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The Plight of Palestine: Let's Give Back

"Four Palestinians were killed and 51 injured by Israeli forces during the weekly Friday protests in the eastern Gaza Strip, medics and security sources said."

 "As part of the Great March of Return, protesters in the Gaza Strip demand the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.
They also demand an end to Israel's 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave's economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.
The Gaza health ministry said that since the outbreak of the weekly protests last year, the Israeli army has killed 275 demonstrators and wounded 17,000 others, who were officially referred to hospitals."
Daily news of violence, natural disasters, and injustice flood our timelines. It is easy for us to skim through a 2 minute article, maybe feel sympathy in our hearts, share the article, maybe even make a small dua and then move on. Put yourself in their shoes, imagine during Ramadan you not only are feeling hunger, but fear, pain, concern, for your own life and the lives of your loved ones. I just watched a video earlier where while bombs are going on in the background, our Palestinian bothers are praying Taraweeh. Man, I can't even attempt to understand what that is like, most of the time during Taraweeh I have trouble focusing because I am thinking I overate at iftar and my tummy hurts or that when are we going into Sujood because it feels so long that I have been standing. 
I can't imagine trying to keep my focus while bombs are going off in the distance.
Reading about this also reminds me of these verses of the Quran in                  Surah Baqarah verses 152-157:

So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me.


O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.

And do not say about those who are killed in the way of Allah, "They are dead." Rather, they are alive, but you perceive [it] not.

And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient,

Who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return."

Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided.


These verses caught my eye not only because it is a reminder to us and to those who lose loved ones, that they are with Allah, they may not be on this Earth any longer but it does not mean they are no longer alive. The first few verses mention patience, Allah says if we remember Him, He will remember us. So if we remember Him in the good times and bad times, He will remember us. Allah tells us if we want help, to have patience and pray, these are the tools that will help us through the most difficult of times.



Then Allah says that we will be tested with the loss of wealth, lives and be tested with fear and hunger, this tells us this world is not perfect, there will be unhappiness and misery because our time in this world is short, the eternal life In Sha Allah where there will be no hunger, pain or sadness is Jennah, our ultimate goal.



It may be a difficult concept to understand but hardship is good for us, it humbles us, makes us stronger, tougher and closer to Allah Subhana Wa Tala. That's the point of this Ramadan as well, for us to strengthen our bodies, to realize that food is necessary but we can sacrifice it for Allah's sake and still have our physical strength, Emotionally and spirituality we cleanse ourselves, worship and dedicate ourselves to learning more about the Quran and its' message.



Regardless of all this, our brothers and sisters in Palestine could still use our support. We can remember them in our duas because the dual of a fasting person is accepted but we can also donate to organizations that are helping the cause firsthand.



The Prophet (SAW) said: “Wealth will not be decreased by giving by giving charity" (Narrated by Muslim, no. 2588)


 ‘Three supplications will not be rejected, the supplication of the parent for his child, the supplication of the one who is fasting, and the supplication of the traveller" Al-Bayhaqi, al-Tirmidhi – Sahīh


Charities for Palestine:Palestine Children Relief Fund: https://www.pcrf.net
United Palestinian Appeal: https://upaconnect.org
Islamic Relief USA: http://irusa.org/palestine/
Anera: https://www.anera.org/where-we-work/gaza/

Muslim Global Relief: https://www.muslimglobalrelief.org/gaza-emergency-appeal/




May Allah reward any charity you give during this Blessed Month and protect and provide and safeguard our brothers and sisters in Palestine!











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