Addiction – By Naazi Morad
Mercy, Responsibility, and the Reality of Addiction
When someone relapses, our first instinct is often frustration. We feel tired. Disappointed. Sometimes even betrayed. Families say, “We tried already.” Society says, “They had their chance.”
But relapse is not simply a moral failure. It is a complex human struggle.
Addiction affects the brain, emotions, and identity. It is shaped by trauma, stress, shame, and lack of support. For many, substances became a way to survive pain long before they became a problem. So when relapse happens, it does not always mean a person has chosen destruction — it often means they have run out of coping skills. This does not excuse harmful behaviour, but it helps us understand it.
And understanding is the beginning of wisdom.
We All Carry Different Weaknesses
It is easy to separate ourselves from “the addict,” as if their struggle is foreign to us. Yet the truth is that every human being wrestles with something.
Some battle alcohol or drugs.
Sexual Immorality, adultery, fornication, impurity, and sensuality. Wrath uncontrolled feelings of anger, rage or hatred. Sloth: Lazinessm spiritual indifferencem or avoidance of duty. Speech Sins, lying, slander, gossip, blasphemy, and filthy language. Some battle control. Behavioral Sins:, drunkenness, stealing, murder, and sorcery. The sin list continuouse ….
The difference is not who sins and who does not. The difference is which sins are visible. When we remember this, judgment softens into humility.
Compassion Does Not Mean Blind Acceptance
There is an important balance we must hold:
Compassion does not mean enabling.
Mercy does not mean removing all responsibility.
A person in recovery still needs structure, boundaries, and accountability. Families also need protection and emotional safety. Supporting someone does not mean absorbing their chaos or sacrificing everyone else’s wellbeing. True help is not harsh rejection, and it is not blind tolerance.
True help sits in the middle: firm, patient, and hopeful.
The Role of Opportunity
One of the most overlooked parts of recovery is opportunity. We tell people to rebuild their lives, but we deny them work. We encourage change, but we close social doors. We demand responsibility, but we remove the tools to practise it. Without employment, dignity, and purpose, recovery becomes fragile. A person who feels useless and rejected is more vulnerable to relapse than one who feels trusted and needed.
If society wants recovery, it must also allow reintegration.
Faith and Healing
There are stories of people who healed through therapy and rehab. There are also stories of people who healed through faith, surrender, and deep spiritual transformation. Both are real.
Faith does not replace effort, but it can strengthen it. Healing does not look the same for everyone. What matters is that we never declare someone beyond hope. Because once hope is removed, relapse becomes almost inevitable.
A Different Meaning of Jihad
Jihad is often misunderstood as aggression. But at its core, it means struggle — the struggle against despair, against cruelty, against giving up on one another. It is the struggle of mothers who keep praying.
The struggle of families who keep guiding without breaking. The struggle of communities who choose mercy over mockery. This is not a military mindset. It is a moral one.
A Question for All of Us
Instead of asking, “Why do they keep failing?”
Perhaps we should ask, “What are we offering them when they try again?”
Are we offering doors — or walls?
Are we offering dignity — or labels?
Are we offering guidance — or rejection?
We are not meant to be judges of worth. We are meant to be witnesses of struggle and partners in healing. Because one day, it may not be addiction that humbles us. It may be grief, illness, or our own hidden weakness. And then we will hope that someone meets us with patience, not punishment. Let us choose to be part of the solution, not part of the silence.
If someone relapses, do not be the door that closes — be the hand that steadies them.
If someone is trying again, do not remind them of their past — help them build their future.
If someone is struggling, offer dignity before discipline and guidance before judgment.
Support does not mean enabling. Mercy does not mean weakness. And boundaries do not mean abandonment. Start where you are:
- Speak with kindness instead of labels.
- Offer opportunity instead of exclusion.
- Pray for those who are fighting battles you cannot see.
- And remember that helping one soul rise is an act of worship in itself.
Recovery is not only the addict’s responsibility — it is a community effort. Let charity truly begin at home.
Let mercy be our struggle. And let hope be the message we leave behind.
Duʿāʾ for Those in Addiction
O Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Healing,
We place before You every soul struggling with addiction, every heart weighed down by shame, and every mind trapped in pain. Ya Allah, replace their craving with calm, replace their fear with strength, replace their darkness with Your light. Heal what is broken within them — the wounds they do not speak about,
the grief they tried to numb, the loneliness they tried to escape.
Grant them shifāʾ that is complete and lasting, not only of the body, but of the heart and the mind. Ya Allah, surround them with people who guide, not judge, who support, not abandon, who remind them that they are worthy of Your mercy. Give patience to their families, wisdom to those who help them,
and hope to those who feel they have none left. O Turner of hearts, turn their hearts toward what is pure,
toward what is safe, toward what brings them closer to You.
And when they fall, lift them. When they feel weak, strengthen them. When they feel lost, guide them back to You.
Ameen.
🤍 Closing Call for a Session
As we close this session, remember: healing is not a straight line, and struggle does not mean failure. You are not alone in this journey. Your past does not define your worth. And your effort today is already a step toward change. Take with you one intention: to be kinder to yourself, to ask for help when you need it,
and to believe that Allah’s mercy is greater than any mistake. May you leave this space with hope in your heart, strength in your spirit, and trust that every small step counts. We close with prayer, with patience, and with faith in your ability to rise again.
Ameen.
