أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّـهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَلَا يَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ
“Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth? And let them not be like those who were given the Scripture before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts hardened; and many of them are defiantly disobedient.” [1]
It is an understatement to say that the events of the last six months and counting should be a wake-up call for all of us.
The horror we are seeing in Palestine, in Gaza, an entire civilian population bombed mercilessly. Hospitals, refugee camps, schools destroyed. More than 70 per cent of Gaza lies in ruins. Thousands of men, women, children, and babies slaughtered. Food, water, medicine, and fuel inhumanely blocked. An entire population forced into famine.
The Palestinian people have been living under a brutal, relentless occupation in quite literally the world’s largest concentration camp for more than 75 years. And we are now watching a genocide take place in front of our very eyes.
This is not about political correctness
The time for political correctness is long gone, let’s be real.
People call Gaza the world’s largest prison — it is not. It is a concentration camp — not my words but the words of numerous Jewish academics. [2]
Human rights organisations such as Amnesty and others tell us that the occupying regime is engaged in apartheid, is racist, and holds supremacist views — a complete system designed to benefit Jewish Israelis at the expense of Palestinians.
The regime is a terrorist by any definition of the word; what they are enforcing upon Palestine is another Nakba — a catastrophe, a disaster. And it highlights the depravity of a regime that hides behind its history of suffering while brazenly visiting unimaginable suffering on an occupied people, a people whose only aspiration is to live free, to live lives of dignity.
Our message in this article is simple: that this should be a wake-up call for us.
So how is Gaza a wake-up call?
It’s a realisation for us that our dīn has the answers; we need to realise that Islam is the solution.
For example…
- if you want see humanity, look to the guidance of our Messenger ﷺ;
- if you want mercy and compassion, look to his guidance (ﷺ);
- if you want empathy and understanding, look to his guidance (ﷺ);
- if you want justice, look to his guidance (ﷺ).
Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) says,
ٱلْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِى وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ ٱلْإِسْلَـٰمَ دِينًۭا
“This day, I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you and have approved for you Islam as your religion.” [3]
Islam is the perfect religion, it is the complete way of life, it is what the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth has chosen for us. There is no doubt that it is the single path of success in this life and the next.
And in contrast, we can finally open our eyes and wake up to the fact that Western values — their so-called human rights, so-called international law, so-called morality — are all myths shattered by Gaza. In fact, such “values” lie amongst the ruins of Gaza!
They have lost all moral right to tell us what humanity is, what justice is, who an “extremist” is, who is not. We don’t judge by their values, our benchmark is Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.
This Ummah cannot be broken
Yes, we obey the laws of the land, we don’t break them — but that doesn’t mean we have to agree with them, especially when it comes to them telling us who or what they think is “extreme”, or who or what they think is wrong on a matter.
We see the value of so-called freedom of speech for what it is.
Look at the increasing draconian restrictions that are being put in place in the UK: how the government have tried to stifle peaceful protests; what they said about flying the Palestinian flag: in what negative light they cast pro-Palestinians; the new policy around “extremism”; how they have gone after our khutbahs, lectures, even our du’ā, in order to let the genocide continue.
Allah says,
وَقَدْ مَكَرُوا۟ مَكْرَهُمْ وَعِندَ ٱللَّهِ مَكْرُهُمْ وَإِن كَانَ مَكْرُهُمْ لِتَزُولَ مِنْهُ ٱلْجِبَالُ
“And they had planned their plan, but with Allah is [recorded] their plan, even if their plan had been [sufficient] to do away with the mountains.” [4]
But you know what? No matter what they do, no matter how hard they try, they can’t defeat a religion like Islam, they can’t break the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ. They cannot break us.
In fact, the more pressure they pile on, the more they tighten the noose on us, the more the masājid fill up, the more committed we become to our faith, the stronger we get, more united and closer to one another.
We should remember that this religion is powerful, this religion is mighty! All that others do is unveil their hypocrisy, thereby making us see them for what they really are.
We wake up to the fact that these people are not our role models. We don’t look to them.
And how can we? How can we ever look up to politicians and leaders who support genocide — we simply can’t. We have great, amazing role models, righteous people, people of integrity and honour, we have Allah and His Messenger, and we have the Companions.
Allah states,
لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِى رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌۭ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلْيَوْمَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَ وَذَكَرَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًۭا
“Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example for whoever has hope in Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah often.” [5]
This noble verse tells us who we are: followers of Muhammad ﷺ.
We are not followers of anyone else or any other system, this is our identity. This tells us what we believe, and this tells us the values we hold — those taught by Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.
And critically, we need to preserve who we are through Allah, His Book, and His Messenger ﷺ. Remember, we are Muslims first and foremost.
The lessons we take from Gaza
From Gaza, there so many lessons for us to learn as Muslims.
There are lessons for us to internalise and implement, lessons that perhaps go unheeded or are glossed over. So before bringing this piece to a close, I will list five as a reminder to us.
Gratitude
Looking up, looking down
The Prophet ﷺ taught us that, in matters of religion, we ought to look at those above us, so that we may aspire to be like them.
We should look to the Gazans and the strength of their faith, their resilience in the face of utter horror and devastation; carrying the blown-up limbs of their children in bin liners, yet their faith remains strong, their tawakkul, their reliance in Allah is there. Aspire to these heights!
And in matters of dunya — i.e. matters of the world — we should look to those below us, those who go without. In doing this, we realise all that we have been given and become grateful.
We should look at our brothers and sisters in Gaza. They’ve lost everything, Gaza lies in ruins, they were eating boiled grass for iftar. And then look at what we have, our privileged lives, the least wealthy of us are living lives they can only ever dream of!
If we have this sense of gratitude, Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said,
كَتَبَهُ اللَّهُ شَاكِرًا صَابِرًا
“Allah will record him to be among the grateful and the patient.” [6]
And he (ﷺ) is also reported to have said,
مَنْ أَصْبَحَ مِنْكُمْ آمِنًا فِي سِرْبِهِ ، مُعَافًى فِي جَسَدِهِ ، عِنْدَهُ قُوتُ يَوْمِهِ ، فَكَأَنَّمَا حِيزَتْ لَهُ الدُّنْيَا
“Whoever among you wakes up physically healthy, feeling safe and secure within himself, with food for the day, it is as if he acquired the whole world.” [7]
We are truly spoilt
Just how much do we have? We have so much, we can’t even count it all.
On the day of Eid, we had such luxury, we performed the prayer and went home whilst knowing there is a home to go to, one with lots of food. Such food was available throughout the day — how many are unable to do that?
We have the luxury of opening an app and ordering whatever food or item we want delivered to our door; we can demand the latest iPhone, latest Xbox. The TV is too small or outdated? We can purchase the latest and the greatest.
We are truly spoilt, we just don’t realise it.
But are we grateful? Do we appreciate what we have? Do we thank Allah for it? Do we use it to please Him, or do we use it to do that which is haram?
We have to ask ourselves, would we have the strength to face what the Gazans are facing? If Allah tested us like He is testing them, how would we fare?
Aspire to their strength of faith, aspire to their reliance upon Allah!
Death
How do we want to go?
Death is raining down on them — bombs, missiles, bullets — we pray that they are accepted as martyrs, but let us also think about our own deaths.
We don’t know when death will come to us, do we ever ask ourselves how we want to go? And what state do we want to be in, when we die?
Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) says,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ
“O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him].” [8]
And in a particularly powerful narration reported by Abu Qatādah (radiy Allahu ‘anhu), the Prophet ﷺ was passing by a funeral procession, whereupon he (ﷺ) said,
“Relieved or relieving?” [9]
The people asked,
“O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)! What is relieved and relieving?” [9]
He (ﷺ) replied,
“A believer is relieved [by death] from the troubles and hardships of the world and leaves for the Mercy of Allah, while [the death of] a wicked person relieves the people, the land, the trees, [and] the animals from him.” [9]
Let’s ask ourselves some questions.
With my death, what legacy will I leave behind? Will people be happy to see me go, will they think…
“Finally, we’re done with them, we can at last be at peace!”
Or will I have lived such a life that I move on to Allah’s Mercy?
We have to live the life that Allah wants of us; live a life of servitude, and we will be successful!
Child deaths
What do we want for our young?
Thousands of their children are dead — they are in Paradise, inshāAllah.
Ask ourselves, what do we want for our children? What do we want for our families? Do we want Paradise for them?
We have a duty to teach them Islam, bring them up upon Islam, so they can have the tools they need to attain eternal joy and bliss in Paradise.
Allah mentions the du’ā of the believers:
وَالَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ
“[They are] those who pray, ‘Our Lord! Bless us with [pious] spouses and children who will be the joy of our hearts, the coolness of our eyes.’” [10]
What is this joy? What is this coolness of the eyes?
People might say: a wife that doesn’t give me a headache or a husband that doesn’t shout at me. These answers are not wrong, but let us look at what the Sahaba said in commentary on this āyah, because their paradigm was different, they were focused on what matters.
They said that joy in your family — that coolness of the eyes — is when you see your spouse worshipping Allah. It’s when you see your child get up and pray Salah, when you don’t need to cajole them, bribe them, threaten them. It’s when the time for prayer comes and your son/daughter just gets up, makes wudū, and prays.
This is the joy mentioned in this du’ā! Why? Because that’s the key to Paradise right there.
We need to bring our children up upon Islam, teach them how to pray, and make it a part of their lives in addition to a part of our lives.
Oppression
We see the oppression the people of Gaza are facing, being robbed of their land, homes, property. And rightly so, we are outraged.
But so many of us are doing the same in our daily lives!
How many property disputes are we engaged in? How many people are stealing land back at home? How many people are oppressing your family, your wife, your neighbour, cheating each other, betraying each other, lying to each other, deceiving each other, backbiting, slandering?
All of the above are kinds of oppression or injustice (dhulm). And at a time when we need light the most, this will lead us to pitch black darkness.
How many of us are following the footsteps of Banī Isrā’īl? Twisting and distorting revelation to justify our own oppression of others? Abusing and misusing āyāt and hadīth to suit our own desires — what we condemn there, we must surely condemn in ourselves.
How many of us are walking around with grudges, resentment, grievances? Now compare those ill feelings to holding your dead child in a carrier bag. You will quickly realise that they are just petty, minor differences, most of which are only done for the sake of this world.
Is it too difficult to just let these issues go?
Remember, we are people of the Hereafter, of Paradise, inshāAllah. That is our ultimate goal, so we cannot let this lowly world hold us back. Rather, we need to use the Dunya to get to that goal in the Hereafter!
Abu Hurayrah (radiy Allahu ‘anhu) narrated that the Messenger ﷺ said,
“Whoever has wronged his brother, should ask for his pardon [before his death], as [in the Hereafter] there will be neither a Dinar nor a Dirham.
“[He should secure pardon in this life] before some of his good deeds are taken and paid to his brother, or, if he has done no good deeds, some of the bad deeds of his brother are taken to be loaded on him [in the Hereafter].” [11]
We have honestly got to stop the dhulm among us, and so much will get fixed amongst ourselves. We will unite, we will love each other for Allah’s sake, we will help one another be servants of Allah.
Cleaning our hearts
We have to cleanse our hearts by making amends, through this we will find some much needed relief and peace.
And make use of du’ā, it is such a precious form of worship and an illustration of humility!
The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said,
“There is nothing more honourable with Allah than supplication.” [12]
Make du’ā all the time, for ourselves, our families, and our brothers and sisters suffering all over the world, for our brothers and sisters in Gaza. Never forget them.
In conclusion
Racism, fascism, oppression, terror, apartheid — none of these can win. Not in Gaza, not in Sudan, not in India, not in East Turkestan, nor anywhere else.
As Muslims, we must strive to make justice and humanity prevail.
That wake-up call must be a return to the truth of the Book and the Sunnah — this means to follow it, to live by it — it can’t just be empty words.
Posting and forwarding posts on social media and engaging in activism are important, but they lose meaning when devoid of us actually practising Islam, actually walking in the footsteps of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ, and taking him as our guide.
I close by circling back to the beginning, and asking the same question that Allah asks us:
أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّـهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ
“Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth?” [1]
If Gaza is not the wake-up call we need, I don’t know what is.
رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَّسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَا إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ ۖ وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا ۚ أَنتَ مَوْلَانَا فَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ
“Our Lord! Do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord! Do not place a burden on us like the one you placed on those before us. Our Lord! Do not burden us with what we cannot bear. Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our [only] Guardian. So grant us victory over the disbelieving people.” [13]
اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً، وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
“Our Lord! Grant us the good of this world and the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire.” [14]
Source: Islam21c
Notes
[1] al-Qur’an, 57:16
[2] https://theintercept.com/2018/05/20/norman-finkelstein-gaza-iran-israel-jerusalem-embassy/
[3] al-Qur’ān, 5:3
[4] al-Qur’ān, 14:46-47
[5] al-Qur’ān, 33:21
[6] Sunan Tirmidhi, 2,512; https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:2512
[7] Sunan Ibn Mājah, 4,141; https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:4141
[8] al-Qur’ān, 3:102
[9] Sahīh al-Bukhārī, 6,512; https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6512
[10] al-Qur’ān, 25:74
[11] Sahīh al-Bukhārī, 6,534; https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6534
[12] Sunan Tirmidhi, 3,370; https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:3370
[13] al-Qur’ān, 2:286
[14] al-Qur’ān, 2:201
