“Damned were the makers of the trench, the fire ˹pit˺, filled with fuel while they sat around it, to watch what they were doing to the believers. They punished them for nothing other than they believed in Allah, the All-Mighty, the Worthy of All Praise, Him to whom all control over the heavens and earth belongs, and Allah is witness over all things. Indeed, those who have tortured the believing men and believing women and then have not repented will have the punishment of Hell, and they will have the punishment of the Burning Fire. As for those who believed and acted righteously, theirs shall be Gardens beneath which rivers flow. That is the great success.”
(Qur’an, 85:4-11)
The world has become like the oppressors of the past, sitting idly by as believers are burned, crushed, and buried beneath the weight of the oppressors atrocities. The nations that turn a blind eye to genocide, that supply the weapons of destruction, that build walls to imprison the oppressed, are no different from those who cast believers into the fire. They will face Allah ﷻ , the Just, and there will be no escape from His reckoning.
“On that Day, their faces will be overturned in the Fire, and they will say, ‘How we wish we had obeyed Allah and obeyed the Messenger.’”
(Qur’an, 33:66)
What will their actions for the genocide show on that Day? What will their weapons testify against them? What will their complicity say? They believe their power shields them, but their punishment will not be in this world alone.
But this Day (the Day of Resurrection) those who believe will laugh at the disbelievers. On thrones, looking at all things. The believers will be asked, “Have the disbelievers not been paid back for what they used to do?”
(Qur’an, 83:34-36)
These leaders and nations think they have triumphed, but their cruelty will come full circle. Allah ﷻ has promised justice, and His promises never fail.
“Indeed, those who have tortured the believing men and believing women and then have not repented will have the punishment of Hell, and they will have the punishment of the Burning Fire.”
(Qur’an, 85:10)
They believe they have escaped accountability, but Allah ﷻ delays it only to magnify their punishment. No treaties, no alliances, no weapons will save them when the Day of Judgment arrives.
Courage in the Midst of Carnage
In this hell on earth, amidst the ruins and relentless onslaught of bombs, I have witnessed courage and sacrifice so profound that it defies human understanding. These moments of bravery, kindness, and compassion remind me that even in the darkest of times, the human spirit can shine brighter than the flames that engulf us.
I have seen strangers risking their lives to pull children from the rubble, their hands bleeding as they claw through concrete, their faces smeared with the dust of destruction, their lungs filled with the ashes and smoke of fire. One man I barely knew dove into the debris of a collapsing building to save a girl he had never met. His last words, shouted through the chaos, were, “Don’t let her die!” He saved her, but he never came out. He gave his life for hers-a stranger’s life for another stranger’s future.
When the missiles destroyed our home, and I sat with my bleeding daughter in the street, unsure of what to do, a woman I had never met gave us shelter in her crumbling house. She had lost her own family just hours before, yet she shared what little food and water she had left, whispering, “We are one family. We are one Ummah. Allah ﷻ is with us.”
I have seen people forming human shields around children as drones hovered overhead, shielding little bodies with their own, knowing they might die in the process. I have seen men and women standing in front of ambulances to stop them from being targeted, shouting to the sky, “You will not take them while we live!”
And then there are the small acts of kindness-the ones that, in another life, might go unnoticed but here mean everything. A neighbor who brought a slice of bread to share with ten families, insisting we take the largest piece. A young boy who carried water bottles through the streets while the air filled with the whine of missiles, saying, “Please take one; don’t worry about me.”
I remember the doctors and nurses refusing to leave their posts in bombed-out hospitals, working tirelessly to save lives even when they knew the buildings might collapse over them. They stayed not for recognition, not for glory, but because their hearts would not let them abandon those who needed them.
These are the Gazans I know. They are not broken, though their bodies bleed and their hearts ache. They are not defeated, though they stand amid ruins. They are the embodiment of courage and sacrifice, giving of themselves when they have nothing left to give.
The Meaning of Life
I hold onto my daughter, her broken face pressed against my chest, and I remind her of why we must endure.
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.”
(Qur’an, 51:56)
Our purpose in this life is not to find endless joy or comfort. It is to worship Allah ﷻ , even in the darkest of times. Worship is not just prayer-it is patience, it is endurance, it is refusing to let the oppressors steal our faith.
