# How Am I Supposed To Feel About Israel vs. Iran? | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #6

**Author:** Dr. Omar Suleiman
**Series:** Pause and Reflect
**Published:** 2026-03-02
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/5HS2_CB28Lc
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/how-am-i-supposed-to-feel-about-israel-vs-iran-pause-and-reflect-6
**Topics:** Acts of Worship, Sharia

## Summary
In this Ramadan khatira, the speaker addresses the question of how Muslims should emotionally and spiritually navigate complex geopolitical conflicts, specifically the tensions involving Israel and Iran. The central message is to 'lean into your fitrah' — the natural, God-given moral disposition — rather than becoming paralyzed by political complexity. The speaker draws on a Quranic framework to distinguish between 'black and white' moral clarity and 'grey' areas of ambiguity. Using the Quranic verse from Surah Al-Hujurat about reconciling believing groups, the du'a 'Allahumma idrib al-zalimeen bil-zalimeen,' and the example from Surah Ar-Rum [Surah Ar-Rum 30:4-5] where the Companions rejoiced at the Romans' victory over the Persians, the speaker illustrates that believers can and should recognize clear evil without needing deep political expertise. He also references the story of Najashi (the Negus of Abyssinia) and how the early Muslim refugees, including Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها), prayed for his victory despite the political complexity of his situation. The speaker emphasizes that Muslims can hold multiple truths simultaneously — resenting the crimes of the Iranian regime while also condemning harm done to innocent people there, and opposing American military presence in Muslim lands while caring for Muslims living under that threat. For grey areas, believers should turn to Allah's Names such as Al-'Aleem and Al-Hakeem, trusting that He sees layers of reality we cannot. The speaker closes with a reminder that the world's failure to act on Gaza signals that no Muslim community is truly safe, urging all believers to keep their faith, principles, and hearts connected to the Ummah.

## Key Points
- Muslims should 'lean into their fitrah' (natural moral disposition) when navigating complex geopolitical conflicts rather than becoming overwhelmed by political analysis.
- There is a distinction between 'black and white' moral clarity and 'grey' areas of ambiguity — most Muslims only need to act on what is clearly right or wrong.
- The Quran provides frameworks for different conflict scenarios: seeking reconciliation between believers, opposing the aggressor who refuses peace, and making du'a when two evil forces clash.
- The example from Surah Ar-Rum [Surah Ar-Rum 30:4-5] shows that the Companions found joy in the Romans' victory over the Persians — illustrating that believers can support a lesser evil over a greater one without compromising principles.
- The story of Najashi demonstrates that Muslims can support a leader who protects them even amid political complexity, as the early Muslims in Abyssinia prayed for his victory.
- Muslims can hold multiple truths simultaneously — condemning the Iranian regime's crimes and also condemning harm to innocent people in Iran; opposing foreign military bases and also caring for Muslims living near them.
- For grey areas beyond human understanding, believers should turn to Allah's Names such as Al-'Aleem (All-Knowing), Al-Hakeem (All-Wise), and Al-Lateef (Subtle), trusting He sees what we cannot.
- The world's inaction over Gaza is a warning that no Muslim community is permanently safe — all Muslims should remain spiritually vigilant and connected to the Ummah.
- Sincere believers may make mistakes in political analysis, but honest and respectful discourse among those genuinely trying to do right is healthy and necessary.
- Ramadan is a time to feel the unity of the Muslim body and to make du'a for the protection of the innocent and the foiling of evil plans.

## Transcript
**[0:00]** So yesterday at the rally for Dr. Afia Siddiqui, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala free her, liberate her and all of the political prisoners, Allahumma ameen. I made the comment that Dr. Afia represents something greater than herself

**[0:16]** and that one of the things that she represents are the casualties of war that will disappear in the numbers and be forgotten. And particularly I mentioned the schoolgirls that were massacred in Iran. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala have mercy on them all and comfort their parents,

**[0:34]** all of the oppressed and all of those that have been murdered, Allahumma ameen. There is a question yesterday that came to me, how should we feel about all this? I know Shaykh Yasser addressed some of this, alhamdulillah, some ground rules yesterday.

**[0:50]** And I've been thinking about one dimension of how to address this tonight, bi'idhnillahi ta'ala, from a Quranic framework and surely there will be multiple angles by which this will be addressed bi'idhnillahi ta'ala in the weeks to come. And we make du'a for our Ummah through all of this.

**[1:08]** The sentence that I want you to remember, lean into your fitrah, lean into your fitrah, your natural disposition. A few khatiras ago I mentioned the du'a that people used to make,

**[1:23]** that they used to ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for the iman, for the faith of the old Bedouin woman, who's not a scholar of the Quran, not a scholar of the Sunnah, who doesn't know law or jurisprudence, but her iman is very high. She knows what she perceives and she knows what she hears,

**[1:40]** and she naturally leans into that iman in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and there is something very beautiful about that. And I'll tell you what I mean by that. When situations like this arise, there's the black and the white and then there's the gray. There's the black and the white and then there's the gray.

**[1:56]** And I would argue that most normal Muslims just need to know the black and the white, and that without knowing anything about political analysis or being able to dissect a situation,

**[2:11]** can lean into their fitrah and can do what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala demands of them in this moment, and can call upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and act in the way that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala commands of them best in this month of Ramadan. Lean into the fitrah.

**[2:27]** The Prophet (ﷺ), in his time, had to navigate more political complexities than we can imagine. Like I want you to think about how many tribal complexities the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) has to navigate

**[2:43]** with the non-Muslims and dissecting the different tribes and who's related to who, and who has this motivation, who has this history, and who can be trusted from this direction, and who can be trusted from that direction. The vast majority of the Companions simply waited for the Prophet (ﷺ) to say,

**[2:59]** do this or do that, and they leaned into that. But it's the Prophet (ﷺ) who is with his select group of people, looking at Ghatafan, looking at Banu Khuza'ah, trying to navigate through all of the complexities that exist at the time of his undertakings (ﷺ).

**[3:18]** So what does this mean today for us, the black, the white, and the gray? I was thinking about this from a Quranic perspective. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives us ways to deal with all of these different things. When two groups of believers start to fight, وَإِن طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا

**[3:36]** If two groups of believers go into conflict with one another, then you try to do islah, you wish for restoration amongst them, you wish for reconciliation amongst them. فَإِن بَغَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا عَلَى الْأُخْرَى فَقَاتِلُوا الَّتِي تَبْغِي And then if one of them goes back on the agreement or goes back on the agreement,

**[3:53]** reneges on the agreement between the two, then you go against the one that is refusing to reconcile. When there are two equally evil forces that are fighting against one another, اللَّهُمَّ اضْرِبِ الظَّالِمِينَ بِالظَّالِمِينَ وَاخْرِجْنَا مِنْ بَيْنِهِمْ سَالِمِينَ Let them destroy each other and let us come out of it in peace.

**[4:12]** When you have two forces that are fighting one another, and one of them, they're both evil, but one of them clearly in the moment is more evil than the other. And of course that's the classical example that we find in Surah Ar-Rum.

**[4:28]** وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنْصُرُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ There's a rule there. The day that the believers will find joy in the victory of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Who is this talking about? Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (رضي الله عنه), he said,

**[4:45]** فَرِحْنَا بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ لِأَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ عَلَى الْمَجُوسِ فَرِحْنَا بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ قُرَيْشٍ We found joy in the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala coming to the people of the book, the Romans,

**[5:02]** over the Majus, over the Persian Empire at the time. And then we found joy, we found farah, we found joy of the victory of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to the Muslims over the disbelievers of Quraysh, over the non-Muslims of Quraysh. When the Muslims were in Abyssinia

**[5:18]** and you have another political reality that's also complicated. You have Najashi (رضي الله عنه) who is concealing his Islam. And so he's not ruling by an Islamic framework but he's giving protection to the Muslims and he's concealing his Islam

**[5:34]** and the Muslims know about his Islam but his people do not. And there is a coup attempt on Najashi. And Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها) narrates the way that the Muslims are on the side of that whole thing and they're watching it and they're praying to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

**[5:49]** for victory for Najashi. To the point that Az-Zubayr (رضي الله عنه) swims to see who is winning between the two and then he comes back to give the Muslims the news of the victory of Najashi. And Umm Salamah (رضي الله عنها) says,

**[6:05]** there was nothing that made us more happy than that. There was a natural feeling, there was a natural sentiment. This man is protecting us, this is a good man, this is a Muslim. He's giving us our protection here. We don't need to get into the dynamics of what he's ruling by

**[6:25]** or who the other group is. This was a dynamic that was very clear and obvious. There's a black and white and there's a grey. And so how do we as believers deal with black and white versus grey? When you see innocent people being killed, when you see your innocent brothers and sisters being killed,

**[6:43]** there's no grey. You lean into that. You make du'a for your brothers and sisters. When you see what is as clear as night and day of an evil expansionist colonial enemy of Israel that is trying to expand and trying to disrupt the Muslim world

**[6:59]** and that's making its intentions very very very clear, I never want to be on the side of that regime. Ever. For anything. Nothing good comes out of that. Nothing good comes out of that. It is always evil, it has evil intentions and more and more Americans are waking up to the domination

**[7:17]** and the slavery of the political class to that colonial endeavor and what it is doing and the havoc that it's wreaking in the region. Black and white. I never want to find myself on the side of this evil.

**[7:34]** Okay, then what happens with the grey? Here's the thing that I want you to understand when I say you go back to the Muslim that simply leans into their fitrah. When you see what is taking place today, you can hold multiple truths at the same time

**[7:52]** and not forsake your principles. You can absolutely resent the crimes of the regime of Iran against the people of Syria and other places and still resent the crime that is being committed against the innocent people there right now. And understand very wide-eyed and clear-eyed

**[8:07]** that what is happening is an abject evil right now. You can resent the presence of American military bases in Gulf countries. I do. You can resent them. It's evil. And you can also be concerned for your brothers and sisters that live in those countries

**[8:22]** that are worried about shrapnel and drones falling on them. Those are two things that can be true at the same time. There's a fitrah element to this. That is just natural as Muslims. When it comes to the grey, اللَّهُمَّ مَنْ أَرَادَ بِالْإِسْلَامِ وَالْمُسْلِمِينَ خَيْرًا فَوَفِّقْهُ لِكُلِّ خَيْرٍ

**[8:39]** وَمَنْ أَرَادَ بِالْإِسْلَامِ وَالْمُسْلِمِينَ شَرًّا فَاجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُ فِي نَحْرِهِ وَاجْعَلْ تَدْبِيرَهُ تَدْمِيرَهُ Oh Allah, those that want good for Islam and the Muslims, then guide them to every good. And those who want evil for Islam and the Muslims, then ruin their plans, spoil their plans,

**[8:56]** and make their planning a means of their destruction. Ameen. You lean into your fitrah, dear brothers and sisters. And so I say take the step back in Ramadan. And again, this is a very short khatira to give just a bit of a framework of how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives this to us.

**[9:13]** Take a step back and don't get so lost in all of the political dynamics and all of the contingencies that you start to step away from what Allah 'azza wa jall has just made so obvious to you. And make du'a with that fitrah.

**[9:29]** Make du'a with that fitrah. And ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to protect the innocent. Wherever they may be. Ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to protect your brothers and sisters wherever they may be. And ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to destroy the evil intentions. That which we see and that which we don't see.

**[9:44]** When you see an abject evil and it's the black and white, then you rely upon Allah 'azza wa jall, Al-Jabbar, Al-Qahhar, Al-Wakeel, Al-Mawla, An-Nasir, to overcome the evil forces. And I can see that evil. And when there is evil that I can't understand,

**[9:59]** and there are certainly things that are at play, where even if we see evil, there are layers of evil behind that evil, then you go back to Allah 'azza wa jall, Al-'Aleem, Al-Hakeem, Al-Lateef, Al-Khabir, who sees layers that you can't see. And you turn that back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[10:15]** But don't step away from what makes you a believer. That pure iman that hurts when you see your brothers and sisters, wherever they may be, being hurt when you see evil forces that are trying to create a vision for a greater Israel.

**[10:33]** May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala foil their plans in our lifetime, Allahumma ameen, and guide us to the most productive ways to where we can be a part of uplifting our Ummah and alleviating our Ummah. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us rightly guided analysis as well.

**[10:51]** This is where you ask Allah 'azza wa jall for hidayah and rushd. Listen, politics in general, you know, a lot of people are talking about like local politics, and how should we get involved with this, and how should we get involved with that. Very good people are going to make mistakes sometimes.

**[11:06]** People that are really trying to get it right are gonna get it wrong sometimes. But do you believe that they're sincere? There has to be a domain here of sincere discourse and dialogue amongst believers that are trying to get it right right now.

**[11:21]** And that discourse is an important and a healthy discourse bi'idhnillahi ta'ala, because it is a messy arena. But the majority of it is actually black and white. And as a believer, you lean into the black and white. You lean into the fitrah.

**[11:36]** You lean into what is so obvious to you right now, as a Muslim in the world that you're seeing right now, your eyes wide open, and your heart bi'idhnillahi ta'ala beating for your Ummah. And the last reflection I'll give with you tonight is this. SubhanAllah, I was just in Doha a week ago.

**[11:52]** I was supposed to be going to Umrah in a few days. And I remember sharing with you all that my flight got... There were some flight issues, and I ended up having to come a day later, and I got to pray the first night of Tarawih there, and everyone was talking about, oh, mashallah, how beautiful Ramadan is there,

**[12:08]** and we're gonna go to Tarawih, and we're going to enjoy the beautiful spirit of Ramadan here. And subhanAllah, look how quickly things change. In the safest places in the world, and I say this today as I would have said last year,

**[12:25]** that a world that watched what happened to Gaza and did not do anything about it is a world that has to all be placed on high alert and urgency. All of us, our situation can change overnight. Our situation can change overnight.

**[12:41]** So don't think, oh, well, I'm here, and they're there, and they're there, and they're there, and none of this can come to us. Keep your faith steadfast and work on that. Keep your principles solid and firm. Keep your heart with your Ummah bi'idhnillahi ta'ala, and lean into that fitrah in Ramadan,

**[12:58]** where we're supposed to be feeling that sentiment of one body. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala uplift our ummah all over the world, and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala destroy those that wish evil for it, and those that inflict harm upon it. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to see the gloating of our enemies turn into humiliation.

**[13:15]** Allahumma ameen. Jazakum Allah khayran. Wa assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

## Other Episodes in "Pause and Reflect"
- [Singling Out the 27th Night for Worship? | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #12](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-12-singling-out-the-27th-night-for-worship.md)
- [Pay Attention to the Masjid Al-Aqsa Shutdown | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #11](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-11-pay-attention-to-masjid-al-aqsa-shutdown.md)
- [How Can You Despair of the Lord of Laylatul Qadr? | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #10](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-10-how-can-you-despair-of-the-lord-of-laylatul-qadr.md)
- [What If Laylatul Qadr Is The Wrong Night? | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #9](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-9-what-if-laylatul-qadr-is-the-wrong-night.md)
- [Sharia Takeovers and Middle East Chaos | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #8](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/ramadan-pause-and-reflect-8-sharia-takeovers-and-middle-east-chaos.md)
- [Why The Epstein Empire Attacked Iran | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #7](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/why-the-epstein-empire-attacked-iran-ramadan-pause-and-reflect-7.md)
- [The Only Surah Without Bismillah | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #5](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/the-only-surah-without-bismillah-ramadan-pause-and-reflect-5.md)
- [One Small Sin That Tips the Scale | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #4](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-4-one-small-sin-that-tips-the-scale.md)
- [He Wrote on Himself Mercy | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #3](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-3-he-wrote-on-himself-mercy.md)
- [The Scholars Who Can’t Read | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #2](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-2-the-scholars-who-cant-read.md)
- [The Baqarah Challenge | Ramadan Pause and Reflect #1](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/pause-and-reflect-ramadan-2026/pause-and-reflect-1-the-baqarah-challenge.md)