These toys were a special gift that I received this Eid. Yesterday afternoon I was taking a nap when the doorbell rang. At the door was former Guantanamo detainee Shaker Aamer.
In his hands were these two toys that he had brought for my young nieces and nephews as a gift on this, his first Eid in the community after 14 years in custody.
Someone had abandoned them on a pavement near his house. He thought that my nieces and nephews would love to play with them, so he picked them up, washed them thoroughly and drove all the way to my house just to drop them off.
We exchanged stories about our respective Eid experiences from our time in prison, his in Guantanamo Bay and mine in a US Supermax prison.
We soon realised that we both shared one thing in common about Eid: we were always happy on Eid despite our circumstances.
Our captors had taken our liberties away from us but they were unable to take away the happiness of our Eid.
So to me these toys represent the essence of Eid: to make the best of your situation.
Whatever your personal circumstances, whatever struggles you are facing in your life, whatever your worries, be happy today. Today is your day. You have earned it. You deserve it.
And don’t forget to spare a prayer for the thousands of Muslim detainees all over the world who are celebrating Eid today in custody.
May Allah accept your deeds this month and bless you and your families with joy and happiness.
Just like the poet Omar Khayyam once said: “Be happy for this moment. For this moment is your life.”
Eid Mubarak everyone…
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🍬🍬🍬Eid Mubarak 🍬🍬🍬
May Allah SWT accept our good deeds😇😇
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And you, may Allah bless you and your family this Eid.
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Ameen 😃
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Eid mubarak, Taqaballah minna wa minkum.
May Allah make every Eid special. Amin.
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Salam alaykum.
I’m not sure on how to read the first few posts on your blog. The way it all started and why the government thought you were involved in the first place.
Please give me a link or perhaps send me all your previous posts vial email.
Shukran
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You can read my story in the interview I gave to The Guardian at https://tinyurl.com/babarspeaks.
As for my previous blog posts, they are all there on the home page, just keep scrolling down. There are about 24 posts in all since I started blogging in early May 2016.
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I am sorry for your difficulty. May Allah swt grant you high ajr. You are now approx 41 years old. Mashallah.
The post in the guardian said that the entire ordeal cost you your marriage. May I ask – respectfully- what happened. Why did your wife not want to remain? Did u have any kids?
Habeebah.
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Thank you for your comment Habeebah. Perhaps some things are better left private but in short, I guess it is unreasonable to expect a woman to remain married to a man who has been detained in prison for years without trial, without knowing if or when he might come home.
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Perfectly understandable… May Allah make open your way inshallah.
I invite you to read my blog too
http://universallyhabeebah.blogspot.co.za/
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