Cam (Qamar) lives in North Austin with his wife and two daughters. Cam works in the Industrial Automation space. He belongs to Ahmadiyya Muslim Community which is a denomination of Muslims who believe in the Messiah Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, India. Ahmadiyya Muslims stand to promote inter-faith, inter-ethnicity and international harmony and dialogue in the spirit of "Love for All, Hatred for None".
When it comes to tragedy and suffering, Islam takes a pragmatic approach. It acknowledges that trials and adversity are part of life (Quran 1 chap 2 verse 156: We will surely try you with somewhat of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth and lives and fruits; then give glad tidings to the steadfast) and turns one’s attention towards the Almighty (Quran 1 chap 2 verse 153: Seek Allah's help with steadfastness and Prayer, surely Allah is with the steadfast) and prescribes patience and steadfastness for dealing with such times. One should remember that throughout a person’s life, God Almighty manifests thousands of matters in accord with the wishes of a person and bestows numberless bounties upon him. It would therefore be inequitable on his part that on such occasions when God calls upon him to submit to His will, he should turn away, not pleased with the will of God, and should be critical, or lose faith or go astray 2.
As far as helping others and relieving their suffering, Muslims are spurred to do their part: both in providing temporary assistance & comfort and also in making an effort to change the status quo by removing the underlying causes.
The alms are only for the poor and the needy, and for those employed in connection therewith, and for those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and for the freeing of slaves, and for those in debt, and for the cause of Allah, and for the wayfarer—an ordinance from Allah. And Allah is All-Knowing, Wise.
Quran1 chap 9, verse 60
And give you to the kinsman his due, and to the poor and the wayfarer, and squander not your wealth extravagantly
Quran1 chap 17, verse 27
And in their wealth was a share for one who asked for help and for one who could not.
Quran1 chap 51, verse 20
Quran ties the attainment of righteousness with sacrificing oneself for the sake of others, thus:
Never shall you attain to righteousness unless you spend out of that which you love;
Quran1 chap 3, verse 93
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community has a sister charity organization Humanity First which serves to help humanity in the face of adversity and endeavors to improve living conditions without regard for nationality, race, religion and other qualifications. Its focus areas include:
Disaster relief
Gift of sight
Food security
Global health
Knowledge for life
Water for life
Humanity First’s workers come mainly from the Ahmadiyya community who volunteer their time on an incident-by-incident and also on a periodic basis.
REFERENCES
Page 78, “The Philosophy of the Teachings of Islam” English rendering by Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan of “Islami Usul Ki Philosophy” (Urdu) by Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian. First Urdu edition published in 1905. First English edition published in 1979