If I ask you: “Will you thank Allah, the One who deserves all praise, when things are good?”. You’ll say: “Yes. of course”.
And if I ask you: “Will you thank Him when things are bad, so terribly bad, that it hurts?”. Will you then say: “Yes”? “Of course”?
It had been months of facing challenges, and all I could do was pray and try to be patient. I was asking Allah SWT for so many things, but there were two prayers high on my priority list. Please…let the doctor be good, and let Yaseen be cured
After months of asking, this was my Lord’s response…
We ushered in doctor number three, the one who Allah SWT chose would replace doctor number two. I don’t know what I was expecting after my reservations with the previous two, but this one was a bit of a surprise.
He was young but knowledgeable, with a soft demeanor. When we spoke with him, it felt like we were actually being consulted instead of being dictated to. And he was considerate toward Yaseen and kind toward us. Overall, he was the kind of doctor who helped to make a dreadful experience a little bit easier.
For the first time since the cancer diagnosis, Yaseen, Mujeeb and I were aligned in favour of one particular doctor. This was probably as good as it was going to get for me. I despised the treatment, but respected the physician at least.
Alhamdulillah {All praise and thanks belongs to Allah SWT}!
The next PET scan presented us with such great news. The targeted chemotherapy treatment Yaseen underwent had eradicated the cancer and Yaseen was declared cancer free! This was the news that we were waiting for, that we were desperately praying for. Yaseen was finally cancer free!!! No cancer!!! Cancer, gone!!!
With this news, Allah SWT had gifted us with some breathing room. And with this precious gift, Allah SWT, was directing my attention to something equally important, or even more important, than the patience I was trying to exercise. I was being directed toward gratitude.
I want to share two things with you. I hope you’ll spend a moment to reflect on it.
The first is something that I learnt in Qur’an class. Often, when we read the Qur’an, we translate the word ‘kufaar’ (or variations thereof) to mean ‘disbeliever’. But, did you know, there are actually instances in the Qur’an where the word translates as the ‘one who is ungrateful (to Allah SWT)’?
The second thing is, I want you to picture yourself opening your Qur’an to the very first surah. Now think of the very first verse you will read.
The Qur’an’s opening chapter, opening verse, will translate as: “All praise and thanks is due to Allah SWT, the Lord of all the worlds” . [Surah Fatiha, verse 1]
I needed to remember this. Regardless that there was still a bone marrow transplant ahead and we didn’t know what laid in store for us. Regardless that we had reached a milestone in our cancer journey, but not yet reached the end of the road. Alhamdulillah. Always.
“The Journal“
It was a few weeks (or maybe a few days, I can’t properly remember) before the scheduled transplant, when my cousin came up with the thoughtful idea of creating a journal for Yaseen. The journal was to be a reminder for him that he was loved and that he had people praying for him. A journal with handwritten messages of inspiration and encouragement, from his family members from across the country.
This journal was started in Johannesburg and made its way to Cape Town, going from household to household collecting messages, until it finally reached my home.
I chose not to read the messages of those who had written in it before me, not wanting to be influenced by their notes to Yaseen. And I didn’t ponder too much on what I would write, lest my emotions got the better of me. I just picked up the pen and wrote what came naturally to me in that moment…
My son
This journey is one that is chosen for the bravest souls, true warriors, the person who stands up after being knocked down. A person with faith. A person with a positive “the glass is half full (so I’m grateful!)” attitude.
And the Almighty has chosen you for this journey.
My son, you are more blessed than you’ll ever know.
You’re a soldier, and I’m your wingman – or winglady 🙂 Your biggest supporter.
Know this, with every breath in my body, I will continue to love you and support you…and nag occasionally, of course.
You’re shaped by your circumstances. So I can only imagine what a beautiful character you will inherit from such a difficult test. Alhamdulillah!
Love you always and always and always.
Mom