ALEPPO, ALLAH'S HELP IS NEAR

We see what's happening in Aleppo and really, words fail me. What kind of a world do we live in. Practically, something worse than the Holocaust was being live documented and tweeted and people saw it, liked, shared and posted it but beyond that, did anyone truly care? Did we think of those innocent children, the homeless, the wounded and the hungry when we reclined on our soft beds? Did we care enough to wake up for Thahajjud and cry silently to Allah, begging for His help on them? If you have, then Alhamdulillah, your heart is alive. 

It's ironic you know how Syria is surrounded by Muslim countries and yet, no one stepped in to actually help them. How long are they going to compete with each other to build the tallest building and make a car out of gold? How much longer are they going to be deluded by the glamour and glitter of this Dunya? Have we been so blinded by all this that we have become deaf to the cries of the Syrians, blind to their suffering and dumb to even speak for them or at least, make Duaa for them? Do we even have a heart left?

 

So what's there to look at get solace in? The Ummah in in tatters. There are plenty of Muslim countries but who is there to speak up on behalf of the oppressed Muslims, not just in Syria but in Palestine, Rohingya, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Yemen, it just goes on... 

 

The Ummah has lost all hope.

 

Except for the promise of Allah and you know what? I've come to realize that when all we've got is empty promises around us, this promise of Allah. .That's enough.

 

This one verse from Surah Baqarah... SubhanAllah, it just paints the perfect picture. It's as though Allah is talking directly to the people of Syria. It's as though He is comforting them. It's so beautiful...

 

Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such [trial] has not yet come to you as came to those who passed on before you? They were touched by poverty and hardship and were shaken until [even their] messenger and those who believed with him said, "When is the help of Allah?" 

Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near. (Quran 2:214)

 

I studied the Tafseer of this verse about an year back and over here, I'll write what I learnt in that, In sha Allah.

This verse basically says that entering Jannah isn't easy. We have to go through some trials. And note: If we haven't been tested this way even to a small extent then know that it is sure to come in the future. See, the address here is to us, the Muslims. 

 

And on the other hand, if you are facing any difficulties because you are a believer, then know that this isn't strange. It has even happened to the Prophets of Allah.

In this verse specifically, and it really is the perfect picture of Aleppo right now, Allah talks about how they were shaken- زُلْزِلُ is the word used- by one test after another. And isn't this what we are seeing right before our eyes in Aleppo. Be it chemical bombs, being driven out, beaten up, raped... It's all happening there. 

 

The first recipients of this verse was of course, Prophet Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wasallam and his Sahabahs. Meaning, the previous generations, even they suffered. But even when they were tortured, burnt alive, sawed, flesh removed, etc, they did not give up on their Imaan. So what are the tests we face and what are the negativism we face and SubhanAllah, how vulnerable are we to what we face?

 

So, they were tried and tested and pushed so much so that even their messenger and those who believed with him said "When is the help of Allah?" And isn't this precisely what the Muslims of Aleppo, Palestine, Rohingya, Kashmir, etc are asking? When is the help of Allah.

 

The words of the Quran and perfect. Every single word, Allah has chosen it so perfectly. Notice how they said متى - When. Not أين - where is the help of Allah? This was their Yaqeen, their certainty. They knew Allah's help was going to come. It was just a matter of when.

So even when the world doesn't respond, Allah does and how beautiful His response is. "Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near." This is all the hope we have left Ya Allah!

 

Don't ever give up. Hold on for a little bit longer for Allah's help. Be patient in the face of trials. The path to Jannah is surrounded by difficulties. But these trials, when a believer goes through it, it strengthens him and raises his ranks before His lord. 

Oh Allah, elevate the status of those who are struggling with difficulties in your path. Help them with your special help, grant them Sabr and reward them with Jannah. Help the people of Aleppo Ya Allah!