﷽
As-Salâmu ‘Alaykum wa Raĥmatullâhi wa Barakâtuh
{O you who believe, persistently stand firm in justice, witnesses for ALLÂH, even if it be against yourselves or parents or relatives. Whether rich or poor, ALLÂH is more worthy of both. So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed ALLÂH is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.}
(004:135)
AFTER THE ALL-MERCIFUL ALLÂH ﷻ, the only solace (however fleeting) is turning to my bleeding pen to write away and assuage feelings and thoughts of uselessness, helplessness and anguish concerning Dear GAZA.
I rarely share words before my poems but I wanted to share gentle reminders before you read my latest poem below, so please bear with me as I value your precious time, for I want us to take a breather and refocus our hearts, minds and deeds so we are more proactive than reactive.
Al-hamdu-lilâh we are witnessing on our screens what it means to have TRUE conviction, faith, gratitude, patience and power in the midst of a BLOOD THIRSTY GENOCIDE and devastation, with the Palestinians own unwavering volition and resolute resistance and strength, as the world watches (yet again), to regain what is rightfully theirs: ♡ To ALLÂH we belong and to HIM we return ♡.
Gaza, Palestine, truly discloses empathic hearts from unempathic ones over and over again, exposing truth seekers, selective activists, ugly bigots, double standards, pernicious lies and semantic games. Though, this is nothing new and has been true for decades.
Boycotting is one of the easiest and highly effective act we can do without any effort whatsoever.
However, let us remember that BOYCOTTING is about INTENTIONAL AND ATTENTIONAL ACTING WITHOUT DEMUR against the OPRESSION of, and for, ALL CREATION be it humanity, creatures, nature, the environment, and our bodies, minds and hearts ♡ ALL PURELY FOR ALLÂH ﷻ ♡.
Boycotting is NOT a transient and emotional reaction but an ongoing consistent commitment and reflective response even when Gaza is off-screen – oppression doesn’t end off-screen, it continues relentlessly. Remember the timeless words of Beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, ‘Whosoever witnesses an evil, change it with his hand; and if not able to do so, then with his tongue; and if not able to do so, then with his heart, and that is the weakest of faith.’
We must also have the same fervour, determination and dedicated support for others as we do Palestine be it for the people of Afghanistan, Congo, Kashmir, Rohingya, Sudan, Syria, Uighur, Yemen, as well as sweatshops, etc. As Beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, ‘None of you will believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself.’
DO NOT LET ANTI-“ISRAEL”, ANTI-ZIONIST, CREED, ETHNOCRACY, NATIONALITY, RACE OR SELECTIVE JUSTICE be the driving sentiment or reason for advocacy, boycott or protest. If our hearts are fragile, then we need to rewire them with more resiliency. Let our love for ALLÂH ﷻ and what pleases HIM ﷻ be our heart healing cause with foresight and our deeds reflecting so, which in turn will, by default with a beautiful conscientious bonus, simply, organically and with natural ease translate into our cause being for the oppressed without prejudice, excuses or justifications.
In the words of Helen Keller, ‘The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.’
{O you who believe, persistently stand firm for ALLÂH, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear ALLÂH; indeed, ALLÂH is Acquainted with what you do.}
(5:8)
And now, without further delay, for my newest poem, even though no words will ever suffice . . .
{. . . Yet following their defeat, they will triumph, Within a few years, to ALLÂH belongs the command [i.e., decree] before and after. And that day the believers will rejoice. In the victory of ALLÂH. HE gives victory to whom HE wills, and HE is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful. [It is] the promise of ALLÂH. ALLÂH does not fail in HIS promise, but most of the people do not know.}
(30:03-06)
‘You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.’
William Wilberforce
Skilful White Clouds (RABAB Maher) 