A day of great pain. A mother’s pain. A family’s pain. A city’s pain. A country’s pain. A nation’s pain. The gut-wrenching day on which Pakistani Taliban’s barbaric and ruthless murder of more than 148 school children and teachers occurred.
Around 140 innocent youngsters, who probably had not even the slightest idea of what was right and what was wrong. What had they done to deserve this? What was their fault for yearning to learn and become something in life? Can you imagine sending your child to school, reminding him to do well in his exam; telling him not to leave a single answer behind; instead to find out that he has left the world behind? Does it require bravery to shoot barefaced children, innocents who don’t even understand the meaning of conflict, let alone the evil face of terrorism?
Families have been torn apart in the name of a religion which is anything but. It is said that, ‘A wife who loses her husband is called a widow. A husband who loses his wife is called a widower. A child who loses its parents is called an orphan. There is no word for a parent who loses a child. That’s how awful the loss is.’ The reality of this is indeed shocking, May Allah the Almighty help the families to get through this difficult time.
Islam is the religion of peace. We respect. We are loyal. We are tolerant. We yearn for justice. We spread peace. Terrorism is not the face of Islam in any way. It is not bound by ethnicity or religion. It can be committed by anyone and felt by all. The Quran itself, states very clearly in Chapter 5 verse 32 that, “Whoever kills a soul… it is as if he had slain mankind entirely.”
In his Friday sermon delivered on the 19th of December, Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V, told us of an incident in which The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) had strictly forbidden to use force against children during battle. He once questioned a Companion who had killed a Jewish child in action, the Companion replied, ‘O Prophet of God, he was only a Jewish child killed by mistake, what does it matter?’ The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) replied ‘Was he not an innocent child of a man?’ Such was the standard of sanctity of humanity demonstrated to us by the blessed model of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him).
It is truly said that ‘The smallest graves are the heaviest to carry’. May God elevate the status of all the deceased and grant steadfastness and patience to the bereaved families. After all, at the end of the day, surely we belong to Allah, and to him we shall return.
What turns men into slaying machines,
That destroy blameless lives and blow apart dreams?Innocent victims murdered by the things that they saw,
In yet another aimless and brutal war.Listen to the screeching of a child in agony,
As for him it is not just a disaster, but a great big tragedy.And the silence which consumes the people of the nation,
The pain, which is evident in their eyes and is an infectious contagion.Feel the pain of a child who has lost a limb,
Can you explain the reasons for this war to him?And the misery of a young child who has just become an orphan,
Who has to muster enough courage to see his parents in a coffin.Look into the eyes of a child and may the pain that you see,
Haunt you as much as it haunts me.And the face of a child whose home has been blown apart,
In a war certainly he did not start.What turns men into slaying machines,
That destroy blameless lives and blow apart dreams?Innocent victims murdered by the things that they saw,
In yet another aimless and brutal war.
