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It was only a few days after 7 October 2023.
I went to the masjid for my urdu language class. I entered the women's section. The air inside was calm with a low murmur of Quran recitation in the background. I sat with my teacher and began practicing.
As I studied my eyes fell on a girl near by. She sat with her head bent low, her pen barely moving across the page , her shoulders carried a heaviness. My teacher told me to sit with her and practice imla together.
So I took my notebook and sat by her side. We began writing, repeating words aloud. But she kept stopping mid sentence, staring at the page , her voice trailing off. The rhythm broke again and again. Finally I asked her, "what's wrong? What's happening?"
She opened up and said she was deeply upset about what was happening I gaza. The words poured out : " I can't stop thinking about what's happening there . I feel so helplessness "
In that sacred space of the masjid where hearts are meant to find peace hers was restless, broken by the cries of palestine.
She convinced me that we should approach the masjid management and try to do something. I saw in her heart the fire of empathy and concern for the ummah.
It has been one and half years since that day in masjid. just yesterday I forwarded her a video of gaza and asked her , "how are we going to face allah and enter jannah !?". She replied, " we can’t do anything. It's out of our hands. We are praying for them and that's what we can do." The words were cold, carried no urgency and only resignation. Our discussion ended after few minutes as usual.
Later while sitting alone, a memory of that day in masjid suddenly waved through my mind . The contract between her passionate words back then and her resignation now struck me deeply. Time had not increased her in action rather it had made her desensitized.
What happened?
this is not just her story. It is the story of many of us. What once made us weep begins to feel like background noise.
Neuroscience calls this desensitization or psychic numbing.
Islam calls it a disease. The disease of "wahn."
islam worns us against this spiritual numbness. The prophet ﷺ said : "whoever among you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand . If he can not then with his tongue and if he can't then with his heart and that is the weakest of iman" (muslim)
That means there is no faith after this.
ARE WE JUST LOST OUT IMAN?
- Rushdah ilyas (EI batch-5)
