With Hope, I Pray for a King Solomon!
Commentary by Maimoona Harrington | FāVS News
For Muslims, he is Sulaiman, (Alaihis Salam (A.S.) or peace be upon him). For Christian and Jews, he is King Solomon. King Solomon was the third ruler of Israel and the son of King David and Bathsheba. He also made the first Holy Temple in Jerusalem. He was extremely knowledgeable and revered for his wisdom.
Chapter 27 of the Quran is called, “An-Naml” meaning, “The Ant.” Throughout this chapter we learn that Prophet Sulaiman marched his army of men, jinn’s, birds and animals to the country of Askalon. As his army was passing through the valley, an ant saw it approaching so warned the other ants, “‘O you ants! Get into your habitations, so that Solomon and his hosts may not crush you, being unaware.’” (Quran Chapter 27: Verse 18)
The next verse explains Sulaiman’s (A.S.) reaction: “Then he smiled, laughing at its words, and said: ‘My Lord! Dispose me that I may be thankful for Your bounty, which You have bestowed on me and my parents, and that I may do righteousness such as You are pleased with, and admit me, by Your mercy, among Your righteous servants.’” (Quran Chapter 27: Verse 19)
These two verses share a very valuable and profound message especially from Prophet Sulaiman (A.S.). King Solomon thanked Allah — God — for all the blessings bestowed upon him and for being able to hear the ant and unintentionally not harm them.
And here we are today, the followers of this esteemed Prophet Sulaiman (A.S.), killing each other mercilessly and intentionally!
Hamas’ attack on Israel and Israel’s bombardments at Gaza are real and so is the reality of hostages and the daily loss of human lives, especially children — the innocent, harmless children!
Why can’t we see what we are doing to the humanity? Why we are so corrupt and hypocritical?
Our faiths, our skin colors, our languages, our clothing, our food and our loyalties can be different, but the color of our blood is red — some a little lighter or little darker but still red.
Why do we see that the deaths of Ukrainians are more painful, more felt, than the deaths of Palestinians? We should feel for both as both are equally human beings made of flesh and blood.
We can justify these killings as much as we can, but it will never be justifiable in the eyes of our God, our Creator. On the day of judgement, we will all be responsible for all our acts no matter how big or small. Only then the excuses we make or justifications we come up with will be useless. Being the followers of Abrahamic faith, this is one reality none of us deny or refuse that there will be a judgment day.
We are biased, individualistic and selfish. We only feel when it hurts us or hurts our own, but rest of human lives do not matter, their pain does not matter.
It has been 49 days since Oct. 7. And while Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day cease-fire, there is still no end to this crisis.
As the time passes, there has also been a shift in the opinions and views of people across the globe. The Israel-Hamas war is exposing European and Western division. The human catastrophe in Gaza is also creating division between Western leadership. Perhaps consciences are awakening seeing the catastrophe.
In midst of current atrocities we forget the atrocities committed in the past. Bizarre, how we forget similar things that have happened. There are some atrocities by people and some by God. Both are horrific. We need to remember our human history and we need to learn to be less reactive and more responsive.
Peace.
Honorifics A.S. – Alaihis Salam, which means peace be upon him.
The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.
