The Eyes Shed Tears
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“Whoever saves one life, it is as if they have saved all humanity.” — Qur’an 5:32
There is a story from the Islamic tradition about the Prophet Muhammad (blessings be upon him) after the death of his young son, Ibrahim.
The child died as an infant. Some traditions say the Prophet kissed him, wept over him, and stayed close to him until the child’s breathing stopped. Those around him seemed unsettled by the depth of his grief. They imagined holiness should somehow rise above sorrow, as though spiritual maturity meant remaining untouched by loss. But the Prophet Muhammad simply said, “The eyes shed tears and the heart grieves.”
That story has been on my mind since the shooting at the Islamic Center in San Diego.
Three people lost their lives at the mosque. One was Amin Abdullah, the security guard who reportedly warned teachers to lock the school doors before he was killed. Mosque leaders named the other victims as Mansour Kaziha, 78, and Nadir Awad, 57.1
Kaziha, known lovingly as Abu Ezz, was described by Imam Taha Hassane as “everything” to the Islamic Center. He repaired things, cooked meals, carried boxes, checked locks, and helped hold the community together. Every congregation has someone like this, the person who arrives early, stays late, and whose care becomes part of the life of the place itself.
Awad lived across the street from the mosque. His wife teaches at the school there. I keep thinking about that ordinary detail: across the street. The kind of closeness that means this was not simply somewhere he attended. It was woven into the geography of his daily life. A place where children learned. A place where people knew his name.
And then there was Amin Abdullah. Somewhere in the middle of terror and confusion, his instincts moved toward protecting children.
Violence always threatens to turn people into abstractions. Victims. Statistics. Headlines. But these were human beings inside a beloved community. Men with routines, friendships, responsibilities, histories, and people who loved them. Now there are empty chairs where they used to sit.
To the wider community, the mosque is meant to be a place where people take off their shoes, wash their hands, bow their heads, and remember God together. Parents bring their children, trusting they will be safe. Families come to pray, learn, share meals, celebrate births, and bury their loved ones. Now that space carries blood and trauma alongside memory and prayer.
I think many Americans have become psychologically numb to mass violence because it happens so often that it overwhelms us. Synagogues. Churches. Mosques. Schools. Grocery stores. Temples. Nightclubs. We move from one tragedy to the next before we can even process the last one.
Our numbness comes with a cost: if we stop grieving, we also stop loving fully.
Islamic tradition recognizes something important about grief. Tears are not seen as weakness or failure. Grief does not mean a lack of faith. Instead, it shows that the heart was open to begin with.
We feel a temptation in Western culture to rush to explanations. People want to know motives, make political arguments, analyze ideologies, or assign cultural blame. Some of that is important. The rise of Islamophobia matters. Online hatred matters. The spread of dehumanizing language matters. But before all of that, there is something more human we have to face.
Amin Abdullah is dead.
Mansour Kaziha is dead.
Nadir Awad is dead.
Children ran from gunfire inside a mosque.
Families will never again experience ordinary life in quite the same way.
The Sufi tradition teaches that the heart should stay “broken open.” It should not be shattered by despair or hardened by indifference, but open enough to keep feeling compassion in a violent world.
I think this may be one of the hardest spiritual practices there is. Violence tempts societies to close off in fear. It makes us want to retreat into our own groups and become suspicious of others. It can cause us to see fewer people as fully human.
But every wisdom tradition I know encourages us to move in the opposite direction. Jesus tells his followers to love their enemies. The Buddha teaches compassion even toward those trapped in hatred and delusion. Islamic teaching says that to kill one innocent person is as though one has killed all humanity. These traditions are not naive about violence. They refuse to let violence define who we are in the end.
Still, I do not want to rush too quickly toward resolution. Three men are dead. Now, an entire community carries trauma inside a place that once felt safe. It deserves our broken-hearted lament.
Maybe our prayer starts there today, with the willingness to keep our hearts open long enough to mourn what should never have happened.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Where do you notice yourself becoming emotionally numb to violence or suffering?
What helps your heart remain open without becoming overwhelmed?
How might grief itself be a form of love and solidarity?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer For the Wounded Heart
God, we do not know how to carry so much grief. Holy places become crime scenes. Children learn fear where they once learned prayer. Families wake up ordinary and go to sleep shattered. Today we remember Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha, Nadir Awad, and all those whose lives now carry this wound. Keep our hearts from hardening. When violence tempts us toward hatred, toward suspicion, toward numbness, teach us another way. Let our grief remain tender enough to protect our humanity. And for those whose bodies still shake with fear tonight, for parents holding frightened children, for communities trying to pray through trauma, draw near. The eyes shed tears. The heart grieves. Receive both. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Remaining Broken Open
Today, resist the temptation to consume tragedy only as information. Before moving on to the next headline, pause long enough to honor the humanity of those who were harmed. Say their names aloud if you are able:
Amin Abdullah.
Mansour Kaziha.
Nadir Awad.
Then spend a few moments in silence.
Notice what happens inside your body when you allow grief to be present without immediately trying to explain it away or solve it.
If you feel emotionally overwhelmed, place one hand on your chest and one on your stomach. Breathe slowly. Let yourself remember that remaining tender in a violent world is not weakness. It is spiritual courage.
If possible, reach across a line that fear tries to harden. Visit a mosque, synagogue, church, temple, or community different from your own. Offer solidarity. Listen. Learn someone’s story.
Violence shrinks the human circle. Love widens it again.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
May 27, 2026, 12pm ET - FREE WEBINAR - I will be hosting an online experience titled “Reclaiming the Power of Imagination: A live experiential webinar with Jackie Sussman." Jackie, a psychotherapist, author, and leading expert in Eidetic Image Psychology, has spent over forty years helping leaders and individuals unlock creativity, uncover hidden strengths, and move through limiting patterns. During this session, she will lead a live Eidetic process shaped by mythic imagery, offering a direct experience of the work. REGISTER HERE.
September 8, 2026, 7-9pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - I’ll be hosting a powerful online gathering on The Black Madonna: Sacred Wisdom for a World in Crisis with Matthew Fox, Alessandra Belloni, and Christena Cleveland. We will explore the Black Madonna as a symbol of resilience, liberation, sacred feminine wisdom, and healing in a fractured world through conversation, story, music, and spiritual reflection. If you feel drawn toward a deeper encounter with the Divine Feminine and the ancient traditions that continue to nourish movements for justice and wholeness, I hope you’ll join us. Learn more and REGISTER HERE.
October 18-21, 2026 - PREACH! 2026 Conference- I’ll be co-hosting PREACH in Minneapolis with Church Anew, a new gathering for preachers, storytellers, worship leaders, and spiritual communicators navigating what it means to speak with clarity, compassion, and courage in a changing world. If you’ve sensed that the preaching moment has changed and are longing for thoughtful community and renewed imagination for this work, I hope you’ll join us.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
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There are moments when a spiritual path calls not only to the mind, but to the body, the voice, and the ancient memory carried deep within us. This summer, internationally acclaimed folk artist and teacher Alessandra Belloni is leading a pilgrimage along the Amalfi Coast centered on the Black Madonna, sacred chant, ritual drumming, and devotional dance rooted in centuries-old traditions of Southern Italy. Participants will visit ancient sacred sites, learn healing rhythms and chants passed down through generations of women, and explore the wisdom of the Divine Feminine through music, movement, and ritual. If this stirs something within you, you can learn more at Alessandra Belloni’s official website.
My colleague, Dr. Tim Eberhart, is offering a summer course that I wish I could take! Regenerative Mission & Ministry: Ecological Practices for Land Repair is a 7-week course for those seeking to integrate eco-theological reflection, earth-based spiritual wisdoms, and regenerative design principles for land repair. Participants will journey as a community of learners through a cultivated curriculum that incorporates selected readings, video instruction, ecological practices, and more aimed at healing social and ecological relations for the sake of mutual flourishing. It starts on June 3, so sign up soon if you’re interested!
The University of Victoria (UVic) offers an online course, A Meta-Relational Approach to AI. The course is designed for participants who are interested in thinking about AI in ways that challenge modernity’s extractive programming patterns in both humans and machines. The next cohort starts in NEXT WEEK. Registrations are open.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
https://apnews.com/article/san-diego-islamic-center-shooting-7f74a37a58116f40e852a303ea23230d
Thank you for this essay, for taking the time to share the details of this horrible event and most importantly those who lost their lives. I imagine all three of them as precious, faithful men who were committed to their families and faith. And yes, I feel grief for their loss and for their families and community. What we have lost in this digital age is our shared humanity - the ability to see each other as “like” and “same” rather than “other”. It’s a crying shame.
I am filled with grief. Will this KILLING ever stop.