Tag Archives: peace

Day 28: 30 Good Deeds In Ramadan

 

DAY TWENTY-EIGHT: Take Us With You

 

Soooooooooo

About last night….
(Enunciation at its best, mind you loool)

 

Actually you know what, let’s not talk about last night coz that will probably take up all day
and bring so many emotions back to the surface
And then you’ll cry
and when you cry I cry

And I wouldn’t be able to tell you about your choices for the good deed of the day.

 

Oh my God, you guys!! Who would have thought we’d still have options by Day 28? I was running out of ideas and energy I honestly didn’t think I’d make it to Day 12!

(None of my friends and family did either loool)
Anyways, so let’s talk options.
Level One:

You should have seen the huge difference at the mosque.
Last night it was FULLY packed.
And tonight
well,
Meh..

 

Maybe those same people are praying at home, only Allah knows.
And there are a number of Hadiths discouraging women from praying outside her house. I’m aware of that, too.
And perhaps people get busy or sick or I dunno
I’m just worried that….
Sometimes, the minute we get what we want, we kind of move on and don’t look back.
Like they say, ‘You see a person’s true colors when you are no longer beneficial to their life’

 

I wouldn’t dare compare the greatest Lord to that (God forbid)
Allah is always beneficial to us. That’s not what I mean. It’s only a metaphor!
(Okay I feel I’m treading on dangerous territory so please understand and forgive me if I start acting up loool)

 

All I’m trying to say is, please….

Even if you’re 100% sure Laylat Al Qadr was last night
Even if tonight isn’t an odd night
And even if you’re tired, busy or just downright drained…

Make sure you’re polite with Allah…
Make sure you thank Him for letting you reach this far…
Make sure you show up when others drop and disappear

Only the genuine hearts will keep the worship alive tonight…

 

Level Two:
Unfortunately, some of the people we know, have missed out on the beauty, serenity and submission in this blessed month.
They wasted their nights socializing and staring at the TV till their eyeballs fell out and bounced on the ground like YoYo’s loool

 

This is your chance to give them a glimpse of guidance.
Ramadan isn’t over yet. There’s still time
So drag one of those friends or family members with you to prayers tonight (I don’t mean literally drag them but if they refuse and go into zombie mode, then yeah drag them no problem loool)

 

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “If Allah guides only one person through you, it will be better for you than all that the sun has risen or set over”

 
OOOOORRRRRRR

Since Ramadan is almost over
You can do both 😉

 

What do you mean you don’t remember both deeds?
Continuous fasting is taking its toll, isn’t it? Loool

Muslims are true heroes I swear to Allah!
You know science has proven the health benefits of fasting over and over
But hardly anyone does it. Perhaps many non-Muslims don’t have the discipline for it but we do.
Because we do it for Allah, and Allah alone…
 

All my love,

Lilly S. Mohsen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walk The Walk With Me

Throwback, Hajj 2015
Published exclusively on On Islam

Kabah.jpg

Hajj Diaries: Day Three

Life is so very different here. The city literally pauses five times a day, at the beautiful sound of the call to prayer. Everything closes down completely and the Holy mosque is the only place vibrating with life. You’d be talking to someone all absorbed in an important conversation, and then suddenly you both stop, face the Qiblah, and start walking. As if we are spiritually hypnotized. I can talk about this Holy place forever, but someone just tapped me on the shoulder, inviting the whole Hajj group to the meeting room for instructions on the rites of Pilgrimage. I gotta go!

(Pssssstttttt one more thing! The mosque is surrounded with pigeons all day, and yet you NEVER see any bird droppings! Coincidence? I think not!!)

Okayyyyy I’m coming! Sorry guys, I really gotta go!

 

The leader quiets us down and then starts explaining. Of course you’re part of the group! You’re heart Hajjis this year, right? Come on in

“Attention people! Listen up!

Starting the 9th of Dhul Hajjah, you barely have time to breathe! The rites of Hajj will commence one after the other so fast it will make your head spin! And yes, say goodbye to sleep! (Yeah, Hajj is a form of Jihad. What did you guys except?)

But don’t panic. Please take your seats while I explain the process briefly. There’s snacks and refreshments in the hall on your way in, so please help yourselves…

Okay so here it goes:

Step one: Begin Ihram and head off to Umrah

Circumambulation:

I often wondered why we walk around the Kaabah seven times in an anti-clock wise motion. But this year, being your Hajj representative and all, it was time to get some answers!

Do you ever walk into a place, like a green park or a white room, take a deep breath, and say “wow I feel so peaceful here”

Okay, multiply that by a gazillion times and you’ll understand what’s it like to be near the Kaabah. The House of God is located on a blessed spot, in the zero magnetism zone. Once you circumambulate around it anti clock wise, the same direction the entire universe rotates, your whole system is charged with positive energy.

The layers of earth are seven, so are the heavens. And just like each key has a different number of ridges to open a certain door, I personally believe, rotating around the Kaabah seven times opens the doors to a blessed life on earth and an eternal abode in Paradise…

Saei: Walk The Walk

Next comes the seven walks or the “saei” between mount Safa and mount Marwa, another rite of umrah and hajj. It is to honor lady Hajjar, who walked the seven walks hoping to find water for her thirsty baby, and then behold! The eternal blessed spring of Zamzam erupts.

The word “saei” roughly translates to: the effort exerted to attain something great. Is that perhaps a reflection of our lives too? We do “saei” every day, working hard to do good deeds and avoid sins. Life is just an attempted effort to reach our version of “divine water in the middle of the desert”. We walk the walk in life, knowing that one day, we will be rewarded  too… With eternal paradise inshallah

Once you’re done both sets of walks, you go drench your heart and soul with Zamzam water and pray two rakas then prepare for Arafat, the best day in the history of days…

But wait…

Don’t go…

Take a minute to listen to the sound of the surreal silence of this “overcrowded with millions of people” Holy mosque…

Stare at the Ka’bah…Quench this thirst in your soul you never knew existed till this moment.

The feeling you have now, seeing it up close and personal can never be described in human words…

It’s a mix of awe, shock, serenity, security, and detachment from the world. You feel your soul is being slowly disconnected from your body and tied with an eternal bliss to this beautiful velvet covered House of God.

The rush of emotions in this place is overpowering…

And it makes me wonder… If a place on earth is so heavenly to the point that you wouldn’t wanna blink and miss a second of its view… If the reality of being near the Ka’bah is more enchanting and captivating than any dream… I wonder…what is paradise like…?

 

Your Hajj Representative

Lilly S. Mohsen

Hajj Diaries: Lilly In Mecca

Throwback, Hajj journey 2015
Published exclusively on On Islam

Medina1.jpg

Day One Dairy: Friday

Can I Represent You For 7 Days?

Before you answer that question let me tell you something:

There’s approximately 1.8 Billion Muslims in the world today. And because of the capacity limit of the great Holy mosque in Mecca, only 3 million people out of the 1.8 billion can perform Hajj every year. If you do the boring math, you’ll realize that’s only 0.0016% of the Ummah. If you do more boring math, you’ll be shocked to know, that even if every Muslim gets a fair chance to fulfill their Hajj obligation, which is one of the main pillars in Islam, they’d have to wait more than a hundred years for their turn. Some people will live and die before having the chance to perform Hajj! Not because they’re sick or old or can’t afford it! But simply because of capacity limitations. Now that really sucks, doesn’t it?

Millions of Muslims apply for Hajj visas every year and get rejected. Millions can’t afford it, can’t take a leave from work, have little kids they can’t leave behind or are physically unable to travel. I know Hajj is only an obligation for those who are able, but just looking at these number and odds, it doesn’t seem fair to me! Less than 1% of Muslims get to be reborn through Hajj, sometimes every year, while others have zero chance!

 

Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) on a Jihad journey, said “We left many Muslims behind and yet they’re with us in every step and share the same rewards. All because they wished to join us but couldn’t…”

 

Is there perhaps a different kind of Hajj that you can do EVERY single year with your heart, and get the same reward of those who are physically there? Is your sincere intention and longing to please the Lord, enough to fulfill this one, out-of-reach pillar?

Yes, I think so too… Coz Allah is Fair, and He’s the Most Merciful

Try as you may, you’ll never understand the virtue and value of the first ten days of Dhul Hajjah, whether you’re in Mecca or at home. If you’re one of those people, who turn on the TV and watch the floods of white-dressed pilgrims circumbulate the Kaa’ba and hear your heart cry out “Awwwhhh I WISH I WAS THERE”

Then welcome! I’m glad to tell you, you’re in the right place. Please leave your heart in the Lobby along with your consent for me to take it with me. My name is Lilly. S Mohsen, and I will be your representative for the next 7 days inshAllah.

Did I mention I’m one of those lucky 0.016%?

Okay wait, don’t start mumbling jealous words yet. I’m sitting here in the beloved’s mosque in Madina, overwhelmed and humbled by this gift from Allah, and wishing you were all here with me….then I thought “you all can!”

All you need to do is have the intention. A true sincere and genuine intention to come to Hajj this year, have all your past mistakes deleted and start over a new page.

No cheating guys! I’m in a holy place, remember? I’ll know if your intentions are from the heart or not and then you’ll be SO busted! (Actually I won’t know. But I’ll still pretend I do!)

 

All I’m asking is for you to let go of the worldly distractions for a few days. Believe it with every cell in your body that this year, you can do Hajj with your heart…

 

As for me, I’ll walk you through the journey inshAllah during the coming days, which Allah testifies are the best days of the year and the most loved to Him. I’ll take your hearts with me every where I go, and on judgement day, if you’ve never had the chance to do your Hajj physically, I’ll be your faithful witness that in 2015, you came with your heart…

 

There’s a reason Allah inspired me with this thought, right here, sitting next to His beloved’s house. There’s a reason you’re reading this now and your heart is being opened slowly…

Perhaps it’s the only reason Allah invited me to His house, knowing how imperfect and undeserving I might be of this huge honor…

It’s because Allah loves you… And right now… He is looking at your heart…

 

May Allah accept your spiritual Hajj…

Let’s get this beautiful journey started…

 

Your Hajj Representative

Lilly S. Mohsen

 

Inside The Therapist’s Office: Episode Two

Office

 

“That’s the first time you mention your parents” I said carefully. “I can tell it’s a subject you try to avoid. Are you angry at them, Hannah?”

“My dad died years ago. And my mom is also dead…. Or at least to me she is….” Hannah clenched her jaws, as she over-sugared her coffee.

Silence filled the office where I spend my hours listening to people talk. I could literally see my patient building an invisible stonewall around her to prevent me from touching a feeling she’s obviously been holding on to for way too long. Like walking into a minefield, I proceed with much needed caution…

 

“Your mom must have done something for you to shut her out of your life this way” I said.

“She’s the reason my whole world fell apart!” Hannah sneered. “I know it’s hard to believe a daughter can hate her own mom but I do! I’ve hated her for as long as I can remember….”

 

“Daddy! What’s wrong? What time is it?” Hannah asked, still half asleep.
“Nothing sweet heart. I just came to check on you. Go back to sleep” Her dad kissed her and tucked her back in.
“Were you and mom fighting again?” Hannah asked. “I heard you guys yelling. What happened?”
“It’s just… it’s grown up stuff honey. Mommy is a little bit angry at daddy, but don’t worry, everything will be okay. I promise!” Her dad whispered.

 Days, weeks, months and years passed by, and still nothing seemed to change. Her parents kept fighting. She couldn’t even count the times she heard her dad apologize, and have the door slammed in his face. Her mom was always cranky, upset and downright mean, even to her own daughter, but Hannah’s dad soothed her and gave excuses to the angry, miserable woman. It wasn’t love that held this family together anymore; it was her dad’s patience. He was the best dad in the world! And she couldn’t help but resent her mom for rejecting and emotionally abusing a husband who obviously loved her so much he went down to his knees to ask for forgiveness over and over again!

 

“Get out! I can’t even look at you!” Hannah’s mom cried.

“I can explain!” Her dad panicked. Hannah could see his face from where she was hiding behind the couch late one night, and felt her heart break for him.

“How could you do this? You have a daughter!” Her mom yelled.

“I didn’t do anything! You have to believe me! I love you both so much!” Her dad cried. “You know I can’t live without Hannah!”

“I don’t care if you love your daughter, because I hate you with every cell in my body! Get out and never come back! In fact I hope YOU DIE!” His angry wife pushed him out before locking the door.

Twenty minutes later, he did.

Hannah’s dad got into a car accident and died instantly that very same night….

 

“I never spoke to her again! We lived like strangers under one roof!” Hannah said holding the now cold cup of coffee she hardly drank from.. “Until I was about to get married and she came and warned me not to. She said, “Don’t marry for love Hannah! You’ll regret it!” But I married him against her will, and she never came to the wedding nor did I ever hear from her again. She never even came to see me when I was at the hospital! She’s heartless!“

 

“Is there a chance this isn’t the whole truth? That maybe there’s another side to the story?” I asked.

“It wouldn’t have changed anything! She was the reason my dad died! If she hadn’t been so mean, perhaps she could have embraced me and prevented me from marrying Rasheed! If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have been a middle aged barren woman married to a man old enough to be my father!” Hannah cried.

“It’s the word ‘if’ that messes with our heads the most. You know why? Coz it makes us believe we could have changed destiny! If only she didn’t kick him out… if only she had said it in a different way… if he hadn’t ignored my calls I would have still been able to have children. The word ‘if’ doesn’t fit in our religion because it gives random luck so much power! It fuels our anger to blame others for what Allah had already decreed. No one has the power to do anything against His will! There’s no ‘if’ when you truly trust there’s ‘La illah ila Allah’. He decided on the exact timing of your dad’s demise even before your dad was born! Your mom isn’t powerful enough to decide otherwise!. And when your heart lives and breathes the ‘shahada’, attesting that ‘Muhammad is His messenger’, you look at things differently, and you’re eager to follow his example. The cure to any feeling, and the answer to any possible question is in the sunnah!”

 

“There are three sides to every story, Hannah. Yours, theirs and the truth! Perhaps your mom took the blame out of kindness and patience. She didn’t reveal her side because she didn’t want to deprive you of a good father figure. Maybe if your baby had lived, he or she would have ended up hiding behind the couch years later too, watching you and Rasheed fight and hating you… And you’d be in your mom’s shoes. Maybe deep down you already know that, and you’d rather cover it up with anger than go through the grief. But you can’t heal what you don’t feel! Once you accept His will, you’ll truly believe His promise when He says ‘with hardship there is ease’. (Holy Qur’an 94:6).

 

Hannah was crying hysterically at this point, and I could tell Allah had opened her heart to the truth… We put our guards up when we feel scared or insecure, but that’s not how it works with Our Lord…. The more we learn about Him, the more we trust Him. The more we trust Him, the more we submit to His will, and the more we do that, the more sense life makes… That’s what the first pillar of Islam is all about… Trusting Allah alone and following in the footsteps of His messenger Mohammad, peace be upon him.

It’s the cure to fear, sadness and worry…

It’s the cure to anger and regret….

It takes away the need to blame and judge and revenge.

The Shahada is the belief system that purifies our souls.

It’s the golden seal that unseals our hearts.

The first pillar of Islam is simply the true meaning of ‘peace’.

 

“But do you think we can say it by words and not have that belief system tested? Oh trust me, we’ll be tested again and again! You’re scared of dying alone Hannah coz you don’t have a family, and yet you’re leaving your mom to die alone when she has one! You!” I added. “Remember, we’ll all be tested with what we fear the most!”

 

Hannah covered her face and sobbed a bit more before getting up to thank me for helping her see things differently. She hugged me tight and my eyes went back and forth, not sure how to tell her this was against the rules! But I couldn’t help but smile when she said she was gonna go to visit her mom now.

 

I thanked Allah for this blessing, and prayed for all of us to feel the light of true faith, and pass our tests with flying colors…

Now it was time to reward myself with one chocolate chip cookie….

Or five!

 

“Your next appointment is here” My assistant announced.

“Al Salam Alaykom Adam!” I greeted the grumpy teenager. “So how was your weekend?”

“Yeah, whatever!” Adam spit out. “Let’s get this over with!”

 

To be continued….

 

Lilly S. Mohsen

 

 

 

 

A ‘Peace’ Of Happiness. No Gloves Required!

Gloves

A ‘Peace’ Of Happiness
(No Gloves Required)

 

Quick question. How do men even sit through wrestling and boxing matches? Call me a girly girl, but I honestly don’t get what’s so thrilling about blood-drenched, black-eyed, ‘beat-the-hell-out-of-you’ sports. Perhaps if you’re on either team, or if you’re the one in the fighting ring determined to win the game and knock down your opponent, that’s where the sense of victory comes in. But what happens if you’re on both teams? If two of your brothers are up against each other, which one do you cheer for? What happens if you’re putting on the boxing gloves, and at the blow of the referee’s whistle, all of a sudden you’re in ‘Parallel World’ and you realize the person you’re about to attack is YOU?

 

The Invisible Battle

At the risk of stating the obvious, let me confirm that war is the opposite of peace. And it’s pretty easy to see the damages, losses and destruction in a battlefield. We shudder at the sight of men’ swollen faces and oozing cuts when they engage in street fights before they turn to lifelong scars. We might help others tend to their physical wounds, all the while knowing, many of us are just as bruised and swollen on the inside, from inner fights that no ice pack or bandages can help heal. There’s an inside war that no one knows of. That’s the invisible battle between you and yourself..

 

When two parties disagree or see things differently, they take attacking or defensive sides. That’s how divorces happen, how friends break up, why people sometimes burst and quit their jobs and why parents with teenagers pull their hair. Conflicts burn out the joy we desperately seek. The same happens when your heart and mind start arguing and the fight is so intense and loud it’s hard to breathe let alone rest or sleep. When your values differ from your actions, they clash. When your belief system doesn’t match your behavior and lifestyle, a discrepancy is evoked, causing suffocating tension or what Psychologist call ‘Cognitive Dissonance’. Think of the mind as the dad, the heart as the mom and you’re the child in the middle watching them scream at each other and fight over custody! You love them both and it’s not fair of them to ask you to choose or make you live out of a suitcase in two different homes! All you pray and wish for is that they kiss and make up and then go buy you ice cream and lots of presents to celebrate their reunion. All you wish for is stability and balance when the tides are too high and you slowly feel yourself drowning.

 

Okay enough metaphors. Let me tell you the story of this girl who fell in love with a guy and started lying to her parents about who she’s chatting with or where she goes after school. The doctor who exaggerates an illness to make more money off his patient. The husband who’s having an emotional affair with a co-worker, because his wife is boring. The woman who gossips about her neighbors then invites them over for dinner. The students who cheat on tests, and the friends who get together to drink, smoke up and bully others. The man who breaks hearts and the woman who sees her friend hurting and looks the other way. On the outside, they all seem laid back, fun, adventurous, and living their lives the way they want. But on the inside, they’re struggling more than you’ll ever know… They live in a war zone. And no matter which side wins; they still lose… because temporary, guilt-ridden happiness has nothing to do with real joy.

 

Settling To A Middle Ground

So this girl in love tells herself it’s okay to lie, coz her parents will never understand. Actually, if you think about it, she’s protecting them from pain while looking for her happiness, right? The husband having an affair makes it up to his wife with expensive presents, or just tells himself she’s getting as good as she’s giving, so there’s no need to feel bad. The students only cheat on subjects they don’t really need to learn, like Algebra! When was the last time you used Algebra in real life? The friends are just enjoying their youth or forgetting their troubles. It doesn’t have to be a conflict. Perhaps people are different, and their sets of values aren’t the same. Or maybe they have VERY good reasons for the bad things they do!

Maybe…

But the truth is, the most dangerous kind of excuses and lies are the ones we tell ourselves, because deep down we know the truth, and it’s making us slowly go insane with shame and misery.

You might try to change your values when you reach a dead end with this heart-mind struggle, and may I add ‘good luck with that’. Muslim or non-Muslim we all agree on the same morals. We know for a fact lying, cheating, deception, promiscuity and stealing are all against pure human nature. And as Muslims we don’t drink, gamble, backbite, or rush through our prayers like it’s the marathon, for the exact same reasons. When your religion doesn’t translate into true faith in the heart and is just a label your brain had memorized, you willingly step into a minefield every time you want to make a decision. Islam means ‘peace’ because it takes you out of the war zone… and makes your heart and mind become one team… a couple living happily ever after.

 

The Search For Happiness

It’s the ultimate search isn’t it? We believe something needs to happen for us to find the happiness we’re yearning for. Falling in love isn’t enough, you wanna get married, then you want kids, then you want a bigger house for the family. Then you’re bored of your spouse and kids and you want a career. You want a fun social life, wealth, success, fame…. You’re always looking for the next thing to make you happy, and nothing works for long simply because happiness is elusive, you can’t pin it down! It seems like we are chasing an outer source of happiness when in reality we’re only running away from the void inside of us.

Can I ask you something?

Do you sleep soundly at night? Or are you holding in too much sadness, anger or guilt? Do you sometimes feel like you’re lost in this world? Do you feel empty inside? Only you know the reasons behind your inner struggle, and because no one sees your bruises or hears your silent screams, only you can put an end to this invisible war between you and yourself. It’s time to take off those boxing gloves and stop fighting. Stop struggling. Submit to your true ethics, morals and beliefs and don’t let your temptations blind you. It’s time for a truce between your heart and mind, because the truth is, once the gloves are off, you’ll finally find what you’re looking for… The ‘Peace’ of happiness….

 

Lilly S. Mohsen

ATTACK: “KILL Them Where You FIND Them!”

Published on Muslim Words
September 30th, 2015

GUN

ATTACK: “Kill Them Where You Find Them”

“I don’t get this weird video game! I mean is it really necessary to shoot the zombies? That’s not very nice, you know!”
“Mom! If you don’t shoot them, they’ll eat your brains out!”

So yeah, let’s pretend we have two groups here:

The Zombies:

 They wear black shirts
They carve rocks in the shape of dolls and force people to worship them.
They make A LOT of money from selling those make believe doll gods
They think the concepts of ‘equality’ and ‘peace’ are ridiculous
They’re powerful, aggressive, violent and very stubborn

The Peace Makers:

   They wear white shirts
They’re sick and tired of being bossed around by the biased zombies
They worship an unseen God and follow His messengers and book
They call for equality, charity, compassion and forgiveness

So when the zombies found out about the Peace Makers’ new beliefs, they fought them left and right. They tortured them, killed them, starved them, abused them, seized their assets and tried to assassinate their messenger many times, until the Peace Makers finally decided to escape the city after ten years of patient suffering. Once they spread out their call in neighboring cities, more and more people joined and the Peace Makers finally established a considerable existence.. Ten years later, 100,000 Peace Makers marched back into the city, conquering it completely yet without shedding a drop of blood. Of course the zombies ran to hide like wusses! Now you’d think the messenger, Prophet Muhammad, coming back as a victorious king, would want to punish them and have his revenge! I mean he’s human after all! They tried to kill him. They starved him and his followers for three years till his beloved wife and dear uncle died! They threw garbage at him and called him a lunatic. They asked him to split the moon in half to prove he was a Prophet of God, and when he did, they called him a magician! They killed his uncle Hamza and a woman mutilated his corpse and ate his liver (gross!). No Prophet had ever been hurt, insulted, abused and pained as much as Muhammad was by his own tribe. But when he gained immense power the Prophet, peace be upon him, simply asked his former persecutors a question…

“What do you think I’m going to do to you now?”
“You are a generous brother and the son of a generous brother!” They replied (Suck ups!)
“I will tell you what Joseph told his brothers” Prophet Muhammad said, “There is no blame on you today. You’re all free to go!”

Wait. What?!
No punishment at all? Oh my God! One time I forgot to do my homework in school and I was punished for two whole weeks! Homework not cold-blooded murder! This is so unfair!

But then again, this is why he’s the ‘beloved’, because he was forgiving, caring and merciful. Oh how we love you Prophet Of God….

The Peace Makers and disbelieving zombies coexisted peacefully in the city of Mecca for a whole YEAR before the Qur’an came down with a new command of clearing the city out of the polytheists, after more than ten years of ordering Muslims to stay patient and refrain from war. So this is when the Muslims killed all the disbelievers, right?

No… Allah gave the zombies four months to enjoy themselves, think about their options, pack their bags and the handmade dolls they worship, throw farewell parties and move to another place if they wanted to. The warning was announced publicly and the punishment for their evil deeds was paused for FOUR whole months!

“And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful” (9:5, Holy Qur’an)

Did the revelation stop there? No sire, it did not… Here’s the next verse…

“And if any one of the polytheists seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the words of Allah. Then deliver him to his place of safety. That is because they are a people who do not know” (9:6 Holy Qur’an)

So even after the grace period is over, if one of the zombies stays behind and cries for help, then it is the Muslims’ obligation to grant him or her protection, which clearly means that the ‘killing’ must be a form of self-defense and not of those who have no idea what is going on! But you know, when people use the above verse to attack Islam, it slips their mind to mention that part. Are we allowed to do that? Translate the verses the way we want without researching the reasons behind the revelation? Coz if context doesn’t matter then why stop there? Here are some incomplete and out of context verses that give a totally different meaning…

“O you who believe! Do not go near prayer….” (Qur’an 4:43)
“And give tidings to those who disbelieve…” (Qur’an 9:3)
“So turn in repentance to your Creator and kill yourselves…” (Qur’an 2:54)

Can we now argue that the Qur’an commands Muslims not to pray, and that they should instead congratulate the disbelievers and then go commit suicide?! Do you see why ignorance is dangerous and toxic? Now you know why Muslims must educate themselves about their own religion?

If you read and analyze chapter nine of the Holy Qur’an you’ll see The “Kill them where you find them” verse only applies to the polytheists in Mecca at that time ‘on the day of the greater pilgrimage’, who attacked the Muslims first, expelled the prophet, refused the peace treaty, refused all options and insisted on transgressing. Those are the people this verse refers to! And thank God they’ve become extinct…. Mecca is solely for Muslims now, so the only zombies we are allowed to kill today are those in ‘Call Of Duty: Black Ops III’ for Play Station 4!

Islam is so beyond misunderstood! Our religion teaches us that ‘guiding one non-Muslim to Islam peacefully is better than owning the whole world and what’s in it! It’s the gateway to Paradise’. So what? We’re supposed to kill them and guide them at the same time? It doesn’t make sense! (I’m actually laughing out loud at this point!)

Well, I went to Mecca for Hajj this year, and as I stared at the millions of white-dressed Peace Makers I was suddenly grateful for the above verses. I’m grateful Muslims have a safe place to unite them, poor, rich, black, white… we all worship the Lord at His house, unthreatened by the zombies. I’m grateful the Ka’bah did not end up like the Aqsa mosque, under attack every three minutes! I’m grateful for the love and submission to the Great Merciful Lord….
Seeing the confusion, doubts, hatred, racism and atheism dragging many people down into the darkest pit of misery, I prostrate to Allah, grateful for the precious gift of guidance…
But I guess not everyone is as lucky as you and me…

If only people understood the true essence of Islam… they’d fall head over heels in love with it and find peace….

Beautiful, consuming and heartwarming peace….
Lilly S. Mohsen