Al-Qalam 
Just hours before his passing on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis called for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza, writes Imam Dr. A. Rashied Omar.
On Monday, April 21, 2025, the world bid farewell to a towering figure of moral courage: Pope Francis. As conscientious Muslims, we join all oppressed and marginalized people across the globe in extending our heartfelt condolences to our Catholic sisters and brothers, and to all who were touched by Pope Francis’s courageous witness for justice, compassion, and human dignity.
May his legacy continue to inspire all people of faith and conscience to rise for justice, to defend the dignity of the oppressed, and to respond to the cries of the orphan, the hunger of the poor, and the tears of the war-torn, not with indifference, but with compassion, courage, and resolute action.
In his final public address, delivered just hours before his passing on Easter Sunday, Pope Francis called for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza. This was not a fleeting appeal. It was the culmination of years of fearless advocacy for the oppressed, be they Palestinian civilians under siege, migrants adrift at sea, or victims of forgotten wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan. In a December 2023 address to the Vatican’s Diplomatic Corps, Pope Francis lamented the “desperate situation in Gaza,” condemning the “indiscriminate suffering of civilians.” He reminded the world that peace cannot be built on the “ruins of homes and the silence of cemeteries,” asking, “Can we say we are civilized when children die under the rubble and the world watches in silence?”
Such stirring moral clarity finds deep resonance within the Islamic tradition. The Qur’an in Surah al-Nisaʾ (4:135) proclaims: “Believers! Stand firmly for justice as witnesses to God, even if it be against yourselves…” Pope Francis lived by this noble ethico-moral virtue that is so powerfully affirmed in the Glorious Qur’an. He bore witness against oppression, regardless of the political or institutional cost. He was a rare moral voice, humble yet unwavering, embodying the spiritual mandate to stand alongside the marginalised and to speak truth to power with courage and conviction.
Downtrodden
In honouring such a legacy, a profound question arises: How should Muslims regard and appreciate the contributions of a religious leader who does not share our theological convictions? The Qur’an answers this question with nuance, spiritual generosity, and grace. In Surah al-Maʾidah (5:82), Allah, the Most-High, proclaims: “You will surely find the nearest in affection to the believers those who say, ‘We are Christians.’ This is because among them are priests and monks who are not arrogant.” This Qur’anic verse affirms that qualities such as humility, compassion, and moral love are not confined and limited to Muslims alone. Rather, they are universal moral and spiritual virtues acknowledged and recognised across traditions.
Pope Francis, as a Christian priest, embodied and exemplified this Qur’anic ethic, walking humbly with the poor, uplifting the downtrodden, and offering moral clarity in an age of confusion. Moreover, the hadith tradition illuminates this principle further. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is reported to have said: “The best of people are those who are most beneficial to others.” (reported by al-Ṭabarani). In light of this, beneficence, service, and standing for justice are among the loftiest values in Islam. When figures such as Pope Francis embody these virtues with sincerity, they are deserving of respect, recognition, and honour from Muslims and all people of conscience.
We are also reminded of the Prophet Muhammad’s own exemplary interactions with just and righteous leaders of other faiths. When the early Muslim community faced brutal persecution in Makkah, the Prophet (pbuh) instructed his companions to seek refuge in Christian Abyssinia, under the protection of the just king al-Najashi. The Prophet told his companions: “If you go to Abyssinia, you will find a king under whose rule no one is oppressed. It is a land of sincerity in religion.” (Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrah al-Nabawiyyah) This decisive and compassionate instruction from the Prophet affirms a foundational Islamic principle: the recognition of justice wherever it may be found, even beyond the boundaries of one’s own religious tradition. Al-Najashi’s Christian kingdom became the first safe haven for Muslims, a powerful early example of interfaith solidarity rooted in the Qur’anic ethic of justice (`adl), compassion (raḥma), and mutual respect (birr). Al-Najashi’s story reminds us that the pursuit of righteousness transcends creed and that sincere alliances in the cause of justice are blessed in the sight of Allah.
In remembering Pope Francis, we honour a religious leader who walked in the spirit of this noble legacy, one rooted in compassion, humility, and the unyielding pursuit of justice. He stood courageously for peace with justice, uplifted the dignity of every human being, and reminded the world that authentic faith is never passive; it is lived through compassion, moral clarity, and solidarity with the oppressed. In the moral witness of Pope Francis, we saw reflections of that wisdom. May Pope Francis’s memory serve as a source of moral reflection and renewed commitment to justice for us all. May his legacy continue to inspire faith communities to work collectively for a more compassionate, dignified and just world. “Indeed, we belong to God and to God we shall return.” (Qur’an 2:156)
In remembering Pope Francis, we honour a religious leader who walked humbly in the path of compassion, justice, and human dignity. He stood courageously with the oppressed, spoke truth to power, and demonstrated that authentic faith is expressed through action, through solidarity with the marginalised, not through apathy or the pursuit of favour with the powerful. As Muslims, we are not called to withdraw from the goodness and moral virtues found in others. Rather, we are divinely guided to recognise, affirm and embrace the good wherever it appears.
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) taught us that wisdom is the lost property of the believer, and wherever it is found, they are entitled to it (al-Tirmidhi). In the moral witness of Pope Francis, we glimpsed such wisdom. May his memory awaken within us a renewed commitment to justice, and may his legacy inspire people of all faiths, and of none, to labour together for a more compassionate, dignified and just world. “Indeed, we belong to God, and to Him we shall return.” (Qur’ān 2:156)
