On today’s walk with mama. The lake was so calm, devoid of the usual ripples, no ducks to be found except for the one lone duck making its way to the shore. As we walked along, we came across  a few more no more than 5 ducks. Their movement creating a line of ripples that followed their path. The sky was a mass of floating clouds but calm nonetheless. I noticed the calmness making its way to my feet, upwards to my heart and then to my face.

Suddenly my eyes swelled with tears as I wondered if the mothers, the fathers, the husbands, the wives, the grandfathers, the grandmothers and the children of Palestine will ever know this calm. As this thought crossed my mind, I immediately sought forgiveness from my Lord - Astaghfirullah forgive me O Allah for my shortsightedness.

“For Indeed with hardship comes ease. Indeed with hardship comes ease. So when you have fulfilled [your duties], strive and stand firm [in worship and devotion] and to your Lord [alone] with hope direct [your] attention.” [94:5-8].

I remind myself of this promise from my Lord that even within the hardship there is ease. An understanding and steadfastness that Palestine has long embodied. They have long reached the calm with their Lord, in their hearts, in their tears, in their cries, in their loss and their conviction in the promise of Allah, they have known this calm. A divine calm that cannot be perceived.

“He is the One Who sent down serenity upon the hearts of the believers so that they may increase even more in their faith. To Allah ˹alone˺ belong the forces of the heavens and the earth. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise.” [48:4]

Ya Allah Ya Rabb, Ya Rahman Ya Rahim, send down your serenity upon our hearts and increase us in faith. Ya Hakim grant us conviction in Your divine knowledge and wisdom. The past few months have been of intense grief. I’ve felt everything from sadness, anger, rage, frustration and everything in between. But Alhamdulillah truly the Qur’an has been a balm for my aching heart.

Every now and then I let out an exasperated sigh, because it seems like we are all just screaming into a void. War, exploitation, oppression, genocide and extermination are spread like wild fires - Palestine, Sudan, Congo, Syria, Yemen, Tigray and the list goes on. We are watching as the artery to our humanity is getting clogged by an inert mass of monstrous, apathetic governments, corporations and so called world leaders that sit atop it all refusing to put a stop to this madness. We are supposed to just sit with our hands folded between our thighs and when it is all said and done, they can crawl out when it is too late to claim ignorance while they proudly wear the badge of savior and philanthropy. God forbid we let them forget.

We will continue to bear witness to the lifeless bodies, the buildings turned rubble, the mutilated body parts in bags, the cries of the parents and the children, the exhaustion of the displaced carrying what is left of their belongings covered in dust as they walk to nowhere. For the grandfather who lost the soul of his soul, for the mother who cried for her daughter to not be put in the fridge because she never liked the cold, for the little girl who recognized her lifeless mother by her hair, for Bisan, Moataz, Plestia and many others who are forced to pick up the camera and document their own genocide, for the ones who questioned whether we see them, for them we will not forget.

And until we are able to feel the calm again, we will continue to be their voice and only say that which pleases our Lord, Allah is sufficient for us and He is the best disposer of our affairs. To Him we belong and to Him we shall return.

Say, “Nothing will ever befall us except what Allah has destined for us. He is our Protector.” So in Allah let the believers put their trust. [9:51]

And to the barbaric, greed-plagued monsters we say :

“Are you awaiting anything to befall us except one of the two best things: ˹victory or martyrdom˺? But We are awaiting Allah to afflict you with torment either from Him or at our hands. So keep waiting! We too are waiting with you.” [9:52]