And to Him is our return

“The Hamas government must be recognized, not only because recognition of Hamas would be good for Israel… but because this is the right move by any criterion of justice and international law.” Such a statement is probably not unusual to many Al-Qalam readers. But it is unusual for many Jews and particularly when it comes from an Israeli Jew.

It was these kinds of statements that made Tanya Reinhardt an enemy to many Zionists; it was the same kind of statement that endeared her to Palestinians and Palestinian supporters globally. And it is these kinds of statements that are being remembered now in obituaries and speeches around the world. Professor Tanya Reinhardt died on Saturday, 17 March 2007, aged 63.

A linguist (who studied under that other very famous Jewish linguist known for his pro-Palestinian positions, Noam Chomsky), Tanya was a strong, outspoken and unwavering critic of Israeli policies and a strong defender of Palestinian rights. Apart from her against-the-grain comments on the Hamas electoral victory, she also opposed the Oslo Accords at a time when there was much euphoria about it globally – including from many Palestinian quarters; she argued that it would perpetuate and strengthen the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, and she was proved correct. She also insisted that the real reason for Israel’s recent war against Lebanon was to make the Litani River Israel’s northern border.

But, arguably, her most important contributions to international solidarity with the Palestinian struggle was her contribution to the debate on the boycott of Israeli academics and academic institutions. Favouring a boycott, she nevertheless differentiated between institutions and individual academics, offering a nuanced perspective on the boycott question that has been quoted, analysed and critiqued by the Palestine solidarity movement around the world. These positions resulted in her academic position at Tel Aviv University becoming increasingly uncomfortable and, in December last year, she moved to New York to teach at New York University.

Tanya Reinhardt is among those who, being part of a privileged oppressor class by accident of birth, are able to transcend that accident and fearlessly articulate themselves in favour of justice and in opposition to their privilege. Like a number of other Israeli Jews and a number of White South Africans under Apartheid, she chose the difficult path of speaking truth to power, despite the uncomfortable and, often, frightening personal consequences.

When I heard of Tanya’s death, I immediately sent out an email to the Palestine Solidarity Committee mailing list with the subject: "Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un – To Allah we belong and to Him is our return." Later, I remembered what I had been taught when I was a little boy and realised that some Muslims might take objection to my subject line. Many Muslims are taught – as I was – that when you hear news of a Muslim death, you should respond with these words from the Qur’an. However, when you hear of the death of a non-Muslim, you should respond “Fi naari jahannam” – Into the fire of hell.

Fortunately for me, I was quickly dispossessed of such unIslamic notions when I joined, at age 14, a halqa of the Muslim Youth Movement. It was there that I learnt to study the Qur’an and it was there that I learnt of Qur’anic verses such as 2:62: “Verily, those who have attained to faith [in this scripture], as well as those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, and the Sabians – all who believe in God and the Last Day and do righteous deeds shall have their reward with their Sustainer; and no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve.” And verses such as 5:69 and 22:17. How could I, after this, say “fi naari jahannam” when Allah’s attitude and guidance was so different?

I was also exposed to various ahadith related to this issue, such as the one where the Prophet is reported to have stood up when the funeral of a Jew passed by. When he was told the deceased was a Jew, he responded: “Is it not a living being?” Muhammad (s) also performed the funeral prayer for Abdullah ibn Ubai, the leader of the hypocrites in Madinah, and gave his shirt for Abdullah to be buried in.

The attitude that many of us Muslims have of us being a chosen people who exclusively will realise the favours of Allah must be debunked. We cannot afford to offend the spirit of the Qur’an with such selfish wishes which the words of Allah and the practice of the Prophet Muhammad militate against.

The Prophet showed extreme concern for all who were to die or had died. Remember his loving attempts to counsel his uncle Abu Talib when the latter was on his death bed? Yet Abu Talib refused to embrace Islam even at the very end. Muhammad’s (s) attitude was always one of mercy, not one of hatred or anger – even towards those who had sworn to be his enemies.

That mercy is beautifully captured in a hadith narrated by Usama bin Zaid: “The daughter of the Prophet (s) sent (a messenger) to the Prophet requesting him to come as her child was dying, but the Prophet returned the messenger and told him to convey his greeting to her and say: ‘Whatever Allah takes is for Him and whatever He gives, is for Him, and everything with Him has a limited fixed term and so she should be patient and hope for Allah's reward.’ She again sent for him, swearing that he should come. The Prophet got up, and so did Sa’d bin ‘Ubada, Muadh bin Jabal, Ubai bin Ka’b, Zaid bin Thabit and some other men. The child was brought to Allah’s Apostle while his breath was disturbed in his chest. On that the eyes of the Prophet (s) started shedding tears. Sa’d said, ‘O Allah's Apostle! What is this?’ He replied, ‘It is mercy which Allah has lodged in the hearts of His slaves, and Allah is merciful only to those of His slaves who are merciful (to others).’”

And so, to Tanya Reinhardt, I say: “Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un”. After all, we all – Muslim or not – belong to Allah and we will all return to Him.