M Adam Ahmad, Al Hakam
In one of his most powerful works “On This Earth”, Mahmoud Darwish (1942–2008), regarded as the Palestinian national poet, says:
عَلَى ھٰذِہ الْأرْضِ مَا یَسْتَحِقُّ الحَیَاۃْ:
عَلَى ھٰذِہ الْأرْضِ سیّدۃ الْأرْضِ،
اُمُّ البدایَاتِ اُمُّ النّھَایَاتِ۔
کَانَتْ تُسَمّى فِلسطِین۔ صَارَتْ تُسَمّى فِلسطِین۔
سیّدتی: أَسْتَحِقُّ، لانَّکِ سیّدَتِیْ، أَسْتَحِقُّ الحَیَاۃ
“On this earth, there is what makes life worthwhile. On this earth is the ‘Lady of Lands’, the mother of all beginnings, the mother of all endings. She was known as Palestine. She forevermore will be known as Palestine. My Lady, because you are my Lady, I deserve life.”
These lines are more than poetry; they are lived reality and testimony – reminding the world that Palestine is more than politics. These heartrending words of a Palestinian capture the yearning of his people who have been stripped of their homeland, witnessing helplessly as their country is torn apart, piece by piece.
Recognition of Palestine: Does it change reality?
Today, more and more countries around the world are formally recognising Palestine as a state. Symbolically, this recognition seems significant, as it highlights international support. Yet some uncomfortable questions remain:
- Does this political recognition alleviate the Palestinian suffering?
- Does it make a real difference?
- Does it provide justice to the people of this land?
- Does it establish long-lasting peace in the region?
The reality on the ground tells a different story – for despite these recognitions, the bombings in Gaza persist. Innocent civilians – women, children, young and old – lose their lives every day. Churches, mosques, houses, schools, and hospitals get destroyed. Millions are being forced to leave their homeland and live as refugees.
Around the world, increasing concern is being expressed over the fact that “Recognition of Palestinian state is ‘hollow gesture’ without meaningful action to end genocide”. (www.amnesty.org.uk)
At the same time, propaganda campaigns are at their peak. Palestine supporters all over the globe, even in democratic nations, frequently suffer from censorship, losing their jobs or facing social repression. Prominent personalities in media, politics, and academia who voice their opinions are usually targeted. Major platforms are suppressing Palestinian voices under the guise of moderation. This propaganda has raised ambiguity, depicting the oppressors as aggressors and the aggressors as victims.
Hence, recognition has not yet translated into justice, freedom, or peace.
Historic betrayals
Many promises and recognitions have come in the past, and it seems many will follow in the future. The origins of this conflict date back over a century. The Balfour Declaration was made by Britain in 1917. “In essence, the Balfour Declaration promised Jews a land where the natives made up more than 90 percent of the population. Secondly, the declaration was one of three conflicting wartime promises made by the British. When it was released, Britain had already promised the Arabs independence from the Ottoman Empire in the 1915 Hussein-McMahon correspondence. The British also promised the French, in a separate treaty known as 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement, that the majority of Palestine would be under international administration, while the rest of the region would be split between the two colonial powers after the war.” (“More than a century on: The Balfour Declaration explained”, www.aljazeera.com, 2 November 2018)
The result was displacement and war: “The Balfour Declaration is widely seen as the precursor to the 1948 Palestinian Nakba when Zionist armed groups, who were trained by the British, forcibly expelled more than 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland.” (Ibid.) The legacy of the Balfour Declaration continues to cast its shadow over the Middle East.
Decades of “peace negotiations” and “peace road maps” have amounted to little in the way of true resolution of the actual issue. In fact, many argue that the process of peace has been undermined by self-proclaimed proponents of peace. Every time there are negotiations, more settlements are placed, more land is occupied, and the promise of peace moves further away. Palestine has been shrinking apart. This fact should lead us to ask:
Are recognitions and negotiations actually a process for peace as they claim, or are they something else, and they simply serve to buy time until more land is seized?
Righteousness – The key to inherit Palestine in peace
The Holy Quran makes it clear as to who will inherit the land of Palestine and how it can be brought back to peace: the key is righteousness.
If the Muslim world heeds the call of Allah, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, they can inherit this land in peace. For Muslims, the discussion about Palestine is not only political but also spiritual. The Holy Quran speaks of al-ardh – the land – and its inheritance. These verses point to the land of Palestine, as in Surah al-Anbiya, God Almighty states:
اَنَّ الْاَرْضَ یَرِثُهَا عِبَادِیَ الصّٰلِحُوْنَ۔ اِنَّ فِیْ ھٰذَا لَبَلٰغًا لِّقَوْمٍ عٰبِدِیْنَ۔
“My righteous servants shall inherit the Land. Herein, surely, is a message for those who are devoted to worship.” (Ch.21: V.106-7)
Explaining the above verses, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maudra highlighted that the land of Palestine was promised to the righteous servants of Allah the Almighty. In the beginning, this promise was granted to the Jews, and they were given dominion over it. However, while bestowing this land upon them, God Almighty also set conditions – warning that if they transgressed, the land would, in time, be taken away from them, and handed over to God’s righteous people. (Tafsir-e-Kabir [2023], Vol. 8, pp. 105-115)
Hope for true recognition
So, what does it mean to truly recognise Palestine?
Symbolic gestures – such as governmental recognitions, passing resolutions, or raising flags – are not enough. True recognition means ending the occupation, stopping the killing of civilians, allowing refugees to come back to their homeland, and establishing justice, fairness, and equality by returning the land of Palestine to its people.
The world continues to debate who the land belongs to, while Palestinians live through war, displacement, and injustice. Recognition without action changes little. The Holy Quran teaches that the land will belong to the righteous servants of God Almighty. History teaches us that oppression never lasts forever. And poetry like Darwish’s reminds us that even in suffering, there is dignity, identity, and the will to survive.
Only God knows when true peace will come to this “Lady of Lands.” Until then, the world must decide: will it remain silent, or will it act for justice?