سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِۦ لَيْلًۭا مِّنَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْأَقْصَا ٱلَّذِى بَـٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهُۥ لِنُرِيَهُۥ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِنَآ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ
Glory be to the One Who took His servant ˹Muḥammad˺ by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We may show him some of Our signs. Indeed, He alone is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing. (Al-Isra’, 1)
2- Three generations across seven decades of the Palestinian people have endured Israeli oppression: mass forced expulsion, dispossession of land (including through targeted terror), killings, random imprisonment, constant expansion of “settlements” and bulldozing of Palestinian homes, and random but regular provocatory episodes of desecrating Al-Aqsa Mosque.
3- Israel was established on principles of ethnic cleansing, land usurpation, and the complete disregard of human dignity, and it has continued to survive on these very principles. Specific examples are so many of which we are all aware. More recently, Gaza has faced a 16-year blockade, turning it into the “largest open-air prison” in the world. The movement of people, transfer of food, provision of electricity and gas…everything is controlled and restricted. This week alone it has been completely shut down in a clear act of collective and indiscriminate punishment.
4- With all this in mind, resistance is inevitable. It is in human nature to resist oppression, and it is an Islamic imperative. Even the western ‘international law’ which the US, UK and EU have all signed up for recognises this basic right.
5- As for the mainstream media, the Australian government, the US, the UK, the EU and the so-called “international community”, their narrative starts with the erasure of this 75-year history. Just as they wanted us to think that 9/11 was a new starting point that came from nowhere, so too do they want us to think this attack on Israel is a new starting point that came from nowhere. It’s “unprovoked”. 75 years of a brutal occupation, 16 years of an inhumane blockade have to be ignored to think that it was “unprovoked”.
6- The other part of the government-media narrative is that Hamas/Palestinians are animals who kill women and behead children. This idea is based on nothing more than a pack of lies that constitute war propaganda, many of which have been exposed, and is not even worth responding too. But it is worth noting that it is because the Israeli and Western elite see Muslims as sub-human that explains all their blatant double standards.
7- We maintain unequivocally that the fundamental problem is the occupation itself and that resistance is a basic right and noble activity for all oppressed people. Our problem, of course, is with Israel’s occupation, not with the Jewish people.
8- This is a tough time for the Umma, but we have no doubt that the victory of Allah will come.
ٱلَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا۟ مِن دِيَـٰرِهِم بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ إِلَّآ أَن يَقُولُوا۟ رَبُّنَا ٱللَّهُ ۗ وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ ٱللَّهِ ٱلنَّاسَ بَعْضَهُم بِبَعْضٍۢ لَّهُدِّمَتْ صَوَٰمِعُ وَبِيَعٌۭ وَصَلَوَٰتٌۭ وَمَسَـٰجِدُ يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا ٱسْمُ ٱللَّهِ كَثِيرًۭا ۗ وَلَيَنصُرَنَّ ٱللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُۥٓ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَقَوِىٌّ عَزِيزٌ
˹They are˺ those who have been expelled from their homes for no reason other than proclaiming: “Our Lord is Allah.” Had Allah not repelled ˹the aggression of˺ some people by means of others, destruction would have surely claimed monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which Allah’s Name is often mentioned. Allah will certainly help those who stand up for Him. Allah is truly All-Powerful, Almighty. (Al-Hajj, 40)
The question that faces us is what role are we playing? Are we mere observers, mere sympathisers, or are we doing what is within our capacity? All Muslims have a responsibility to advocate for the Palestinian cause by raising awareness, learning about the issue, teaching their children, keeping the issues alive—over and above making du’a, beseeching Allah, and spending in charity.
9- We have a responsibility, an Islamic responsibility, a responsibility to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, to register a strong voice of support for the people of Palestine and a strong voice of protest against Israel and its supporters. Allah (swt) commands that we stand for truth and justice:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُونُوا۟ قَوَّٰمِينَ بِٱلْقِسْطِ شُهَدَآءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوِ ٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ وَٱلْأَقْرَبِينَ ۚ إِن يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا أَوْ فَقِيرًۭا فَٱللَّهُ أَوْلَىٰ بِهِمَا ۖ فَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا۟ ٱلْهَوَىٰٓ أَن تَعْدِلُوا۟ ۚ وَإِن تَلْوُۥٓا۟ أَوْ تُعْرِضُوا۟ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًۭا
O believers! Stand firm for justice as witnesses for Allah even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or close relatives. Be they rich or poor, Allah is best to ensure their interests. So do not let your desires cause you to deviate ˹from justice˺. If you distort the testimony or refuse to give it, then ˹know that˺ Allah is certainly All-Aware of what you do. (al-Nisa’, 135)
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ commands that we speak up against evil (munkar) when we cannot change it with our hands, he ﷺ says,
مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرْهُ بِيَدِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِقَلْبِهِ وَذَلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الإِيمَانِ
“Whoever amongst you sees a munkar, he must change it with his hand; if he is unable to do so, then with his tongue; and if he is unable to do so, then with his heart; and that is the weakest form of iman.” (Sahih Muslim, 49)
10- Scholars, community leaders, academics, activists have a further responsibility to think seriously, plan, and work towards the longer-term revival of the Umma, so that as a global Umma we are not weak, disempowered, and at the mercy of those who respect neither kinship nor covenant with respects to the believers, who have neither iman nor morals. So that we are not always reacting, but rather leading and showing the way for humanity, which is the role Allah has determined for us.
This has been reproduced from stand4palestine.com
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