Voice of British Muslim Women

Yusra Dahri, Tilford

Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee this month brings me back to ten years ago, to her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. Back then, I didn’t really take much notice of the gemstone that had been added to Her Majesty’s metaphorical crown of time. All I really cared about was the fact that my school was doing a picnic. It was a big deal at the time, but now the only thing I remember is posing for school pictures with my friends while eating fruit kebabs. Weirdly specific, I know.

Diamonds need no introduction. They are the hardest stone, forged under intense conditions from what would have otherwise been plain old graphite.

And, they symbolise power and love.

A unique combination, in my view. When we have power, we often lack love. And to some, love negates power. Yet diamonds are seen to represent both of these, and hence are the stone that most often represents commitment – a combination of both love and strength.

Another unmissable connection between power and love is when they are found united in the Attributes of Allah. God is both Omnipotent and Omnibenevolent: All-Powerful, and All-Loving. Al-Qadir and Al-Wadud.

There is a beautiful verse in the Holy Qur’an that creates an illuminating link between love and power. Chapter 60, verse 8 reads as follows:

‘It may be that Allah will bring about love between you and those of them with whom you are now at enmity; and Allah is All-Powerful; and Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.’

According to His Holiness Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (may Allah be pleased with him), in his Five Volume Commentary,

‘The verse implied a prophecy. The Companions of the Holy Prophet were told that if they were enjoined to renounce all friendly relations with the enemies of their Faith, even though the latter were their very near blood relations, the prohibition was indeed destined to be very short-lived. The time was fast approaching when the erstwhile enemies would become their loving friends. The prophecy was soon fulfilled. After the Fall of Mecca, the Quraish joined the fold of Islam en masse and became united with Muslims into one brotherhood.’

Whilst the context of this verse seems very specific, it has an era-independent meaning that is still relevant today. We live in a world now where countries, let alone people, are easily provoked. With more infrastructure than ever before, we carelessly burn bridges at an alarming pace. To win today’s argument, we reject tomorrow’s friendship. Love and power are lines that are never perpendicular, and always parallel.

Yet this verse reminds us of the importance of friendship, and that it is through Allah’s Power alone that a phenomenon such as love and altruism can exist. Power does not have to destroy love, but can create it out of hatred. In turn, love is proof of power.

Power creates a diamond out of graphite, and love is – in part – what makes the diamond so valuable to us.

So when I think back to my primary school self, all those years ago at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, I am unashamed of how much friendship mattered to me, and still does. It’s easy to look back at your past self and feel embarrassed about all the things we worried about as kids, but I believe those days taught me lessons that matter now, ten years later.

I don’t want to live in a world where wars prove a nation’s power, or how larger nations take advantage of smaller ones under the guise of friendship. It might be a stretch to say that diplomacy is love between two countries, but at least it can create conditions through which the citizens of those countries can love their neighbour freely.

Obviously, this type of thing isn’t easy. But what’s the point of signing a peace treaty with a graphite lead pencil that can snap at any moment? Until our nations truly understand what type of power and love it takes to create a peace that is not fragile, but as strong and hard as diamonds, the last 70 years will have been wasted on us.

I do not say this pessimistically, because I know there is hope:

‘It may be that Allah will bring about love between you and those of them with whom you are now at enmity; and Allah is All-Powerful; and Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.’