Seekers' thoughts

I left Palestine with my greatest gift and a great pain: 

This land gave me everything, through the will of Allah: I spent time there longer than most get the opportunity for; I made connections with its beautiful people; I visited its Holy Places; I learned some of its language; I enjoyed its food. I can say I lived my best time, my best moments there. I mentioned in my previous post about strong ties that will bring me back to the land – this is because I got married in Palestine. Allah blessed me with my greatest gift, truly a treasure: my wife. 

While she is amazing in so many ways, the theme of these posts has been on Palestine. I want to show you, through my wife, the beauty of this land and what love for it brings to you. 

Growing up, I was never in the habit of making many dua, for whatever reason. I always felt pretty content with whatever Allah gave me so I had a habit of feeling too shy to really ask for anything. I was also just kind of lost in my own world, didn’t take things very seriously and was just chilling lol. A simple kid. This changed as my relationship with Allah developed and matured. 

There was one dua, however, that I know to this day remains my most sincere, strongest and purest. This is because it was made in that youthful time when I was just a high school kid who still was learning how to pray and read Qur’an properly, who never asked anyone for anything and never even prayed for anything. A simple kid. The exact dua I will not divulge, but it is directly connected to the land of Palestine. The echo of that dua remained in my heart as the years flew by and I became a somewhat more serious adult, until it finally blossomed in the most incredible way. 

Here I am now, 26 years of age, connected to this Holy Land. My wife, my in-laws and my future children (in sha Allah) are tied to this land by blood. Through this, God has connected me to this Holy Place. The dua that silently fuelled me culminated in the most beautiful way possible. My dua (to be tied to that land) connected with one of many duas of my mother for me which was that I be blessed with the right life partner. Allah answered both our prayers in a single person, my wife. Through her, I gained so much.

Yet this immense happiness is fraught with intense sadness and pain. For that land changed me forever. I feel the pain of separation, I feel the sadness of the land and its people. Imagine what the Palestinians, forced from their homes, suffering on and for their land and rights, feel and deal with? My short time there left such an impact; imagine a life-time there that is then snatched away? Imagine your home and land being taken from you? The story of Palestine and its people is important because it is a story of human suffering and human pain; human perseverance and human strength; human dignity and human patience. My time there has made me softer, kinder, and I find I am quicker to tears now for my heart has become saddened and softened; I’ve also found that I am a lot more grateful and content with my life and blessings. While it may seem silly, a quote comes to mind from One Piece where Doflamingo stated that children who’ve never seen peace and children who’ve never seen war have different values. I saw a people there who truly valued life in a way that we, in our comfort, perhaps don’t, and it hurt my heart so much seeing such a people have their lives taken away. But it gave me such hope and strength seeing them live life to the fullest. Despite being in the worst of situations, I saw a people who love to learn, to laugh, to eat good food, to hang out and be silly, to be with family and friends, to travel and to make mistakes and be better. An unbreakable people.

So I left Palestine with my heart, a gift from the land itself (my wife), but also with a sadness that only freedom and justice can cure. And this sadness is itself a gift, for those who carry this, carry truth. And God is The Truth.

To summarise the story of the oppressed, the patient, and no doubt the Palestinians, a verse from the Qur’an suffices: “Indeed, Allah is with the patient.”