Ayesha Naseem Mirza, Walsall
It is commonly believed that time flies. A week starts and ends in the blink of an eye. Before you know it, it’s Friday again. It feels as if hours are passing in minutes and minutes in seconds. But a life like this is a privilege. Where this realisation is humbling and invokes gratitude of God Almighty, there is also deep sorrow for how so many around the world do not have such relief and ease in their life. For them, each day of mere survival is a privilege let alone being able to fulfil their basic needs or have a routine they can call their normal.
A life where you go about your day-to-day work and routine, a life where you are able to celebrate, and are able to try new things, without having to worry about displacement, hunger or bloodshed, feels like an expensive privilege.
Alongside this realisation as an individual, witnessing the apathy and denial of the pain and suffering of the weak and oppressed has been difficult. The double standards of the Western media in the current crisis in the Middle East and the lack of justice on the part of the leaders in the Western world has been aggravating.
Every new act of Israeli oppression and war crime against the Palestinians and the Lebanese is worse than the last. Every time it feels as if it couldn’t get worse; it somehow still does. Every time Israel breaches the sovereignty of foreign nations and kills civilians in huge numbers by attacking them, the nations it targets and attacks is urged to restrain from responding.
Commenting on the grave state of the world, the decline in human empathy and the indifference to people’s suffering, the fifth and current Caliph and spiritual worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah be his Helper) said:
“In this age, we are not only witnessing a rapid decline in the worship of God and a growing apathy towards religion but also a chilling indifference to the suffering of God’s Creation. Where help is extended to those in need, it is often driven by ulterior motives and a desire to fulfil vested interests under the guise of humanity. Help is often conditional, and compassion is a commodity bartered for political and economic gain. As a result, an ever-rising chorus of voices are now openly denouncing the major powers and worldly institutions to be guilty of glaring double standards.” [1]
In a world as cruel and dystopian as this, how does life go on as normal? As Aman Kaur Batra rightly puts, ‘a sibling is only a sibling if you share blood, says the west. Every oppressed neighbour is my sibling, says my blood.’
For such a world, it is incumbent on Muslims to not only feel the pain of God’s creation, but we are also required to do what we can within our means to alleviate their pain and difficulty.
The Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) said “my state is such that if I am offering prayers and I hear the voice of someone in pain, I would prefer to break the prayer if I can assist him… My heartfelt desire is to alleviate his suffering and to show him as much compassion and sympathy as possible.”
The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) further said:
“It is against basic moral values to fail to support or help a person who is in any kind of difficulty or pain. If you are unable to practically assist, then at the very least, you should pray for them. Never mind one’s own people, I say that one must demonstrate the highest moral values and manifest great love towards others, be they Hindu or anyone else. One should never be indifferent or apathetic to the needs of others.” [2]
In the case of Gaza and, now in the case of Lebanon, it is easy to succumb to the idea that we are unable to practically help the oppressed. But there is a lot we can do even from afar and without political power or influence.
Bearing witness to the oppression of others, being their voice when the world tries to silence them, siding with truth over what’s happening and sincere and intense prayers for the oppressed, for their relief from oppression and for justice to prevail are all practical steps we can take. In a world full of indifference, as Muslims, we owe this to our God’s creation as their right, and a duty we must fulfil.
As His Holiness recently emphasised:
“We, as Ahmadi Muslims, must rise as beacons of sincerity, unwavering faith and selfless service to all humanity. Free from all forms of discrimination and self-interest, we must endeavour to bring people towards those noble objectives that define our true purpose.” [1]
References
[2] Malfuzat, Vol. 7 pp. 105-106 Edition 1984
Voice of British Muslim Women 
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