#Al-Hajjaj

[feral-ballad]

Nour al-Din Hajjaj’s final message

[Text ID: “This is why I am writing now; it might be my last message that makes it out to the free world, flying with the doves of peace to tell them that we love life, or at least what life we have managed to live; in Gaza all paths before us are blocked, and instead we’re just one tweet or breaking news story away from death.

One of my dreams is for my books and my writings to travel the world, for my pen to have wings so that no unstamped passport or visa rejection can hold it back.

Another dream of mine is to have a small family, to have a little son who looks like me and to tell him a bedtime story as I rock him in my arms.”]

[silicacid]

[mrawkweird]

One way or another we finally got the Waller and Miz talk show segment.

[lonniemachin]

List of Palestinian Evacuation And Support Fundraisers

Last Update: 05/28/2024

All fundraisers have been looked into by me or vetted by others. If anyone notices issues in validity with any of the fundraisers listed please let me know. Funding updates daily!

Fadi Al-Sharif and family ($26,961/$62,500 goal)

Hayam Taha and family (€18,052/€30,000 goal)

Deyaa and family (€20,046/€30,000 goal)

Deyaa reached the initial evacuation fee for his family and they have extended the goal to pay to support themselves after they evacuate.

Fatima Alshanti (kr22,300 SEK/kr150,000 goal)

Shahed Ghazi and family ($31,049 CAD/$94,838 goal)

Little Yusuf and family (€33,893/€85,000 goal)

Sara & Huda Hajjaj and family ($9,807/$25,000 goal)

Mohammed JH Shamia's family (kr50,017 SEK/kr250,000 goal)

Maram Ahmed and family (€10,425/€30,000 goal)

Hamza Almofty and family ($7,331/$35,000 goal)

Mahmoud Jomaa (€3,143/€10,000 goal)

Dr. Mohammed Shaga ($2,785/$20,000 goal)

Abdulrahman Alshanti and family (kr148,607 SEK/kr350,000 goal)

Besan Almabhouh's family (€9,027/€25,000 goal)

Said Tanani and brothers (€33,829/€50,000 goal)

Donia Tanani and family (€78,277/€100,000 goal)

Hussein Shamiya, his pregnant wife, and son ($19,816/$40,000 goal)

Mohammed Shamia and family ($35,729/$50,000 goal)

Amro Bakr & kids Bakir and Tala (€15,294/€28,000 goal)

Almadhoun family ($27,523/$80,000 goal)

Child Mohammed and family (€20,297/€30,000 goal)

Sana'a and family (£28,657/£70,000 goal)

Noha Ayyad and family ($35,374/$95,160 goal)

Maryam Ayyad and family ($1,065/$15,000 goal) - Maryam is related to Noha listed above, who is managing her fundraiser.

Hamza Sameer and family ($6,940/$55,000 goal)

Hamza is related to Noha, he is her uncle’s son.

Nazmi Mwafi and family ($6,823/65,000 goal)

Ibrahim Almofty and family ($8,341/$40,000 goal)

Hamdi Hejazi and family ($25,552/$150,000

Mohammed Ali and family ($10,891/$25,000 goal)

Heba and family (€65,972/€80,000 goal)

Mohammed Abuhasanein and family (kr11,156 SEK/kr 350,000 goal)

Rawan and Yemna (kr52,492 SEK/kr319,315 goal)

Laila Auda (€7,784/€35,000 goal)

Ola Madi (€3,284/€40,000 goal)

Tawfik Satoom and family ($6,587/$45,000 goal)

Laila Abd El Bari, her husband, and unborn baby Sham (€8,088/€25,000 goal)

Abdullah Mohammed and family ($7,577/$47,000 goal)

Ruba Abushaban and family (€17,539/€50,000 goal)

Hala, her husband, and their daughter ($7,517 CAD/$50,000 goal)

Hoda and Abdul Rahman ($3,211/$18,000 goal)

Al Maghari family (£4,974/£74,000 goal)

Arwa Abudawaba and family (kr246,856 NOK/kr500,000 goal)

Hani Alhajjar’s family (€19,680/€50,000 goal)

Ouda family ($20,709 CAD/$50,000 goal)

Rawan Ahmed and family ($17,798/$40,000 goal)

Dr. Wael Eldahdouh's family (€6,001/€110,000 goal)

Abdullah Lulu and family ($8,881/18,000 goal)

Lara, Abdalla, and family (€12,812/€50,000 goal)

Firas Salem and family (€22,687/€65,000 goal)

Amal Abu Shammala's family (€49,805/€53,000 goal)

Dr. Mohammed Alshaer and family (€6,032/€18,000 goal)

Roqaya Al-Hayek and Mohammad Jamal Al-Hayek (€14,769/€25,000 goal)

Haya and family (€7,192/€60,000 goal)

Mohammed Dahdooh and family (£46,445/£65,000 goal)

INITIAL GOAL COMPLETE!!! Mohammed is now raising money for his family to support themselves once they evacuate.

Ahmad Iyd and family (£7,615/£150,000 goal)

Renad and family (£5,996/£25,000 goal)

Mohammed Aljbour and family (€5,501/€25,000 goal)

Sarah's mother (€6,266/€15,000 goal)

Sarah reached her initial goal to evacuate her mother and has raised the goal to provide support for she and her family once they are in Egypt.

Dr. Hasan Adwan and family (€6,149/€98,000 goal)

Marah Atallah and family ($2,285/$27,000 goal)

Dr. Nasrallah Almassri ($9,333/$30,000 goal)

Afnan Hasaballah (€12,011/€15,000 goal)

Muhammad Al-Thalateeni and family (€8,497/€20,000 goal)

Al-Zaeem family ($9,009/$50,000 goal)

Mahmoud Al Tibi and family (€9,193/€60,000 goal)

Almoghrabi family (€8,454/€25,000 goal)

Mohammad's family (€9,578/€30,000 goal)

Aziz and his mother ($3,063/$50,000 goal)

Mohammed, his wife, and their newborn son ($1,101 CAD/$50,000 goal)

Tala, her aunt, and their family (€20,588/€50,000 goal)

Ala Osama ($165/$50,000 goal!!!)

Aesha Balaha and family ($1,867/$10,000 goal)

Farah and family (€4,691/€35,000 goal)

Zinh Dahdooh ($6,991/$40,000 goal)

Rana and family (€9,285/€30,000 goal)

Al-Alami family ($3,798 CAD/$100,000 goal)

Khaled and family ($252/$15,000!!!)

Tamer Alnoaizy and family (€4,115/€20,000 goal)

Ahmed Dawoud and family ($2,300/$87,000 goal)

Omar and family (€7,869/€20,000 goal)

Haytham and family ($2,748 CAD/$70,000 goal)

Hamdi and family ($770 CAD/$62,000 goal!!!)

Mahmoud & Rawan (€1,154/€15,000 goal)

Hashem, Samar, and baby Omar (€385/€45,000 goal!!!)

Aseel Maher and family (€3,295/€30,000 goal)

Mayada Jihad and family (€2,220/€30,000 goal)

Amal, her children, and her unborn baby ($3,991/$15,000 goal!!!) URGENT! 6 DAYS TO COMPLETE!!!

Margaret, Sara, and Maxine's friend and her family (£38,325/£50,000 goal)

Tahani Shorbajee and family ($5,785/$50,000 goal)

Baby Youssef and family (€8,282/€50,000 goal)

Iman Eyad and family (£4,010/£60,000 goal)

Mohammed & Hamza Hilles and family (€755/€30,000 goal!!!)

Bilal Salah and family (€25,078/€70,000 goal)

Rabah Dawoud and family ($46,500/$70,000 goal)

Mayess and family ($357/$45,000 goal!!!)

Aahed Hisham and family (€2,807/€50,000 goal)

Hammam Hilles and family (€887/€30,000 goal!!!)

Hazem's family ($104,420 AUD/$100,000 goal)

GOAL COMPLETE!!!

Hazem has made it from Gaza to Egypt, but he and his family are still in need of support.

Mohamed, Samah, and family (€28,951/€63,000 goal)

[butterflies-anonymous]

Just a moment ago my partner said "money on Grayson Waller getting decked by this actor guy"

[valkwise]

Hi! Today I want to introduce you to my husband and I's dear friend, Abdelrahman Hajjaj.

This campaign is verified by the Butterfly Effect Project. Click here, find the "Verified Campaigns" tab, and check line #947.

Abod is 34 years old, and lives in Al Maghazi camp in Gaza. He is raising money to evacuate himself, his wife Aya, his daughter Leen, his parents, and one of his brothers. Leen was born premature and needs special care. His mother has blood cancer, his father uses a colostomy bag, and his brother is diabetic. Abod is desperate to leave Gaza and build a better life for his family elsewhere.

Abod's life is extremely dangerous. Something I especially want to highlight is the condition of his house. He lives on the top floor of his building, which has no doors and is missing walls. Thin blankets are the only thing separating him and his family from the elements, and the occupation's ammunition.

His daughter Leen just turned one on September 2nd, and she's able to crawl around more every day. What should be an exciting milestone also comes with a lot of dread. Abod has built barriers around the house to try and prevent Leen from crawling where it's most dangerous, but anyone who has young children knows it can be difficult to keep them out of trouble. Parents should not have to worry about their baby falling off the edge of their house, three stories to the ground below. Yet, this is just another everyday terror for Abod and Aya.

Abod and my husband are very close. They talk for hours every single day, sharing their hopes and fears with each other. A couple of weeks ago, gfm flagged Abod's campaign for verification, something you have probably seen happen to a lot of Gazan campaigns (this often leads to them being arbitrarily shut down). My husband assisted Abod with gfm's intense verification process, and thankfully it was successful. His campaign is also finally connected to a friend's bank account so he can receive funds.

Abod's campaign has not received much attention since it was created in June, and donations have been very slow. Abod does not have much hope for his campaign's success. Please help my husband and I prove him wrong.

He has only reached €11,784 of his €30,000 goal

Please share this post, and give generously and consistently to Abod's campaign. Even small donations add up quickly, so please don't hesitate!

I'm mailing mystery prints to anyone in the US who gives at least $10 (or the euro equivalent), and if you donate any amount and send me an email, I'll send you some comic PDFs (more info here).

Thank you for reading. Here is a video of Leen and her grandfather's cat :-)

[opencommunion]

"Issam Hajjaj, 27, survived the massacre and spoke to Mondoweiss. 'We were running away from bombing and killing. In all directions, there was either bombing, an Israeli tank, or Israeli gunmen shooting at anyone in their path,' he explained. 'While we were running away from death, I saw dismembered bodies on the road as a result of the bombing, and I saw those who left their loved ones under the rubble and fled to save the rest of the family. We did not know from which direction death would come for us.' ... 'During our escape, we saw bodies being loaded into cars heading to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Women were screaming in the streets, and children were crying and screaming,' Hajjaj recounted. 'I saw a family that was fleeing together. A shell fell on the father and killed him in front of his wife and young daughter. After the mother got up and carried her daughter, she discovered that her husband was killed; she left him on the ground and fled to save her daughter and herself.' Hajjaj explained that the targeted location was two buildings near Al Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat camp, but to reach these two buildings, the Israeli army destroyed an entire residential square. 

... Tawfiq Abu Youssef, an 11-year-old child, sits in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis where he was referred to for treatment. His face is bloodied and his eyes are swollen blue after he was pulled from under the rubble of their home in Nuseirat. He says he doesn’t know how he escaped death. ... 'Before our house was bombed, we saw people in the street across from our house on the ground cut up. We saw missiles hitting the people fleeing in the streets, how they cut them off, and how the planes bombed everything moving in the streets – cars and people. The street was full of people, and suddenly, all of them… They were on the ground, and smoke and blood filled the place. Everywhere we looked, shelling and shrapnel were flying.' ... The operation was carried out near a central market, where Amjad Abu Laban, 43, was selling some food items on the road. He survived death but suffered various injuries to his hand and foot. He says that everything started at once: planes, tanks, shooting, and people were in the middle of bombing and death and did not know how to react or where to turn.

'Intense bombardment began in several areas in front of us, around us, and behind us, and people began falling to the ground by the dozens near Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat camp. Before our eyes, we saw bodies being torn apart and scattered on the roads, and we saw soldiers hidden in civilian clothes and in people’s cars running and killing everyone they met on their way without distinguishing between a child, a woman, a young person, or an old person. We saw the bodies of our brothers cut up, without heads, lying on the ground,' Abu Laban told Mondoweiss. 'These massacres that occurred before my eyes cannot be described.'

In the same hospital, Mahmoud Al-Hawar, 27, lies on his back as a result of an injury to his leg. Al-Hawar witnessed the massacre as he bravely attempted to save his family and neighbors from the bombing. 'The planes bombed our neighbors’ house, and there was a girl under the rubble screaming to be saved. I went with my friends to try to save her, but the rubble was heavy, and we could not dig her out or even lift it to reach that girl, so we waited until the civil defense team arrived. A large number of young men gathered to try to rescue them. But the planes bombed us,' he told Mondoweiss.

Al-Hawar recounted that he felt the missile hit him and his group of friends and they were thrown to the ground. Minutes later, Mahmoud regained consciousness and found himself covered in blood and saw his friends next to him, on the verge of death. 'Before we were bombed, if I told you that I saw more than 10 drones above our heads, you would not believe it. We were looking at the sky and did not know what was happening.' After the bombing, Al-Hawar tried to stand up to save himself and his friends. 'I tried to stand up, but I couldn’t. I was covered in blood. I looked at my leg and it was cut off. I looked at my best friend next to me, and I found him taking his last breath.'

Their injuries were all severe, and when someone arrived who could take them to the hospital, the five friends were placed on top of each other in a small transport truck, with Al-Hawar underneath them all. 'I was in pain from my injury, but I was feeling more pain because I could hear my friends pronouncing their martyrdom and taking their last breaths. All my friends were dying above me, and I was hearing and feeling everything. They were all killed. Some of them were martyred on the road before my eyes, and some of them died later.'

Al-Hawar agreed that the scenes he saw of the dead in the streets will never be forgotten. 'I have not slept since the incident. I cannot sleep. I cannot forget anything I witnessed and saw. I cannot forget the people who were running in panic and fear, searching for their relatives and families amidst the destruction and dismembered bodies.' Rescue teams are still working in Nuseirat with limited capabilities in an attempt to recover the bodies that remained under the rubble. Many residents remain missing due to the massive bombing in the area, and the many homes that were demolished, some on top of their residents. Many others were killed in the market as they tried to meet the needs of their families."

[fiercynn]

The Gaza Monologues: Audio Production in Solidarity with Palestine!

The Gaza Monologues is a collection of testimonies from Gazan youth in 2010, after the first war on Gaza, collected and adapted for stage by ASHTAR Theatre in Ramallah (@ASHTARTheatre), and performed here by 26 people from several countries for International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People on November 29, 2023. In lieu of copyright purchases, ASHTAR Theatre requests donations to their programs in the West Bank.

This is an audio-only production of The Gaza Monologues, but is posted as a video to include subtitles. Most monologues are in English, but there are two in Arabic, two in Spanish, and one in French. English subtitles are available for all monologues. Currently, subtitles in Arabic, Spanish, and French are only up for the monologues that are spoken in each respective language, though we’ll try to get subtitles up for others in the near future. The script of The Gaza Monologues is available in those languages and more.

Produced by me, audio editing and additional coordination by Hannah, and art by @pocketsizedquasar.

Thanks to all the voice actors, including @saltqueer, @to-every-house-you-enter, @hyeoni-comb, @datfearlessfangirl, @shooshopath, @cryptenby, @exsequar, and many others – see below the cut for full credits!

Alt text for art: A digital painting of a Palestine sunbird sitting perched on olive branches. it is a small black and blue songbird with a teal-turquoise shimmer on its head and upper wings. In the background is a faded scene of a beach at sunset in the colors of the Palestinian flag: red, green, black, and white. Handwritten text at the top left reads, “The Gaza Monologues,” and the artist’s signature “@pocketsizedquasar” is written over one of the branches on the bottom left.

MONOLOGUES

1. Ahmad El Ruzzi: Deepa

2. Ahmad Taha: Juniper Hanrahan

3. Ashraf A Sossi: Sam (@morelenmir on twitter)

4. Alaa Hajjaj: Deepa

5. Amanee A Shorafa: KC

6. Amjad Abu Yasin: M

7. Anas Abu Eitah: @priismacolors on twitter

8. Ehab Elayan: Andrea

9. Tamer Najem: @saltqueer

10. Taima'a Okasha: Brook

11. Rawand Ja'rour: Percival

12. Reem Afana: Clio (@to-every-house-you-enter)

13. Reema El Sadi: shambs (@tipsyloki12 on twitter)

14. Sami El Jerjawi: Juniper Hanrahan

15. Sujoud Abu Hussein: Mary

16. Suha Al Mamlouk: Anne (@exsequar)

17. Ali Al Hassany: Rose

18. Fateema Abu Hashem: N

19. Fateema Atallah: Maddy

20. Muhammed El Omrani: PK

21. Muhammed Qasem: p

22. Mahmud Abu Shaa'ban: Essie

23. Mahmud Bala'wi: @hyeoni-comb

24. Mahmud El Turk: Maaytah

25. Mahmud Afana: @datfearlessfangirl

26. Mahmud Najem: @shooshopath

27. Heba Daoud: KC

28. Wi'am El Dieri: Cameron

29. Yasmeen Ja'rour: M

30. Yasmeen Abu Amer: Maaytah

31. Yasmeen Katbeh: TK (@cryptenby)

[ashwantsafreepalestine]

22 September 2024.

In the middle of the night, 4 child martyrs arrived in pieces at Al-Aqsa Hospital as a result of the occupation bombing of the Abu Samak family home in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

Israel is deliberately targeting children and babies in Gaza. There will be no redemption for Israel.

Source: Nahed Hajjaj

[lightup0nlight]

The great mufassir Imam Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari [rahimahullah] included the following statement in his tafseer of surah at-Tawbah:

… Hajjaj ibn Abi Zaynab said: I heard Abu 'Uthman say: In my opinion, there is not a single aayah in the Qur'an that gives more hope for this ummah than Allah's statement:

🌺 ❛And there are others who have acknowledged their sins. They had mixed a righteous deed with another that was bad. Perhaps Allah will turn to them in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.❜ (Q9:102)

【Reference: Tafsir al-Tabari 14/452-453】

— Translated by Tulayhah Blog, may Allah bless them

[gryficowa]

Boycott!

Now that I have your attention:

[lonniemachin]

Palestinian Evacuation and Support Fundraisers -- Less than Halfway to their Goal

As the title says, these are support and evacuation fundraisers from my main list that are currently less than halfway to their goals. Please support these fundraisers by donating and sharing them so that they may complete their goals as quickly as possible and secure safety and/or evacuate should the Rafah crossing open again soon.

Last Update: 05/23/2024

Fadi Al-Sharif and family ($24,702/$62,500 goal)

Fatima Alshanti (kr21,597 SEK/kr150,000 goal)

Shahed Ghazi and family ($21,109 CAD/$94,838 goal)

Little Yusuf and family (€24,261/€85,000 goal)

Sara & Huda Hajjaj and family ($9,271/$25,000 goal)

Mohammed JH Shamia's family (kr49,084 SEK/kr250,000 goal)

Maram Ahmed and family (€9,015/€30,000 goal)

Hamza Almofty and family ($6,941/$35,000 goal)

Mahmoud Jomaa (€2,664/€10,000 goal)

Dr. Mohammed Shaga ($2,551/$20,000 goal)

Abdulrahman Alshanti and family (kr147,985 SEK/kr350,000 goal)

Besan Almabhouh's family (€8,324/€25,000 goal)

Hussein Shamiya, his pregnant wife, and son ($18,911/$40,000 goal)

Almadhoun family ($24,040/$80,000 goal)

Sana'a and family (£27,043/£70,000 goal)

Noha Ayyad and family ($32,691/$95,160 goal)

Maryam Ayyad and family ($1,010/$15,000 goal) - Maryam is related to Noha listed above, who is managing her fundraiser.

Hamza Sameer and family ($6,453/$55,000 goal)

Hamza is related to Noha, he is her uncle’s son.

Nazmi Mwafi and family ($6,721/65,000 goal)

Ibrahim Almofty and family ($7,712/$40,000 goal)

Mohammed Ali and family ($10,375/$25,000 goal)

Mohammed Abuhasanein and family (kr10,817 SEK/kr 350,000 goal)

Rawan and Yemna (kr48,777 SEK/kr319,315 goal)

Laila Auda (€7,281/€35,000 goal)

Ola Madi (€2,699/€40,000 goal)

Tawfik Satoom and family ($6,302/$45,000 goal)

Laila Abd El Bari, her husband, and unborn baby Sham (€7,007/€25,000 goal)

Abdullah Mohammed and family ($7,417/$47,000 goal)

Ruba Abushaban and family (€11,862/€50,000 goal)

Hala, her husband, and their daughter ($7,072 CAD/$50,000 goal)

Hoda and Abdul Rahman ($2,619/$18,000 goal)

Al Maghari family (£4,824/£74,000 goal)

Arwa Abudawaba and family (kr241,706 NOK/kr500,000 goal)

Hani Alhajjar’s family (€13,726/€50,000 goal)

Ouda family ($19,254 CAD/$50,000 goal)

Rawan Ahmed and family ($14,305/$40,000 goal)

Dr. Wael Eldahdouh's family (€5,511/€110,000 goal)

Abdullah Lulu and family ($5,905/$18,000 goal)

Lara, Abdalla, and family (€11,453/€50,000 goal)

Dr. Mohammed Alshaer and family (€5,525/€18,000 goal)

Haya and family (€6,286/€60,000 goal)

Firas Salem and family (€16,429/€65,000 goal)

Ahmad Iyd and family (£5,771/£150,000 goal)

Renad and family (£1,612/£25,000 goal)

Mohammed Aljbour and family (€4,568/€25,000 goal)

Sarah's mother (€5,906/€15,000 goal)

Sarah reached her initial goal to evacuate her mother and has raised the goal to provide support for she and her family once they are in Egypt.

Dr. Hasan Adwan and family (€5,026/€98,000 goal)

Marah Atallah and family ($950/$27,000 goal!!!)

Dr. Nasrallah Almassri ($8,778/$30,000 goal)

Afnan Hasaballah (€5,697/€20,000 goal)

Muhammad Al-Thalateeni and family (€7,244/€20,000 goal)

Al-Zaeem family ($4,638/$50,000 goal)

Mahmoud Al Tibi and family (€8,911/€60,000 goal)

Almoghrabi family (€2,225/€25,000 goal)

Mohammad's family (€8,707/€30,000 goal)

Aziz and his mother ($3,008/$50,000 goal)

Mohammed, his wife, and their newborn son ($971/$50,000 goal!!!)

Tala, her aunt, and their family (€18,219/€50,000 goal)

Ala Osama ($125/$50,000 goal!!!)

Aesha Balaha and family ($1,231/$10,000 goal)

Farah and family (€2,086/€35,000 goal)

Zinh Dahdooh ($5,324/$40,000 goal)

Rana and family (€7,680/€30,000 goal)

Al-Alami family ($3,035 CAD/$100,000 goal)

Khaled and family ($83/$15,000 goal!!!)

Tamer Alnoaizy and family (€3,597/€20,000 goal)

Ahmed Dawoud and family ($2,300/$87,000 goal)

Omar and family (€3,500/€20,000 goal)

Haytham and family ($827 CAD/$70,000 goal!!!)

Hamdi and family ($306 CAD/$62,000 goal!!!)

Mahmoud & Rawan (€944/€15,000 goal!!!)

Hashem, Samar, and baby Omar (€340/€45,000 goal!!!)

Aseel Maher and family (€1,930/€30,000 goal)

Mayada Jihad and family (€2,150/€30,000 goal)

Amal, her children, and her unborn baby ($2,019/$15,000 goal!!!) URGENT! 15 DAYS TO COMPLETE!!!

Tahani Shorbajee and family ($3,367/$50,000 goal)

Baby Youssef and family (€5,067/€50,000 goal)

Iman Eyad and family (£992/£60,000 goal!!!)

Mohammed & Hamza Hilles and family (€684/€30,000 goal!!!)

[palestinegenocide]

Establishment voices express fear of a rogue Israel

Two weeks after Israel attacked the Iranian embassy in Damascus, assassinating top Iranian commanders, Iran responded with drone strikes last night, and the world is asking, What will Israel do next?

The question is posed with anxiety. Israel has defied all western appeals to moderate its conduct in the last six months in Gaza, while the Iranian attack is seen as restrained and “performative” (per BBC and CNN coverage today). Indeed, the news behind the news this week is that Israel is approaching the status of rogue state even in establishment discourse.

A New York Times editorial called for the “pausing of the flow of weapons” to Israel – at long last – because Israel is destabilizing the region and the U.S. is “beholden” to an unaccountable leader, in Netanyahu.

The eroding international support for its military campaign has made Israel more insecure…. Mr. Netanyahu has turned his back on America and its entreaties, creating a crisis in U.S.-Israeli relations when Israel’s security, and the stability of the entire region, is at stake.

Jeremy Ben Ami of J Street also concedes that Israel’s onslaught in Gaza is “a serious setback for the interests and values of the United States.” A longtime Israel lobbyist, Ben-Ami says that Israel has surely committed “significant violations of international law”– thereby undermining Israel’s “legitimacy in the eyes of the rest of the world,” as well as “creating undoubtedly a new generation of terrorists, not just in the Palestinian population but throughout the region and around the world.”

(Time was when only the left was accused of delegitimizing Israel…)

H.A. Hellyer of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace echoed Ben-Ami in an interview with NPR. Israel’s wanton destruction of Gaza has left the U.S. “incredibly isolated”. He described Israel as in essence a rogue state:

It’s escalation upon escalation. And I think that we in the international community, particularly in the United States, but also other allies, just need to recognize, you know, that’s the Israel we’re dealing with, and that’s the Israel we’re likely to keep on dealing with going forward.

Hellyer pointed out that Israel has “no interest in a two-state solution.” And the consequence is:

I’m afraid that it looks like a very destabilizing force in the immediate region.

Israel’s contempt for Palestinian rights is a theme echoed by the president of the Center for American Progress—the leading Democratic Party thinktank – who told Politico that Israel is not a democracy. Palestinians must have equal rights, and let’s drop the piety about two states, Patrick Gaspard continued.

We need to talk about whether the two state solution continues to be the sole pathway to peace Palestinians — if we are going to solve this problem — need to exist in an Israel that is inclusive of their full rights.

Israel and its cheering section here deny that it’s possible for Jews and Palestinians to coexist. “I think that taking out the possibility of coexistence is, in itself, really cynical and tragic,” Gaspard said.

Even Nancy Pelosi is calling for the US to stop giving Israel bombs. While Elizabeth Warren at last called the Israeli actions “a genocide.”

And Rand Corporation security analyst Karen Sudkamp, who spent 10 years in U.S. intelligence agencies, says that Israel is heedlessly repeating mistakes made by the West in the “war on terror” in its contempt for the hearts and minds of Palestinians. It thereby undercuts security for all.

The New Yorker echoed Sudkamp in an article saying that Israel is embarked on a “forever war.” It has no strategy beyond heaping punishment on Palestinian civilians. And this undermines the United States.

Finally, this week we published an important investigation. Tareq Hajjaj reported on the massacre of hundreds of Palestinian civil/government employees at al-Shifa Hospital who were accused of being affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Hajjaj’s sources said these victims were not military operatives.

The army then brought out a huge number of men from the group of suspected Hamas and PIJ members and employees, gathering them in the center of the [hospital] courtyard. It then proceeded to execute them, one after the other.

The article has gotten wide pickup in media that are supportive of Palestinian human rights. The U.S. mainstream has so far ignored the massacre, typically– because Palestinians still don’t count for most editors. “The idea that Palestinians have a stronger claim to the ‘right to defend themselves’ never enters their minds,” as our commenter Donald Johnson wrote.

[tanadrin]

Shoemaker points out in his book that the narrative of the Quran being compiled under Uthman is, when you dig into it, only one of many narratives about the compilation of the Quran from early Islamic tradition (and one that Shi��a sources long contested), and a composite one at that. The first chapter is an extended argument that 1) the literature of early Islam was far more heterogenous than the traditional narrative has it, with no clear distinction between hadith and quran (i.e. between divine revelation and teaching of Muhammad), 2) different proto-Muslim communities sometimes had very different texts they used, and 3) the final compilation probably took place in the reign of Abd al-Malik, specifically under the direction of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, the governor of Hejaz, decades after Uthman, and thus after a long period of cultural cross-pollination with the Christian and Jewish communities of Syria and Iraq.

[tawakkull]

SPIRITUALITY IN ISLAM: PART 4: TAWBA (REPENTANCE), INABA (SINCERE PENITENCE), AND AWBA (TURNING TO GOD IN CONTRITION) 

Repentance (tawba) means that one feels regret and, filled with remorse for his or her sins, turns to God with the intention to obey Him.

According to truth-seeking scholars, repentance signifies a sincere effort to no longer oppose the Divine Essence in one’s feelings, thoughts, intentions, and acts, and to comply sincerely with His commands and prohibitions. Repentance does not mean being disgusted with what is bad or prohibited and thus no longer engaging in it; rather, it means remaining aloof from whatever God hates and prohibits, even if it seems agreeable to sense and reason.

Repentance is usually used with nasuh, literally meaning pure, sincere, reforming, improving, and repairing.

Tawba nasuh sincere and reforming repentance means a pure, sincere repentance that perfectly reforms and improves the one who feels it. One who feels such a sincere, heartfelt, and true remorse for the sin committed seeks to abandon it, thereby setting a good example for others. The Qur'an points to this when it mentions true repentance:

O you who believe! Turn to God in true, sincere repentance (66:8).

There are three categories of repentance:

• The repentance of those who cannot discern Divine truths. Such people are uneasy about their disobedience to God and, conscious of the sinfulness clouding their hearts, turn toward God in repentance saying, for example: I have fallen or committed a sin. Forgive me, or I ask for God’s forgiveness.

• Those half-awakened to Divine truths beyond veils of material existence who feel an inward pang of sinfulness and remorse right after thinking or doing anything incompatible with the consciousness of always being in God’s presence, or after every instance of heedlessness enveloping their hearts, and who immediately take refuge with the Mercy and Favor of God. Such people are described in the following Tradition:

God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, declared: One who sincerely repents of his sin is as if he had never committed it. When God loves one of His servants, his sins do not harm him. Then he recited the verse: Assuredly, God loves the oftrepentant and those who always seek to purify themselves. When asked about the sign of repentance, he declared: It is heartfelt remorse. [ Abu al-Qasim ‘Abd al-Karim al-Qushayri, Al-Risalat al Qushayriya fi ‘Ulum al-Tasawwuf (Cairo, 1972), 91. ]

• - Those who live such a careful life that, as declared in a Tradition: My eyes sleep but my heart does not, [ Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari, “Tahajjud,” in Al-Jami’ al-Sahih, 4 vols. (Beirut, n.d.), 16; Abu al-Husayn Muslim ibn Hajjaj al-Qushayri Muslim, “Musafirin,” in Sahih al-Muslim, 5 vols. (Beirut, 1956), 125. ] their hearts are awake. Such people immediately discard whatever intervenes between God and their hearts and other innermost faculties, and regain the consciousness of their relation to the Light of Lights. They always manifest the meaning of:

How excellent a servant! Truly he was ever turning in contrition (to his Lord) (38:44).

Repentance means regaining one’s essential purity after every spiritual defilement, and engaging in frequent self-renewal. [The stages of] repentance are:

1. Feeling sincere remorse and regret

2. Being frightened whenever one remembers past sins

3. Trying to eradicate injustice and support justice and right

4. Reviewing one’s responsibilities and performing obligations previously neglected

5. Reforming oneself by removing spiritual defects caused by deviation and error

6. Regretting and lamenting the times when one did not mention or remember God, or thank Him and reflect on His works. Such people are always apprehensive and alert so that their thoughts and feelings are not tainted by things that intervene between themselves and God. (This last quality is particular to people distinguished by their nearness to God.)

If one does not feel remorse, regret, and disgust for errors committed, whether great or small; if one is not fearful or apprehensive of falling back into sin at any time; and if one does not take shelter in sincere servanthood to God in order to be freed from deviation and error into which one has fallen by moving away from God, any resulting repentance will be no more than a lie.

On sincere repentance, Mawlana Jalal al-Din al-Rumi says:

I have repented and turned to God so sincerely that I will not break [the vow of penitence] until my soul leaves my body. In fact, who other than an ass steps toward perdition after having suffered so much trouble (on account of his sins)?

Repentance is an oath of virtue, and holding steadfastly to it requires strong willpower.

The lord of the penitents, upon him be peace and blessings, says that one who repents sincerely and holds steadfastly to it is has achieved the rank of a martyr, while the repentance of those who cannot free themselves from their sins and deviations, although they repent repeatedly, mocks the door toward which the truly repentant ones turn in utmost sincerity and resolution.

One who continues to sin after proclaiming a fear of Hell, who does not engage in righteous deeds despite self-proclaimed desires for Paradise, and who is indifferent to the Prophet’s way and practices despite assertions of love for the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, cannot be taken seriously. This is also the case with one who claims to be sincere and pure-hearted, but spends his or her life oscillating between sin and repentance.

An initiate’s first station is repentance, while the second is inaba (sincere penitence).

In common usage, inaba also refers to the ceremony held when one submits to a spiritual guide (as a murshid). While repentance requires the training of feelings, thoughts, and acts in order to move them from opposition to acceptance and obedience, sincere penitence demands a critique of the authenticity, sincerity, and sufficiency of that acceptance and obedience. Repentance is a progressing or journeying toward God that is, seeking to do what is pleasing to God and refraining from what is forbidden by Him. Sincere penitence is an ascension through the stations of journeying in God in other words, striving to live an upright life in self-annihilation and absorption in God so that one may seek His pleasure in all actions and thoughts.

Awba (turning to God in contrition) is an ascension through the stations of journeying from God meaning being responsible for guiding others after having embodied the Islamic way of belief, thought, and conduct.

In other swords, taking refuge with God in fear of dying as a non-Muslim and deserving eternal punishment is repentance; annihilating one’s self in God in the hope of preserving one’s spiritual rank is sincere penitence; and closing one’s self to any desires, ambitions, or aims other than God’s pleasure is turning to Him in utmost contrition.

The first is the state of all believers, and is expressed in:

Repent to God, O believers! (24:31).

The second is an attribute of saints and the foremost in belief and good conduct who have been brought near unto God. Its beginning is seen in:

Turn to your Lord repentant (39:54),

and its end is stated in:

He comes with a contrite heart (50:33).

The third is for the Prophets and Messengers, all of whom are appreciated and praised by God in the words:

How excellent a servant! Truly he was ever turning in contrition (to his Lord) (38:44).

The words of repentance uttered by those who are always conscious of being in the presence of God express the individual’s sincere penitence or turning to God in contrition. This is how the words of the best of creation, upon him be peace and blessings, should be understood when he said: I ask God’s forgiveness seventy (or one hundred, according to another narration or version) times a day.

Repentance is the act or manner of those trying to live an upright life while remaining unaware of God’s constant supervision of His servants and what nearness to Him really means. Those who live in awareness of God’s nearness regard it as heedlessness to turn to God as ordinary people do, for He directs them as He wishes, constantly supervises them, and is nearer to them than anything else. Their station is not that of the people of the Unity of Being ecstatic saints who view the creation while living in a state of being completely annihilated in God and therefore accept God as the only truly existent being. Rather, it is the station of the people of the Unity of the Witnessed scholarly saints who accept that the truly existent one is He Who is witnessed or discerned beyond the creation. More than that, it is the station of those progressing in the light of the Prophet Muhammad’s practice, upon him be peace and blessings.

It is merely an assertion and a groundless claim when those who have not attained this station, and thus live [merely] on the outer surface of their existence, talk of awba and inaba, and especially of the final points of these two stations.