Behind the Walls

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Behind the Walls

He returned exhausted from work while the sun poured fire over people’s heads and the congestion devoured their nerves. He stood uncertain whether to board crowded public transport or sacrifice a large part of his small amount of money for a little comfort.

He chose the taxi. One driver ignored him. Another waved him away. Then a third leaned slightly toward the curb and asked where he was going. The tired passenger answered, entered the taxi, and a heavy silence settled between them. The driver did not switch on the air conditioner, and the hot air struck both their faces without mercy. Heat, silence, and the burden of war all hung over the moment.

In the midst of that stillness, a recitation rose from an old radio: “They will not fight you all together except from fortified towns or from behind walls” [al-Hashr: 14]. His heart trembled as if the verse were speaking directly to him.

He remembered a scene he had watched days earlier: a brave young fighter approaching a fortified Zionist tank, throwing into it a “gift” that would delight every believer’s heart, then vanishing in an instant. At that moment he said to himself, “The wall does not have to be built of brick. It may be the body of a tank, the shell of an aircraft, or the glass of an armored car.”

He turned to the driver and said, “Glory be to God. No matter how the enemies fortify themselves, God always leaves the believers a way.” The driver raised his eyebrows in surprise and replied, “That never occurred to me before, but by God, it is true.”

They continued the ride speaking about meanings hidden within the verses, about God’s patterns in granting victory to His allies, and about the heedlessness that overtakes hearts when worldly concerns consume them. He arrived home worn in body, yet with a heart light as a bird. Something new had settled in him: certainty. Certainty that no matter how much iron and fire the enemy possesses, nothing can frustrate God, and that the road to victory begins within, by asking: how can I truly be among the believers?

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