The question on many Muslims\u2019 minds is what to do about this. Indeed, there are many responses, and I pray that no one responds by committing violence or harming anyone or anything. This is not the way of our faith, or our Prophet or our God.The other extreme \u2014 despair \u2014 must also be avoided. In fact, just like violence, it must be avoided at all cost.<\/p>\n
God says in the Quran, \u201cO my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Do not despair of the Mercy of God \u2026 (39:53)\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNever give up hope of God\u2019s Soothing Mercy: truly, no one despairs of God\u2019s Soothing Mercy except those who have no faith. (Quran, 12:87)\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It may seem bad now, but our\u00a0Ummah<\/i>\u00a0has seen bad days before, and \u2014 by the grace of God \u2014 they have passed into oblivion. We should never despair.<\/p>\n
In fact, to despair is to follow the path of\u00a0Iblis<\/i>, whose very name comes from the Arabic root\u00a0balasa<\/i>, which means \u201cone who despaired.\u201d\u00a0Iblis<\/i>, therefore, means \u201che who causes despair.\u201d In fact,\u00a0Iblis<\/i>\u00a0himself despaired after his arrogant and racist refusal to obey God\u2019s command, and out of that despair came his pledge:<\/p>\n\u201cBecause You have thwarted me, I will lie in wait for them on Thy straight way (7:16)\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
His hatred for us has come out of his despair, and thus we should actively resist, actively wage\u00a0jihad,\u00a0<\/i>against falling into despair ourselves.<\/p>\n
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) never despaired, despite the terrible guile, hatred and violence meted out to him because of his preaching. During one of the most difficult times of his prophetic life, as he lay outside of Ta\u2019if, in shock and legs bleeding, his main concern was whether God was angry with him:<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as You are not angry with me, then I do not care [what happens to me].\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
But, he also said:<\/p>\n
\u201cNevertheless, I would be much happier with Your mercy.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And that mercy came almost immediately: He was soon thereafter graced with the Night Journey and Ascension to the very presence of the Beloved. The Prophet (pbuh) never fell into despair, and neither should we.Yes, it seems the constant tirades of the Islamophobes\u2019, and those Americans who heed their filth, are gaining ground. It seems like so-called Muslims who are committing acts of evil are tarnishing our faith. But remember what God says:<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir intention is to extinguish God\u2019s Light with their mouths. But God will perfect His Light, despite the hatred of those who reject the truth. (61:8)\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
God is in charge, and in that fact, we should rejoice. In fact, in times like these, we must redouble our efforts to get closer to God, reach out to Him and bask in the light of His love and grace. We should ask Him for respite from these terrible times, and we use the spiritual benefits gained by our fast of Ramadan to better ourselves, because:<\/p>\n
\u201cGod never changes the condition of a people until they change themselves. (13:11)\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Yes, we should pray for all those who are suffering. Yes, we should help relieve the suffering of the victims of oppression. We should try to engage our society so that more justice can be spread both abroad and here at home.No, we should never respond with violence and evil. We should \u201cnever let the hatred [of a people towards us] move [us] swerve toward wrong and depart from justice \u2026 (5:8)\u201d \u00a0And, we should also never, ever fall into despair. Remember:<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not think that God is heedless of the deeds of those who do wrong. He but gives them respite against a Day when the eyes will fixedly stare in horror (14:42)\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
God is in charge. In that fact, we should rejoice.<\/p>\n
And, may the Beloved Lord our God, the Beautiful and Holy Allah, the Glorious and Magnificent HaShem bring peace and healing to our suffering and bleeding world. Amen.<\/p>\n
Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago-based physician and writer. He is author of, most recently,\u00a0Noble Brother: The Story of the Prophet Muhammad in Poetry <\/a>(Faithful Word Press). You can follow Hesham Hassaballa on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.\u00a0Hassaballa\u2019s column, \u201cAn American Islam,\u201d is published monthly on the\u00a0Muslim portal<\/a>. Subscribe via\u00a0email<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0RSS.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Hesham Hassaballa It has been a rough summer.\u00a0While everyone around the world was trying \u2013 as best as possible during the long and hot Ramadan \u2014 to fast and re-connect with God, \u200b\u200bthe horrific images from Gaza kept coming incessantly. Next door in Iraq, the \u201cIslamic State\u201d continued its reign of terror and bloodshed, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":590,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,6],"tags":[802,981,920,532,980,172,848,382,422,211],"class_list":["post-5945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-hesham-hassaballa","tag-boko-haram","tag-despair","tag-gaza","tag-iraq","tag-isis","tag-islamophobes","tag-palestine","tag-syria","tag-taliban","tag-ummah"],"yoast_head":"\n
What Should be a Muslim's Response to Ongoing Tragedies? Not Despair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By Hesham Hassaballa It has been a rough summer.\u00a0While everyone around the world was trying - as best as possible during the long and hot Ramadan -- to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2014\/08\/what-should-be-a-muslims-response-to-ongoing-tragedies-not-despair\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Should be a Muslim's Response to Ongoing Tragedies? Not Despair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Hesham Hassaballa It has been a rough summer.\u00a0While everyone around the world was trying - as best as possible during the long and hot Ramadan -- to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2014\/08\/what-should-be-a-muslims-response-to-ongoing-tragedies-not-despair\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"altmuslim\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-08-12T15:41:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-08-12T16:27:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/files\/2014\/08\/Gaza-father-and-son-300x200.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Guest Contributor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Guest Contributor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2014\/08\/what-should-be-a-muslims-response-to-ongoing-tragedies-not-despair\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2014\/08\/what-should-be-a-muslims-response-to-ongoing-tragedies-not-despair\/\",\"name\":\"What Should be a Muslim's Response to Ongoing Tragedies? Not Despair\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-12T15:41:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-08-12T16:27:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/2d865aff786b53f8ec13c56a6f5518ec\"},\"description\":\"By Hesham Hassaballa It has been a rough summer.\u00a0While everyone around the world was trying - as best as possible during the long and hot Ramadan -- to\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2014\/08\/what-should-be-a-muslims-response-to-ongoing-tragedies-not-despair\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2014\/08\/what-should-be-a-muslims-response-to-ongoing-tragedies-not-despair\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2014\/08\/what-should-be-a-muslims-response-to-ongoing-tragedies-not-despair\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Should be a Muslim’s Response to Ongoing Tragedies? Not Despair\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/\",\"name\":\"altmuslim\",\"description\":\"Global perspectives on Muslim life, politics & culture\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/2d865aff786b53f8ec13c56a6f5518ec\",\"name\":\"Guest Contributor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7378f6254ac5bdf4936a66cb60d0dd4a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7378f6254ac5bdf4936a66cb60d0dd4a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Guest Contributor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/author\/altmuslimguest\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Should be a Muslim's Response to Ongoing Tragedies? Not Despair","description":"By Hesham Hassaballa It has been a rough summer.\u00a0While everyone around the world was trying - as best as possible during the long and hot Ramadan -- to","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2014\/08\/what-should-be-a-muslims-response-to-ongoing-tragedies-not-despair\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Should be a Muslim's Response to Ongoing Tragedies? Not Despair","og_description":"By Hesham Hassaballa It has been a rough summer.\u00a0While everyone around the world was trying - as best as possible during the long and hot Ramadan -- to","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2014\/08\/what-should-be-a-muslims-response-to-ongoing-tragedies-not-despair\/","og_site_name":"altmuslim","article_published_time":"2014-08-12T15:41:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-08-12T16:27:51+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/files\/2014\/08\/Gaza-father-and-son-300x200.jpg"}],"author":"Guest Contributor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Guest Contributor","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2014\/08\/what-should-be-a-muslims-response-to-ongoing-tragedies-not-despair\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2014\/08\/what-should-be-a-muslims-response-to-ongoing-tragedies-not-despair\/","name":"What Should be a Muslim's Response to Ongoing Tragedies? Not Despair","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-08-12T15:41:37+00:00","dateModified":"2014-08-12T16:27:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/2d865aff786b53f8ec13c56a6f5518ec"},"description":"By Hesham Hassaballa It has been a rough summer.\u00a0While everyone around the world was trying - as best as possible during the long and hot Ramadan -- to","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2014\/08\/what-should-be-a-muslims-response-to-ongoing-tragedies-not-despair\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2014\/08\/what-should-be-a-muslims-response-to-ongoing-tragedies-not-despair\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/2014\/08\/what-should-be-a-muslims-response-to-ongoing-tragedies-not-despair\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Should be a Muslim’s Response to Ongoing Tragedies? Not Despair"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/","name":"altmuslim","description":"Global perspectives on Muslim life, politics & culture","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/2d865aff786b53f8ec13c56a6f5518ec","name":"Guest Contributor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7378f6254ac5bdf4936a66cb60d0dd4a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7378f6254ac5bdf4936a66cb60d0dd4a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Guest Contributor"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/author\/altmuslimguest\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/590"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5945\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/altmuslim\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"A](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/27\/2014\/08\/Gaza-father-and-son.jpg\")
<\/a>