A Letter to the Families of Razan, Yusor and Deah from a No-one American Muslim

Dear families of Razan, Yusor and Deah,

Can I please tell you that you guys are incredible—just incredible. And the three precious lives that God has taken back from your midst, are only a reflection of what you guys are made up of.

I will not tell you what you have heard many times and what you have internalized better than what any of us can imagine-—that these three are in a blessed place, better than where we are. That the separation is temporary because if it was not, then our Lord would be unjust. And we all know that if the Lord of the worlds was unjust, then no lord at all would be just.

I will tell you that while the world loses people everyday, no passing of three lives has touched so many of us than your children’s. Not because they were beautiful and vivacious and so full of life. But because their lives reflected a will to serve others, not themselves.

Many of us had never heard of these three yesterday. But none of us will forget them tomorrow. We didn’t know them because they were quietly doing work. While so many of us “activists” are busy with empty words, empty slogans and empty aspirations, these three were working on the ground; quietly, steadily. Creating results that touched lives directly, no hashtags required.

Please know that your children have touched so many of us in so many different ways: made us feel guilty in how selfish we are in our lives- paying little attention to those around us, made us feel weak when we compare ourselves to how strong they were in their beliefs and their “American Muslim” ways, made us feel helpless in the face of increasing anti-Muslim bigotry and Islamophobia.

But much more than negative emotions, they also made us feel proud, of how Muslims who “act Islam” can be and should be. They made us feel hopeful, in what each of us can achieve. They made us feel confident in the potential and potency of our youth and future generations to change the caustic environment around us.

The three angelic lives didn’t just touch us, they shook us. We, men and women alike, cried, shed tears for individuals we never knew.

They shook our mostly lethargic and constantly infighting organizations into organizing— together, with resilience and in one direction. To shake off our constant battles, some online, some offline; to shake off our individualistic garbs of ego in joining together for what is most important: The lives of our children, born and unborn. Their future, their place in the American landscape, their hopes and their aspirations.

Dear mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters of Razan, Deah and Yusar,

You gave us the gift of Razan, Yusor and Deah. A gift that was undoubtedly beautiful for you, and whom you have now shared with all of us. For this, we can never be grateful enough. We share your love with them. There are probably no more loved  Americans Muslim today than these three, and we hope and pray that this love becomes wings, upon which they fly higher and higher in the Everlasting Paradise.

Your children have left behind a legacy that they never imagined or prepared for. And our children and grandchildren shall share the fruits of the legacy. For this, we can never be grateful enough.

For Razan, Yusor and Deah. Our love. Our prayers and our gratefulness.

Sincerely,
A no-one American Muslim