Global Call: Qiyam for Libya & the Oppressed

Assalamu `alaykum,

Just ten days ago, we saw Hosni Mubarak step down from as president of Egypt. A few weeks before that, Tunisian president Ben Ali fled his country in the face of burgeoning protests by his people. Today, these popular movements have spilled over into Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and Algeria. While these events fill us with incredible hope and joy for the future of our Ummah, we must continue to pray and support our brothers and sisters who are struggling under intense tyranny.

On February 9, this website called for a global night of qiyam for Egypt. Alhamdulillah, the community responded; pledges poured in from Canada, Englad, Malaysia, Mecca, Egypt and across the United States, demonstrating our community’s capacity for unity in prayer through times of trial. Individuals, families, organizations, masajid and even other websites rose to the call; we ask that Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala accept all of your efforts, and continue to utilize us all for good. We would especially like to thank the Muslim American Society (MAS), Islamic Circle on North America’s Young Muslims (ICNA’s YM), and the Muslim Students Association of the U.S. and Canada (MSA National) for echoing this call to prayer and mobilizing their membership from across the country.

This weekend, it is time once again to make a pledge to stand with our brothers and sisters. On Saturday, February 26, we ask each and every one of you to organize a qiyam program to pray for the people of Libya. Reports from eyewitnesses, despite the state-enforced media blackout, speak of hundreds being killed in just a few days. This is more than enough reason for us to stand with our hands raised in the night, praying for the safety, victory, and liberation of the Libyan people.

We recognize the entire region is erupting with similar struggles, so please include them in your du`a’ (prayer) as well. The media has not focused on the Libyan struggle in the same way it focused on Egypt; these qiyams can also be utilized to raise much needed awareness in our communities. Let us use these gatherings as a place to pray for the people of Libya, to share their story and to honor their struggle for human dignity. Once again, we ask that you please take pictures of the qiyams. These images give hope at a time when hope is needed.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ described our ummah as a single body which ails as a whole when a part of it is afflicted. Feel this pain, and respond to it. Make the intention, sign the pledge (leave a comment under this post), and spread the call for a global qiyam far and wide, using every internet tool at your disposal. It is easy to fall into negligence when a struggle is prolonged and the media hype is not present. The response of iman is not based on media, it is based on principles. It is to stay the course, and be steadfast with patient perseverance.

Let us have another qiyam, for another nation of oppressed people, and let us renew the intention to change what is within ourselves, so that the Almighty may change the condition of our people. May we strive to make this qiyam even better than the last one, and may Allah (swt) ennoble each of us by using us for His sake. May He liberate our brothers and sisters in Libya and may He grant victory to all of the oppressed. Ameen.

“Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such [trial] has not yet come to you as came to those who passed on before you? They were touched by poverty and hardship and were shaken until [even their] messenger and those who believed with him said,”When is the help of Allah ?” Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near.” (Qur’an, 2:214)