It’s not exactly controversial to believe that mankind as a whole has experienced a drastic decline in empathy in the modern world. However, a recent incident that I had personally witnessed at a hospital has further cemented this belief for me, and it made me realize a significant factor regarding why Gaza continues to suffer today at the hands of Israel.

The Hospital Incident

I will try to keep it short, without omitting any crucial details. Things were moving pretty slow at a hospital I was in, when, all of a sudden, a “code blue” emergency was declared. What this meant was that a patient had suddenly collapsed and gone into critical condition.

The majority of the staff gathered and were attempting to save this patient’s life, administering atropine, monitoring him constantly, and delivering CPR. However, it was amidst all the chaos that I observed something truly bizarre. Some of the staff were just engaged in casual conversation and chuckling to each other, as if nothing at all serious was going on. Mind you, this patient’s mother was also present at the time. She was right there, already mortified by the situation.

A short time later, the patient ended up passing away. Understandably, his mother was in a state of extreme distress. She had just lost her child. Once again, however, I was utterly shocked by what followed. Members of staff among that had just attempted to save this patient’s life were casually joking around with each other, as though they had just returned from a delightful picnic. There was zero empathy whatsoever, no respect at all for the individual that had just lost their life. Everyone simply carried on about their business as if nothing had transpired, and that was that.

I was left feeling a great sense of confusion as to why so little interest was shown when dealing with the loss of life of a fellow human being, a fellow Muslim. One other thing I noticed which added to this emotional detachment even further was a medical corporate term used to describe a deceased patient: expired—as if describing some sort of grocery item that had gone off.

Now, I am acutely aware that doctors and medical staff are prone to gradually losing their empathy towards patients and their families over time. It makes a lot of sense. The more you are exposed to something, the more accustomed to it you become. But is that a good thing? And are there any other factors at play other than just prolonged exposure?

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How Palestine Has Exposed a Crisis Among Muslims

The incident I have just described is a microcosm of the spiritual crisis that the Muslim ummah is facing today. You see, just like the doctors who gradually lose their empathy towards patients, the Muslim ummah is gradually losing their empathy towards the suffering of their Palestinian brethren. And unfortunately, we see this phenomenon of “desensitization” on a mass scale. Think back to the first time you saw a video of a child crying in Gaza due to the brutal injuries they had sustained from an Israeli drone attack. Or think back to the first time you saw a video of a Palestinian man crying with his dead child clutched in his arms. Or think back to the first time you found out how Palestinian women are being raped and abused by the IDF. Didn’t it make your blood boil? Didn’t your ghayrah cause you to be overcome with distress?

Does your blood boil the same way now, when you see or hear the same or similar news regarding others? Or have you been desensitized to the point that all the documented horrors in Gaza being shared before your eyes just passes you by, without even making you flinch? Unfortunately, this has indeed become the case for some Muslims today. And I would like to state very clearly: I am not denying that Muslim hearts bleed with pain for our Palestinian brethren, but there is this palpable decline in empathy due to which we have not been able to successfully put a stop to the genocide in Gaza. I find it very hard to believe that nearly 2 billion Muslims in the world are unable to generate enough political pressure within various governments around the world and have this genocide brought to an end. And yes, I realize that these governments and their rulers are corrupt. And yes, Israel has their filthy Zionist tentacles dug into many of these governments, preventing them at every turn from taking any actionable steps towards helping Palestine.

But…

Are We Boycotting Israel Enough?

We, as an ummah, have been lacking as well. The pressure we are creating, be it through protests, boycotts, social media activism, etc., is still not enough to halt Israel’s brutality. Alhamdulillah, there has been a lot of benefit that has come from these actions, far more in fact than many people had expected. For instance, look at how KFC declared bankruptcy in Turkey. This was a huge step and proved wrong all those who say boycotts don’t work. It shut up those who claimed that boycotting Israeli products only hurts the local economy and employees and does nothing for the Palestinians.

But why aren’t more of these companies declaring bankruptcy in all Muslim countries? Why were 2 billion Muslims only able to bankrupt just one pro-Israeli brand in just one country? Do you think that, if all 2 billion Muslims were actively boycotting Israeli products, this is all we would see? No, instead we would see extreme alarm and panic amongst these corporate shayatin who aid Israel, who fund the ethnic cleansing and genocide of OUR brothers and sisters in Gaza. We would see them out on the streets and in courts, begging justice departments to pass laws making it illegal to boycott Israeli products (which they do to some extent now). We would see their stocks dip deeper than 6 feet into the ground and their bank accounts drying up. This is the power that the Muslim ummah wields, yet we ignore it. Yes, we have the collective power, while obeying the law of course, to bring these corporations to their knees. And the best part is that it wouldn’t even take that much effort. Each and every pro-Israeli product that can be boycotted has an alternative present, so we won’t even be missing out on anything. There are many Muslim-owned alternatives available now in many places too.

This is the absolute bare minimum we can do.

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The Disease That Is Holding Us Back

So why are we unable to do even this much? Why do we find ourselves being so helpless and disorganized that we can’t even collectively achieve basic goals such as these? Look at what we can do when we are uncoordinated and disunited. Imagine the good we could do for Palestine if we were all on the same page, working together. If we all did a little more in our own personal lives. If we encouraged each other to do more in our lives. Why aren’t we doing this? Why are we like this, so lazy and demotivated and indifferent and unconcerned when it comes to Palestine? Which horrible disease are these the symptoms of?

It is probably the disease of complacency that has infected us so deeply. And a big chunk of where this complacency stems from is modernity and modern technology. This tech-induced complacency has suspended part of the Muslim ummah in a deep sense of comfort and security. Our comfortable lives, lavish food, endless entertainment, fancy cars, luxury air conditioning, etc., have placed us in isolated bubbles, detached from everyone else. An almost alternate reality of comfort and convenience exists within this closed-off bubble, one where the Palestinian reality seems almost unreal. It’s as if it’s not really happening, or not really that urgent, or it doesn’t really have much to do with you. These are the lies that the modern Muslim consumes in the box he has built around himself. The prison of this dunya that has been greatly amplified due to technology. It snatches away his ability to do anything, to say anything, and, eventually, to even feel anything for the oppressed. And so he continues to ignore the voice in his heart telling him to do something, and gradually the voice that was at first extremely loud is quietened to the point it becomes nothing more than a faint whisper, and one day it stops altogether, buried deep beneath all the comforts of technology and the various attachments he has created to this dunya. Imagine bringing a heart like this before Allah on the Day of Judgment.

One example of this could be a Muslim going to KFC. At first, he is hesitant to enter the restaurant. In that moment he has a choice to make, but he chooses to ignore it. The next time he goes to KFC, he will feel it again, this time with the choice confronting him at the counter. He ignores it again. Eventually, he feels absolutely nothing while paying for and consuming these products. He also starts scrolling just a little too quickly every time a video of children dying in Gaza appears on his feed, lest Mr. Comfy be made to feel any guilt for even a second. You see, his heart didn’t stop beating for Palestine by magic, it was because he beat it to death himself. We must recognize that all of these choices matter. Allah tests us over and over again, giving us the opportunity to make the right decisions.

It is the same [to Allah] whether any of you keeps secret [his] words or [utters them] aloud; or [whether] one hides himself by night or goes about by daylight — for each one there is a succession of angels, before him and behind him, to guard him by the command of Allah [and to record his every deed]. Indeed, Allah does not change a people’s condition [of grace] until they change what is in their souls [and become disobedient]. And should Allah so intend [to inflict harm] on a people, then there is no repelling it. For, apart from Him, they have no other patron. (Qur’an, 13:10–11)

So, the Muslim ummah needs to revive its dead heart. But that won’t happen until we carry some of the blood through its vessels ourselves. We have to manually restart the heart and force it back into action before it can be fully revived. The Muslim ummah is in a process of gradual resuscitation, and it is this critical juncture that will define our future. This is not the time for us to indulge so heavily in worldly pleasures and to reduce ourselves to mere sedated consumers who can’t think or do anything for themselves, simply looking on at the world, as silent, completely helpless observers. We have to change our state from being passive to being active. We cannot be like certain civilizations of the past that became complacent and fooled themselves into feeling a false sense of security.

Do the people of the towns [of the world] then feel secure against Our [deadly] affliction that may come to them at night while they sleep? Or do the people of the towns [of the world] feel secure against Our [deadly] affliction that may come to them at mid-morning while they play? Do they, then, feel secure against Allah’s design? For none feels secure against Allah’s design, except a people who are losers [of an everlasting Paradise]. (Qur’an, 7:97–99)

Were they not seized by Allah in the most terrifying of ways? Then how can we be so inattentive and indifferent? It’s time for us to experience some difficulty for the sake of Allah. So, the next time you’re considering having a Coca Cola, resist that urge. Forget the taste and just leave it. Make that tiny sacrifice for your brothers and sisters in Gaza, and Allah will give you something better. That is guaranteed. We must be smart and save ourselves from Allah’s Wrath, because once it arrives, we can’t go back and change our decisions. There are no second chances or do-overs. That’s the law of reality, and we need to act accordingly.

An interesting thing to note here is how this also exposes the hypocrisy of Madkhalis like Faris Hammadi. On the one hand, he claims to detach himself and his likes from most of the Muslim ummah in order to avoid as much bid’ah as possible, to stay on the safe side and be amongst the saved sect (despite his own deviant bid’ah beliefs). Yet he also goes ahead and declares boycotting Israeli products to be haram. Where did the fear of misguidance go? Where did the strong principles of staying on the path of the saved sect and avoiding all those bid’ahs disappear to? Is there really no fear of Allah in these people, such that they can go around telling Muslims it is mandatory to give your money to genocidal psychopaths? This shows that words from dirty snakes like Rabbi Faris are nothing but the poisonous lies of a hypocrite, who cares not in the least about the truth or about Palestine. Don’t follow in the misguided footsteps of the Madkhalis. Be sure to make the right choices.

Wake up.

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