Victory Or Martyrdom – Strange Are The Ways Of A Believer

On October 20th, 2023, Heba Abu Nada, a Palestinian poet from Gaza, shared on her Facebook page, “We in Gaza are, in God’s eyes, between a martyr and a witness to liberation, and we all await where we will be. We all await, O God, your true promise.” Heba would be killed later that day in an Israeli airstrike.

Following fifteen months of a genocide, the ceasefire in Gaza finally took effect on the 19th of January 2025. Celebrations in Palestine and around the world ensued. And while there are understandable trepidations —given “Israel’s” abysmal track record of upholding agreements—, the ceasefire is undeniably a clear victory for the Palestinians. The proposed objectives that Netanyahu and his government had set out to achieve were to eliminate Hamas and rescue all Israeli captives; neither of which was accomplished. Former US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, stated that Hamas recruited as many new fighters as were killed during the genocide. This would only come as a surprise to those who have continuously and stubbornly refused to contextualize their right to resistance. Despite “Israel’s” massacring of over 62,000 Gazans (at the time of writing this) since October 2023 and the West expecting this to end Hamas’ influence in Palestinian society, the people’s natural response to occupation and barbarism has not been destroyed.

Palestinian prisoners are greeted by a crowd after being released from Israeli prison following a ceasefire agreement with Israel, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Conversely, the Zionists are frothing mad. Having conceded to releasing Palestinians from Israeli prisons by force, they are hellbent on dampening the joyous mood to maintain control. Women, children, veteran hostages along with those suffering from severe illnesses are expected to be freed. Furthermore, over 1000 Gazans who were abducted during the genocide are set to be released as well. “Israel” has banned celebrations from taking place upon their release, barging into families’ homes and confiscating flags and national symbols. Irrespective of this, each day of the Palestinian prisoners’ release, their buses were met with massive crowds cheering them on, carrying them on their shoulders and proudly waving the Palestinian flag above them. Children cried and smiled into their parents’ arms; mothers held their offspring close; spouses were reunited. Their release has always been central to the liberation movement; one which has never been negotiable by Hamas during the negotiation discussions.

In response to this deal, Hillel Neuer, the executive director of UN Watch and a pro-Israeli Canadian lawyer, wrote on X, “Never before in history has a side claimed that they suffered a genocide and at the same time that they won the war they had started,” a post which garnered 12,000 likes in its first 12 hours. Eve Barlow, a Scottish freelance journalist, criticized an image of a Gazan sitting amidst the rubble, a teacup in one hand, who captioned his photo: “I survived the Israeli #genocide”. She complained, “I don’t remember these kinds of images after the camps were liberated in 1945,” deeming it to be a mockery.

Such a discourse seemingly expects a copybook post-genocide scenario, and Palestinians in Gaza have to overtly ‘perform PTSD’ to prove victimhood. It is baffling that Zionists cannot see how it is possible to keep space for two apparently contradictory feelings —to both be in anguish and to feel victorious— when in reality Abu Obaida, the spokesperson for Hamas’ Al Qassam Brigades, has constantly ended his public speeches describing two hopeful outcomes: And indeed it is jihad; either victory or martyrdom.

Allah says in Surah at-Tawbah:

“Say, ‘Never will we be struck except by what Allah has decreed for us; He is our protector.” And upon Allah let the believers rely.’” [Surah at-Tawbah: 9;51]

“Say, ‘Are you awaiting anything to befall us except one of the two best things: ˹victory or martyrdom˺? But We are awaiting Allah to afflict you with torment either from Him or at our hands. So keep waiting! We too are waiting with you.’” [Surah at-Tawbah: 9;52]

The incongruity between the feelings of Zionists and that of the Palestinians can ultimately boil down to one hadith of the Prophet ﷺ:

“Strange are the ways of a believer for there is good in every affair of his and this is not the case with anyone else except in the case of a believer, for if he has an occasion to feel delight he thanks (God), thus there is a good for him in it, and if he gets into trouble and shows resignation (and endures it patiently), there is a good for him in it.”

While Zionism is a fantastical and destructive force, every bit of the Palestinian plight is rooted in a reality of hope, in its origins of injustice to the optimistic future Allah promises the oppressed. This is why, despite nearly five hundred days of genocide, the ceasefire announcement resulted in celebrations across the Gaza Strip, with healthcare workers reciting the takbeerat, children chanting “We won’t go down without a fight,” and Hamas fighters joining the crowd. Palestinian journalist, Anas Al-Sharif, who was around-the-clock covering the obliteration of northern Gaza, posted on X, ‘The strong, if he does not win, is defeated, and the weak, if he is not defeated, is victorious. We are victorious because of our steadfastness, perseverance, and refusal to give up our land. Survival despite genocide: steadfastness and victory.” Victory is the release of Palestinian hostages. Victory is the weakening of the Israeli propaganda machine. Victory is the people who’ve accepted Islam upon witnessing the steadfastness of the Palestinians. 

Martyrdom

As Muslims, we understand that death is inescapable and our eternal abode is the Hereafter, the best of which we strive for. When our purpose in this world is to worship Allah , we pray that our life is in line with that vision. In the worldly sense, the ultimate honor for a soldier is to die in the service of his country. More significant than that would be to die in a state most pleasing to Allah .

“Say, ‘Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allāh, Lord of the worlds.” Surah Al-‘An’am: 6;162]

Allah mercifully bestows great distinction on a martyr. At the time of being killed, a martyr does not feel anything more than what you or I would feel when we are merely pinched by an insect. They are abundantly rewarded by The Most Merciful, who grants them forgiveness, the ability to intercede for seventy relatives on the Day of Judgement, and security from the punishment of the grave —all of which are desired by every believer. For the loved ones he or she leaves behind, they are comforted by the fact that a martyr is alive with Allah , eating the fruits of Jannah. More than once, our generous Rabb will ask them if they want anything, and, satisfied, they’ll say that their only wish is to return to the world to be killed in His Way again. This is all because of the honor Allah will provide them. While we cannot declare any individual as a martyr with absolute definiteness, we can instead, as advised by Umar ibn al Khattab , say what the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever is killed or died in the way of Allah is in Paradise.”

Beyond the mujahid, martyrs are of different types in Islam: among them are those who are killed under a falling building, those who are burnt to death, or those who are killed defending either himself, his property, or his family. We have seen the annihilation of Gazans repeatedly on our phone screens over the past year and we ask Allah to accept them all as martyrs.

Such dignity and assurance, nevertheless, would not invalidate concurrent feelings of immense grief and trauma the Palestinians have been undergoing. They deserve the respite the ceasefire would provide and as Dr. Yara Hawari remarked, Palestinians should not “pay in blood for the solidarity of people around the world and certainly not in over 40,000 people killed.” Undoubtedly, the ceasefire will not end the Settler Colony of Israel’s mission to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their land; while the genocide in Gaza was taking place, Palestinians in the West Bank have continuously come under attack, by the IOF, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the everyday deranged Israeli settler. And this has only intensified, evidently as punishment for being humiliated, after the ceasefire. Yet, to many Palestinians, “it’s victory or martyrdom.” Where could such deep faith stem from?

Victory

“The strong, if he does not win, is defeated, and the weak, if he is not defeated, is victorious.” [PC: Omer Faruk Yildiz (unsplash)]

It is within our Islamic tradition, in the seerah of the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions, to believe that ultimate victory will be on the side of the mu’minoon, even if there is a delay in witnessing it. On the day of Hudaybiyyah, when the Prophet ﷺ had to make concessions to the Quraysh and forfeit their ‘umrah, the companions were disheartened at the result of this agreement. Umar ibn al Khattab approached Abu Bakr about this, asking why they must be humiliated in their religion and Abu Bakr replied, “Indeed, he is Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and he does not disobey his Lord, and He will make him victorious. Adhere to him as, by Allah, he is on the right.”

“Was he not telling us that we would go to the Ka`ba and perform Tawaf around it?” Umar asked.

“Yes, but did he tell you that you would go to the Ka`ba this year?”

Umar replied in the negative to which Abu Bakr reaffirmed the Prophet’s ﷺ words, “You will go to Ka`ba and perform Tawaf around it.”

The above conversation highlights two key points: victory is not bound by a manmade schedule and, at the same time, this must not weaken our belief that Allah’s Help is imminent. Our history is replete with examples of Allah’s Intervention in dark and disastrous situations. It was Al-Lateef who brought down the spider to shield the Prophet ﷺ and Abu Bakr from the Quraysh in the cave. It was Al-Fattah who sent down His Angels to aid the Muslims during the Battle of Badr and cause their victory despite their lower number of fighters. And it is He who has gifted a less-equipped group in Gaza a victory over one of the most superior military forces in the world. Drawing parallels between our history and that of contemporary times can help foreground in us the many tenants of imaan. Allah will send help in ways and manners we cannot imagine. We must remember that He not only granted Gaza a ceasefire, but He liberated Syria, He freed multiple Guantanamo Bay detainees, and it is by His Grace the RSF ceded territory to the Sudanese army; and this is within the past two months alone.

When the companion Khabbab ibn al Aratt complained to the Prophet ﷺ about the torture he endured at the hands of the Quraysh, the Prophet ﷺ promised him, “By Allah, this religion (i.e. Islam) will prevail till a traveler from Sana (in Yemen) to Hadrarmaut will fear none but Allah, or a wolf as regards his sheep, but you (people) are hasty.”

Here, Khabbab was to understand that Islam, the religion they were fighting to preserve, would triumph in the end, reminding the rest of us that our efforts would not go in vain, whether in this world or the hereafter. While we may not all be witnesses to the liberation of Palestine, it is essential that we believe in its inevitability, and, like tying one’s camel and placing one’s trust in Allah , we must play our role in striving for it.

Related:

– Podcast: Gaza’s Strength, Our Weakness | Shaykha Zaynab Ansari

– Prophetic Lessons From The Muslim Men In Gaza