Let the healing begin

By Minahil Ashraf

All of us are wounded one way or another, some more than others. The hearts are stabbed and scarred, the soul ripped into partially patched shreds. Who is to blame? Not always others. A lot of times it’s our own self who is responsible. We ourselves bring the mightiest of storms upon us. We ourselves choose to close our eyes to reality and continue to build dream castles in the air. And all of a sudden, a wind blows and there lies on the cold floor of reality, the house of cards that was so lovingly built.

Why blame the wind?

We, human beings are infinitely weak creatures. That’s how we are designed.

“And man was created weak.” (Quran 4:28)

In fact, our strength lies in acknowledging our weakness. He who considers himself unbreakable, should watch out for a big fall. It will come. That’s the rule. A fragile thing is meant to break. It’s only a matter of time.

But what’s not the rule is where you will run after you take the blow.

Once in hard waters we crave support; emotional, psychological, all kinds of it. That’s natural. Who you turn to for help speaks a lot about you and the one you chose. The nearness and kind words of a loved one will definitely help. A friend will make it just a little bearable. Despite all this, some choose to numb themselves through drugs or drown their sorrows in drinking and others search for comfort in music. Appealing on the outskirts, these handholds become shackles of our own making and tie us to the depths of despair. After all, you can only evade reality for so long. And this is when you lose. Game over.

Fake can never replace the real. A droplet can not be compared with oceans. The little versions of strength can not compete the source. Yes, the real healer is only Allah. Blessed are the ones who find their solace in Him. Because they are the only ones who will actually find it. To escape the outside world of chaos, deception and lies, and the inside world of insecurities, rebellion and sin, we need Him everyday and that’s how we survive the greatest of trials.

There are two particular names of Allah SWT that I would link to this thought. AL AZIZ and AL JABBAR. He is powerful beyond imagination, full of unwavering might, the source of all strength. If you hold onto Him, He will never let go. He will never abandon you in your time of need. You will find Him close whenever you call upon Him with all sincerity and purity that you can gather in your heart. And His remembrance will make you strong.

Al Jabbar means The One who mends broken hearts. The only One who can make our heart function again. His remembrance will align its beats once more. His words in the Quran fill the cracks in the heart and His signs alight the candle of hope. His name is healing. His mention is healing.

To those of you who are suffering right now (and who isn’t?!), I tell you one thing. Like every storm, this storm will pass too. We, human beings are remarkable in the sense that we recover. We, perhaps never become whole again but still we heal. We regenerate like the starfish that loses its limb. You have been taking the damage and struggle for quite a while now. It’s time to call upon AL AZIZ and AL JABBAR and hand Him all the broken pieces of yourself that you can find.

And let the healing begin.