In a world marked by division and conflict, the prevailing sense of justice and solidarity for the oppressed—particularly the Palestinian people—calls for deep introspection among Muslims and humanity at large
Though human beings are differentiated from one another in myriad things, nonetheless, a peculiar semblance can be established where we find ourselves utterly helpless not to differ from our fellow human beings. Even after conflicts, skirmishes and differentiations, why is the sense of justice felt universally? Why is empathetic behaviour found, liked and shared universally? Why is it that whenever human dignity and rights are violated, the entire world seems to be up in arms against such an occurrence- even if symbolically? Why are such traits found everywhere irrespective of the philosophical and religious differentiations that abound in the world? As a proud and unapologetic follower of Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (PBUH), it is way easier to understand such a philosophical discourse than it would be if some European philosopher was put into action to describe and demystify this ever-existing bewilderment.
With nearly 16 months into the genocide and purge of the native innocent Palestinians that the fascist predatory state of Israel unleashed, things that have immensely become manifest in us are, our shamelessness, lack of empathy and (Wahn)-love of the world and fear of death. Allah, through the blessed lips of Muhammad (PBUH), says, (We presented the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they all declined this trust because of the fear. However, man carried it, surely, he is wrong-doing ignorant). The natural question that arises at the end is, what was this trust about which even heavens, Earth and mountains were afraid to carry? There are innumerable scholarly valuable explanations available on what the trust was that we, in our obfuscation of the consequences, decided to bear.
Nevertheless, the most attractive and organic way to understand any Quranic subject is, to refer back to the Quran, for an explanation. If the Quran is devoid of any further explanations, we look for an explanation in the Hadith. And if the Hadith are bereft, we look at the companions of the Prophet (PBUH) for an interpretation and explanation.
However, for the purpose of the discussion at hand, what cuts the mustard in relation to the verse of Al-Ahzaab, is the Quran itself. Allah, through the blessed lips of Muhammad (PBUH), says, (How is it that you don’t fight in the way of Allah and in support of the helpless men, women and children who pray, ‘our lord bring us out of this land whose people are oppressors and appoint for us from yourself a protector and appoint for us from yourself a helper?) This verse of Surah Nisa of the Quran amply substantiates what the trust was about. To the dismay of many, the trust wasn’t only about praying five times a day, fasting in the month of Ramazan, offering mandatory pilgrimage or helping the destitute financially. More so, it was a promise that we made to Allah in the realm of souls that we will not adhere to any other system apart from yours, that we will do everything possible to establish your system on your land so that humanity survives and thrives with prosperity, that if oppression happens in any part of the world, it will be incumbent upon us to eradicate it through and through, that we will help the helpless in times of their misery, that we will make sure that no one dares stand up against your system, that if necessary and required, we will not shy away from sacrificing our lives to protect this system of yours.
The ‘trust’ spoken of in Surah Al Ahzaab was a trust concerning collectivization. Haplessly, we have successfully endeavoured to break every promise that we took an oath to keep in the realm of souls with Allah. The inevitable result of such perfidy happens to manifest before us in the form of whatever is happening in Palestine.
At the very beginning, a few questions were asked. Not because people have never thought of them before but because they have crucially turned out to be of enormous pertinence in contemporary circumstances. The two main elements that are stated at the beginning (sense of justice and empathy) constitute morality. Morality can’t be prefixed with any other term. Morality is Al-Fitrah (Natural Human Disposition). We have copious instances recorded where the animation of morality was witnessed in the context of the Palestine pogrom. The Republic of South Africa went to the International Court of Justice in the name of morality. People wept over the Palestinian atrocities because of morality- all across the globe. The West faced protracted protests from within because of their morality that didn’t let them eschew whatever Israel was doing and continues to do with the Muslims in Palestine.
Howbeit, what is quite contemplative is that when the entire world was crying over Palestine, the entire Muslim world was shamelessly finding excuses not to get into any kind of direct confrontation with the State of Israel and the evil and pernicious heads of the Western world. We had a heart to watch boys, girls, mothers, fathers and even infants being butchered in front of us, without any tears of regret and remorse coming out of our eyes. We showed the world that morality in Muslims is dead. Simply, because the Prophet (PBUH) said, “The believers are like a single body, if a part is in pain, the entire body suffers.” So, when a part of ours was going through pain and atrocities in Palestine, did we feel any of it? Looking inwards will really make us put our tail between our legs. We didn’t feel the tremors rippling from that part of the world. All the while we were and continue to live our lives headless of the plight of Palestinians. And the most dangerous aspect of it happens to be that we chose it wilfully. We deliberately turned a blind eye to satiate ourselves with our self-imposed helplessness and unwillingness.
To wake people up to reality, in 1999 Tony Blair used the exact words ‘The burden of Morality’ to justify the NATO intervention in Kosovo. General Allenby used the words, ‘The crusades have finally ended’ when Jerusalem was captured in the First World War. Just a simple question at the end: why were they doing this? Take your precious time to think.
Syed Shahab Ud Din Andrabi
an*********@***il.com