A day ago, I found a pigeon sitting among my mother’s plants on the balcony. Now, if you’re from the Emirates, I’m sure you know how annoying these birds are!
They just won’t leave.
And when they do, they leave behind a whole lot of mess to clean. I know I’m digressing, but guys, have you noticed these common pigeons and mynas (the aggressive birds, who think it’s their personal apartment’s balcony) have gone vegetarian? For the past couple of months, I have been noticing that they pick leaves off the plants on our balcony. Anyway, my mother absolutely hates it when they eat her plants, so we tend to shoo them away every time we find them near the plants.
But this pigeon wouldn’t budge, no matter what I did. After several failed attempts to get the creature away from the plants, I kinda made peace with it. I noticed the poor thing was short of breath; it was exerting itself to breathe properly. It wasn’t anything new; with temperatures reaching 50°C, it’s common to find birds gular fluttering and often lying lifeless by the side of the road.
I decided to keep some water and bread out there in the hope that it would eat and just leave. It didn’t. Not till the afternoon, not till the evening. Just there, breathing heavily. I eventually gave up on it and forgot about it,
After maghrib, I thought I’d check if it had left or was still there.
I switch on the lights, step out on the balcony to find the creature lying lifeless in a corner. 😭
When I was done mourning the loss of the poor thing, which I couldn’t stand sitting a minute among the plants, I thought of the impending danger; now, it’s going to rot, and all sorts of insects are going to crawl into our apartment.
I was pretty sure Baba wouldn’t ask me to pick it up because he knows I freak out at the sight of even a small bee. But.. long story short, he did make me pick it up (because I’m a soon-to-be medical student, so I should be pretty comfortable with moving lifeless creatures around 🥲).
When I touched it (with my hand covered in 2 layers of protection), cold, inanimate, eyes half open.
I pulled my hand back.
‘God, why is this so hard!’
Took a few minutes to pull myself together, picked it up, slid it into a bag, and a few moments later, it was gone.
That was the story, the background, the context. The actual point is what now follows.
Disclaimer: Disturbing content ahead. It may be hard to take it all in, but I still encourage you to man up and continue reading. Because if we avoid it, who will talk about it? The world is already busy hiding its horrendous crimes behind black lies.
Holding a cold, lifeless bird is one thing,
Holding a lifeless child is another.
A child with lost limbs,
A child with a mutilated body,
A child with burnt flesh,
A child with blood pouring,
Rivers of blood, rivers of pain, agony, and hurt.
This is a reality,
An alarming reality.
The reality of Palestine,
The reality of Gaza.
This is the ‘everyday’ of someone.
To lose,
To let it hurt for a while,
To mourn a bit,
And move on.
Quietly, subconsciously awaiting the next loss,
The next tragedy.
The loss of another child,
The loss of another mother,
Another father.
The loss of tender hands,
The most miserable and heart-wrenching of all,
The loss of a grandmother, a grandfather.
Tender hands, soft hearts, gleaming eyes,
How can the world be so cruel?
How can humanity be so helpless?
How can the youth be so desensitized?
It’s not Call of Duty,
It’s not PUBG,
It is not fun.
It is not amusing.
Stop it, feel with us, pray with us, or just stop.
How terribly we have failed,
One faith, one body,
Different worlds.
Oh Ummah of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم),
Where did you go wrong?
Wake up, for the world is too cruel,
The brother looks to you with hope,
And you’re looking away?
Busy, indulging?
Deciding, ‘Is the boycott worth it?’
‘What! I can’t have KFC anymore!?’
How embarrassing,
When he (صلى الله عليه وسلم) looks at us on the Day,
'Abdullah b. Amr b. al-'As reported:
Verily, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited the words of Allah, the Great and Glorious, that Ibrahim uttered;
{ رَبِّ إِنَّهُنَّ أَضْلَلْنَ كَثِيرًا مِنَ النَّاسِ فَمَنْ تَبِعَنِي فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي}
“My Lord! They have caused many people to go astray. So whoever follows me is with me,” (Ibrahim 14:36)
and Jesus (peace be upon him) said:
{ إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ وَإِنْ تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ}
“If You should punish them - indeed they are Your servants; but if You forgive them - indeed it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise." (Al-Ma’idah 5:118)
Then he raised his hands and said:
“O Allah! My Ummah, my Ummah!”
and he wept.
so Allah the High and the Exalted said:
O Gabriel, go to Muhammad (though your Lord knows it fully well) and ask him: What makes thee weep?
So Gabriel (peace be upon him) came to him and asked him, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) informed him what he had said (though Allah knew it fully well).
Upon this Allah said: O Gabriel, go to Muhammad and say:
“Verily We will please thee with regard to your Ummah and would not displease thee.”
Wept. For us?
How embarrassing,
While we think twice about not paying for the murder of our brothers,
Allah looks at us.
Oh Ummah of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم),
Let us shame ourselves no more.
رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًۭا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦ ۖ وَٱعْفُ عَنَّا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَٱرْحَمْنَآ ۚ أَنتَ مَوْلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرْنَا عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ
"Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people."
بَارَكَ الله لِيْ وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقُرْآنِ الْكَرِيْمِ، وَنَفَعَنِيْ وَإِيَّاكُمْ بِمَا فِيْهِ مِنَ الْآيَاتِ وَالذِّكْرِ الْحَكِيْمِ
Wassalamu‘alaykum.
May Allah ease their sufferings and make us all more mindful. Ameen