There was a time when Gaza and its slaughter caused a searing pain in our hearts. Yet has this genocide now become a mundane fixture in our lives, and in the process, have we lost something of our humanity? The immense suffering, the pain of famine, the daily bloodbaths, and the horrific stories of children dying in tents have become an inconvenient backdrop to our increasingly inconsequential lives. I have been struck by the inhumanity of my own reflection these past few months, but also the ease with which the people around me have come to live with this genocide as if its daily horrors have now become an acceptable part of our existence.
We have all failed Gaza. But our failure is magnified by how much we do not recognise our own complicity with the continuation of our manicured lives. How do we read the hadith of the Messenger (saw) when he said, “The parable of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever.” There must be a biological response to this pain that should interrupt our lives. It's fundamental to what it means to be a believer to not allow the repetition of slaughter dull our senses.
I am not here discussing the need for meaningful action, which is severely lacking in our communities. Rather, there is a need not to trivialise one of the most painful episodes of the ummah’s existence. We cannot make this genocide ambient.
We have all failed Gaza. But our failure is magnified by how much we do not recognise our own complicity with the continuation of our manicured lives. How do we read the hadith of the Messenger (saw) when he said, “The parable of the believers in their affection, mercy, and compassion for each other is that of a body. When any limb aches, the whole body reacts with sleeplessness and fever.” There must be a biological response to this pain that should interrupt our lives. It's fundamental to what it means to be a believer to not allow the repetition of slaughter dull our senses.
I am not here discussing the need for meaningful action, which is severely lacking in our communities. Rather, there is a need not to trivialise one of the most painful episodes of the ummah’s existence. We cannot make this genocide ambient.
More from The Thinking Muslim on Substack.