Ramadhan Reflections Inspired By Palestine

As Muslims we look forward to Ramadhan, the holiest and most spiritual month of the Year. In Ramadhan we use that spiritual energy and collective spirit to motivate ourselves to observe acts of worship that challenge us, in the hope it spurts our spiritual and emotional growth.

The most endearing pursuit in this month is to attain Taqwa (God-consciousness) as that is the lens, imperative and the fuel to channel our energy to productive causes deemed important and praiseworthy in Islam. Our religion encourages many notable pursuits; some societal and some personal. This is not just for Ramadhan, but the entirety of our lives.

One of the most often-cited noble pursuit is to live an ethically moral life to the standard set by Allah. This involves upholding justice and supporting the most vulnerable in our society and to fulfil our mutual rights for the sake of Allah. It requires us to live a spiritual life which is filled with gratitude, patience, remembrance of Allah and appreciation of his creation in the hope of earning the promised reward of Jannah through worship and sacrifice.

For us Muslims, Ramadhan is an opportunity and an inspiration for our spiritual growth. However, such growth requires a motivation. For some of us, this is absent, and we squander the opportunity presented to us. This Ramadhan let our Palestinian brothers and sisters serve as a source of inspiration and motivation.

Firstly, with all the grotesque violations of those God-given rights taking place in Palestine now and it being publicly and mockingly displayed, we need, now more than ever, to stand for justice, preservation of life, honour, dignity, aleviate hunger and attend to the needs of the most vulnerable. There is ample source of motivation to act and grow to become activist and strive for the above noble causes.

Secondly, Palestinians are living examples of many of the beautiful teachings of Islam. Their faith and trust in Allah that has been displayed by the young and old is absolutely unbelievable. The war is the most brutal and intense any have witnessed, affecting 2.3 million. More than a 100,000 killed or injured include more than 13,000 children and babies. There are 2 million people displaced, having lost their homes, family and everything they hold dear. Despite all this suffering, the words that you hear frequently from them is hasbunalla (Allah is sufficient for us) or they utter repeatedly Alhamdulliah ( All praise to Allah as gratitude). What amazing faith. What grace and humility. There is a great lesson in this for those in in need of motivation.

Their perseverance is a model for all as they seek justice and freedom from the brutal occupation and siege that has suffocated them for almost 100 years. The Palestinians have unbelievably high literacy level despite the brutal siege and debilitating conditions. They had hopes and aspirations despite the oppressive attempts to squash any hope.

Their support for each other is a model for any community. Everyone is like a father and mother to all the children. The words of a Mother who loses her son, Ibrahim, due to a Israeli bomb resonates deeply. She straight away shouts that all the children of the neighbourhood are her children and are her Ibrahim. Countless examples of overburdened families who were willing to take in displaced people which extended the number living in their modest accommodation to 40-50.

Their commitment to fulfilling the Islamic character and ritual obligation despite constant challenges is there for the world to see. Women are mainly seen with the hijab despite these difficult and suffocating conditions. Men are seen praying on rubbles or remnants of destroyed mosques. Children are still reading and learning Quran.

But perhaps the most inspiring is that they have practically replayed some of the prophetic habits to the world. One or two examples will suffice. The companions of the Prophet, and indeed the noble Prophet himself, was known to have tied stones to their stomachs to fight the pangs of hunger. The Palestinians have been doing exactly that in this brutal oppression of mass starvation. The famous Uncle Khalid who uttered these deeply emotional words when his granddaughter was martyred with composure and patience whilst kissing her goodbye. “You are the soul of my soul”. This display was very similar to when our Prophet lost his infant child Ibrahim and kissed him goodbye with tears in his eyes uttering the words “Verily the eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, and we are saddened over your departure oh Ibrahim. But we will not say except that which is pleasing to our Lord.”

In Ramadhan the seeds are sown, some early signs of growth may even be observed but those seeds shall blossom post Ramadhan.  Let’s elevate our Ramadhan and be inspired by the Palestinians. The benefit for us is that we grow as human beings embodying their qualities and objectively pursue the aforementioned noble causes. The benefit for them is they become immortal references and models of virtue and inspiration and feel the effects of our activism.

For most dramatic inspiration it would be nice if better writers than myself were to team up with skilful journalists and write a bestselling book of Palestinian anecdotes to serve as fountain of inspiration for generations to come. I hope to see something like this commissioned to immortalise in the history the courage, character and culture of our brothers and sisters in Palestine.