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Sunday 3 May 2009 - 06:51
Part two of the Israeli war on the Shia of Lebanon series

"The war is everywhere..."

Story Code : 4129
"The war is everywhere..."
By: Tahira Shaheeda

Imam Sadiq (a.s.) said:
"The followers of the truth have always been in distress, but their distress lasts for a short time and their good end will last forever"
(Al Ghaybah, Numani pg 402)

As the first morning of the war continued,we remained together on the ground floor of our apartment building, listening to the bombs fall. We were trying to guess what they were hitting and wondering if we were going to be the next target. As I learned later the shaytans piloting the bombers didn't just fly over and randomly dump bombs in a general area. They actually have a plan and know exactly what places they want to hit. I learned much later that the first bombs took out the bridge to the airport so no one could leave by air. Then I heard that a number of traitors helped Israel by going up and putting big identifying markers on the roofs of buildings that were thought to be important targets. When I heard about that I felt a real disgust and hatred for those who had lived among us and smiling in our faces while working as agents for the Israelis.

Having had no direct experience in war before I had a lot of questions.. I thought "Why are they doing this to us - after all, we are civilians" I immediately thought of my friends children. I remembered my girlfriend who was pregnant - what about her baby? Talk about innocent victims! I finally asked my neighbor "How long will this go on? A day, a week a month?" He shurugged his shoulders to indicate he didn't know and said "Maybe 50 years".

Then I wondered how all this got started. I knew from listening to the U..S. news in the past that no matter what the reality was, we were going to be blamed as the instigators.

Just as I stepped outside the door I heard the call to prayer. I went back inside to go upstairs and pray. Suddenly, I heard everyone shouting in Arabic but couldn't understand what they were saying. I thought maybe they heard some news about Israeli attacks- or better yet, something we could do to help in our own defense. Then my neighbor who spoke English asked me where I was going. I said "It's fajr. Hayyala salat". He said "No! Don't go, stay here!" I thought "Is he crazy from the bombing? Didn't Imam Ali (a.s.) pray on the battlefield?" Then I thought for a moment - if our building gets hit righht now and I die down here talking to my neighbors instead of on my sajadah praying fajr, it could be one of the worst things that could happen. The electricity was out so I climbed the dark stairway to my apartment and prayed a salat that was filled with trust in Allah.

The Prophet Mohammad (a.s.) said:
"Say each of your prayers as if it is your last"
(Bihar ul Anwar, vol.29, pg 417.)
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