Poem on the Palestinian Hero praying surrounded by Israeli soldiers

Poem on the Palestinian Hero praying surrounded by Israeli soldiers

Over the past few days, we have seen some of the most shocking images of the Israeli atrocities in al-Masjid al-Aqsa and Palestine. On Tuesday 11 May 2021, an emergency protest was convened by Lancashire Council of Mosques and Friends of al-Aqsa outside Blackburn Town Hall which was attended by Kate Hollern (MP), Cllr Mohammed Khan (Leader of the Council), Shaykh Rafiq Sufi (Chair of LCM), Mufti Yusuf Shabbir (Islamic Portal), Asif Mahmud (Drive for Justice) and others.

At this event, Sister Shaheeda Mohmed presented a poem addressing the Palestinian whose image went viral as he performed Salah in al-Masjid al-Aqsa with dignity and courage despite being surrounded by Israeli soldiers.

The following is the transcript of Sister Shaheeda’s introduction and her poem:

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

You may have seen an image circulated on social media. The image I am referring to is one of a man, kneeling before our Lord in al-Masjid al-Aqsa. He is sat in solitude whilst chaos is unfurling around him.

This is not a man. This is a soldier of Islam. This is a Habib (beloved) of Allah. And this image inspired me to write a few words which I will share with you today:

As you kneel on the mat praying before our Lord,

Your courage and valiance we loudly applaud,

Try as they might to make you feel unsafe,

Your stature tells us they can’t shake your faith,

Your finger is poised and we bear witness to this,

There is chaos around you yet your face shows bliss,

You have submitted to our Lord, on Him alone is your attention,

And through the lens we can see the power of His divine intervention,

You are so calm and still, yet we are moved,

The true meaning of Tawakkul, in one picture, you have proved

A few days later, Sister Shaheeda penned the following poem based on another iconic image:

Amongst the images of Palestine’s trouble,

A beautiful angel is sat amongst the rubble,

Her innocent face taking in the sight,

The sound of missiles deafening night after night,

Where are you world?? Can you hear??

Repercussions of injustice do you not fear??

Missiles pour down on Gaza batch after batch,

Whilst homes are destroyed and civilian lives are snatched,

We see them attack from every angle, in horror we stand and stare,

So we raise our voices for justice and raise our hands in prayer,

We can see the heartache etched on your faces,

Where are the attorneys who should be filing human right cases??

We look at you with love and sheer admiration,

And pray for a speedy end to this abomination,

We stand with you Gaza, one day you will see,

All of Palestine will finally be free.

A few days later, sister Shaheeda penned the following based on another iconic image:

As we sleep in the night,

Palestine’s sky, it turns red,

Families are grieving,

for their injured and their dead

The missiles pour down

like the monsoon rain,

Killing innocent civilians

time and again.

Those that survive,

are buried under the wreckage,

and through this heartache,

Palestine is sending us a message.

This is ethnic cleansing.

A massacre is this.

Let’s not shy away from the words,

we need to call it as it is.

The death count tally keeps changing,

lost lives are on the rise,

Around the world there’s an echo

“leaders, it is time to open your eyes”

We want an end to this situation,

we will raise our voices in sync,

we will join a protest in unison

and sign the petition in that link

We will question those who are silent,

they will have to tell us why they will not speak,

Whilst we lend our voice to the oppressed.

For them justice we will seek.

Oh Palestine, they take away your homes

but in our hearts is where you reside,

And we will stand with you every step of the way,

walk with you side by side.

You remain forever in our thoughts

and are always in our prayers,

As we beseech to The Almighty

to rectify your affairs