As the countries of the world assemble for a global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, a number of key elements must be put in place to secure the fate of this outbreak, control it and find the best strategies to combat it in unity.
Numerous success stories have come and gone, with many lessons learned, but if we take a closer look at one story — which is shared by many faiths — we will learn of perseverance, courage, strength, and finding strength in faith. We look back to the story of Mariam, the Virgin Mary, and her son in the Holy Qur’an. Theirs is a story that sets an example for us to learn from and extract the necessary details from to envision a road map to combat struggles and pandemics.
In her story, Mariam faced the struggles of her pregnancy, self- purification, family and history against a harsh society that had shown her no mercy. It was only through divine directives that she was able to see the path to survival and success.
Looking through the verses of the Holy Qur’an, many directives were set to help her seek that path.
The first was to ascertain her belief in divine judgment, “And it is a matter (already) decreed.”
The second would be relinquishing negative feelings as told in the verse: “But he called her from below her, ‘Do not grieve.’”
The third directive was to withdraw from a frustrating and discouraging communal, “so she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a remote place.”
The fourth was to ignore the gloating voices, “so I will not speak today to (any) man.”
The fifth was to find the strength to survive no matter how weak one felt, “and shake toward you the trunk of the palm tree,” and the sixth directive was to face struggles with courage and determination, as explained in the next verse: “Then she brought him to her people, carrying him.”
Another verse of the Holy Qur’an explains the strength in believing in God’s promises, saying “and we will make him a sign to the people and a mercy from us.”
The last directive tells Mariam to naturally go about life with contentment and ease, as explained in the verse: “So eat and drink and be contented.”
The story of Mariam tells the story of every true victor; each one successful in their own way as they sought the same path. The moral of her story is clear: It is through these directives that success against all struggles and pandemics can be achieved.
This is Saudi Arabia — a nation that has faced this outbreak with full force, with a balance between the strength in its faith that is embedded in the hearts of its citizens and finding ways to survive and succeed.
The moral of her story is clear: It is through these directives that success against all struggles and pandemics can be achieved
The Saudi government has taken all precautionary measures to protect its citizens and residents alike. Its health care system has arranged for multiple quarantine centers, equipment and medication in advance, and established a quick and effective emergency response system. A nationwide awareness campaign targeting every member of society was launched and residents complied with the measures put in place by the authorities, disproving skeptics. Best of all, it called on its people to go about their lives normally but mindful of the situation at hand, while condemning and resisting the propagators of rumors and of chaos.
Through these precautionary measures, the Kingdom was a fighter at the forefront of this battle. Just as the world began grappling with the rising numbers of confirmed cases, the Kingdom took a stance toward combating this pandemic, even through the discovery of cases in its homeland.
The loyalty of the citizens of Saudi Arabia toward their leadership is commendable. They listened to the call and utilized the power of technology by allowing educators and students, government ministries, entities and services to continue conducting business as usual through distance learning and communication. It is through the government investing in radically transforming the way work is done, taking advantage of great technological developments, and transforming its systems that this became a success.
It is through these measures that families are now able to reconnect, sit together at one table and enjoy meals together, while clearing the streets of traffic and restaurants, cafes and stadiums of patrons to decrease the level of threat. We have discovered that our needs turned out to be privileges.
That skeptics have been silenced is clear evidence of the Kingdom’s courageous leadership, as it enabled its emergency response system to focus on combating this pandemic and placing the needs and welfare of its citizens first.
The fate of humanity has raised a global response from citizens and a realization that we all must live as modern societies, awakening leaders into seeing the bigger picture — by forsaking battles against other nations, sects and races and paying attention to their fate, either to perish or survive. It is only through living in harmony that we will see the power of the strength that lies in coming together as one.
And it is through the story of Aaron’s sister, Mariam the Virgin, that we find the lessons of survival.
