‘And
when the Fire is caused to blaze up’---[Holy Qur’an, 81:13]
Abu
Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (sa) as saying: ‘The last Hour will not come
unless there is ‘Harj’. They asked: ‘What is ‘Harj’, O Messenger
of Allah?’ Thereupon, the Holy Prophet (sa) said: “Bloodshed, Bloodshed, Bloodshed”.--- (Sahih Al Bukhari/Muslim)
The Civil War in Syria
In less than a month, Syria’s horrific ‘civil’ war will enter
into its eighth year. Having
already lasted more than the Second World War, the internecine conflict in
Syria has profoundly impacted the nation and its people in unimaginable ways.
The conflict and its aftereffects has virtually reduced the country to rubble.
Entire cities and villages remain abandoned, people having no choice but to
flee the mindless violence and mayhem, altering the everyday life-world of the
common people forever. Even as hundreds of thousands lost their lives, millions of others had to flee their homes and hearths, seeking refuge
elsewhere in the country or beyond the borders, in nations near and far. Thanks
to the many actors on the conflict scene and their varying political interests and strategic
calculations, the bloodletting in Syria continues unabated with no end in sight
till this day. Indeed, the humanitarian catastrophe that has engulfed this already
suffering, impoverished nation shakes the conscience of our common humanity.
How do we explain the
extraordinarily mind-numbing shift in the fortunes of the Syrian people in
recent times? What are the prospects for peace in the land, especially in view of its complex regional environment? How
does the present situation relate to Divine revelations vouchsafed to the
Promised Massih (as)? Can we look at the Syrian quagmire as a Divine Sign of
our times? These are some of the few questions and concerns explored in the following
article.