِنَّ أَمْرَهُ كُلَّهُ لَهُ خَيْرٌ، وَلَيْسَ ذَلِكَ إِلا لِلْمُؤْمِنِ. إِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْراً لَهُ. وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ ضَرَّاءُ صَبَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْراً لَه

It means, “Amazing is the affair of the believer (Mu'min). Verily, all of his affair is good–and this is not for no one except the believer. If something of good/happiness befalls him he is grateful and that is good for him. If something of harm befalls him he is patient and that is good for him.”

This state of spiritual closeness to God is achieved with constant remembrance (Dhikr/Zikr). And this is what the etiquettes of travelling (mentioned in this article) based on the teachings of the Prophet are all about.

Conclusion

We can’t avoid future plane crashes or road accidents, when they are destined to occur. But we can do our part, to meet God with better preparation, should we happen to involved in it.

In the next part of this series, we’ll discuss another lesson and reflection from the tragedy of flight  #MH370, insha Allah. What lessons have you reflected on so far? Do you mind sharing with us? If no (and I’m sure you don’t mind), please share it with us in the comment area below.

Allah knows best.

Allahu Hafiz 🙂