Skies of Grey

Hello readers,

It's been a while. Wishing you all - a slightly belated but nonetheless whole-hearted - Eid Mubarak. I hope you all had a blessed month of Ramadan and a wonderful day of celebrating its spiritual gains with heavy tables of delicious food and dessert. And through it all, that we didn't forget how lucky we are to have that luxury.

It would be wrong to write this and not acknowledge the current chaos destroying the Holy land of Palestine. This is by no means a political page or a debate of religious affairs, but what is important to me will always find its way into my writing and the decades-long illegal occupation of Palestine is a heartbreak that sits deep with me and so many others reading this. To stand with Palestine is to stand with humanity.

It is with a heavy heart that I reflect on how we got here. How the human race knows nothing but destruction. How we are good at nothing but destroying hope, life, love. Perhaps it is a bleak way to see the world but I see the wide-scale oppression of scores of people across the Middle East, China, India - and so many other countries - and the silence of the international community that allows religious genocide and ethnic cleansing to go unpunished, and I am at a loss for words. World powers fund said oppression and turn a blind eye to heavy war crimes for which innocent civilians pay the price, their blood that spills into the streets not even stirring a flicker of emotion. I see the state of our own country, witness the racism, bigotry and xenophobia so widely expressed here at home, and genuinely believe that we are capable of nothing but hate.

Ramadan is the month of mercy that focuses not just on spiritual self-development but also emphasises unity and collective strength of faith. It makes me painfully sad that my loudest prayers were not for myself but for a better world. For our kids and the next generation to be better than us. To not be driven by hate. To live in a world that is more peaceful and compassionate, to see social and economic justice, to not see history repeat itself.

As I have gotten older, I have also appreciated the heaviness that weighs on the soul with the departure of Ramadan. The last few months have been difficult for many personal reasons and I haven't been in the right head space to write (hence the blog silence); the emotional down spiral can be, and was, damaging in so many respects and I feel like I have been struggling for a time much longer than that but have only just felt the weight of it all barrel into me. I had to acknowledge I was mentally in a bad place with my faith feeling low. I came into Ramadan wanting, needing, searching for internal peace that has evaded me for the better part of a year. I am grateful to say that I found it. For me, this Ramadan felt like coming home. Like I have managed to glue back together the fractured pieces that I was struggling to hold together. But with its farewell comes the very real fear of losing what one has gained. The longing for permanent change is perhaps not feasible - we are only human after all - but we can only do our best and hope that God takes care of the rest. 

It is that knowledge that keeps us going. That the heaviness will lift. Whatever you're battling in your personal life, whatever you feel when you look at the disarray of the world we live in, God will lift the weight. The true test of faith lies in when there is little faith to be found.

Keep Palestine in your prayers. Your one prayer, it may not erase political unrest overnight, but it could save the life of a Palestinian family. Your one prayer, it could save a child from becoming an orphan, a brother from losing his sister, a parent from losing their only child. Pray and know that there is strength in solidarity, hope in the fight for justice, light in the darkness. Know that truth prevails. That Palestine will, one day, be free. I pray we are around to see it. I pray that we find inspiration in their resilience, in their fierce loyalty to the Holy land on which they walk, in their unquestionable willingness to give their life to protect Masjid-ul-Aqsa. I pray for the Almighty to protect them as they protect His blessed ground. I pray for their spirit to never be broken and to be freed from the shackles of oppression. I pray for justice and for humankind to always stand up for what is right...to protect every human life equally and to re-write history. 

Maybe we can re-write the narrative. It feels different this time...this time, Palestine will be heard. Your prayers, donations, shared social media posts...they are screaming and shouting the irrefutable truth that cannot be smothered by those trying to hide it. Don't be silenced. The little we can do - and are trying to do - they are all tiny pieces of a bigger picture. We are the change.