Feasibility of Divine Supernatural Interventions in Crises with an Emphasis on COVID-19 from the Quranic Perspective

Divine supernatural interventions to believers serve as a lesson in monotheism, but the spread of COVID-19 and closure of religious places posed a challenge to this concept. This research aims to answer the question of why divine supernatural interventions did not occur during the COVID-19 pandemic, using a descriptive-analytical method based on such interventions in the Quran, and exploring their objectives and conditions for realization. It is argued that God usually governs material phenomena based on natural causes, and divine supernatural interventions are an exception that only happens when there is a divine purpose and cannot be fulfilled through regular means. Defending the existence of prophets and groups of believers aims at preserving and continuing the invitation to monotheistic faith, proving the divine selection of individuals, and showing special divine mercy to righteous and virtuous believers by answering their prayers are the prominent objectives of divine supernatural interventions. Moreover, the impossibility of achieving these objectives through natural causes is a crucial condition for their realization. Therefore, expecting divine supernatural interventions in crises like the COVID-19 pandemic is unwarranted because firstly, COVID-19 and similar phenomena do not threaten the existence of the community of believers and the religion of God, and secondly, combating COVID-19 and similar crises is possible through normal means.