Mohd Khairul Naim Che Nordin

Character Development of Flood Victims through Understanding the Concept of Ibtila’ (Trials) To Overcome Flood Trauma: Case Studies in Temerloh, Pahang

Trauma is an emotional response resulting from horrifying experience. Natural disasters are one of the events that can trigger trauma. In Malaysia, flood is considered as such natural disaster. The year 2014 has witnessed one of the worst floods in national history. The catastrophic flood does not only cause material losses, but also affect victims’ psyche. In Islam, the occurrence of disasters can be viewed as God plans and trials (ibtila’) for humankind. In theory, belief in ibtila’ strengthens human emotion in facing dreadful incidents. Based on this view, a study is carried out to discover the relationship between the understanding in the concept of ibtila’ with the development of good character to overcome the flood trauma among the victims. A structured interview has been carried out to two case study subjects in Temerloh, Pahang whom have faced huge losses in the great flood of 2014. This study finds that there is a relationship between understanding ibtila’ and developing good character. This then may be employed managing trauma and nurture social virtues such as teamwork, tolerance and helping others.