Brunei after the floods: A time of loss and prayers · Global Voices
Noor Hidayah

For the past week or so, Brunei has been experiencing some of the worst heavy rains and floods. This continuous downpour has not only lead to floods, soil erosions and landslides, but it has also taken the lives of two people.  Brunei Lifestyle blogged about this incident:
The first death was that of a 46-year-old woman who was trapped under the debris of mud and concrete as her house at Kampong Madang in Berakas was affected by a landslide. The news report said that she was fast asleep in her bedroom when other occupants in her house heard a loud bang from the woman’s bedroom which was located at the back of the house. The occupants tried to pull her out of the room but failed. Police report said that this occurred at around 10.45pm on Tuesday night.
Two hours later, a 19-year-old woman was trapped in a drain when she was on her way home. The reports said that the woman and her father were trapped in their car as they tried to reach their home at Kampong Katok in Gadong. The woman insisted to walk home which was only about 600 meters from where they were trapped. The father was trying to stop her as the current was very strong and the water was rising very fast. The father said her daughter slipped to a drain and he tried to pull her out with the help of passers-by. They failed as the woman’s pants got caught to the grill and the current was strong that she drowned.
She also posted pictures of the skies. This is one of them:
Islam is a religion that is well rooted in Brunei. It has been the predominant religion of Bruneians for many generations. Therefore,  it is only natural when some have decided to view the recent weather condition with a  spiritual outlook. Arab Families encourage us to use this time to reflect, and to increase our prayers and supplications:
Untuk renungan kita bersama,
Berdoalah kita semoga Negara kita terhindar dan semoga kita semua terhindar dari pelabagai musibah dan bencana alam, Amin!!! Seperti mana yang kita semua ketahui dan lihat baru baru ini keadaan hujan dan banjir kilat di sana sini maka berdoalah kita semua, sesungguh nya doa adalah senjata orang2 Mu'kmin.
Hendaklah selalu berdoa kepada Allah SWT supaya kita terus diberi rahmat, nikmat serta pertolongan Allah SWT terutama apabila berhadapan dengan ujian sebagini. Ibnul Qayyim berkata, doa adalah saranan paling kuat untuk mencegah musibah dan mencapai apa yang diinginkan.
Doa adalah satu bentuk ibadah kepada Allah SWT. Menurut al-Asqari, doa adalah permohonan kepada Allah SWT supaya Dia mendatangkan sesuatu yang bermanfaat dan menjauhkan daripada segala bentuk kemudaratan.
Firman Allah SWT yang bermaksud:
“Apabila manusia ditimpa kesempitan, dia berdoa kepada Tuhan-Nya, dalam keadaan bersungguh-sungguh untuk kembali kepada-Nya. Kemudian apabila dia dianugerahi dengan nikmat daripada-Nya, dia lupa doa yang dipohon kepada Tuhannya sebelum itu dan dia menjadikan untuk Allah gandingan untuk menyesatkan (manusia) daripada jalan-Nya.” (Surah al-Zumar, ayat 8).
Nabi Muhammad SAW bersabda yang bermaksud:
“Doa itu bermanfaat terhadap kejadian yang sudah berlaku atau kejadian yang belum berlaku. Oleh itu, wahai hamba Allah, hendaklah kamu berdoa.” (Diriwayatkan oleh Ahmad, Ibn Majah dan lain-lain)
“Prayer is beneficial towards something that has already happened or something that is yet to happen. For that, oh Allah's servants, you should pray.” (Narrated by Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and others)”
Let us pray that our country and all of us are to be protected for all types of tribulations and natural disasters, Amin! As we all know, we have been experiencing rain and flash floods so let us all pray, for it is the number one weapon for the Muslims.
We must be consistent in our prayer to Allah so that we will always be blessed and be given help from Allah especially at times like these. Ibnul  Qayyim said, prayer is most effective in preventing harm and achieving what is desired.
Prayer is a form of worship to Allah. According to Al-Asqari, prayer is a plea to Allah so that He will provide us with something that is beneficial, and to protect us from all forms of harm.
Allah said:
“Now [thus it is] when affliction befalls man, he is likely to cry out to his Sustainer, turning unto Him [for help]; but as soon as He has bestowed upon him a boon by  His grace, he forgets Him whom he invoked before,  and claims that there are other powers that could rival God – and thus leads [others] astray from His path. Say [unto him who sins in this way]” (Surah Al Zumar: 8)
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
“Prayer is beneficial for something that has already happened or something that is yet to happen. For that, oh Allah's servants, you must pray.” (Narrated by Ahmad, Ibn Majah, and others)”
Turquoise and Roses also urged her readers to pray for the Bruneians whose homes may have been destroyed by the floods and landslides.
But most importantly, pray tonight for your fellow Bruneians whose homes are destroyed by flood and landslides.