Ive never understood the thinking behind the phrase "InshaAllah"...as in InshaAllah God will protect you...us...me...them...whoever....while we engage in a certain activity....like swimming. How many Bahrainis make it a weekend date to go swimming at the local beaches (the few that are available) and yet dont know how to actually swim...and yet when asked "how can you take yourself and your kids swimming(insert any dangerous activity here) if you cant swim...arent you worried something will happen?" ....and the reply...."InshaAllah nothing gonna happen." The same with private swimming pools...which are even worse. Being at the beach exposed to lots of other people ensures that even when trouble occurs(and it always does) chances that someone else is there that can help are higher....in a private pool area...when nobody knows how to swim properly...trouble is just waiting for the right moment. The number of small children (and the occasional adult) that drowns either at the beach or at a private swimming pool every summer just boggles the mind. One is one too many when it doesnt take much to prevent this tragedy. A simple life vest first and foremost is a must for anyone...regardless of age...that wants to get in water and doesnt feel secure or knows how to swim. To allow your children anywhere near water unsupervised...and especially when you yourself dont know how to swim is a crime...with the high cost of punishment...a tragic death. How easy these tragedies could be avoided...if only people would be a little more cautious with their lives and those of their children. Uttering the words "InshaAllah" doesnt remove the burden of responsibility from you...it just makes you lazy and uncaring in my opinion.
The paper this week once more shows the heartbreaking pic of a small child that drowned right under the noses of his family...who took him to a private pool while they themselves could not swim. I feel angry just thinking about that. What were they thinking...that they wouldnt allow him to get in the deep end...can anyone assure that he will be closely watched the whole time they are there...well obviously not. Im not making light of their suffering ....for sure they are heartbroken and I wish them peace and patience to get through this horrible time in their lives...but that in no way relieves them from the burden of responsibility in the care of their own child...which they failed in miserably. Its enough when accidents happen...things we have no control over...that by itself leaves us raging against fate, destiny...the Hand of God...whatever...but when we knowingly put our children in danger...and taking your child to a large body of water when neither they or you can swim is putting them in danger...how can we point a finger in blame at someone else when the worst possible thing that can happen...happens?
Putting all that aside...now that this poor child's young life has been taken so early on and could have been avoided with a few easy precautions...now the govt wants to impose lifeguards on all private swimming pools.....this is years too late in my opinion as so many young children have all ready died...and nothing was done then to save the ones that came after them....but the worse thing is....Bahrainis are pitching a fit...claiming their privacy will be impinged upon with the presence of a lifeguard. How can you compare your right to privacy with the life of your child I dont know. And also...why is it assumed that the lifeguard must be a male...female lifeguards are just as capable of saving lives as males....these private pools could have a female present if these woman are so concerened with their bodies being seen.....or would they rather see the body of their 4 year old laying at the bottom of a pool as poor Mohammeds was for quite some time while his helpless family looked on. Were they worried about modesty and privacy then...or praying to God that someone would rescue him...or that they hadnt brought him...or what exactly?
For every action there is a reaction...if you dont put a seatbelt on your child...that child flies threw the window on impact. You dont teach your child to look both ways before crossing the street...that child gets run down by a car. You dont put a life vest on your child...your child drowns right under your nose. You leave your child at home unsupervised...your child starts a fire and burns down the house...with him and maybe his siblings inside it. Children dont know the dangers...adults do...we are killing our children people...and we have nobody to blame but ourselves. Safety first people...the life you save maybe your own..or better yet...your child's.
There is hadith that says (paraphrasing)....Pray to God to keep your camel from wandering away...but tie the camel up as well....in other words...God helps those that help themselves.
6 comments:
very poignant and to the point. Enjoyed immsensely.
American Bedu
the problem that people as u said think that God gonna protect them and they forget the important thing, which is ( DONT BE CARELESS AND ONLY DEPEND ON GOD ) cuz God gaves u ( amanah ) and want u to keep taking care of what u got .. thank u storm .. its was to the point .. i wish careless people read it to avoid any greef in their future.. Maryam Al.Sherooqi
What an awful story!
Excllent points! Weird how the real important facts get glossed over in preference to some absurd details.
There is another option: Learn to swim, have your children learn how to swim.
In the Netherlands women take their babies to swim! All schoolchildren get swimming lessons. Or used to when I was at school. The first two swimming-diplomas are mandatory for all children.
I can't imagine what it must be like not being able to swim, but I probably would be very scared near water and I would never let my children near water!!!!
Sad, sad stories... I'm with the infant swimming crowd. We took my granddaughter for swim lessons when she was four months old.
I, too, am disturbed and uncertain of the boundary between "no harm, insha Allah" and, "it's gonna happen, for sure."
Though your examples are dramatically clear cut, there are other, less obvious situations in which one can say, "insha Allah", full well knowing that one's scientific knowledge is lacking, and that the outcome of the situation is already a given, an unknown given.
Very sad story. What were these parents thinking? Their child paid with his life because of the parents' sheer stupidity.
Praying only gets you so far - we must take action and help ourselves. Reminds me of the story about the man who kept praying to God to win the lottery, and finally months later when he expressed his disappointment to God, God boomed down to the guy, "Try to meet me half way here - Buy a ticket!"
Susie, that is funny, and also so true!
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