His Eminence the Shaykh. . In these days—praise be to Allah—pools, water collections, and the flow of wadis are becoming more numerous

The questioner : He says: His Eminence the Shaykh, in these days—praise be to Allah—pools, water collections, and the flow of wadis are becoming more numerous. Is there any advice for our brothers to preserve themselves and their children from destruction? It pains us what we hear of drowning accidents. Does an expiation and sin attach to the father or mother if one of those children perishes due to this negligence? I ask for guidance, may Allah guide you.

The Shaykh : The guidance in this matter is that the blessings which Allah bestows upon His servants divide people into a believer and a disbeliever. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led his Companions in the Fajr prayer one day after a rain that had fallen during the night. When he finished the Fajr prayer, he turned to the people and said to them: "Do you know what your Lord said?" They said: "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said: "He said: 'Among My servants this morning, there is one who believes in Me and one who disbelieves.'" He divided them into how many groups? Two groups. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) specified this, because the Arabs in their pre-Islamic age of ignorance attributed earthly events to celestial conditions. This is forbidden. There is no relationship whatsoever between celestial conditions and earthly events. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: For example, when it rained at the beginning of the winter, they would say: "We have been rained upon by al-Wasim." Al-Wasim is a blessing and good, even though they knew that al-Wasim sometimes does not bring a single drop of water. Similarly, what we hear in some deviant newspapers that want this nation to return to the first age of ignorance, such as saying: "If so-and-so is born in such a constellation or such a zodiac sign, he will have happiness; and if he is born in such a constellation or such a zodiac sign, he will have misery," and the like of that. All of this is forbidden and it is not permissible to believe in it. Newspapers containing such things must be boycotted and not purchased, and one should be wary of them. One should know that these people only produce these newspapers to earn money with them and to corrupt religion with them—may Allah protect us from that. Otherwise, we find two men born in the same zodiac sign, under the same star, on the same day, and perhaps even in the same hour, yet one differs from the other greatly in all matters of life and all matters of religion. There is no relationship between earthly events and celestial conditions; there is absolutely no relationship between them. It is sufficient for you to have the saying of the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him): And his saying regarding the one who says: "We have been rained upon by such and such a constellation" . I return to the subject of the question: Allah has blessed us, and praise be to Allah, with many blessings this week regarding the rain. The rains have increased, the pools have increased, and the wadis have increased. Some people were negligent in matters. You would find one entering the water in a small stream and not caring, not knowing that when the water becomes strong, a person cannot escape from it no matter how strong he is, because it pushes him involuntarily. If he sinks in the water and drowns, and pushes himself forcefully upward, his weight will become heavy, because his strength weakens and his stomach fills with water, and in the end, death. At that point, he is disobedient to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), because Allah said: And He says: If it were not that we believe that this man, when he crossed the wadi while walking or entered the pool, believed that he would be saved, we would say that he killed himself. Any person who kills himself with something will be punished with it in Hellfire, may Allah protect us, eternally and forever. We ask Allah for safety. But these people take risks and think they will be saved, but they are not saved. As for the children, it is obligatory that they stay away from these places at a great distance, and they should not be around them. It is sufficient for him to take his family out and look at the small stream. They all stand for five or ten minutes, then move to another place, because negligence is inevitable. That is to say, if he goes to the edge of the wadi, negligence from the adults is inevitable. A person does not keep his eyes on his children all the time; he must become negligent. Also, it must not be hidden from us all that the earth is small for children. The child, while he is with you, moments pass and he is far from you, Glorified is Allah. That is to say, he goes quickly. I was amazed at how he walked that walk. Therefore, we advise our brothers and say: Do not go down around the wadis or around the pools. Stay away, and not even in the depressions of the sand dunes, if they become close and small, because the boy may climb on the dunes and descend into this depression, and they do not notice him and he is lost. Children are a trust in our necks, and we must protect them completely. Because a child who does not distinguish is like a beast, or even the beast may be better than him. If the beast goes away, it may return to its people, but he does not return. Yes.