Requiem for the Loved Ones of Gaza

— words of solace inspired by the Islamic sacred tradition

Palestinian families huddle Tuesday during a candlelight vigil, which condemned the killing of children and civilians, over the rubble of homes destroyed by an Israeli military strike in Gaza City. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Many of the innocent, beautiful people massacred by Israel in its assault on Gaza left videos of their lives and their last moments. We should not forget them. A young courageous Palestinian woman — full of light and dignity — who chose to remain in her home knowing that soon she would be slain, actually asks us: “Will you remember our lives and tell our story when we are gone?” Shortly afterwards her life was extinguished by an American bomb, delivered by an Israeli pilot, in an American fighter plane.

During just 11 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas, at least 66 children under age 18 were killed in Gaza and two in Israel. Photograph: New York Times.

As I try to make sense of this slaughter en masse, I inevitably turn towards the sacred for solace. The poem below was inspired by an old Moroccan Qasida and verses of the Holy Qur’an. These sources are outlined in brief in the last section so that, if you wish, you can explore them further. (They may also help make sense of the poem.) I hope something here will provide some sort of solace, comfort and even hope for all those who still have a heart to feel the sorrow of others, and who stand in solidarity with the oppressed. God bless you.

Requiem for the Loved Ones of Gaza

by Munawar Ali Karim

Get worse, O troubles, so that you may be lifted

For your darkness heralds the breaking of dawn

In the black of this night there are gleams of starlight

And from the east a new sun is soon to be born

The dark clouds of bounty carry rain

That comes when its time is well-nigh

For in the black of this night there are gleams of starlight

And from the heavens the angels for you do cry

The blessings of our Lord are many

So your soul and heart’s blood can freely roam

In the dark of this night there are gleams of starlight

And all the world sings aloud: You are not alone

And these blessings have a life-giving fragrance

So flee to the source of that scent

In the dark of this night there are gleams of starlight

For your noble cause, keep strong, do not relent!

And sometimes there is an overflowing of life

Ocean waves of surging depth

For in the deep of the sea there is life and therein is death

And by God, my loved ones, you have passed your Test

Expansion and constriction are in His command

All creation is in His Hand

In the dark of this night there are gleams of starlight

And for you, chosen ones, paradise your Promised Land

Beginnings and ends are not random

The middle is not where stories end

In the dark of this night there are gleams of starlight

And beautiful souls to Heaven ascend

Their wisdoms have been woven together

And knitted into the weaver by the hands of fate

If times for you are terrible now, do not despair

Look there! The Muhammadan presence for you awaits

Make beautiful contentment your steed,

For in this domain there is both joy and strife

In the dark of this night, O Hosts of Heavenly Light,

Take them now — these Living Ones — to eternal bliss and blessed Life

Do your worst, O wicked ones, so that you may be requited

For your evil falters before the breaking dawn

And in the midst of their strife these shining souls so bright

Sing in joy: “From God we come, and to Him we return.”

The Sources

The first two lines of each stanza (except the last) are taken from the begining lines of the Qasida Al-Munfarijah: The Poem of Relief, written in the 11th Century CE by the sufi saint and scholar Ibn Nahwi. I am not sure who translated these lines (that I have incorporated above) but I am most grateful to them. In some cases I modified or altered the translation of these lines to best fit the poem. Personally I found the Qasida Munfarija a true source of comfort that has helped me understand the spiritual reality of these troubled times, and to take comfort in those meanings. The opening line ‘Get worse, O troubles, so that you may be lifted; For your darkness heralds the breaking of dawn’ alludes to the fact that the night is darkest just before the break of dawn. A commentary to this spiritual poem from the Islamic sacred tradition can be found here: Qasida Al-Munfarijah: The Poem of Relief. And you can hear it being sung in its traditional way here:

The remaining stanzas of my poem were inspired by the following verses of the Qur’an:

153. O you who believe

seek help through patience and prayer;

Verily Allah is with the dauntlessly patient.

154. And say not of whoever is slain in the path of Allah

they are dead: Rather they are alive,

but you are not aware.

155. And We shall try you with some little of fear and hunger,

and loss of wealth, lives, and crops;

And give great glad tidings to the patient:

156. Those who say when any calamity strikes them,

‘Verily we are Allah’s,

and to Him are we bound to return.’

157. Those, on them shall be endless tender blessings

from their Lord in light and help, and mighty mercy,

and those are the guided.

— Qur’an (2:153–157) [Keller, N. H. (trans.) The Quran Beheld]

Peace.