Beyond What Our Eyes Can See

"Allah's plan unfolds beyond what our eyes can see."

Those were the closing words of our previous reflection on The Sacrificial Lamb. They deserve to become the opening words of this one.

For if Palestine has taught us anything, it is that Allah's سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ decree continues to unfold even when the world believes evil has prevailed.

The bombs continue to fall.

The innocent continue to die.

The headlines change.

The world grows tired.

Yet Allah continues to expose hearts.

The Qur'an repeatedly reminds us that trials are never merely about the events themselves. They are also about what those events reveal.

Palestine has become one of the greatest mirrors of our time.

It has exposed oppression without disguise.

It has exposed the hypocrisy of governments that preach human rights while remaining silent in the face of unimaginable suffering.

It has exposed media narratives that determine whose lives deserve mourning and whose deaths deserve silence.

Most painfully, it has exposed divisions and weaknesses within the Ummah itself.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ informed us that a time would come when the nations would gather against the Muslims as diners gather around a dish. When the Companions asked whether this would be because Muslims would be few in number, he replied that they would be many, but they would resemble the froth upon the sea (numerous), yet lacking strength because of wahn: love of the dunya and fear of death. (Abi Dawud, Hadith 4297)

How eerily familiar those words feel today.

Across the world, people continue to weep, donate, pray, march, and speak for Palestine. Yet Muslim leaders in positions of authority have responded with statements carefully measured to preserve political interests, economic relationships, or diplomatic comfort.

History has repeatedly shown us that when worldly considerations are placed above justice, truth becomes expensive.

But Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ records every silence.

Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ records every word.

Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ records every action.

And Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ records every opportunity that was ignored.

None of us will escape standing before Him (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ).

Perhaps that is the greatest lesson of Palestine.

The people beneath the rubble have not only become victims of oppression; they have become witnesses against those who chose comfort over courage.

Yet Allah's سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ wisdom extends even further.

While Islamophobia continues to spread across much of the world (fuelled by fear, misinformation, and deliberate distortion) something remarkable continues to happen.

The more Islam is attacked, the more people begin to ask what Islam actually teaches.

The more Muslims are vilified, the more sincere people begin searching for the truth.

The more the Qur'an is criticised, the more it is read.

The more attempts are made to extinguish the light of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ, the brighter that light appears to shine.

يُرِيدُونَ أَن يُطْفِـُٔوا۟ نُورَ ٱللَّهِ بِأَفْوَٰهِهِمْ وَيَأْبَى ٱللَّهُ إِلَّآ أَن يُتِمَّ نُورَهُۥ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ ٣٢

"They wish to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah refuses except to perfect His light, even though the disbelievers dislike it." (Qur'an 9:32)

Even here in our beloved South Africa, where Muslims have lived peacefully alongside people of every faith for generations, we are beginning to witness a growing willingness to normalise anti-Muslim rhetoric. Casual prejudice has become acceptable in places where mutual respect once flourished.

This should concern every South African, not only Muslims.

Our democracy was built upon the sacrifices of men and women who refused to accept injustice as normal. People of every race, every faith, and every community stood together against oppression because they recognised a simple truth: injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere.

Those sacrifices are slowly becoming forgotten chapters in our history.

The same forces that profit from division continue to redraw lines across continents, communities, and hearts. Africa, too, finds itself increasingly caught in geopolitical struggles that have little to do with its people and much to do with power.

But history has another lesson.

Empires rise.

Empires fall.

Narratives change.

Truth remains.

This is why Palestine is not merely a political issue.

It is a spiritual one.

It asks every believer the same question: When truth became clear, where did you stand?

Not everyone is called to lead nations.

Not everyone is called to influence governments.

But every one of us is called to stand before Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ with a heart that recognised truth, spoke truth with wisdom, prayed for the oppressed, and refused to allow oppression to become normal.

Perhaps this is what Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is revealing beyond what our eyes can immediately see.

The sacrifice of Palestine is exposing not only the cruelty of tyrants but also the condition of humanity itself.

It is separating convenience from conviction.

It is distinguishing slogans from sincerity.

And it is reminding every believer that no matter how powerful falsehood appears today, its lifespan is measured by Allah alone.

The story is not over.

Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ is still revealing it all.