Gaza, Grief and Freedom from Fear
The pain, the injustice, the slaughter. The rage, the helplessness, the heaviness. And the guilt. So much guilt.
It is easy to feel debilitated. To oscillate between numbness, tears and fury. To walk around feeling like you are carrying a boulder on your chest. To want to help with something, anything, and then wonder, "but does this actually even do anything?"
Allah says, "Do not ever think that Allah is oblivious of what the unjust are doing. He only defers them to a day when sight(s) glaze over" (14:42) But what about now? What about the people suffering?
Allah is al-Mu'min, the Grantor of Security. He gives people freedom from fear and ultimate safety - safety in the Hereafter - for those who seek Him and believe in Him. He strengthens the hearts of those close to Him.
We read frequently in the Qur'an about people who seemed weak on the outside, and stood up. Asiya was being tortured, yet she made du’a with conviction and smiled because she could was shown her place in Paradise. The magicians who stood up to Pharaoh were crucified, but they said "Allah is better and more enduring". The man from Surat Yasin was murdered by his people, and then he said, "I wish my people knew."
On the outside, they do not appear to have power - but what is more powerful than being able to stand firm in front of an oppressor? Still, none of these appear to be happy endings or victorious. But we know they were. They were in a state that is not seen with the eyes, only with perceptive hearts. And al-Mu’min secured their hearts through faith.
I checked in with a dear friend of mine in Jerusalem, and she said: "I now truly understand what it means to hold onto the rope of Allah... your prayers are the best help and the most important support." We are witnessing the Asiyas of Gaza. Those whose hearts are strengthened by al-Mu’min. And what Allah has prepared in the Hereafter is something that has yet to cross our minds.
Are we not meant to feel pain then? No. Your pain is reflective of your beating heart. Your grief is a sign inshAllah that you are a believer. The Prophet ﷺ said: “The parable of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever.” (Agreed upon)
So where do we take this grief? Take this grief to Allah. Wake up in the last third of the night for no other reason but to pray for people facing oppression: in Gaza and Palestine, but also in Syria, in East Turkestan, in Kashmir. In every sajdah, after every athan, when it rains. Go to Allah. You have no idea what is being moved in the unseen because of your du'a.
The seemingly little you do counts for something. Don't stop. Pray. Write. Speak. Share. Donate. March. It might not feel like much. But Allah takes every tiny thing into account. He is witness to all of this, and the angels are recording who said and did what.
There is a sifting happening before our eyes, "so Allah may separate the evil from the good." (8:37) There will be no doubt about who stood for evil and who stood for good.
And make space for each other to mourn. It may seem like a trivial thing. But Allah is with the jama'a for a reason. We need each other. Come together to pray, to strategize, to weep, to remind and to fortify each other.
وَكَانَ حَقّاً عَلَيْنَا نَصْرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
And it was incumbent upon Us to support the believers. (30:47)