India's prime minister inaugurated a new temple at the site of a demolished 16th-century mosque that was torn down by a mob of Hindu nationalists. Babri Masjid was destroyed in 1992 during a rampage that killed 17 people in the city of Ayodhya. The new Ram Mandir temple was built atop the ruins of the old mosque, where some Hindus believe Lord Ram, a popular deity, was born. The event on Monday drew 8,000 guests including celebrities but also forced members of the local Muslim community to relive old traumas

• Modi inaugurates Hindu temple on site of razed mosque in India

• As petals rained down and celebrities beamed, Modi unveiled his vision of a Hindu India

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Israel controls every aspect of life in Gaza, even the internet.

Has Ursula von der Leyen received advice from Tony Blair?

Satellite image of Michaela Community School. (Source: Google Maps)

Currently there is a court battle between a London state school with close connections to the Tory party and to its allied think tanks and some of its own pupils. The battle started when a group of Muslim pupils decided to hold the compulsory daily prayers on school grounds, presumably during lunch or afternoon break, and were prevented from doing so by staff. The school’s defence was the most recent chapter in the court case, and as a result the media is full of the school’s claims as I write (some of the articles include copy-pasted words from the school’s press release) and these include accusations of ‘threats’, ‘intimidation’, ‘racism’ and a bomb hoax. The school, run by Katherine Birbalsingh, best known for her speeches at the Tory party conference and the more recent “National Conservatism” conference, was allegedly a nice happy family until a few troublemakers decided to ruin things last year by praying on their blazers in their sorry excuse for a playground; there are rumours that the girl who started wearing hijab was a serial troublemaker who may have been “exposed to something” at home. So, let’s have a look at some facts about this.

First: a brief look at this ‘school’ shows us that it is not actually a school. It’s an office building shared with (of all things) a firm of immigration solicitors among probably other businesses. It has next to no outdoor space for pupils; satellite imagery shows a court for some ball game drawn on the grounds between the building and the road, but that’s about it. When Birbalsingh claims in her press release that “the school’s restrictive building” means pupils cannot be allowed to “wander round unsupervised” and that this is an excuse not to have a prayer room, she is talking about something she knew about before choosing that site for her school (much as she knew about the diversity of the area). Of course, it’s not the only time a building has been repurposed as a school that had previously been, say, a mansion, but they usually have space for the pupils to exercise and play in outside, and this place does not, and given that it’s an inner-city location, not all the pupils will have such spaces available to them at home either. Some colleges also use office buildings, including the nearby College of North-West London, but students in college are allowed to leave the building and amuse themselves in a nearby park or in the local area generally, while secondary school pupils are usually confined to the school for school hours. The use of this building as a secondary school, especially for 840 pupils, should never have got planning permission, and but for politics probably would not have done.

Second, the prayer or salaat is compulsory in Islam when someone reaches puberty. That is a fact. There are conditions which allow delaying or combining prayers, such as being on a long journey (a literal not metaphorical journey) or when life is at stake, such as fleeing floodwaters, bandits or an erupting volcano, or treating someone’s life-threatening injuries. They can’t be delayed for Birbalsingh’s convenience or to maintain her illusion of a big happy family. Prayer times are spread through the day, but in the winter three of the five daily prayers occur within about four hours of each other and this may be where the conflict arises. Nonetheless, they do not take a lot of time, literally a few minutes each, and the midday prayer can be held during lunchtime and the mid-afternoon prayer, during the late autumn and winter, can be held during afternoon break or just before leaving school, depending on when it closes (in the summer, only the midday prayer occurs in school time and even this can sometimes be delayed until close of school, again depending on when that is).

Third, another fact about Islam is that it is not permitted to obey people while disobeying the Creator. This means that delaying or leaving off prayers beyond their allowed time to please Ms Birbalsingh is just as much a sin as delaying them because they clash with EastEnders or the FA Cup final, and because your parents tell you to obey Miss Snuffy is not an excuse either. So just because the parents put their children in a position where they would not have been able to fulfil their religious duties, it’s no less of a duty and it’s no less of a right for them to be allowed to fulfil it. (Why they did this has not been made clear; the school has been around for a few years, but the matter of pupils being prevented from praying in school only became an issue in March 2023. Was this something the school only made an issue of then, or was this something pupils were putting up with, or working around, until they decided they would not put up with it anymore?) As for the girl she mentioned in her Unherd interview who ‘suddenly’ started wearing hijab, this could have been because it became compulsory when it hadn’t previously been, because she hit puberty. The deadline to start wearing hijab is one’s first period, and if a girl shows up on a random day in year 8 or 9 wearing hijab who previously did not, this is probably the reason, something any female teacher who has worked with Muslims for some time would know and one with any sensitivity would think of rather than using her to score political points. (Many families start their daughters wearing hijab before this, to avoid this situation and get them used to it.)

This is not the first time a Muslim pupil has taken their school to court over its failure to accommodate their religion, or the way they practise it, and not all have been successful; however, this is the first time it concerns something as fundamental as the prayer, rather than a less important observance or one subject to differences of opinion, such as how they wear the hijab. Some schools allow girls to wear a long overcoat (known as an abaya or jilbab) while others insist on the normal uniform with a hijab scarf (many Muslims would regard this as not adequate); while I know parents who have withdrawn their children from school because of Islamophobic discrimination or bullying, and this is becoming a more popular course of action for this and other reasons, it does not seem to have reached the pitch it has at Michaela anywhere else. Perhaps this is because other schools are more accommodating, or have suitable sites with enough space for playing and praying. That Michaela does not is its founders’ fault, not its pupils’.

Michaela’s defenders are quick to remind us of their outstanding Ofsted rating and its academic results. I have even seen teachers, when they take issue with Birbalsingh’s policies, told things like “I’d rather take the word of a headteacher with an outstanding rating, thank you very much”. This ‘outstanding’ rating could only be from overlooking the inadequacy of the building, and not considering the effect on children’s well-being of running a school with “military precision”, of the micro-management and petty rules, of demanding silence in corridors, and so on. However, there are other schools in Brent with an outstanding rating, some of them bigger than Michaela and with just as diverse a pupil intake (this would be impossible to avoid in Brent) and given Birbalsingh’s political connections and given how controversial their one-word ratings have been recently, I would not regard it as the final say on how good a school Michaela is or even as particularly reliable. Bear in mind that Park View in Birmingham had outstanding ratings as well, had great academic results and was a school that pupils were proud to be part of, but Ofsted moved the goalposts to downgrade it after the Trojan hoax affair; all of a sudden, academic achievements were proclaimed to not be as important as “British values”.

Another ignorant argument being shouted a lot on social media is that it’s a “secular school” or that the UK is a “secular country”. Both of these are wrong. It’s legally required for every school to have an act of worship of some kind, although many in practice no longer do and Ofsted have stopped inspecting this, and unless the school is explicitly Jewish, Muslim or whatever, it must be of a “broadly Christian nature”. The UK has an established church and the king or queen is the governor of the church. This is not France and even there, the idea that ‘secularism’ or ‘laïcité’ meant that there should be no sign of religious observance anywhere is a quite recent development; the term (the English for which is ‘lay’, commonly used in both Catholic and Anglican churches) actually means being outside religious orders and that priests, nuns etc not be in charge of the education of children in state schools. It does not require that children be forced to “leave their religion at home” or be prevented from living by it, but most British schools, especially in diverse areas like Wembley, do not see any need to; it’s only one organisation, led by a political agitator running a school to make a point.

Lastly, we should take the claims of violence, intimidation and “death threats” with a pinch of salt. The latter in particular is a time-honoured tactic to paint one’s opponents as lunatics and it has been used in a variety of conflicts; I recall similar accusations being made about ME campaigners ten or so years ago by doctors who were wedded to theories that they were mentally rather than physically ill. Pressure is always portrayed as bullying, anger as threat. Such accusations do not have to be investigated and rarely are by media who repeat them as fact despite it being such a common smear tactic. The media in this case include the churnalistic “mainstream media” which pump out stories liberally quoting from press releases as well as the right-wing online magazines, talk radio and TV stations who will see no reason to question it as it fits with their prejudices and Birbalsingh fits with their political agenda.

I have hope that the pupils will win this case. I do hope that their lawyers will expose Birbalsingh’s position which goes against the normal practice of state schools and is motivated by animus towards Muslims rather than any desire to better their chances in life. After all, this is someone for whom hobnobbing with the likes of Douglas Murray, who has written entire tomes on how western civilisation is collapsing and Muslims are to blame, and who called for life to be made more difficult for Muslims across the board, is a major extracurricular activity and whose school was co-founded by Suella Braverman, famous for her missionary zeal to force asylum seekers onto hulks and out to refugee-exporting Rwanda, and who cannot string a coherent sentence together and whose constituents tell me she is as thick as a plank (Birbalsingh must be glad she isn’t a former pupil). Let’s also hope that a new government in the not too distant future changes the rules to stop cowboy operators with a political agenda using wretched office blocks as schools and then punishing children for the consequences of this decision. 

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Palestinian resistance much better prepared than expected, says New York Times.

Hundreds follow route to Parliament Square in solidarity with people affected by Israel-Gaza conflict

Without flags, placards or chants, hundreds of people joined a silent multi-faith peace walk in London on Sunday in response to the Israel-Gaza war.

Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists walked side-by-side from Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square and back in solidarity with people affected by the conflict in the Middle East.

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Bismillah.

MuslimMatters is excited to announce the appointment of our new Executive Director, Br. Siraaj Muhammad.

Siraaj has served as a MuslimMatters volunteer and writer since 2008, served as COO from 2010-2012, Ops Director in 2019, and up until today was serving as Interim Executive Director since 2021.

In addition to his wealth of institutional knowledge, Siraaj’s career as a technology professional has allowed him to overhaul and redesign the MuslimMatters site, focusing on presenting content, site speed and SEO, while making it easier for writers to access and use the site, which has led to more content production.

Siraaj also designed a successful online fundraising campaign for MuslimMatters which has allowed us to flourish in the last few years, drive more traffic to our site, hire additional writers and re-engage readers while attracting new ones.

In addition to the accomplishments above, Siraaj launched a brand new podcast, assisted the editorial team in streamlining processes that drove focus on the core mission of the organization, hire new writers, and deliver more content than previous years.

MuslimMatters continues to be one of the leaders of Islamic content on the internet and we couldn’t be more proud to have Br. Siraaj Muhammad leading the organization as Executive Director.

Please make dua for Br. Siraaj, his family, and the entire MuslimMatters staff and volunteers who work day in and day out to create meaningful, high quality content to benefit the ummah.

Sincerely,

MuslimMatters.org Board of Directors

Related: 

Podcast : Bringing The Heat | The MM Tell-All Episode

The post Announcement: MuslimMatters New Executive Director appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Three politicians from Muslim and Palestinian backgrounds say Gaza war should not be used to inflame tensions

• Letter: Remembering the horror of the Holocaust

A cross-party trio of politicians from Muslim and Palestinian backgrounds have jointly urged Britons to use this month’s Holocaust Memorial Day as a moment for community cohesion and not to allow differences over the war in Gaza to inflame tensions.

In a letter to the Guardian, Sayeeda Warsi, the Conservative peer and former party chair, the Labour MP Naz Shah and Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat who is the only British MP of Palestinian heritage, said Holocaust Memorial Day was “a moment to remember the systematic slaughter of 6 million Jewish people for no reason other than who they were”.

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After being forced to flee my home and leave my family behind, it has been my faith, passed on to me by my late father, that has got me through

In 2021 I was forced to flee Afghanistan during the fall of Kabul, abandoning my newly built dream home, a stable job, close friends and relatives and above all my loving family. It was heartbreaking. I have lived with the pain for two long years hoping to be reunited with my family in Australia soon. How I endured this trauma is something that intrigues me. What has kept me going during this terrible time?

Being patient and composed in tough times is hard, especially when your personal and professional life is at stake. It requires much more resilience than most humans are built or trained for. Taking refuge in Islamic meditation and getting emotional strength from it helped me like nothing else.

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Reactivated “Hannibal Directive” was ordered from top, Israeli journalists confirm.

Targeting health facilities serves the war aim of forcible transfer.

US Senators “bury” their heads in sand as American-made bombs obliterate Palestinian civilians.

White House doubles down on sidelining Palestinians and pursuing normalization.

Retrial of Palestine Action members to take place in 2025.

The decision by ‘Britain’s strictest head’ reflects a wider culture with a myopic view of what multiculturalism should look like

• Nadeine Asbali is a secondary school teacher in London

Muslims pray five times a day, beginning before sunrise and ending after sunset. It is a central pillar of our faith, and we believe it will be one of the first things we will be questioned about by God after we die.

As a Muslim secondary school teacher, I pray in my own classroom at lunchtimes – and in winter, when the days are shorter, I pray once more after lessons are finished. Never has this private, spiritual act threatened the cohesion of the schools in which I have worked. Never has it diminished my Britishness. And yet, that is exactly the argument given by the controversial headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh this week as she defends the decision to ban “prayer rituals” at her north-west London secondary, Michaela.

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This year has been a difficult time for us all- watching the events in Palestine has been heartbreaking and demoralizing. However, the Muslim Bookstagram Awards continued in the hopes that through the work of talented Muslim literary creators, and the support of readers and community, Muslim voices will be uplifted, supported, and empowered.

And with that, we announce the winners of the 2023 Muslim Bookstagram Awards!

Best Toddler Book

Little Umar’s Search is a super cute board book following Umar as he looks for his older brother – and finds his family members all engaged in different acts of worship. This sturdy life-the-flaps book will be a favourite with toddlers!

Best Picture Book

Salat in Secret

Muhammad receives his first real sujjaadah (prayer mat) at the age of 7, with his father’s words ringing in his ears: “Never delay salat.” But when Muhammad realizes that he has to pray at school… the challenge is a little more than he expected it to be. It is when he witnesses his father living up to his principles no matter what that he realizes what it truly means to make salat the ultimate priority.

Best Chapter Book

Meet the Maliks: Ramadan Mayhem

Maysa and Musa Malik are twins and troublemakers – well, it’s actually just Maysa who is the troublemaker. Maysa desperately wants to go to a camp and to do that she has to prove that she is mature to her parents. So Maysa tries to be better, but she just has a knack for Mayhem. When the Ramadan cookies are stolen, it’s Maysa who figures out the solution, and learns on the way that gossiping is wrong.

Best Middle Grade Book

Huda F Cares?

“Huda F Cares” is the latest chronicles of @yesimhotinthis – this time, following Huda and her family to Disney World.

Between Huda’s fears that her family stands out a little too much, Umm Huda’s nefarious plot to force some sisterly bonding, and the awkwardness of praying in public, this graphic novel lives up to its laugh-out-loud predecessors.

Best YA/ Adult Fiction

Much Ado about Nada

Loosely inspired by Jane Austen’s “Persuasion,” Much Ado About Nada is more a lighthearted rom-com with an unexpected twist on the genre of second-chance love. Nada Syed is going on 30, struggling with her start-up business idea – and coming face-to-face with a figure from her past. Will Nada’s heart be in danger as it was many years ago, or does she have a second chance at love?

Best Illustrations

The Masjid Kamal Loves

From the friends Kamal meets at Jumu’ah, to playful splashing while doing wudhu, to the imam’s wisdom and the smiles of other believers – this book highlights the very essence of loving the masjid and its experiences. This book is a beautiful example of Muslim joy.

Best Holiday Book

H

Made from the Same Dough

Papa isn’t a Muslim, but he’ll be spending Ramadan with his grandson, Rayan, and his family. Rayan worries his grandfather won’t fit in and might even do something embarrassing. When Papa suggests bringing cookies made from his favorite Christmas recipe, Rayan panics. How will Rayan handle the challenge of having his Christian grandfather at his Ramadan gathering? Can he and Papa find common ground and respect each other’s traditions?

Best Non-Fiction

Letters From A Prophet

Many years ago, across distant lands and faraway empires, a series of letters were sent to some of the most powerful men on earth. These were no ordinary letters, however- they were from none other than the Last Prophet of God and the message they contained was one for all time. This unique book goes into detail about the special letters of da’wah that RasulAllah (SallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) sent to four major rulers of his time: Emperor Heraclius, Al-Muqawqis, King Chosroes, and an-Najaashi. More than just providing the letters, however, this book goes into depth about the context of each letter, the letters’ recipients and their reactions, and relevant lessons for us to glean from each incident.

Judges’ Choice Award

Ramadan Nights by Jenny Divleli hits all the right notes in evoking Ramadan vibes!

From home-made decorations to sighting the moon, the joy of praying taraweeh and being woken by a Ramadan drummer for suhoor, this lovely book will fill readers hearts with true Ramadan joy. Simple scenes of reciting Qur’an, struggling with hunger, sharing with others and gratitude for Allah’s blessings all encapsulate the beauty of Ramadan in a way that will connect with young children and create memories to drawn upon for years to come.

Bookseller Legacy

Specially chosen by our sponsor, Noura of CrescentMoon Bookstore, “Migo & Ali: Love for the Prophets” is an enduring bestseller, and for good reason!

This delightful hardback book contains vibrantly illustrated stories of the prophets, from Adam (as) to Muhammad (saw). These stories are concise, and told in engaging, child-friendly language. A delightful question and answer session after each story is also unique in its style, depicted as a conversation between the two lovable characters.

[DON’T FORGET! SPECIAL COUPON CODE: Use the coupon code “MBR” for 15% off all products ordered from Crescent Moon Bookstore!]

As always, we are incredibly grateful for the support of all the Muslim authors, illustrators, publishers, and of course, the readers who make it all worth it. We pray that Allah blesses all everyone who has contributed to the Muslim literary scene and makes their efforts a source of reward in this world and the Next, ameen!

Related:

The Muslim Bookstagram Awards 2023: Meet The Finalists!

The Muslim Bookstagram Awards : Announcing The 2022 Winners!

The post The Muslim Bookstagram Awards : The 2023 Winners! appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Nearly 95 percent of missions to allocate fuel, medicine in northern areas have been denied by Israeli authorities.

There is no respite in Gaza as families are torn apart.

I’m going to open this article by sharing two stories that highlight the power and effectiveness of duʿā.

Abū Hurairah narrates that he would frequently invite his mother to accept Islam, and she would always refuse. One day, he was encouraging her to accept the truth and she responded with some hurtful speech regarding the Prophet ﷺ. She rebuked her son and insulted the Prophet ﷺ. This pained Abū Hurairah as he was a man with a very soft and tender heart. He came to the Prophet ﷺ crying and said, “O Messenger of Allah! I would invite my mother to Islam and she would reject it. I invited her again today and she said some things regarding you that I disliked. Supplicate to Allah ﷻ to guide Abū Hurairah’s mother.” The Prophet ﷺ raised his hands and said, “O Allah, guide Abū Hurairah’s mother!” 

He left happy with the Prophet’s supplication and returned to his mother’s home. When his mother heard him approaching the door she asked for him to wait outside as she was bathing. As soon as she finished, she opened the door and said, “O Abū Hurairah! I bear witness that there’s no one worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness the Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah!” This brought indescribable joy to Abū Hurairah’s heart and he went back to the Prophet ﷺ. This time he came to him with tears of joy and told him what happened. He said, “Rejoice O Messenger of Allah, for Allah ﷻ has accepted your duʿā. He has guided Abū Hurairah’s mother to Islam. He also said, “O Messenger of Allah! Supplicate to Allah to make my mother and I beloved to the believing men and women.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “O Allah! Make this servant of yours and his mother beloved to every believing man and woman.” As a result, Abū Hurairah would say, “No believing man or woman hears of me except that they love me.” [Sahih Muslim 2491]

That is the amazing and transformative power of duʿā. It has the ability to make the seemingly impossible possible. Through the duʿā of the Prophet ﷺ, Abū Huraira’s mother’s heart was opened and she surrendered to Allah ﷻ. This is a woman who just a few moments before had refused to accept Islam and insulted the Prophet ﷺ.

The second story is from Anas .

He narrates that once while the Prophet ﷺ was delivering a khuṭbah, a man entered the masjid, interrupted the Prophet ﷺ, and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Our wealth has perished and the roads have been cut off. Supplicate to Allah to send us rain.”

يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ هَلَكَتِ الأَمْوَالُ وَانْقَطَعَتِ السُّبُلُ، فَادْعُ اللَّهَ يُغِيثُنَا

The Messenger of Allah ﷻ raised his hands and said, “O Allah send us rain! O Allah send us rain! O Allah send us rain!” Anas said, “By Allah, when he raised his hands there were no clouds in the sky.” Then all of a sudden, a cloud appeared in the middle of the sky, spread, and it started to rain. “By Allah, we didn’t see the sun for a week.” [Agreed upon]

That is the power of duʿā. It has the ability to make the seemingly impossible possible. Within a moment it can change circumstances, situations, and conditions.

Supplication [PC: Imad Alassiry (unsplash)]

Duʿā, supplication, calling upon Allah ﷻ, is one of the absolute most powerful and amazing tools that we have as believers. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Duʿā is the weapon of the believer.” Just as a weapon is used for protection and defense in a physical sense, duʿā (prayer) is seen as a spiritual and emotional weapon that we as believers can use to seek help, guidance, and strength from Allah ﷻ. This saying underscores the belief that turning to Allah ﷻ in prayer is a source of comfort, solace, and empowerment for us, especially in times of difficulty, hardship, or when facing challenges. It encourages us to have faith in the efficacy of our supplications and the divine support that can be obtained through sincere prayer.

Duʿā is a direct line of communication between a believer and their Lord and Creator. It is considered to be the essence or epitome of worship. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Duʿā is the essence of worship.” When we raise our hands in supplication to Allah ﷻ it shows that we recognize the reality of our relationship with Him. We recognize that we are His servants and that He is our Lord and Creator. We acknowledge and admit that we don’t have the power, ability, or capability to do anything without the help and assistance of Allah ﷻ. When we supplicate to Allah ﷻ, we are affirming all of His divine names and attributes. We are affirming that He ﷻ is our Lord, Creator, Sustainer, Provider, Nourisher, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, and the All-Knowing. When we engage in duʿā we are affirming that Allah ﷻ is in charge of this entire universe and everything it contains; that He alone is the King of all kings.

By supplicating to Allah ﷻ we are fulfilling our obligation of calling upon Him. And the beautiful thing is that when we call upon Him, He answers. Allah ﷻ says,

“And your Lord says call upon me and I will respond to you.” [Surah Ghafir: 40;60]

In this verse, Allah ﷻ Himself is instructing us to call upon Him. Allah ﷻ is instructing us to worship Him and make duʿā. And then He ﷻ gives us a promise that He will respond. Similarly, in Sūrah al-Baqarah Allah ﷻ says,

“[Prophet], if My servants ask you about Me, I am near. I respond to those who call Me, so let them respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may be guided.” [Surah Baqarah: 2;186]

This verse is very significant in helping us nurture, develop, and cultivate a stronger relationship with Allah ﷻ. Oftentimes, we may think of Allah ﷻ as being very distant or far. Because we can’t see Allah ﷻ in the life of this world, we may feel that He is distant, or God-forbid absent from our daily life and affairs. But Allah ﷻ tells us that He is near; He is close. An aspect of that proximity is that He answers our prayers.

“I respond to those who call Me…” Again, Allah ﷻ gives us a guarantee that He will respond to our calls when we call upon Him. But here, Allah ﷻ makes His acceptance of our supplications conditional. “So let them respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may be guided.” Allah ﷻ is telling us that if we want Him to respond to our call, we have to respond to His. Allah’s call is found in the Quran; it is living our lives according to the guidance of the Quran and following the practical example of the Prophet ﷺ. If we want our prayers to be accepted, we have to try our best to follow the instructions, guidance, commands, and prohibitions of Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ.

When a person frequently calls upon Allah ﷻ it shows that they have firm faith and a strong relationship with their Lord and Creator. Allah ﷻ promises that He will respond to His servants if they call upon Him seeking His help, assistance, and guidance. 

However, from experience, we know that we don’t always get what we ask for. A common question people ask is “Why are my prayers not being answered?” The Prophet ﷺ provides a response to this question in the following ḥadīth.

Abū Hurairah narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said, “There is not a man who calls upon Allah with a supplication, except that he is answered. Either it shall be granted to him in the world, or reserved for him in the Hereafter, or his sins shall be expiated for it according to the extent that he supplicated – as long as he does not supplicate for some sin, or for the severing of the ties of kinship, and he does not become hasty.” The companions said: “O Messenger of Allah, and how would he be hasty?” He ﷻ said: “He says: ‘I called upon my Lord, but He did not answer me.’”

We cannot and should not underestimate the power of supplication. It is one of the most important things we can continue to do for our brothers and sisters in Gaza. Oftentimes our word choice and rhetoric are reflective of our beliefs and inner feelings. When we hear people speaking about supplicating for our brothers and sisters they make it seem like a cop-out or something insignificant. Oftentimes we hear people saying, “The least we can do is make duʿā for them.” That is not the least we can do. Duʿā is one of the most important things we can do to help our brothers and sisters who are experiencing ethnic cleansing and genocide. It is one of the most powerful tools and weapons we have in our arsenal.

May Allah ﷻ grant the people of Gaza continued strength, patience, perseverance, tawakkul, and victory. May He ﷻ remove the injustice and oppression from their lives and bring an end to the brutal occupation. May Allah ﷻ liberate al-Aqṣā. From the river to the sea Palestine will be free!

 

Related:

– 5 Steps To Grow From Passive To Active Bystanders During The Genocide Of Gaza

– Why Our Prayers for Gaza May Not Be Answered

The post From The Chaplain’s Desk: The Power Of Dua appeared first on MuslimMatters.org.

Guests: Haidar Eid, Ahmed Abofoul, Shahd Abusalama, Jon Elmer.