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I’ve been neglecting the flowers in my entryway, and it reminded me of the heart. The flowers were a vibrant purple when I first brought them home, but now the petals have browned and the stems have slumped over the side of the vase. Had I paid some attention to the bouquet at the first sign of wilting, I might have been able to save it. The difference between this vase of flowers and the heart is that as long as a person is breathing, it’s not too late to correct the condition of the heart.
The first few months of the current bombardment of Gaza woke up our hearts collectively, but I fear that we are falling numb after witnessing a year of violence. Earlier this week, I was disappointed to see that many celebrated Andrew Garfield’s lukewarm mention of Palestine in a recent interview. A few days later, we all witnessed an image we will never forget: 19-year-old Shaban al-Dalou burned alive while he was connected to an IV drip after Israel bombed the grounds at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. In shocking contrast, Instagram fed me Amazon ads and baking videos just moments later. This made me realize that I need to renew my intentions. Burnout and excuses are making me lose steam, and that’s probably the same for a lot of people.
I’ve previously written about role models and their effect on us, but I want to address the heart. For me, it’s become too easy to stop going to protests, stop calling my elected representatives, and sometimes even stop boycotting. It’s time to deeply reflect on why this is the case when I claim to be dedicated to the cause of liberating Palestine. Personally, I see three issues to tackle myself and for anyone who is feeling the same.
Level Up Our Dua
In addition to stopping evil with our limbs, tongue, and heart, we should be constantly making dua that Allah brings about victory. For myself, I know that my dua always feels more powerful when I avoid sin and do good. The best duas are when we tell Allah the ways that we have shown our dedication to Him. In our dua, we can couple this with gratitude for the blessings He has given us in the past and present. We never know, perhaps Allah’s mercy will rain down because of a sin we left or a good deed we replaced it with. Also, making dua at Tahajjud time shows Allah how seriously we want what we’re asking for.
Shaytan is Still Whispering to Us
We get distracted individually and divided collectively by the small bickering that we are used to engaging in. Moon Sighting during Ramadan, Mawlid at Rabi’ al-Awwal, and other issues all year round. No matter where we stand, a lot of the time the debates we engage in are not serving the pressing need for safety, security, and justice in places like Palestine. Ultimately Shaytan wants us to ignore the major problem for the minor and we can’t let that happen. Not only that, but the doubts Shaytan makes us feel about our lack of power shouldn’t stop us from taking whatever action we possibly can.
Believe in Allah’s Power
Sami Hamdi stated it beautifully when he said that if the Muslim Ummah were to enact 1/10th of the effort of the Zionists, we will be just as powerful if not more so. Not because of our numbers or our money, but because Allah is on our side. He passionately emphasized that we simply do not believe in our power yet. Allah can multiply our efforts into results that we can’t even imagine, and He already has in so many ways. If you ask anyone that has been boycotting or going to protests for Gaza year after year, they’ll tell you that the momentum in the movement is unprecedented. Keep struggling and don’t give up when faced with hardship.
If you and I have noticed that we’ve slowed down, that’s ok. As we know, faith ebbs and flows in every person. But we have to dust ourselves off at this moment. We can’t lose hope and we can’t stop until Palestine is free, InshaAllah.
