Heal the gunshot wound

Imagine a person getting hit with a gunshot on his shoulder. Instead of going to the doctor, he decides to bandage the area at home because he thought taking it out the bullet would cause even more pain. Since the gunshot didn’t hit one of his vital organs, he is able to survive.

But it doesn’t take long for him to realize that it wasn’t the best decision. He starts to experience pain and discomfort. Because the bullets have cut through is muscles and tissues. And the bullet is made up of a poisonous metal which eventually seeps into his internal organs. He faces the consequences of this perhaps years down the line.

While listening to this story, you might think that he is insane to have done that. You might think that he should have taken out the bullet the day he got it. Because surely you would have done that, right?

Well, what if I told you many of us do this with our own selves? We may not have a bullet inside of our bodies. But we have experienced pain inside our chests. Sometimes we don’t even realize when and where we got that pain from and sometimes, we do.

Even when we do, the first thing we attempt to do is numb the pain. Try very hard not to feel it and get rid of it. Its just like the person who is putting the bandage on the gunshot wound. Just like him, we assume that facing our pain and trying to heal it is too hurtful than numbing it. So we do. We numb it better than any anesthetist can.

Of course, numbing the pain does not solve the issue. It doesn’t mean the pain doesn’t exist anymore. Before we know it, the pain catches up with us with all its consequences. The pain will then be perhaps even more magnified than we first experienced it. Then we are left to wonder how we can escape it.

The reason why I felt that this was important to address is that many of us go through it and at times, it impacts our iman too. We may have been numbing the pain even those days that we were turning towards deen and when we come across that pain again, we suddenly feel too weak to do as much worship as we used to do. At this point, many of us feel hopeless, assuming that we are losing our iman and our connection with Allah. Perhaps feeling that Allah does not love us anymore adds to our hopelessness.

But the fact of the matter maybe the complete opposite. Perhaps Allah reminded you of the pain again out of His Love for you. He reminded you of it, so that you can face it and address it properly this time. Perhaps Allah is giving you a chance to see the reality of that pain. He is giving you are chance to take out the ‘bullet’ and fully heal the gunshot wound. And who can possibly heal us except Him?

So if you are in pain, dear brothers and sisters, and you feel so low to the point that you are struggling through the prayers and doing other acts of worship, stay firm in that struggle. Because if anything, it is that struggle that will allow you to keep going and finally seek the help you need. It is the faintest calls of your heart in those moments that are responded ever so swiftly. Feel honoured, because its none other than Him Who will be holding your heart together in these days of pain, that are bound to pass. (In Sha Allah)