أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ
Lo! Indeed, the help of Allah is near. (Qur’an 2:214)
– Mohammed Talha Siddibapa
In Gaza, a child buries her brother with trembling hands, whispering Bismillah as the dust falls on his face.
In Tel Aviv, a soldier with a full belly and a rifle by his side ends his own life in silence.
Who is truly strong?
Who is truly weak?
History is recording its verdict: strength does not come from weapons, but from faith.
The Cowardice of Power
For almost two years, Gaza has been subjected to the most suffocating siege in modern memory – famine deliberately imposed, hospitals bombed, water blocked, entire neighbourhoods erased. International agencies, from the IPC Famine Review Committee to the World Health Organisation, confirm that half a million people face starvation by design, not accident. This is not a natural disaster. It is man-made cruelty.
And yet, with the most advanced weapons and unlimited foreign backing, the aggressors live in moral collapse. The Israeli press itself admits a sharp rise in suicides among IDF soldiers since the Gaza invasion began. Behind polished uniforms and cutting-edge tanks lies a broken conscience.
The truth is stark: they kill, but they cannot live with themselves.
Gaza’s Bravery and the Secret of Sumud
Now turn to Gaza.
Every morning begins with hunger, every evening with grief. Yet the people of Gaza, from mothers who bury children to fathers who dig through rubble, do not give up on life.
Why?
Because they are nourished by something no blockade can starve: faith.
The Qur’an declares:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اصْبِرُوا وَصَابِرُوا وَرَابِطُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
O you who have believed, be patient, endure, remain steadfast, and fear Allah that you may succeed. (Qur’an 3:200)
This command is Gaza’s heartbeat.
They call it sumud – steadfastness. It is not passive survival; it is resistance with dignity. It means fasting when food is gone, praying when bombs fall, smiling when death surrounds, and teaching children that every drop of blood is a seed for tomorrow.
The Contrast of Souls
- Gaza: Starving bodies, but souls overflowing with courage.
- IDF: Stomachs full, rifles in hand, but consciences corroded by guilt.
When Gazans bury martyrs, they cry, yes – but they also raise the shahadah finger and whisper Alhamdulillah. When IDF buries suicides, there is only silence, shame, and whispers of despair.
Which graveyard tells the story of victory?
Logic Behind Gaza’s Strength
The pattern is not just poetic; it’s sociological and spiritual:
- Faith Shields from Suicide
In Islam, suicide is a grave sin. The Qur’an warns: “Do not kill yourselves. Surely Allah is ever Merciful to you” (4:29). This teaching has historically kept suicide rates among Palestinians among the lowest in the world, even under occupation.
- Sumud = Psychological Immunity
Researchers on Palestinian resilience document strategies like communal support, reliance on Allah (tawakkul), and meaning-making through sacrifice. This spiritual immune system converts despair into strength.
- Moral Injury = Soldier’s Curse
By contrast, soldiers who kill civilians often face moral injury – a deep spiritual wound when one’s actions violate one’s values. Psychologists confirm that moral injury strongly predicts suicide, independent of PTSD. This is why IDF barracks echo with self-destruction even as Gaza’s ruins echo with prayers.
Gaza as Dawah to the World
Here lies the most astonishing twist of history: the world is watching.
Billions scroll past Gaza’s images – mothers clutching babies, children carrying water, families praying under broken ceilings. And many ask: How do they still endure?
For countless hearts, the answer becomes a door to Islam. Reports already show a rise in conversions, especially among women, moved by Gaza’s mothers who embody patience and faith under fire.
In Europe, America, Africa, and Asia, conversations spark: What gives them this strength? What is this religion that teaches love even in loss?
The Qur’an itself promised:
أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ
Lo! Indeed, the help of Allah is near. (2:214)
The help is not only military victory. It is also moral victory – that the oppressed carry the banner of truth, and the oppressor dies by his own hands.
A Universal Lesson
Gaza today is not only Palestine’s story. It is the world’s mirror.
- It shows that weapons cannot crush faith.
- That famine, though man-made, cannot starve the spirit.
- That occupation cannot bury the Qur’an.
The occupier counts corpses. Gaza counts promises.
The occupier buries suicides. Gaza buries martyrs – and plants olive trees over their graves.
And every time a Gazan mother whispers Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji‘oon (We belong to Allah and to Him we return), another soul in the world whispers the shahadah for the first time.
–
Let’s be clear: the people of Gaza are already victorious.
Not because their homes stand – most are gone.
Not because their children live – too many have been killed.
But because they have refused to surrender to despair.
Every suicide in the enemy’s camp is proof of his moral defeat.
Every prayer in Gaza is proof of their spiritual triumph.
When the world asks who was stronger, let the record show:
- The soldier with a rifle but no conscience chose death.
- The mother with no bread but unshakable faith chose life.
This is Gaza. This is Islam. This is victory.
أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ
Lo! Indeed, the help of Allah is near.
