Dear Imam Omar I hope this finds you well
the world is a beautiful place with much to appreciate
but it's also a place of stressful life events and daily hassles!
people choose to deal with those hassles in different ways
some that are often misguided
adopting the right attitude can go a long way in helping you
not only conquer that stress
but to convert it into something positive
that's what I tried to convey to sean
when I found him smoking his daily blunt
I tried to tell him that I'd seen others get addicted to this stuff and ruin their lives
but he seemed pretty stubborn about it
And insisted that was just his daily moment of escape
and that it wasn't affecting his approach to life at all
when I asked him if he feared getting addicted like others ?
he just walked off and said :
" I'm not like others "
if you would have asked me before that happened, if I would ever consider it
I would've called you crazy
but suddenly my mind went to all sorts of places, convincing me that
one time wouldn't hurt
and that no one would find out anyway
on the way home I thought about how silly it was for me
to pick it up on a wild impulse
but I felt trapped into it already
since I had already started the process,
and the thoughts of escape and excitement started to race through my head uncontrollably
and just like that
the thoughts of thrill and excitement were replaced by the possibility of getting caught
and losing my career, and my life
I felt like such a fool
and almost had a nervous breakdown
but for some reason Allah veiled the eyes of that cop that day
and guarded my honor even though I had no regard for his
I could not even look Fatima in the eyes that day
the last thing in the world that I want to do is expose her to my own failings
and wreck her future before she even really had a chance
but there, she was in her beautiful innocence
tampering with the poison that I shamelessly brought home
showing me that the consequences of my behavior would be lived not just by me
but by those who I claim to love most
so I went where no one could possibly see me
the dirtiest place in the home reserved only for filth
yet Allah stopped me once again
this time
it was my annoying neighbour John
who I thought was coming by to give me back my toolbox
but he actually did me a bigger favour
it's amazing how absent minded I'd become
and how horrible of a job I was doing covering my tracks
It was as if Allah was slowing me down and showing me
how quickly things were going to unravel if went through with this
that just because I'd entertained this thought didn't mean I had to accept it as my reality
that he was watching me the whole time and planning in my favour, even as I tried to disobey him
who am I becoming?
what am I doing?
who am I hurting?
What am I running away from ?
What is my future ?
When will I wake up?
I remembered the companion who was an alcoholic and seemed just like another drunk
but the prophet peace be upon him believed in him
and said that he loved Allah and his messenger
and that that love would eventually bring him to his senses
'I thought about what you said'
'and you're right'
' you're right! '
'I am not like others'
you know, here you can see that Zeyara almost fell for that trick of Shaitan
where he comes to you with the sin, and he offers what appears to be a permanent solution
but in reality it's just a temporary joy that is going to lead to lifetime of problems
and that's the thing here, that is what life is all about
forsaking these present desires these things that appear to be attractive
recognizing that they might destroy our lives and our hereafter
and you know, when it comes to drugs in particular
how many times have you have seen people's lives actually get better after they start using drugs?
it starts off with one drug
then it gets to the next drug, because that drug is not satisfying anymore
and you end up losing everything in this life and the next
and you know, at the end of the day
if you notice, he felt ashamed of himself when he realized
that he was more worried about whether people would see him
while Allah was watching him the whole time
and a great Imam, Imam Hasan Albasry, he said that
'if a thief was robbing a house, and he hears the door rattle,
then he goes and hides,
at that moment he went from committing a major sin to committing an act of disbelief'
because Allah was watching him the whole time and he wasn't afraid
and why is it that at times we reduce Allah to the lowest of our observers?
it's like Allah is not even there,
it's like you are saying 'it's just Allah watching me right now, so it's not that bad'
Imam Ahmed he heard a poet say :
"that I am afraid that Allah will say to me
'were not you ashamed of disobeying me
hiding that sin from the sight of people,
but coming to me boasting with your disobedience'"
and so we have to hold ourselves to a certain standard
where we feel the same shame in the sight of Allah, whether we are alone or in front of people
and when the sight of the creator becomes far more valuable to us than the sight of creation
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