a prayer for our children

Today I heard a story that was truly upsetting to me.  We hear these stories all the time but every now and then it sends a chill down my spine and makes me remember how grateful I am that Allah has protected my children from harm and how much I pray that He will continue to do so, not just for mine but for all of our children.

A single mother went to work leaving her 14 and 12 year old daughters alone at home.  They were new to the city and to the low income apartment complex.  Two men watching the apartment, noted her departure and when she left broke in through a window cracked open in the bathroom and raped both girls.  No one saw, or heard anything, no witnesses and no arrests…When the mother heard the story she was so upset she vommited on the spot and broke into hysterics that both her girls had been so violated and there is absolutely nothing she can do about it.  Now she on the streets again. Shifting her family between friends and relatives until she can find a new and safer place to live. 

Stories like this, I sometimes can’t bear to hear.  All I can offer is my prayers.  That Allah let this situation guide them to a deeper and stronger faith and trust in Allah.  and if it does, I pray that Allah rewards them richly for their patience and for what was taken from them.  I pray the same for all the victims of child rape around the world, boys and girls, muslims and non-muslims.  And I pray that Allah keep our children and our families safe in a world that is some times too sick to bear.