Khutbah Notes: Palestine Solidarity

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O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah , even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives… (4:135)

Our hearts are heavy. Over the last few days we have witnessed horror images and stories  coming out of Israel’s indiscriminate carpet bombing of Gaza, in the aftermath of Hamas’s surprise invasion of Israel.  

About 6.8 million Jewish Israelis and 6.8 million Palestinians live in the occupied Palestine and Israel today. We pray that everyone is granted an equal right to freedom, dignity, and prosperity.

Palestine is in struggle for freedom, justice, and Islam for several decades.

It is also important to remember that the Prophet, peace be upon him, prohibited killing of civilians and non-combatants in war. That principle became a part of the Islamic law which has never changed. This law is a unilateral law. It does not require the enemy abiding by it. Allah has told us that killing one person is like killing the whole humanity unless through due process of law. Based on these principles we believe killing of civilians in Palestine or Israel is unIslamic.

As Muslims, we don’t have to agree with Hamas to speak for the human rights of Palestinian Muslims. We should not be labeled antisemitic to save lives in Gaza. We should not be harassed for showing solidarity with Palestinians and their resistance. We should be unapologetic about our commitment to peace and justice for Palestine.

What is Happening in Gaza?

• It is estimated that by now 3,000 Palestinians including children have been killed by Israeli bombings since the start of escalation on the morning of October 7th.
• 5,184 Palestinians have been injured.
• About 60% of the injuries occurred by the Israeli airstrikes were among women and children in the Gaza Strip,
• 260,000 are internally displaced.
• Gaza hospitals on the brink of collapse.
• 300,000 Israeli troops are preparing for a ground invasion.

What Palestinians have Faced over the Last 70 Years?

• Israel has facilitated 700,000 Israeli Jewish settlers who now live in 300 Israeli settlements on the  Palestinian land. The U.S. government and the UN consider these settlements illegal.
• Israel has displaced 5.9 million Palestinians while Palestinians have not displaced any Israelis. 
• Israel is occupying Palestine, not the other way around.
• Israel has literally imprisoned two million Palestinians in Gaza as an open air prison. 
• UN human rights experts, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Israel’s own human rights organization B’tSelem call it an apartheid state.
• Israel has killed and injured 150,000 Palestinians including 33,000 children since 2008.
• 1 in every 5 Palestinians has been arrested and charged under the 1,600 military orders that control every aspect of the lives of Palestinians.
• The number of Palestinians behind Israeli bars is 5,200, including 33 women and 170 children. 

Meanwhile in the USA…

• Secretary of State Blinking equating Hamas with ISIS
• President Biden have sent more arms to Israel
• Media is blaming Palestinians as baby slaughterer which neither the US not Israel has confirmed

Why Show Solidarity with Palestine?

1. Responsibility to Follow Prophetic Mission: Establishing Qist

لَـقَدۡ اَرۡسَلۡنَا رُسُلَنَا بِالۡبَيِّنٰتِ وَاَنۡزَلۡنَا مَعَهُمُ الۡكِتٰبَ وَالۡمِيۡزَانَ لِيَقُوۡمَ النَّاسُ بِالۡقِسۡطِ​ۚ

Indeed We sent Our Messengers with Clear Signs, and sent down with them the Book and the Balance that people may uphold justice (Qist)...  (Al-Hadeed 57:25). Standing up for Justice (Qist) was a mission common to ALL prophets of God. It is our religious responsibility to stand with Indigenous Peoples in their fight for justice, truth and reconciliation.

2. Responsibility to Change Evil Condition

 مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرْهُ بِيَدِهِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ،  فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِقَلْبِهِ، وَذَلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الْإِيمَانِ

Abu Said Al-Khudri reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

 "Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.” (Muslim #49)

3. Responsibility to Repel Darkness: Zulm

اتَّقُوا الظُّلْمَ فَإِنَّ الظُّلْمَ ظُلُمَاتٌ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَة

Ibn Umar reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Beware of Zulm (the oppression), for Zulm  will be a Zulumaat (darkness) on the Day of Resurrection." (Bukhari # 637)

4. Responsibility to Avoid the Dua of the Oppressed

وَاتَّقِ دَعْوَةَ الْمَظْلُومِ فَإِنَّهُ لَيْسَ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ اللَّهِ حِجَابٌ

“Beware the supplication of the oppressed, for there is no barrier between it and God.” (Bukhari # 4347)

5. Responsibility to the Ummah in Struggle for Freedom, Justice and Islam

عَنْ النُّعْمَانِ بْنِ بَشِيرٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي تَوَادِّهِمْ وَتَرَاحُمِهِمْ وَتَعَاطُفِهِمْ مَثَلُ الْجَسَدِ إِذَا اشْتَكَى مِنْهُ عُضْوٌ تَدَاعَى لَهُ سَائِرُ الْجَسَدِ بِالسَّهَرِ وَالْحُمَّى

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, 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.” (Source: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6011, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2586)

What can We Do?

• Supplicate: Make a special Dua for brothers and sisters living constantly under fear and terror in Gaza and under occupation in others parts of Palestine - if they are not in your Dua, they are not in your thoughts.
• Educate: Educate yourself and others about the history of Al-Aqsa and Palestine, as well as the magnitude of human suffering under apartheid, occupation, and blockade. Help your neighbours, co-workers, and classmates understand the media bias and share the stories of Palestinians for over seven decades.
• Advocate:  
  • Challenge TV channels, radio stations, newspapers, and social media influencers for the dehumanization of Palestinians and erasure of Palestinian suffering. Demand fair coverage of Palestinian voices and stories.
  • Call your representatives for their selective human rights and for not condemning the Israeli bombing and killing of Palestinians.
  • Visit JusticeForAll.org and take 30 seconds to call your elected leaders asking them to call for an immediate ceasefire and to open a humanitarian corridor to allow for food and water to the civilians in Gaza.

Let’s Make a Special Dua 

حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ. اللهم انصر اخواننا المستضعفين

O Allah, Ya Hafeez, help and protect the people of Palestine.
O Allah, Ya Lateef, ease their pain and suffering in Gaza.
O Allah, Ya Rehman, bestow your mercy on them.
O Allah, Ya Fattah, open the doors of sustenance & provide relief to the besieged.
O Allah, Ya Shaafee, heal the wounded men, women and children of Gaza.
O Allah, Ya Salaam, bring peace in Gaza and end the persecution.