Three Years Since Toufan Al Aqsa… and Al-Aqsa Still Calls
Three years on, the question is no longer what Gaza has endured, but what we have done.
The world may forget. The headlines may change. The screens may turn their attention to another war or another crisis. And when a tragedy continues for too long, people far away may begin to see it only as numbers repeated again and again, until those numbers no longer shock them.
But there is one truth that should never leave the heart of a believer: Allah does not forget.
He knows every night of fear that the Palestinians have lived through. He sees every tear that a mother hides so that her children will not see her cry. He knows the hunger of every father who shared a small piece of bread among his children and went without food himself.
He knows every doctor who continued working with whatever little medicine remained in his hands. He knows every paramedic who rushed to save the wounded, knowing that he could become the next victim. He knows every teacher who gathered children together to help them hold on to their education and their childhood. He knows every neighbour who gave shelter to another.
He knows every woman who remained strong after losing her husband, so that she could give her children whatever remained of the meaning of a home. And He knows every child who carried water for his family when he should have been carrying his schoolbag.
“And be patient, for indeed Allah does not allow the reward of those who do good to be lost.”
[Qur’an 11:115]
In a world where so many things can be lost, one certainty remains a source of strength for the believer’s heart: Nothing is ever lost with Allah.
The faith, patience, goodness, and sincere sacrifices that a person places in the care of Allah will never be wasted. What is done for Allah is never forgotten, and what is endured with patience and faith is never without reward.
If our message to the people of Gaza should be one of comfort, appreciation, and recognition of all that they have endured, then our message to the wider Muslim community should be one of responsibility and self-accountability.
The people of Gaza have carried a burden that must never become an excuse for others to do nothing. One of the worst things we can do is admire their patience so much that we make their patience a substitute for our own action. We must not keep asking them to remain strong whenever their suffering becomes harder, while at the same time lowering our own responsibility towards them.
Gaza’s patience does not free the Muslim community from its responsibility. It makes that responsibility even greater.
And the greater the burden carried by those who are suffering, the greater the question asked of those who can help:
“What have you done with what you are able to do for them?”
Let us not allow three years of suffering to become just another date on the calendar or another story in our newsfeeds.
Let us remember Gaza not only with our words, but with our prayers, our sincere support, our charity, and whatever good we are capable of doing.
May Allah never allow us to become among those who see suffering and simply look away.
O Allah, protect the people of Gaza. Ease their suffering, heal their wounded, have mercy on those who have been lost, and grant patience and strength to those who remain. Protect their children, their families, and their homes.
O Allah, provide for those who have lost everything, bring relief to those in hardship, and replace their fear with safety, their grief with comfort, and their suffering with ease.
O Allah, accept the sacrifices of those who have suffered, reward every act of patience and goodness, and do not let any of their pain or tears be lost.
And O Allah, forgive us for what we have failed to do, guide us to what we can do, and make us people of sincere faith, compassion and action. Ameen.
The story did not begin on 7 October 2023. It was another chapter in a much longer history of suffering — a history we will never forget.
But there is one truth that should never leave the heart of a believer: Allah does not forget.
He knows every night of fear that the Palestinians have lived through. He sees every tear that a mother hides so that her children will not see her cry. He knows the hunger of every father who shared a small piece of bread among his children and went without food himself.
He knows every doctor who continued working with whatever little medicine remained in his hands. He knows every paramedic who rushed to save the wounded, knowing that he could become the next victim. He knows every teacher who gathered children together to help them hold on to their education and their childhood. He knows every neighbour who gave shelter to another.
He knows every woman who remained strong after losing her husband, so that she could give her children whatever remained of the meaning of a home. And He knows every child who carried water for his family when he should have been carrying his schoolbag.
“And be patient, for indeed Allah does not allow the reward of those who do good to be lost.”
[Qur’an 11:115]
In a world where so many things can be lost, one certainty remains a source of strength for the believer’s heart: Nothing is ever lost with Allah.
The faith, patience, goodness, and sincere sacrifices that a person places in the care of Allah will never be wasted. What is done for Allah is never forgotten, and what is endured with patience and faith is never without reward.
If our message to the people of Gaza should be one of comfort, appreciation, and recognition of all that they have endured, then our message to the wider Muslim community should be one of responsibility and self-accountability.
The people of Gaza have carried a burden that must never become an excuse for others to do nothing. One of the worst things we can do is admire their patience so much that we make their patience a substitute for our own action. We must not keep asking them to remain strong whenever their suffering becomes harder, while at the same time lowering our own responsibility towards them.
Gaza’s patience does not free the Muslim community from its responsibility. It makes that responsibility even greater.
And the greater the burden carried by those who are suffering, the greater the question asked of those who can help:
“What have you done with what you are able to do for them?”
Let us not allow three years of suffering to become just another date on the calendar or another story in our newsfeeds.
Let us remember Gaza not only with our words, but with our prayers, our sincere support, our charity, and whatever good we are capable of doing.
May Allah never allow us to become among those who see suffering and simply look away.
O Allah, protect the people of Gaza. Ease their suffering, heal their wounded, have mercy on those who have been lost, and grant patience and strength to those who remain. Protect their children, their families, and their homes.
O Allah, provide for those who have lost everything, bring relief to those in hardship, and replace their fear with safety, their grief with comfort, and their suffering with ease.
O Allah, accept the sacrifices of those who have suffered, reward every act of patience and goodness, and do not let any of their pain or tears be lost.
And O Allah, forgive us for what we have failed to do, guide us to what we can do, and make us people of sincere faith, compassion and action. Ameen.
The story did not begin on 7 October 2023. It was another chapter in a much longer history of suffering — a history we will never forget.
