Jeni Myftari
At the southern edge of the Mediterranean lies the Gaza Strip, not merely a narrow territory home to 2.1 million people, but a place where hope and suffering intertwine, forging a reality that defies human imagination. The past two-years of war have unleashed widespread death, destruction, and displacement, etching scars into civilian lives and exposing a form of spiritual heroism that words alone cannot capture.
Since October 7, 2023, when the conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas escalated, Gaza has come to epitomise urban warfare with catastrophic consequences for civilians. Humanitarian organisations report that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been killed or injured, with children bearing the brunt of the suffering.
In this land of ruins, where homes have turned to ash and hunger has replaced the table, the children of Gaza are writing one of the most extraordinary chapters of human resilience. Orphaned, homeless, and hungry, they navigate a world marked by trauma and fear at every step.
Yet, in this suffocating darkness, something extraordinary, beyond logic, unfolds. Five hundred children from Gaza, survivors of bombings, hunger, and profound trauma, have completed the memorisation (hifdh) of the Qur’an. An achievement that defies conventional academic measures, accomplished not in peace and comfort, but amidst ruins, hunger, pain, and fear.
These children are silent heroes. They have discovered that faith is not only found in illuminated classrooms but in temporary shelters, damaged mosques, and roofless rooms under open skies. They recited verses not in safety, but as the heavens trembled with bombardments. They carried its words in their hearts, even as the world seemed to have forgotten them.
Where did they find their strength? In faith. In the conviction that the word of Allah becomes a refuge when no other shelter exists, a light when all around them is dark. When bread is scarce, the Qur’an nourishes the soul. When bodies are wounded, the it heals the heart. When the world is silent, the Qur’an speaks.
These children have transcended the human. They have shown that resilience is not merely about survival but about preserving dignity, hope, and a connection to God even in the harshest, most inhumane conditions. Through memorising the Qur’an, they have transformed Allah’s book into a beacon illuminating their hearts, a light that neither bombs, nor hunger, nor global neglect can extinguish.
Their heroism is an indictment of national and international silence. It holds up a mirror to the world, forcing a question that cannot be ignored: how is it possible that children, hungry and wounded, display greater moral courage than the very international powers and organisations that claim to protect human rights?
The achievement of these 500 children is living proof that the faith Allah plants in believers’ hearts cannot be uprooted by force. On the contrary, the more one tries to suppress it, the stronger, deeper, and brighter it grows. Even wounded, Gaza continues to generate hope; even besieged, it speaks loudly through patience and unwavering faith.
Beyond shocking statistics of loss, malnutrition, and despair, the spiritual resilience of these children reveals the enduring power of human faith. It defies any notion that violence, hunger, or global indifference can break the human spirit.
The children of Gaza have achieved the ultimate victory, even amid death, abuse, or the threat of hunger inflicted by those who claim humanity. They have triumphed over the world’s most destructive forces, those that unite to rain bombs on women and children. In doing so, they have become a beacon illuminating the grey horizon of this land we call our shared home.
This is not just a Palestinian story; it is a universal message for all oppressed people worldwide: hope does not depend on circumstances, but on what we carry in our hearts. And when the heart is anchored in God, no earthly power can defeat it.
Respect, honour, and glory to the children of Gaza and to the martyred Palestinians, who, even amid destruction, continue to demonstrate that the light of faith is stronger than any darkness!
Photo: Palestinian children in Gaza attend a makeshift Quran shelter, continuing to memorise the Holy Quran amid relentless Israeli bombardment and the presence of Israeli tanks nearby. (Credit: @doamuslims)
