This is a huge topic that I could write about. But I just wanted to post this passage and reflect on it quickly. It was written by a Muslim in jail…and he is being thankful for the blessings that he has been given there. He then expresses his newly appreciated value of the blessings people encounter on a daily basis outside of jail:
“Despite the fact that this is a maximum security facility and the restrictions are at times cumbersome, I really do not have much I can complain about. I have a place to sleep, three meals a day, and I can pray whenever I want in peace. I can think of millions of people around the world who cannot claim the same luxuries. On top of that, one sometimes needs a place like this to achieve clarity of mind. So, as the cliche goes, this has been a blessing in disguise in that I’ve been able to benefit from various aspects of incarceration that would ordinarily seem undesirable. I can only think of the countless imprisoned Muslims in the jails of tyrants around the globe and hope that if it is not Allah’s Decree to free them in the near future, that they taste the sweetness that Allah has placed them in prison to taste. May Allah free our sisters sooner than later.
I would like to end this letter by reminding all who read it to realize what you have been blessed with before it is taken from you: the warm hug of a loved one, the company of righteous people, the ability to see the sun and moon, a breath of fresh air, praying in a mosque, hearing the Qur’an recited, reading a good book of your choosing, taking a shower with clean water whenever you feel like, even something as simple as being able to open a door and walk out of a room! If there is one lesson that everybody can learn in here be they Muslim or kafir that is to take the initiative to appreciate the value of the luxuries you are blessed with before they are taken from under your nose. We hear this in every khutbah but one unfortunately cannot truly appreciate this advice until all these delights of life are out of reach, in actuality. (I highly suggest Cummings The Enormous Room in this regard, if you can find a copy, where he describes, in candid detail, life in a French prison camp stripped of all the material possessions that were once within easy grasp.) Indeed, prison only makes the Muslim stronger”
I have often thought about this. This idea of experiencing loss (or pain) in order to understand value (and pleasure) is also a rampant theme in books such as “The Giver” and “Brave New World”. Rumi, Ibn Ata’illah, and scores of other scholars have written at length about this. This is why Rumi values pain…and mentions that the epitome of pain is the realization of your separation from God. Pain is essentially a blessing from God. However, once you are enduring it, it is definitely NOT the funnest thing in the world. I had psychosomatic pain for a week–which is a physical pain that manifests from a psychological stress–and now I treasure and value every moment in which I am not experiencing that pain! I remember during that week that I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t simply think or reason the pain away. However once the issue was resolved…the pain left. I can relate to the Muslim in jail above when he said that he values the warmth of a hug…or even the ability to open and leave a room. Although I can’t relate to those exact blessings, I can relate to his feeling of valuting something that you once had overlooked…such as happiness and peace of mind. :)
