Why Do Some Innocent People Die In Disasters Along With Others?
Why do good people sometimes die in disasters before evil people?
Such a question arises from false reasoning and an error in belief. If life were only the life in this world, if this world were the first and the last resort of life, that question might be considered a quite sensible and reasonable one. But if this world is a preparing ground and ante chamber, and the world to come is the fruit and harvest of this one, and a place of rest and felicity, free of toil and hardship, then the question is an aimless one.
Given the reality of the life to come, it is not unnatural that good and bad, or righteous and sinner, die together at the same instant in this world. On the contrary, it is quite reasonable and logical for it to be so. For each individual will be resurrected and give an account for what each did, and be chastised or rewarded according to intentions and deeds.
Death and its time mark the end of life and service in this world. That period of life and its end conform to a pre ordained plan which, taking human free will into account, is written and stored in the Record. And the Record comes into force whenever its time is due, according to the will and command of the All Hearing and All Seeing. There is no difference of principle between whether death comes to a person separately or en masse with others.
I suppose that, as in many religious questions, the lack of understanding of the true, limitless knowledge, power and will of the Creator is one of the major reasons for error and doubt. Another reason is a mistaken evaluation of things and events. If, in the face of things and events, one does not eliminate from one’s thoughts the mistaken notion of “coincidence” or “nature,” if one does not devote oneself to contemplation and religious life and distance oneself from worldly concerns, the inner life will be full of unsound and weak belief and become a battleground for satanic misgivings and anxiety.
While the hearts of people are impoverished and unable to sustain themselves, constant exposure to doubts and misgivings of this nature is profoundly damaging to their spiritual being. In the face of such a situation, one should marvel that the young preserve their faith at all, rather than that they are deviated from it.
It may be claimed that we give too much attention to such issues which may seem, to some people, of little immediate significance in this time. However, we cannot agree: any issue related to faith is always of the highest importance and worthy of the most serious effort of reflection and study.