Reported Ibn Khuzaymah, Rasulallah (saw) said: 'Whoever draws nearer to Allah by performing any optional good deeds in this month shall receive the same reward as performing obligatory deeds at any other time; and whoever performs an obligatory deed, shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience, and the reward of patience is
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(re-post Dec '08)
When I was in elementary school, I remember my teacher telling my class a story of the boy who lived in a plastic bubble. He lacked an effective immune system so his doctors ordered that he live in this bubble that would protect him from all pathogens. The little boy was constricted to his house and had to wear special suits to protect him. Eventually, as he grew older he wished to meet people and see the outside world. He’d built some immunity over the years but his doctors still advised against it. Eventually however, he left his bubble and ventured out anyway, although I don’t remember what happened next or how the story ended. I remember thinking to myself how silly it must be to live your entire life inside an enormous bubble and how relieved the little boy must have felt to burst free of it and live life normally.
At times like tonight, however, the notion of living life inside a bubble doesn’t seem so silly; bursting free of this bubble and facing up to reality doesn’t feel like such a relief either.
I’ve been following updates on various media outlets for the past couple days on the situation in Gaza, and I can’t sleep tonight. Various sights and snippets from reports cloud my mind while my imagination fills in the many blanks provided courtesy of biased media and limited coverage. Being an avid CNN Foxnews and Cspan junkie for some time now, the recent attacks in Gaza are not new to me. But whereas before I was mostly impervious to these occurrences, tonight I find it difficult to nonchalantly change the channel or turn the page.
Ignorance can be bliss, but my conscience can't excuse turning a blind eye while a mother helplessly holds her dying child on a deserted, smoke-permeated street; or a defenseless man is tortured mercilessly despite pleading his innocence; or hungry, terrified families huddle in basements and makeshift shelters while missiles rain overhead in the rubble-filled streets. I'm finding that feigning apathy - as countless civilians become victims of war and its atrocities while the government of a sovereign nation ruthlessly attacks innocent people with relative impunity and the world dispassionately observes or wrings its hands in consternation - no longer sits well with me. Rasulallah (saw) relayed: The believers in their affection, compassion, and love for one another is like one single body. If a part of it suffers from pain, the whole body will suffer in pain [Bukhari and Muslim]. It is true that these hardships are a test of faith and perseverance. The Qu’ran states: And most certainly we should try you by means of fear, hunger, and loss of worldly goods, of life or of labor’s fruit. But give glad tiding unto those who are patient in adversity, who when the calamity befalls them, say, ‘Verily unto God we belong and verily unto him we shall return.' (2:155-156)
But tonight, I empathize and ache for the mu’mineen being tested whose names may be unknown but whose story should not go untold.. for the anguish of those who are suffering and the injured who cannot be treated properly in ill-equipped over-burdened facilities with inadequate supplies.. for those who have lost loved ones or consequently suffered as a result of not only in Gaza but all asinine wars ever initiated by egocentric, callous leaders intent primarily on fulfilling personal agendas.
Tonight, as I write this in the peace and comfort of my home – with my family safe and close by alhamdullilah – I reflect on my blessings and how I often take them for granted. Being physically far-removed from such turmoil and insanity makes it easy to become ensconced in a bubble of blissful ignorance. But as I become less immune to such injustices, my awakening conscience has evoked in me the desire to raise my voice. I am realizing that like the little boy in the story from elementary school, my bubble too has been pricked. Perhaps this gradual awareness and repudiation of the status quo is in fact amongst the greatest blessings. Narrated Abu Huraira, There is sadaqa to be given for every joint of the human body; and for every day on which the sun rises, there is a reward of sadaqa for the one who desires to establish justice among people [Bukhari].
Reward for good deeds is multiplied manifold in Ramadan; please donate if you can.
