“You are Indeed Higher:” The Promised Land of Palestine

Those who persecute the Palestinians — directly or by collusion — seem congenitally blind to the Muslim Palestinian soul.

They have never seen Palestinians as anything more than despised, deprecated subjects that should — but inconveniently will not — bow to a brutal and savage occupation.

Is there an archetype for this myopia? Recall that Shaytan could not discern Syeduna Adam’s inner reality and spiritual worth. He perceived only Syeduna Adam’s outer form. He rationalized, falsely, that since he was made of fire, he was better than clay. He was blind to Syeduna Adam’s soul.

That blindness produced an agency of terrible, demonic vice: Arrogance, delusion, self-aggrandizement, ingratitude, obstinacy, spite, malice, violent envy, rage, cold-heartedness, treachery, lies, duplicity, conspiracy, and vulgarity.

When high ranking officials call Palestinians “human animals,” and claim that there “isn’t a Palestinian people,” they are revealing their deepest, truest psychology. For them, Palestinians have no value. They have no soul.

Is the analogy to Shaytan too drastic? Consider this: How else would you characterize the actions of the persecutors and their entourage who, bound together by a historical animus against Islam, terrorized and subjugated Palestinians for decades — a fact irrefutably documented and amply available for any who seek the truth.

Then, possess the shamelessness to declare themselves innocent, their actions fair and just, their culture civilized and democratic.

Then, possess the depravity to slur, vilify and demonize the victim.

Then, possess the malevolence to cast upon Palestinians the mantle of an oppressor who uses his own children as a human shield, after killing over 5000 children and denying over a million children food, drink, medicine and basic needs.

What is this? Shameless? Depravity? Malevolence? Or something even worse that appears to replicate the foulest admixture of Shaytanic vice?

The case of Palestine is as clear as day. But seeing depends on the state of my soul. Shaytan cannot see Syeduna Adam’s reality. But, those who are truly Adamic can see his reality.

In advanced math and physics, higher dimensions have access to lower dimensions; but lower dimensions have no access to higher dimensions. The two dimension live a reality that is worlds apart.

The enlightened Muslim mind and heart knows and sees in a higher dimension. Allah exists. The angels exist. The Messengers exist. Divine guidance exists. Accountability and the Day of Judgement exists. Qada and qadar, Divine predestination, exists.

These arkan of iman (integrals of faith) provide a map of existence — an expansive context of meanings, wisdoms and truths — that extends beyond the meagre limitations of worldly existence.

Imagine the rational, spiritual and emotional ecosystem of one who believes in Infinite Justice (al-’Adl), Loving-Mercy (al-Rahim) and Wisdom (al-Hakim); who is nourished from a source of Infinite Beauty and Majesty; who reflects, plans and acts for a world that stretches into eternity; who knows that every atom of good and bad will be accounted for; who perceives, experiences and strives through inspiration from the Source of Life and Light (al-Khaliq and al-Nur), the Ultimately Real (al-Haqq) and the Intimate Friend (al-Wali).

Imagine the near-infinite expanse of such a mind and heart. Imagine its mentality, emotions and psychology. This is a free heart and mind. This is an enlightened existence.

Juxtapose this with the one whose perceptions, experiences and strivings are manacled to the material and sensual; to power and prestige; to consumption and avarice; to no higher accountability or law; to a temporal sojourn that, when it ends, leads to a bleak abyss of nothingness.

The root word of iman, faith, is amn, or security. And kufr, unbelief — literally to conceal reality — is willful blindness.

Do not weaken or despair — for you are indeed higher, if you are true believers. Qur’an: 3:139.

As this crisis unravels, the reality of who and what we are is laid bare; what lies within is now not so hidden.

What a tragedy — among so many incalculable tragedies — that the persecutors of the Palestinians and their accomplices cannot, will not, see and marvel at the faith, patience, resilience, courage, forbearance, strength, certainty, sacrifice, humility, goodness, graciousness, and bravery of our brothers and sisters in Palestine.

The mere existence of the Palestinians is the greatest, most eloquent da‘wa (invitation) to their persecutors.

The soul of every Palestinian believer is Allah’s hujja (evidence) against its oppressor.

If only they sincerely wanted to see, their sincerity would perforate a portal to another world, in which they would glimpse a higher dimension of breathtaking spiritual beauty, true faith, certainty and freedom.

They would see not only story-miracles of shuhada’ (martyrs) — untold men, women and children — whose lives, taken unjustly, testified to the virtues of Divine Beauty and Majesty, but they would see a community of living shuhada’ in front of their very eyes.

They would know why al-Quds — the Sacred — is sacred.

And they would then see their Promised Land.