4841
".. admonish them & speak to them a far-reaching word." (Al-Quran) Read & reflect. Repair, then share.
This is Hamza Mustafa Abu Touha, a Qur’an teacher in Gaza. I want to share with you his own words on a photo that he posted, showing his Qur’an notes on the fabric walls of his tent in connection with the 10 modes of Qur’an recitation.
The sheer determination and love for Qur’an is bewildering.
Instil this in your children. Show this photo to your students. Revisit it time and time again until you put yourself on a long and consistent path to Qur’an and Arabic. Read his words with both an eye of admiration and resolve!
Brother Hamza writes:
“This is my home — a tent that feels like a blazing furnace. I struggle just to breathe or move properly. I am constantly drenched in sweat. The only relief I find in it is that diligent student whom I teach the ten Qur’anic recitations. The only thing that eases the harshness of this life are those grammatical, morphological, rhetorical, and linguistic insights into each reading from among the readings of the Qur’an. An hour of this — and it feels as though I’m in Paradise, or in a world entirely unlike this one. I begin to long for life again. I long for the dignity that every human being deserves.”
May Allah relieve your hardship, Shaykh Hamza, and aid us in supporting your cause.
Tonight the moon will turn red.
For the world, it is simply an eclipse. For us, it is a timely and thunderous reminder:
The One who changes the face of the moon is the same One who changes the face of nations.
Tonight's red moon recalls the rivers of blood that have flowed in Gaza, while the world remains deafeningly silent. But the silence of creation is not the silence of the Creator.
وَتِلْكَ الأَيَّامُ نُدَاوِلُهَا بَيْنَ النَّاس
“These are days We alternate among the people...” [Āl ʿImrān 3:140]
His justice is certain, His promise is near and His sovereignty over the universe is perfect.
If you see the eclipse, pray whatever you can, call upon Him earnestly and make peace with Him once and for all.
The face of the our bereaved Ummah will change, as will do the face of every genocidal criminal.
Pagans of the past would fashion their idols out of dates, bow to them in worship, and place their hopes in them. But when hunger struck, those same idols lost all sanctity; they were eaten.
In much the same way, the modern global order crafted its own sacred ideals: liberty, equality, freedom of speech, human rights. These values were paraded as the moral high ground, the foundation of a civilised world and were violently exported. But the moment these ideals began to challenge the interests of those who created them, to expose their hypocrisy, and to empower the oppressed, they – too – were thrown away.
The two pillars of society - Rulers and scholars
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said:
“Since the preservation of Islam rests on two key groups—the scholars and the rulers—and the rest of society follows their lead, then the wellbeing of the world depends on the righteousness of these two, and its ruin lies in their corruption. As ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak and others from the early generations said:
"Two groups of people—if they are upright, the people are upright; and if they are corrupt, the people are corrupt."
When asked, "Who are they?"
He replied: "The kings and the scholars."
And Ibn al-Mubārak also said (in a couplet of poetry):
*رأيتُ الذنوبَ تميتُ القلوبَ، وقد يورثُ الذلَّ إدمانُها
“I’ve seen that sins bring death to the heart,
And clinging to them brings humiliation and disgrace.”
*وتركُ الذنوبِ حياةُ القلوبِ، وخيرٌ لنفسك عصيانُها
“But leaving sin revives the heart,
And disobeying your soul is best for its sake.”
*وهل أفسدَ الدينَ إلا الملوكُ، وأحبارُ سوءٍ ورهبانُها
“And what has ever corrupted religion more
Than tyrant kings, and corrupt priests and monks?”
(I’laam al-Muwaqqi’een)
Harvard University:
60% of Gen Z in US support Hamas over Israel: poll
https://share.google/pJFaJRcqBQ4GOZLPz
The bombing of the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza that happened live on air, killing 20 people, shocked the world.
But why the shock?
This very crime has been repeating daily for nearly two years. Remember the massacre at al-Maʿmadānī Hospital in the early days of the genocide? Remember the debate that surrounded it?
Here we are today; no such debate exists anymore because the massacres were repeated every single day. The whole world is watching, apparently unable to stop this monster. Some of the most powerful nations are openly shielding and protecting them.
And yet, there are still those lost in heedlessness. Distracted. Unconcerned. Neither moving to support, nor preparing themselves for the coming days, nor even caring.
Such people may one day be burned by the very fire of their neglect, and regret when regret will be too late.
“and it will be said, ‘But how can there be escape now?’” (Qur’an 38:3).
May Allah accept the martyrs. Raise their ranks. Console their families and this ummah. Take vengeance on the oppressors—the criminals who wage war against Allah, His Messenger, and the believers.
And may Allah grant victory to those who stand before these criminals—with their souls, their wealth, and their platforms and pens.
Trump’s followers proclaim: “He is the hand of God on earth.”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham once warned: “If we cut off our relationship with Israel, God will cut off His relationship with America!”
Donald Trump’s defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, openly calls for an “American Crusade”
As for Netanyahu, he explicitly stated that he sees himself as playing a "historic and spiritual mission,” and that he is “very much connected” to the vision of the Biblical Greater Israel.
Religious language and apocalyptic prophecies are all freely invoked by them to justify war, occupation, and even extermination.
But when Muslims draw upon scripture for meaning in the face of genocide or injustice, they’re branded as religious extremists. Worse still is when members of our own community plead: “Don’t bring politics into the masjid,” or insist on reducing the entire conversation to solely humanitarian terms.
So, others wear their faith as a banner and impose it unapologetically upon the world, whilst we are told to strip our struggle of religion and secularise our suffering.
In some corners, we’ve still got a bit of growing up to do.
After a long experience in managing certain reform and community projects, I've come to find no one better than that young man who sees no entitlement for himself. Rather, he feels that no matter what he does, he is in a tremendous blessing from Allah, that He has guided him to serve His religion and chosen him for this work.
You’ll find him working more than he talks, giving more than he complains, present in every field of responsibility yet absent from any field of self-promotion. You’ll see him patient and seeking reward even if the ease and comfort he was used to changes. He doesn’t put forward a thousand conditions before he contributes, and his heart and tongue both say: “May Allah forgive me for my shortcomings.”
In stark contrast, there’s the one who waits for others to help him in everything, expects his feelings to be taken into account at every step, and wants all the conditions in his mind fulfilled before he’ll give what’s due from him.
You find him constantly complaining, endlessly comparing, frequently playing the victim, and barely fulfilling what is required of him — despite Allah having prepared the means for him, brought opportunities close to him, and opened the doors before him.
How true were the words of the Prophet ﷺ:
“People are like camels — out of one hundred, you can hardly find one that is fit to ride.” (Narrated by al-Bukhārī)
O Allah, in this age of fame, shallowness and superficiality, allow us to be like the former and protect us from ever becoming like the latter.
[Adapted]
In back to back verses from the Qur’an, soothing answers are offered to three of today’s most pressing questions.
1. “Is our Lord able to change Gaza’s horrific situation?”
ذَٰلِكَ وَلَوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ لَانتَصَرَ مِنْهُمْ
“That is so. And if Allah had willed, He could have taken vengeance upon them…”
(Sūrat Muḥammad, 47:4)
2. “If so, then why is the agony being prolonged in this way?”
The verse continues:
وَلَٰكِن لِيَبْلُوَ بَعْضَكُم بِبَعْضٍ
“…but to test some of you through others.”
(Sūrat Muḥammad, 47:4)
Just as the people of Gaza are being tested with a brutal occupier, we are being tested through them. Who among us will rise? Who will sacrifice comfort to push back with all what they can—and more? Who will register a stance of piety, sincerity, and courage?
3. “But, so many are being massacred in the process. What about them?”
Keep reading:
وَالَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَلَن يُضِلَّ أَعْمَالَهُمْ . سَيَهْدِيهِمْ وَيُصْلِحُ بَالَهُمْ . وَيُدْخِلُهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ عَرَّفَهَا لَهُمْ
“And those who are killed in the path of Allah—He will never let their deeds go to waste. He will guide them, and rectify their state, and admit them into Paradise, which He has already made known to them.”
(Sūrat Muḥammad, 47:4–6)
They are being tested through genocide.
We are being tested with comfort.
Both tests will have consequences.
Respectfully, I call upon food bloggers, fashion influencers, cooking content creators, brothers who’ve apparently “made it”, and the rest of today’s so-called influencers: pause for a moment and try to see and hear something other than the applause of your followers.
Respectfully, lend an ear to the cries and groans rising from Gaza.
For those paying attention, the sounds are raw. They are heart-wrenching. They shake the soul.
They are the sobs of mothers mourning their children, the groans of bleeding bodies, the haunting silence of starving infants.
And yet, many of their neighbours by geography, by religion, or both still find it within themselves to flaunt their bloated stomachs, to showcase colourful spreads of food, to sample exotic cuisines, to delight in their every bite at yet another upscale restaurant or café.
Put religion aside for a moment—do you not feel shame?
Displaying your new car, your business-class seat, or your luxury accommodation is already tasteless under any circumstance. But to boast about your eating habits in a time of mass starvation? No. That is revolting.
The early Muslims used to say:
"جنبوا مجالسنا ذكر النساء والطعام"
"Keep talk of women and food out of our gatherings,"
Because constantly verbalizing one's desires and appetites, whether for food or intimacy, cheapens the soul. It is lowly.
So what about someone who has built their entire persona around eating? Around chewing, chomping, tasting, devouring, theatrically reacting and rating food?
Worse still: doing so while those whom you call your "siblings in Islam" are being devoured by hunger day after day.
I repeat—listen to the sounds coming from Gaza. Their voices are terrifying. Their words are heavy. Let them tear through your cocoon of comfort and deafening fog of fame.
Respectfully, let it be your Dīn that holds you back from this distastefulness.
If not your Dīn, then let it be your Murū’ah—your sense of honour and chivalrous decency.
And if you can’t even summon that, then let it at least be your humanity.
May Allah guide you and help you feel again.
Just in case you somehow missed it, yesterday’s death toll in Gaza:
115 more lives, 92 of them were simply trying to get aid, whilst 18 died from starvation, all in just 24 hours.
So, you’re left with one of two choices:
Either you make a desperate attempt to find something—anything—to save yourself, your spouse, your children, your elderly parents.
This means walking straight into the trap - the "aid" distribution points - knowing full well you might return home in a body bag.
Or you sit and wait.
Wait to die of starvation.
Wait for your family to die beside you, a slow and gruelling death.
This is the same “international system” that preaches to us about human rights, women’s rights, and children’s rights.
The same system that jails scholars and preachers, that arrests activists for opposing the above, that strips Qur’anic verses and Prophetic hadiths from the curricula of Muslim children all in the name of “coexistence” and “combating extremism.”
May the curse of Allah be upon the oppressors, upon hypocrisy, upon cowardice.
May the curse of Allah be upon the criminals.
We ask Allah to accept our martyrs and to deliver us from this humiliation and disgrace.
The Prophet Muhammad PBUH said:
ضَحِكَ رَبُّنَا مِنْ قُنُوطِ عِبَادِهِ ، وَقُرْبِ غِيَرِهِ
“Our Lord laughs at how quickly His servants lose hope, despite how near relief actually is.”
I said, “O Messenger of Allah, does the Lord really laugh?” He replied, “Yes.” So I said,
“Then we will never lose hope in a Lord who laughs.” (Narrated by Ahmad)
From the front lines.
But not the front lines of warfare, but that of the Israeli-American "aid" apparatus.
This is what they want to normalise in Gaza.
Fasting ʿĀshūrāʾ this summer carries two powerful meanings:
– It wipes away a year’s worth of sins, just as our beloved Prophet ﷺ promised.
– And it helps you feel, even if just a little, the pain of Gaza, where people are collapsing in the streets due to extreme hunger, heat and bullets from "food collection points".
But for them, it’s not just hunger. It’s war. It’s fire. It’s danger. It's displacement. It's illness.
And it’s the crushing feeling of being abandoned by all.
Allah said:
كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ
“You are the best nation ever raised for mankind.” [Āl ʿImrān 3:110]
And the Prophet Muhammad PBUH said:
نَحْنُ الْآخِرُونَ الأَوَّلُونَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ
“We are the last, yet we will be the first on the Day of Judgment.”
This Muslim Ummah will never be void of goodness. It is, and will remain, the best of humanity until the end of time. The signs and evidences of this are constant and across every sector of society, bringing happiness to the believers and rage to those far from Allah.
So, do not spread words of despair about us. Allah's Eye of care is upon us always, and the example we set, across every land and time, is like none other.
The occupation has just announced the beginning of the invasion of Gaza.
Gaza is literally in flames as we speak.
حسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل
رحماك يا الله
Money buys you a king-size bed but can't buy you sleep.
It can buy top notch food but can't buy ease of digestion.
It can build enormous mansions but can't buy peace at home.
Yes, trade. Succeed. Innovate, but keep in mind –
The truest bliss rests in Iman (faith) and meaningful work -
مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً
"Whoever does good, whether male or female, while he is a believer - We will surely cause him to live a good life.."
[Al-Qur'an, 16:97]
Qur'an and perfecting Salah are examples of feeding Iman.
Standing with confidence and clarity for Gaza is an example of meaningful work.
Today, it is no longer enough for people of knowledge, leadership, or influence to shrug their shoulders and say, “What can we do? Times are hard. May Allah help us,” before retreating into irrelevance, watering down the religion to match the mood of the age, limiting their role to comfortable humanitarian projects, religious tours, academic rebuttals, classical theological discussions of the past, and flowery Da’wah events reserved to dinner tables and lecture halls.
Equally misplaced is the attitude of those who say, “I prefer not to get involved in political matters, not really my forte” as if injustice will wait around for their comfort or clarity. Then slowly, without realising, the heart begins to harden and turn cold, no longer stirred by bloodshed, no longer moved by oppression, no longer burning with urgency for truth or change.
The truth is, these are not just ‘political’ matters. These are matters that strike at the heart of our Tawheed - defending truth, honouring sacred sites, brotherhood in faith, and standing for justice.
The Qur’an was not sent down for quiet reading in quiet times, but was revealed for times like these. Yes, the Qur’an came to guide, but also to awaken, to challenge and to liberate.
Much of the contemporary approach to Islamic discussion and activism today makes the implicit assumption that the Muslim is just an intellect, just a mind, or just a voice of charity. The Muslim is, above all, a soul that years for nearness to Allah and success in the hereafter, but also longs for justice on earth.
Our da’wah and teaching must reflect that.
To those reporting the news of Muslims locally or abroad
Allah said:
وَذَكِّرْهُمْ بِأَيَّامِ اللَّهِ
“And remind them of the Days of Allah...” (Al-Qur’an, 14:5)
This was the instruction given to Prophet Mūsā (Moses): to remind the oppressed believers of Banī Isrā’īl of Allah’s “days”, meaning His moments of aid, deliverance, and decisive victory over tyranny.
This is a principle that must guide our posting, sharing and reporting of the Ummah’s struggles. The principle states that while it is essential to document the wounds of our Ummah—the carnage of Gaza, the children buried in rubble, the growing racism and repression locally and abroad —whether through journalism or our personal platforms, it is equally vital to both seek out and share “the Days of Allah”: moments of divine support, unexpected victories, and the breakthroughs granted in courts, in media, in academic institutions, or on the streets of Palestine and beyond that are rupturing injustice on a daily basis.
Much of the current approach, as well meaning as it is, empties us from this memory, which risks creating a narrative of despair, imbalances and poor assumptions of Allah.
The reality is that Allah intervenes, is intervening, and will intervene again and again.
Capture that too in your reporting, share this with those who share our news, and remind them to remind us of “the days of Allah”.
U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack stood today at a conference in Lebanon and described Lebanese journalists as “animalistic” and “chaotic,” ordering them to behave like “civilized” people.
These very same terms—animalistic and civilized—are the same ones used by the Zionist entity to describe the people of Gaza and justify its campaign against them. They are the same racist expressions the West has deployed for 200 years to describe the Chinese, the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the aboriginals of Australia, and African nations.
Decay and shameless moral arrogance, seeing themselves as the only civilization with the exclusive right to kill, displace, plunder, and seize, while demanding the rest of the world submit before it in surrender.
Barrack’s ugly statement today does not merely reveal that America’s view of us is the same as that of the Zionist entity, but tells us that this view toward us has not changed since its inception, and will not change until the end of time. To them, we are waste to be disposed of and cleansed. There is no middle ground between being fully human and being garbage.
Watch it here:
https://share.google/bnJlEp7YLJrBNxuTG
Do you remember this image?
World leaders, arm in arm, parading through Paris in 2015 after the Charlie Hebdo attack, striking heroic poses as they proclaimed their defence of press freedom and the protection of journalists.
The irony? Among them was Benjamin Netanyahu! The executioner of journalists in Gaza and across Palestine.
But here's the uglier irony; while more than 270 journalists have been killed in Gaza, whilst other journalists film their own execution by settlers, all those leaders now hide behind curtains.
- No solidarity marches with their families.
- No global outcry against war crimes.
- No protests for the journalists killed alongside their children and spouses in their own homes.
Even when the victim was an American citizen — Shireen Abu Akleh — assassinated with a sniper’s bullet live on air, suddenly, it was forgivable.
I wonder what the difference is?
You thought Palestine was occupied.
Our entire world is occupied by racism, by selective outrage, by cowardice and by hypocrisy so thick it suffocates.
وَلِتَسْتَبِينَ سَبِيلُ ٱلْمُجْرِمِينَ
" .. so that the way of the criminals will become clear." (Al-Qur'an 6:55)
An act of worship that has taken centre stage in Gaza and must do so in our lives at this pivotal moment is al-I‘tiṣām – clinging tightly to Allah.
Ibn al-Qayyim wrote:
منه سميت القلاع : العواصم ، لمنعها وحمايتها
“From this word (i‘tiṣām), fortresses (in Arabic) were called ʿawāṣim (i.e. similar root), because they protect and shield.”
What is the image of a person in a state of I‘tiṣām?
Imagine a person caught in an extreme, cold and sudden downpour. The sky cracks wide open with thunder, the ground becomes slippery and unstable, and every direction seems overwhelming. He runs frantically, with his eyes scanning for something, anything; an awning, a ledge, a cave, a tree, anything!
Finally he sees it: shelter. So, he sprints towards it, heart pounding, clothes drenched, footsteps slipping. He collapses beneath the covering, chest heaving, and lets out a deep sigh of relief. He's safe, not so much because the storm has stopped, but because he’s now under something stronger than the storm.
That’s the image of I‘tiṣām
Perhaps this is why Imam Ibn al-Qayyim concludes:
ومدار السعادة الدنيوية والأخروية على الاعتصام بالله
“The entire pursuit of happiness—in this world and the next—centres on i‘tiṣām upon Allah.”
S/he knows that every other branch will break, every door is locked. So, when the soul is confronted with helplessness, it finally realizes where strength truly lies. It remembers:
وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِاللَّهِ هُوَ مَوْلَاكُمْ ۖ فَنِعْمَ الْمَوْلَى وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ
“Hold fast to Allah. He is your protector. What an excellent protector and what an excellent helper He is.” (Al-Qur'an 22:78)
Circling back to Palestine, the Gazans have displayed the purest forms of I‘tiṣām. The world has seen it. When their homes collapse, they cling. When their children are martyred, they cling. When the world betrays them, they cling. They are al-muʿtaṣimūn; those who seek cover beneath the strongest roof, the only shelter that cannot be shelled, broken, or denied: Allah Himself. No rain can drown you there.
What is iʿtiṣām if not this?
Praise be to Allah for the gift of Islam.
Pain into Power - Four steps
Consistent exposure to evil can easily shake one's faith, perhaps even pushing one to question the very basics of belief. Here’s a practical four-part approach to manage tragedy that we witness on others or experience ourselves.
[32 min watch]
📹 https://youtu.be/XuHvHvV84zQ
MUST READ: First-hand account of the horrors committed at the "GHF Aid Distribution Zones"
"Each time, around 60,000 to 70,000 Palestinians converge at the designated site. Loudspeakers announce that when the green light turns on, people have just 10 minutes to grab between 300 to 400 aid packages-though much of the critical supplies, like flour, sugar, and salt, are snatched up first by gangs and collaborators. After the 10-minute window, the light turns yellow, signaling that only 5 minutes remain to flee before automatic machine guns open fire indiscriminately on anyone still in the area"
UNRWA:
The majority of Gaza’s population has now entered Phase 5 — the most extreme level of famine classification.
Congratulations to the blessed ones today, those whom Allah has placed at a doorway of support to Gaza, at a time when the world has closed its doors, turned people away, and left Gaza to fend for itself.
Читать полностью…
Every Pharaoh will fall
To reduce the month of Muḥarram to its historical events and legal rulings is to miss the much deeper current that runs through this sacred season, one that speaks directly to the pains and hopes of our great Ummah.
🎬 https://youtu.be/jqvCGQo7tbU
Muharram and ʿĀshūra’ in an age of genocide 🇵🇸
https://www.islam21c.com/seasonal-reminders/ashura/muharram-ashura-genocide/