14 July, 2006

Israel Attacks Lebanon

Assalam Alaykum,

May this reach you in the best state of health and iman. Ameen.

Many of us are slowly becoming aware of the shocking events that are unfolding in the Middle East with regards to Israel's fanatical attacks in Palestine and Lebanon. As Muslims [and Non-Muslims] , we can respond to these events in a variety of ways. Many of us are thinking of the humanitarian aspect of this crisis while others are focused on the political or social dimensions. One thing that we must never lose sight of is the spiritual dimension of this issue.

"Allah does not change a people's lot unless they change what is in their hearts." [Qur'an 13:11]

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "The believers, in their love, mutual kindness, and close ties, are like one body; when any part complains, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever." [Muslim]

"The faithful are like one man: if his eyes suffers, his whole body suffers." [Muslim]

"An Arab is no better than a non-Arab. In return, a non-Arab is no better than an Arab. A red raced man was not better than a black one except in piety. Mankind are all Adam's children and Adam was created out of clay." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "The Faithful are to one another like [parts of] a building - each part strengthening the others."

We must remember that the aid of Allah (swt) is always near. He is closer to us than our jugular veins.

Inshallah tomorrow, lets all come together, whether it be in our homes, or in local masjids, and make Qiyam for our Ummah. Theres nothing more powerful than an entire Ummah turning to Allah and asking for His help alone.

Starting after Isha tommorow, gather your family, friends, and community members wherever you can and come together and make du'a. Then spend the night weeping in prayer, recitation of the Qur'an, and dhikr. If you grow tired, ponder over the fate of your brothers and sisters in Palestine and Lebanon or reflect over what your own state will be in the Akhirah; this should re-energize.

May Allah (swt) give victory to the oppressed and destroy the oppressors. Ameen.

Keep our Ummah in your duas.

[I know UAE is pretty multi cultured and it would not be nice to leave out people, even though the letter addresses Muslims, I'd also like to ask everyone, including non-muslims, to keep the civilians, the innocent children, men and women in your prayers. I currently have a friend in Lebanon, and she can't get out, she went there for vacation. ]

Masalamah

4 comments:

فهد المحمود said...

Evil is expected from evil ... in this case Israel .... but the sad thing is that none of the Arab and Muslim nations had done anything to defend or help Lebanon ...

It's just a matter of time that another Muslim country will be the next target ... The whole world is silent and the US says it is ok for Israel to "defend" itself ...

B.D. said...

You took the time VM to compose a thoughful post. I have to say that on this sort of issue I am struck by the difference in reaction one sees from what occured with say the Denmark cartoon issue a few months back. That (the cartoon thing) was simply an act of insensitivity, poor taste, etc. on the part of a few media outlets. Yet the Muslim world erupted in mass outrage and in some places hysteria, not only against the publishers of the offending material but against Denmark as a nation.

On the other hand, serious violations against human rights and civilization are being carried out at present by the state of Israel. While obviously people voice their anger and disgust, I expect the outrage will pale against the uproar and even the boycotts carried out over the relatively trivial media act.

I would add that it is not only the Muslim world's reaction that one can take issue with. In the case of the Cartoon event the US gov't expressed its sympathy or concern over the religious sensitivities being offended. So while it cared so much about that--enough at least to speak up about it--why doesn't it care or speak up against the more serious and totally out of proportion response of Israel to a single military or terrorist act?

Ahsan Ali said...

Now if only that would translate into action, if only governments in the middle-east would form a _real [brotherhood]_ instead of bickering...

I think 50+ years of violence is enough. Perhaps the Palestinian people and the Israelis should follow the example of great men like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

The strongest weapon is non-violence.

Difficult ? Extremely.
Necessary ? Absolutely.

bandicoot said...

VM, as important as prayers can be in desperate situations like this one, we know there're just not enough on their own. Israel has done a lot worse in the past, in Lebanon and Palestine and, against the prayers of million of victims, never had to pay for its actions. I’ll pray for your friend and all the people of Gaza and Lebanon, but what is really needed is action; namely from the people who have the power to make a difference, inside Israel, in the Muslim World and in the US and Europe.

BD, I couldn't agree with you more. I think the reactions of Muslim leaders and nations to the events in Palestine and Lebanon (at least compared to the Danish cartoons) are an absolute disgrace. The countries that came close to declaring war on Denmark for a stupid drawing in a newspaper can't left a finger in the face of Israel and its supporters.

Doubleletter, unfortunately there are no Ghandis and Luther Kings in the Middle East; or if they exist they are extremely marginal. The creation of the state of Israel was never done peacefully and its 58-year history since then was mainly a history of violence and expansion. Peace with Egypt came after a war where Israel was almost defeated (if it wasn't for the US military and political lifeline). And the other peace treaty with Jordan took place only because Israel has already achieved its strategic goal of reaching the Jordan River and was not interested in expanding any farther.

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