By An Anonymous Sister
How many of us have seen horrific images from Gaza? Images of dead children, bloodied faces, lost limbs?
How many of us wish we could be there to physically help them? Wish we were able, like the Companions were able at Badr, to overcome a bigger, more equipped army, like the Companions were able to overcome the disbelieving army of the Quraysh?
Look at the Companions of Rasulilah sal Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallama at Badr. SubhanAllah- they put in the physical effort, and us too, we now are putting in physical effort, whether it be through protests, calling congressmen, donating, or actually helping on the ground in Gaza. But what is the one thing which differentiates us and them? What is the biggest difference between us and the Companions?
The Companions radi Allahu anhum knew Who gives Success and they strove for success from the Source, and so their success was consistent, continual, just, and made an impact.
SubhanAllah, look at the difference between us and them- that there are hundreds of children who have been massacred, thousands of innocent civilians who are disabled for life, whose skins are burned, whose eyes have melted, and yet how many of us have not taken this opportunity to make this horrendous war a means of fixing our own sorry selves?
How many of us are still not praying all of our salawat on time, and our brothers and sisters are suffering beyond comprehension? How many of us, particularly our brothers, are not praying fajr in the masjid? This does matter; our individual relationship with Allah DOES make an ummah impact. And that’s why the Companions were so successful- they put in the effort with Allah, and Allah gave them victory.
How many times do we need to be on the defensive? From Iraq to Sudan, Afghanistan to Gujraat, we still have so many people who need help. We seem to get excited, make an effort for about two weeks, and then get caught up living our own lives until the next storm hits, and then start the process over.
This is our opportunity to seriously change ourselves, to come closer to Allah with the intention of being a means of helping the ummah through this change, as a response to the crisis in Gaza, but also as an offensive. The One Who gave victory at Badr can give us victory now!
Are you ready to physically help the people of Gaza? Here’s how: Get out a piece of paper and a pen, or open up a word doc, and fill out the following for yourself:
1- One thing I will increase to improve my relationship with Allah
(In relation to increase of worship, whether it be to perfect the mandatory actions or do something maybe I’ve not yet started or neglected for some time which is extra, like qiyamulayl, extra fasting, fajr in the masjid, salatulal Duha, the morning/evening athkaar, saying astaghforillah a hundred times a day, always being in a state of wudu, and more. Check out makedua.com.)
2- One thing I will leave to improve my relationship with Allah
(Perhaps in these days especially, we can replace the music with the Qur’an, replace movies with going out with the sisters/brothers with the intention to build sister/brotherhood to feel a stronger connection with the ummah, replace complaining with saying, “Alhamdullilah” regardless of the situation)
3- How I will guard my relationship with the Qur’an
ABSOLUTE MUST. How many of us have been trying to do #1 and #2 above but have not felt any sweetness in our relationship with the Creator? It’s because we continually deprive our hearts from the oxygen it needs to survive- The Qur’an. This isn’t just the cherry on top; this is breakfast, lunch, dinner and that huge chocolate fudge sunday – just replace all those calories with a ton of ajr.
This is prime time to make an intention to start making a consistent relationship with the Book of Allah, reading it in Arabic if we can, and if we cannot understand Allah’s Words to us, in addition to reading in Arabic, regardless of how slow we may be at first, we should make an effort to read the translation as well.
SubhanAllah, the Companions used to cry if they came across something of the Qur’an that they did not understand. It’s like waiting for weeks on end to get an email from someone you love greatly, and when it finally comes and you’re so excited, you find that you cannot understand something in it. Wouldn’t you seek a translator if it was in a different language? Wouldn’t you try to contact the person and ask them to explain what they meant? Wouldn’t you make an effort, if this person was someone you truly loved, to try and understand their words to you? So what about Allah ‘Azza wa Jall? What about the Qur’an? What about all those words just for you?
At the least, as a starting point, if we set aside only 15 minutes a day – set an alarm clock even where those 15 minutes are HANDS OFF YOU AND QUR’AN TIME, no phone, no net, nothing but you and Qur’an- insha’Allah we will taste a sweetness with Allah we have missed for too long.
And if we ALL do this, imagine insha’Allah how much the ummah will benefit from so many people revamping their relationship with Allah, the One for Whom it is so easy to give success to whomever He wishes. And you know why? Because we learn from the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallama that for the one who wants the dunya, on this person is the Qur’an, and for the one who wants the akhira, on this person is the Qur’an, and the one who wants both, then on this person is the Qur’an. So basically, anything we want, and we all want success for this ummah- we need to go back to the Qur’an.
If we have 100 Companions of the Qur’an walking around the streets, sitting in class, working- wherever, and those Companions are making duaa for the ummah, and these people making duaa are beloved to Allah and so Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala answers their duaa, then of course we’ll insha’Allah see a great improvement in our situation as an ummah. Multiply that by thousands- and we pray millions more people- we would pray to never gain see something horrendous like what we are witnessing now.
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Our Deeds Matter
During the new Hijri year, a few days after the war on Gaza began, I walked past an apartment building (currently in a Muslim-populated country), and there was crazy music blasting and men and women getting down…I was on my way to a nearby corner store, and I said to the store keeper, it’s unfortunate that these people (clearly Muslims) are partying when there is a great killing going on. And he explained that they’re celebrating the new Hijri year.
All I could think of is Ya Allah, protect us. This party is a supposed celebration of the Companions leaving their homes and families in Makkah to save their deen, and these people are getting jiggy with it haram style when our children are being massacred only hours away. Are you kidding me? How do we not see that our actions, and especially lack thereof, that our complete state of ghaflah (heedlessness) is screaming in big, bold letters: WE DO NOT DESERVE VICTORY! Auothobillah, may Allah protect us! Allahuma, forgive us! And do not cause my lack of consciousness to be a cause for the downfall of this ummah!
This is our opportunity to save human lives. With the number of casualties nearing 1000, and those wounded thousands more, we really cannot sit back and chillax any more, hoping things will somehow get better. Allah is testing us, perhaps with a test even greater than those in Gaza. Are we going to pass? Are we really aware of the magnitude of what we’re witnessing? What is happening in our very own lifetimes? Look: we can really help, and it’s through improving ourselves, through changing our speech full of backbiting and gossip to shukr (gratitude) and smiling in the faces of others, through changing our 3 minute salatul Dhur to one with a complete sujood, with full rest between every change of position. It’s through us caring about our relationship with Allah and actually putting in an effort to know Him, ‘Azza wa Jall.
Let’s make an effort to change ourselves NOW, and ask Allah to bless this effort and accept it as a means of helping the people of Gaza, and as a means of strengthening the ummah.
You game? If so, help us all feel encouraged to change ourselves: shout out an ALLAH AKBAR in the comment section and suggest a few things we can leave [i.e. buying a new videogame] and replace with something better [donating that money to Gaza].
Finally, check out the Gaza Checklist (doc | pdf) for other ideas of how you can physically help, from donating to calling your congressperson.
Ummah, insha’Allah we can do this! Allah is blessing us BIG TIME! That we are still alive, being reminded to CHANGE NOW before it’s too late! Alhamdullilah to the One Who guides His slaves to repentance before they really feel the weight of their sins on the Day of Judgment, when it’s too late to change.
May Allah give us tawfeeq and use us for His Sake, and may He give the people of Gaza and oppressed everywhere strength and the ability to overcome those who oppress them.
Allahuma! As You supported the Muslims at Badr with your Angels, as you gave victory to the Muslims at Badr, support the people of Gaza with Angels from You! Allahuma, gives this ummah victory!
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