Letter to ‘Abdallah’

Dear Abdallah,

I am writing to you from a very distant country, thousands of kilometers away because of how I feel about your suffering. Although I have to admit that I am skipping anything that I come across related to the bombardment you are going through. Not because I don’t care about your suffering, Abdallah, but because I do not want to see the faces of murdered children and there’s little to no help that I could offer. But I thought of sharing part of what keeps my hope alive regarding your suffering. I hope what I will share strengthens your hope, my dear brother. I believe it’s only the hope of a better tomorrow that adds meaning to your suffering. I also have to add that there are innocent victims on the Israeli side, who are also caught in the crossfire. That is equally tragic and unnecessary.

I want to remind you of a story that you and your aggressors know better than I do. It is the story of Saul, Abdallah, who according to the Hebrew Bible, was the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. As you know, after the death of Prophet Musa (pbuh), the Israelites asked their prophet to choose a leader for them to lead them to fight their enemies. Saul was choosen as the king by the prophet. But due to his lack of wealth, the people questioned the choice. His credentials were mentioned to them: He was distinguished from the rest by his great knowledge and by his build. Saul led the Israelites to victory over the mighty army of Goliath. Goliath was killed by David.

Why am I mentioning this? As I said, I want to share part of what keeps my hope alive regarding your suffering. The story of Saul keeps my hope alive. Why? Because it’s the story of two unmatched forces. The English people even took an idiom from that story whenever they want to describe two opponent that are unevenly matched. Despite the believers during the time of Saul being greatly disadvantaged, they kept their hope in God. When they were about to face the army of Goliath, they said: “How many times has a small force vanquished a mighty army by the Will of Allah! And Allah is ˹always˺ with the steadfast.” And what happened? They emerged victorious. You too will one day be victorious, Abdallah.

I know as things stand Israel is virtually invincible. Add to that invincibility, the support of the almighty United States! It could mete out any treatment to you because no one could stop her and risk the wrath of the US. But Israelites are not unaware of the story of Saul. I believe it is a story that they take a lot of pride from because of its miraculous nature. It might seem naive to think that you will emerge victorious, but it is not. It will happen. The world will wake up from its slumber and rally in your support. When? I don’t know. But it will surely happen. Maybe not in your lifetime. It will happen because aggression has never succeeded in the long run. Victory will be with the oppressed, whoever and wherever they are. Before your victory, you’ll be in my thoughts and prayers. And if my letter makes you feel better, let me know so that I can keep sending it to you.

Yours sincerely,

Hamza Muhammad Tasiu,
Kano.
[email protected]>

PS: Abdallah is an imaginary name.