I wish I could help him.

ShahnazZ

Striving2BeAStranger
:salam2:, I hope you're all in the best state of health and iman.

I just recently found out that my younger brother's best friend has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig Disease. For those who are unfamiliar with the disease, it's a fatal neurological disease that attacks the nerve cells responsible for the control of voluntary muscles. Basically, his muscles are deteriorating and the life expectancy for those with the disease is 3-5 years.

I barely know this boy (in fact I've never even met him in person) and yet I can't stop crying. He reminds me so much of my own brother and I feel as if it's my own brother experiencing such hardship. This boy had just not only been accepted into the most prestigious university in New York City, but he had a full scholarship as well. Lo and behold a year into school he finds out he has to give it all up so he can spend the rest of his days lying in a hospital bed and slowly waste away. His family and community are shattered and truly believes he has the evil eye. Such a prominent student, member of his community, the apple of his parents' eye and their first-born child and son, his mother spends these days with swollen, bloodshot eyes and barely interacts with anyone.

Either way, he's dying and it crushes me to know that this child, this little boy, will never get the chance to live his life. He'll never get the chance to fulfill his dreams and be a doctor. He'll never get married or have children. Even if he does live for a long time, the disease will leave him a paraplegic and he'll be incapacitated for the remainder of his life.

I honestly don't know why this is depressing me to such an extent. All I know is that I wish I could somehow help him and ease his suffering. His community has held fundraising marathons for him in the hopes of raising enough money to find a cure. I feel so helpless and feel that making dua isn't enough. But not knowing what else to do makes everything even worse.

Please make dua for him and his family. They have to watch their child, son and brother slowly and painfully die. We take our health for granted every day and don't realize the amazing blessings of having a healthy body as well as family.
 

Tabassum07

Smile for Allah
:salam2:

SubhanAllah, sister, this truly is heartbreaking. I really don't know what to say - the family and friends must be going through such hardship. InshaAllah, I will pray for sabr for you all. May Allah cure him and give him ease.

Remember, this dunya is just an illusion - we all have to go, some go sooner, some later - from Allah we all come and Him we must all return. Have faith, dear ukhti.
 

az101

http://www.miraathpublications.net/
Subhanallah...

is this sick person Muslim ?


if he is , then tell this brother to spend most his days in the remembrance of Allah.. as much as possible.
 

abu'muhammad

Junior Member
Waalaykum assalaam,

May Allaah make the state of ailment easy for the small brother and give him a relief from it, aameen.
 

samiha

---------
Staff member
wa 'alaykum salaam wa rahmatullaahi wa barakatuhu

SubhanAllaah ukhti, what a lesson for all of us, and a reminder for the hadeeth to take advantage of five before five, and of them being good health.

We never know when something will happen to each and every one of us, and this is definitely an eye-opener. But ukhti, I should like to say that we also need to re-evaluate the priorities we hold dear. From your writing you are deploring the loss of him because he will never get to live, will never get to experience life, will never get to hold that position or status he deserved, but that as an entirety is too simplistic of a way of thinking.

If you take a bit of time to review, it's leaning towards the feeling of, "You only have one life to live" ... but in Islaam we know that is entirely not true. We know that real life is not the one here, real life is not getting a college degree or making a name for yourself, but real life is in the hereafter. It is being able to pass this life in accordance to what Allaah wants and dying with Tawheed upon your lips. That is the true definition of living, and the most deplorable state of death would be one devoid of thus.

So since he is a Muslim, I ask Allaah to have mercy on him, and grant Sabr to his family, and allow them to channel a more positive reaction to a difficult situation. Remembering that for every ache and pain, for every difficulty Allaah is purifying him of sins, and that rather than extending a life with more accountability and sins he is being given a chance. A chance to come close to Allaah, and return to his final abode. It's not a matter of when, not for him or any of us, because although we feel bad of this situation, what's to say the next moment we ourselves will not fall prey, or even more spontaneously meet our end? So it's never a matter of when, or what we didn't get to do - but what we have done, and are doing.

And this is most definitely an argument and a matter I present to myself and don't put myself above it. We get so preoccupied sometimes about the life we're meant to live in this dunya, that we forget that we're only travelers encompassing a short period of time. We spend our lives wondering how we're going to be well off and be situated well in this Dunya, and keep the Akhirah as our side-dish... Honestly, it reminds me of this quote::

It is reported that ‘Awn b. ‘Abdillâh – Allâh have mercy on him – said:

Those before you used to give to their worldly affairs what was left over from their pursuit of the hereafter. But today, you give to the matters of the hereafter the left-overs from your pursuit of worldly affairs.

Abû Nu’aym, Hilyat Al-Awliyâ` 10:242.

I suppose we must realize that living a long life does not necessitate it being better for us, and the moment of our death is written long before we've really started 'living' ... so I might just say that encourage the family to think of these aspects, remember Allaah as much as possible and strive in trying to attain the best of those endings, which is far better then living long.

I know this may seem very easy to say and it's much harder when it's someone much closer and dear, but from my end that's all I can really say, to not lose sight of the real goal in this frenzied world.

May Allaah truly help them in this situation and bring the whole family out with the best outcome.

wasalaamu 'alaykum
 

Abdul25

Logical Believer
Everyone has to die. this life means nothing. it is an illusion. that place is far better than here. May Allah SWT ease his sufferings. ameen.
 
Top