'and when the graves are turned upside down...'

It has been a difficult time for Muslims these past few weeks and months. I feel as though we are being attacked from every angle and by everyone. The bombardment doesn't stop; it's terrorism, it's murder, it's religious oppression. It's Iraq, it's Gaza, it's Afghanistan, it's Beirut. It's the flickering lights after Maghrib, followed by deafening blasts. We haven't seen the face of loss, we haven't felt the earth shake under our feet, we haven't felt the possibility of losing loved ones in one flicker of a light. Our reality ends where our TV screens begin. And to us, their realities end when our TVs are shut off. These people are faceless to us. Except that Allah (swt) doesn't shut off a TV screen, He is The All-Seeing, The All-Hearing, The All-Knowing. The situation going on right now overseas reminded me of a story I heard just a few months ago: This event happened after the battle of Al-Qadisiyyah which was during the Khilafah of Umar (ra) - Muslims against Persians. Umar (ra) was standing, waiting alone at the outskirts of Madinah for a messenger to come tell him what the result of the battle was. The messenger, Al-Bashir, came running towards Madinah to tell the Khalifah the news. Umar (ra) asked him about the results and he said "The Muslims were victorious, I must go tell the Khalifah." He didn't recognize Umar as the Khalifah because of his simple clothes and the fact that he was out on the edge of Madinah alone, just waiting. Umar (ra) asked Al-Bashir to tell him who was martyred during the battle. Al-Bashir told him the many names of those killed in the way of Allah. He said "so-and-so was martyred, and so-and-so was martyred, and many people who we don't know." Umar (ra) began crying and he said, "Allah knows who they are." If we forget Muslims who are suffering, Allah (Swt) doesn't forget them. It's so easy to lose track of everything: your purpose, you goals, your Iman. It's so easy to forget Allah (swt), it's so easy to continue our lives in the most superficial ways and to shut off the TV when it's not convenient. But we don't realize that Allah (swt) doesn't forget us. He knows where we are, what we're doing, and He awaits the opportunity to forgive us if we return to Him in repentance. Abu Hurairah narrated that Allah’s Messenger said, "Every night when it is the last third of the night, our Rabb, the Superior, the Blessed, descends to the nearest heaven and says: Is there anyone to invoke Me that I may respond to his invocation? Is there anyone to ask Me so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone asking My forgiveness so that I may forgive him?" (Bukhari) SubhanAllah at the difference between human beings and Allah. Humans lie, manipulate and ignore the suffering of others, while Allah (swt) waits with open arms for us just to take one step towards Him. I pray to Allah (swt) not to let us go astray through our disobedience to Him. I pray to Allah (swt) to guide us in these difficult times and to keep us steadfast on the straight path. I pray that Allah (swt) accepts our deeds and our repentance and that He enters us into the highest levels of Jannah. I ask Allah (swt) to admit those dying in His cause into the highest levels of Jannah.