insurmountable affliction is the worship of anyone or anything other than the One worthy of worship.
It is a heart that understands that the only true prison is the prison of replacing something with God.
Whether that object is one’s own desires, nafs (ego), wealth, job, spouse, children, or the love of
one’s life, that false deity will entrap and enslave you if you make it ultimate. The pain of that
bondage will be greater, deeper, and longer lasting than any other pain which could be inflicted by all
the tragedies of this life.
The experience of Prophet Yunus alayhi sallatu wa sallam (may Allah send his peace and blessings upon him) is so crucial to internalize. When he was trapped in the belly of the whale, he had only one way out: turning completely to Allah, realizing Allah’s oneness and his own human frailty. His dua’
encapsulates this truth in such a profound way: “There is no God but You, glory be to You, I was
wrong.” (Qur’an, 21:87)
Many of us are also trapped inside the belly of the whale of our own desires and objects of worship.
It is our own selves which we become enslaved to. And that imprisonment is the result of putting
anything where only God should be in our hearts. In so doing we create the worst and most painful of
prisons; because while a worldly prison can only take away what is temporary and inherently
imperfect, this spiritual prison takes away what is ultimate, unending and perfect: Allah and our
relationship to Him.