Page 100 - The Truth of the Life of This World

A Lesson from History: The Titanic
History abounds with cases of people relying on technological break-
throughs and totally disregarding the might of Allah. That is exactly why
many disasters have gone down in history as painful lessons for everyone.
Each one of these events is important in the sense that it reminds man that
neither wealth nor power, science nor technology has any power to resist
the will of Allah.
Numerous examples of such incidents can be given. The best known is
the famous Titanic, a huge ocean liner 55 meters in height and 275 meters
in length, which sank nearly ninety years ago. The Titanic, intended to be
an "assault on nature", was a grand project that employed a team of engi-
neers and as many as five thousand people. Almost everybody was
absolutely convinced that this ship would never sink. The ocean liner was
a masterpiece of technology with many engineering advances that pushed
back the limits of its day. Yet those who relied on the technical prowess
of the ship did not take into consideration one important fact stated in the
verse "The command of Allah is a decree that is made absolute" (Surat al-
Ahzab 38) and that everyone will sooner or later meet his fate. Eventually,
a minor failure led to the sinking of the ship and advanced technology
could not save the Titanic from her bitter end.
From what the survivors of Titanic related, the majority of her passen-
gers gathered on the deck to pray when they realised the ship was about
to sink. In many sections of the Qur'an, this tendency of human behaviour
is repeated. In times of serious trouble and danger, man sincerely prays
and seeks the help of his Creator. However, when delivered from danger,
they immediately turn away in ungratefulness:
Your Lord is He that made the ship go smoothly for you through the sea, in
order that you may seek of his bounty. For He is unto you most Merciful.
When distress seizes you at sea, those that you call upon – beside Him –
leave you in the lurch! But when He brings you back safe to land, you turn
away (from Him). Most ungrateful is man! Do you then feel secure that He
will not cause you to be swallowed up beneath the earth when you are on
land, or that He will not send against you a violent tornado (with showers of
stones) so that you shall find no-one to carry out your affairs for you? Or do

98 Natural Hazards and Disasters