Turning the Divine Lens on the Recent War on Iran
Imam Askari (a) has said:
ما مِن بَلِيّةٍ إلاّ و للّه ِ فيها نِعمَةٌ تُحيطُ بِها
There is no calamity except that within it, Allah brings blessings that surround it.
In other words, every trial and difficulty we endure is surrounded by blessings and ease. The imagery evoked here isn’t of small silver lining around a massive storm cloud. Rather, it is of a mere island of pain, entirely encircled by an ocean of ease. The divine lens does not dismiss the pain – it sees it, manages it, guides it. But it never loses sight of the ocean.
This is the meaning of the beautiful verse:
إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا
(al-Inshirah 94: 6)
Indeed, with hardship comes ease.
This promise of Allah is vividly illustrated in the Zionist entity’s recent aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The aggression began with a devastating blow: the martyrdom of some of Iran’s most senior officials and nuclear scientists. These were not ordinary names on a list; they were strategic minds, purified souls, the result of decades of revolutionary progress. Their loss was a wound to the heart of the revolution. And as the bombs fell, more incredible souls were lost – children, women, and men of the revolution. For twelve days, the nation lived under constant threat.
This was the island of pain: the anguish of losing some of our best people, and the constant anxiety of not knowing who would be next.
And yet, even before the dust settled, the waves of divine blessings began to rise around it. Here are just a few:
- The internal strength of Iran’s political-military structure.
With the high-level assassinations at the onset of the conflict, the enemy aimed to paralyze Iran’s command structure. After assassinating top military commanders, they expected confusion, chaos, and collapse.
Instead, they were met with order and efficiency.
Within hours of the martyrdom of the highest military commanders, the Leader appointed replacements. A few hours after that, the Iranians struck back – hard and precise enough that the Zionists came begging for American intervention and then a ceasefire.
What was meant to be Iran’s breakdown became a showcase of confident resilience. Their system did not falter. Instead, its inner strength became apparent for all to see. The enemy plot failed, spectacularly.
- Unprecedented levels of Iranian national unity.
The enemy thought bombs and destruction would divide Iran and lead to calls for “regime change”. Instead, it united the people.
As the bombs dropped, the streets of Tehran were filled with protestors decrying the Zionist-American aggression and demanding retaliation. Fathers brought their young children on the streets to pass out cups of sweet sharbat and warm tea, sharing strength in solidarity and smiles. People from all ends of the political spectrum united in their hatred for a common enemy: the Zionist regime and its allies.
This was unity not manufactured, but organic – echoing the spirit last seen in the days of the Holy Defense in the 1980s.
- The destruction of the myth of Zionist invincibility.
For decades, the Zionist regime has built up an image of impenetrability. The Iron Dome. David’s Sling. Advanced Western weaponry. No one dared test their defenses, because we were told it is impossible to strike the heart of the occupation.
But within days of Iran’s retaliatory response, the world watched in awe as this illusion shattered.
The cities at the center of the occupied lands were hit – and hit hard. The Iron Dome was overwhelmed. Its failure wasn’t just military; it was psychological. The myth of Zionist invulnerability, carefully curated for decades, was publicly and irreversibly broken. This was best evidenced by the mass exodus of Zionist settler-colonialists attempting to escape the occupied lands by any means available. What an immense humiliation!
- A surge in global sympathy for Iran.
The Zionist regime struck while Iran was engaged in nuclear negotiations – openly sabotaging the process, claiming once again that Iran is close to possessing nuclear weapons.
But the world was watching, and it didn’t buy the narrative.
Thousands outside Iran marched in protest, not against Iran, but in solidarity with it. Iran gained immense sympathy and support from the millions of conscientious people worldwide, Muslim and otherwise, who have staunchly supported the Palestinian cause for decades. How could free people around the globe help but rejoice when the genocidal state is made to suffer for its crimes? And how could they not admire the only sovereign nation that has succeeded in sending the Zionists into an existential frenzy? Iran had stood up to the Zionists and paid a price for its resistance – and then responded with discipline, legality, and honor. The Islamic Republic’s calm and precise retaliation stood in stark contrast to the unprovoked cruelty of the Zionist regime.
Even longtime critics of Iran were forced to reconsider who truly threatens peace in the Middle East.
- The Final Collapse of the “Civilized Israel” Narrative.
Since its inception, the Zionist regime has appealed to the western colonial conscience by marketing itself as “the only democracy in the Middle East,” a supposed beacon of civilization surrounded by oriental barbarism. This narrative has long been crumbling – but this recent act of aggression put the final nail in the coffin.
The Zionist regime attacked Iran without provocation and in clear violation of international law and basic human morality, even as it continued its brutal genocide in Gaza. Its American backers could barely justify the assault. Meanwhile, Iran responded with remarkable restraint and calculation – retaliating in proportional measure, targeting only military infrastructure, and observing international law.
The contrast could not be starker. On one side: reason, legality, and restraint. On the other: cruelty, aggression, arrogance, and indiscriminate bloodshed.
The mask of “civilization” has slipped – and the world sees what lies beneath: a violent occupier driven by arrogance, not law; by colonial ethno-supremacy, not defense.
- A wake-up call to the global Muslim – and especially Shi‘i – conscience.
Perhaps most significantly for us, this conflict has served as a much-needed awakening – a jolt to the conscience of the Muslim world, and especially we who claim to be the followers of Ali (a). It offers the rare potential to shake us from our spiritual slumber and propel us toward greater readiness for the return of the Imam (a).
Allah’s timing is never random. There is divine significance in the fact that this conflict began near Eid al-Ghadir – the greatest of Eids, the celebration of wilayah – and concluded at the threshold of Muharram. From Ghadir, we learn the lesson of unity under the banner of divine authority. From Muharram, we gain the fire and the resolve to rise in support of that authority.
These bombs that rained down on our brothers and sisters, this display of courage from the world’s only Shi‘i nation against the Zionist occupiers – this was no ordinary moment in history. It is nothing short of a divine miracle. And like all miracles, its purpose is our guidance.
How do we benefit from this guidance?
First, this Muharram must not be like the ones before. The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said:
إِنَّ لِقَتْلِ الْحُسَینِ حَرَارَةً فِی قُلُوبِ الْمُؤْمِنِینَ لَا تَبْرُدُ أَبَداً
Indeed, the martyrdom of Husayn ignites a fire in the hearts of the believers that will never be extinguished.
This year, that fire burns stronger than ever. This fire is a testament to our love for truth and justice and our hatred for the oppressors. The shameful Zionist aggression on our people and our lands has stoked this fire into a veritable blaze that refuses to let us sit still – just as the fire in the heart of Habib ibn Muzahir would not let him rest while his Imam stood alone in Karbala; just like the fire in the heart of Qasim made death in the path of Husayn (a) to be sweeter than honey.
This fire is how we attach ourselves to the movement of the Imam of our Time (a), so that we are given the immense blessing of being counted as amongst his closest companions.
And so, this Muharram, our mourning ceremonies must serve their intended purpose: to allow this fire to burn beyond the sands of Karbala and into the present. Let it kindle within us deeper love for the people of truth and resistance in our time, and unrelenting hatred toward the Yazids of today – the arrogant imperial powers who shed innocent blood and trample divine values underfoot.
This is the natural extension of the Karbalāʾī fire that lives in every believer’s heart. But be warned: without this extension, our tears serve only to smother this precious fire. Without applying the lessons of Karbala to the present-day, our mourning is teethless, a mockery of the spirit of ‘aza, a betrayal of the blood of martyrs that has sustained the Shi’i conscience over the centuries.
Not only did the recent aggression end with a resounding strategic victory for the believers, but it carries the potential for something even greater: a spiritual triumph. It is a powerful catalyst capable of reviving the spirit of Karbala and reawakening the sacred ethos of Islam. It is now our urgent responsibility to harness this moment: to recognize the ocean of blessings that surrounds this trial, to take pride in them without falling into arrogance, and to channel them in service of Allah’s cause.
Let us not stand on the shores of this ocean and remain paralyzed by grief, fear, or uncertainty. Let us dive in – with clarity, with purpose, and with loyalty to the blood of our martyrs, present and past. For just as in Karbala, the pain is real, but it is not the whole story. The ease is greater. The victory is deeper.
And the duty ahead of us is heavier.
The Divine Promise 