the correct way and redirecting me when I fall off
the balance beam.
‘Tell me sis, is Sumayyah losing this weight because
Amirah is asking her to? No, she is trying to lose
this weight because she needs better health. Just
like her personal trainer tells her, that ‘When your
annual health check comes round, the doctor will
be checking your blood pressure and cholesterol,
not mine.’
Likewise, my Shaykh frequently reminds me that he
is going to his grave, and I am going to mine. What
will my weighing scale read, the day I have to account
for all those pounds of sin that I should have melted
away in the worldly life. A high intensity workout
can gradually burn through layers of unwanted
inches, just like the intense heat of the hellfire can
burn away the accumulation of sins but it’s tough
and painful, and nothing more than a torturous,
never ending punishment.
My Shaykh is preparing me, not for my annual health
check, but for my ultimate life check. Together, we
have hope that when that day comes, my heart
will be glowing with lustre, and my arteries will be
cleared out and radiating the light of purity. That
day, my diary of consumption will be returned to
me and we have hope that the calories burned, will
exceed the calories consumed and that in the end,
my scales will give a healthy reading.
‘Now do you see what it means to have a Shaykh?
How long will you be running on the spot, never
achieving that goal? Trying one fad diet after
another and feeling like a failure every time, as you
are watching the pounds pile on. Where will you
turn to when that box of chocolates is pushed under
your nose? Who will be there to stop you giving up
when you are struggling through those last ten sit
ups?
O my personal trainer, my beloved Shaykh. When
I started my training with you, my joints ached with