Pathogens as Paradigm

Pathogens are unwanted entities that threaten our life and well being. Their prosperity means our peril, and our prosperity means their peril. So, we are in a zero sum game with the pathogens. Yet, they exist! Like it or not, we must live a life of balance with them, in which the victory changes sides through the time. When one side beats the other, other one improves its weapons and gets back to beat the first. But this is not what I want to talk about in this blog. What I want to discuss is how we can use this story to understand some aspects of the interactions among people and make sense of their relationship to God.

"And when We intend to destroy a city, We command its folk who live at ease and afterward they commit abomination therein; so the word proves true against it, and We destroy it with [complete] destruction." (17/16)

This verse from the Quran has drawn some questions due to the presence of the verb command, which implies that as if God is ordering some people to commit evil. Accordingly, if you look at the several translations of this verse, the translators interject their interpretations to avoid any misunderstandings. However, the original text is there, and it is not how they say it is. Nevertheless, in this blog, since my intention is other than resolving this issue, I am going to suffice with saying that in fact the answer to this matter carries the answer to few other important and controversial issues, as well. But that is the topic of another blog. 

Let's return to our original discussion. I started with pathogens but then quoted a verse about the destruction of a city due to the presence of excess evil in it. And I am claiming that I am going to use the pathogens as a paradigm to bring a new understanding to the relationship between humans and God. Don't these look like discrete topics?

Before I get into the discussion, let me share a quick note. While reading the lines below, I know several questions are going to flood your mind, and you may have answers to some of them but not necessarily to all. As I said, I am going to write this blog to make a new point, but if you drop your questions below, I can certainly try to address those as much as I can.

Let's start with an easy and well-known picture. Pathogens secrete chemicals that can upset and even block the working of our bodies. So, when our immune system cannot detect and control the spread of a pathogen on time, it reproduces and reaches a critical population level at which our body cannot maintain its functioning. And death becomes more and more imminent as things continue this way. The death of the body also means death for the pathogen, because their host cannot anymore provide the vital materials to them. As a result, biological recycling agents come to the scene, and they break apart the body in chunks or they digest it at micro level.

If we think of the society as a body, the pathogens would be the people who commit actions for their own interest while endangering the well being of the society. The security forces and the justice system of that society are like the immune system, and if they fail to detect and correct this situation in time, evil acts increase in number and size. All demographic signs of health for the society point down. Soon, the society engages in a fight within itself and it disintegrates. Consequently, external entities get involved in one way or another, and before you know it, the society has lost its independence economically, politically and intellectually.

The analogy above regarding the pathogens and the evil committing people is not new. But, let's now expand our model to include the relationship between people and God. In order to do this, we are going to look at the above depiction at two different layers: indiviudal and social. And we are going to make our observations using perceptions of different wave lengths.

Looking at the picture at the social level, we see a law of nature at work. Just like the body cannot survive with the pathogens at loose, the society cannot sustain with evil doers holding authority and power. Beyond this picture, we know that it is God who executes the laws, so in turn, it is God who is turning the gears of this mechanism. However, this kind of understanding of God does not explain everything, because it only reflects the picture through certain names of God, such as One who puts an order and executes it, One who is all high and above, One who governs. To see a bigger picture of things, we need to look at the events through the lense of other names of God, too. 

But they called him a liar and slaughtered her, therefore their Lord crushed them for their sin and levelled them (with the ground). And He does not fear the consequence thereof. (91/14-15)

The first analysis we made above lacks the closeness of God, because it shows a picture in which God does what He does without a regard for who or what. This is not a wrong or misleading image on its own, however it does not give the full picture about God, either. So, exclusively focusing on it can lead to actions of misguidance or ignorance.

The closeness of God to people starts with the concept of religion. He introduces Himself to us. Thus, religion and its dos and don'ts become a binding agreement between the adherents of that religion and God. Therefore, He pays attention to what the believers are doing. If they are not obeying the orders or are happy with living in an environment where the principles He posed are being violated, then first, He gives respite, He sends warnings of various kinds, and eventually He punishes those believers. That is, believers are expected to live according to their faith not only in their individual lives but also in their social lives. They are responsible of their communities and their societies at large. Otherwise, they face the fact that God is indeed close to them, watching them and is not indifferent to their actions.

If Allah were to punish men according to what they deserve, He would not leave on the back of the (earth) a single living creature: but He gives them respite for a stated term: when their term expires, verily Allah has in His sight all His Servants. (35/45)

However, even the above image does not explain  everything. What about the people who were not aware of what was going on? What about the people who were trying their best but could not return the tide? What about the people on whom the evil people conspired plots? Are they the same as others who were deliberately committing evil or not objecting to it? Is their destruction along with the evil doers fair? Or let's rewind back! Before the punishment from God arrives, how are we going to digest the oppressions the good people are exposed to in the hands of the evil doers? Where is God when the most sincere people are being tormented, slendered or killed? Isn't He close both to the evil doers and to the innocent believers?

These questions arise from the fact that the magnitude and duration of the observed facts push and/or pass the limits of our conscience. This situation has been addressed in various dimensions in previous blogs, so I am going to focus on the topic at hand. That is, in order to make sense of such facts, it is useful to step back and look at things through the paradigm of pathogens.

Or do you think that most of them hear or reason? They are not except like livestock. Rather, they are [even] more astray in [their] way. (25/44)

Let's forget about the evil act for a moment and let's imagine that there is a pandemic. Due to this pandemic, many people are dying: old-young, woman-man, good-evil... When looking at this picture, we think that it is the disease that is ailing these people, although we know that it is in fact God who is creating those pathogens and execucting the laws of life. So, although we feel sad about those we lose during the time of the pandemic, we don't blame God for what happened or feel heart-broken towards Him. It is the pandemic, and hopefully we are going to meet our loved ones in the heaven in eternal bliss. Now, let's project this perspective to our question about the society in which the evil doers have power and authority, and are oppressing the good people.

Similar to the pandemic example, the evil people are the pathogens and those who are impacted by their actions are like those who lose their health or even their lives due to the disease. Then, it is important to regard this situation with acceptance as much as possible, because God is going to unite us in eternal bliss with our loved ones in the hereafter. Also, He is going to punish those pathogens for their actions, because they deliberately chose to do so.

O you who believe! be careful of (your duty to) Allah with the care which is due to Him, and die not save as those who have surrendered (unto Him). (3/102)