Today’s Karbala!

Rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors…’” (Surah-e-Nisa) If my own family were being slaughtered day after day, I would exhaust every moral and lawful, even unlawful means to protect them. I would raise my voice, throw my wealth, dedicate my time and stand beside them until justice prevailed. Such a response is not extraordinary; it is the instinct of every person whose heart still feels the pain of those they call their own. Today, thousands have been killed & displaced across Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, Iran, Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) and other regions. Beyond the Muslim world, innocent civilians in many conflicts also endure immense suffering. Yet, despite the existence of nearly sixty Muslim-majority states, the collective response has largely been confined to condemnations, speeches, resolutions and expressions of concern. One cannot help but ask: where is the unity that the Quran envisions? The problem is not merely political; it is spiritual & theological. We have reduced Islam to borders, passports and national interests. The Quran, however, repeatedly reminds believers that they are one Ummah, bound together by faith and responsibility rather than geography alone. The call of Surah-e-Nisa is not addressed to one nation-state but to every believer who hears the cry of the oppressed. Allah declares in Surah-e-Taubah: “Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth in exchange for Paradise. They fight in the way of Allah and kill and are killed, on which there is a true promise in the Torah and the Bible and the Quran..” (9:111). Faith has never been a promise of comfort; it is a covenant of sacrifice. Likewise, Allah asks, “What is the matter with you that, when you are told to go forth in the cause of Allah, you cling heavily to the earth?” (9:38).