Wrestling with the Passing of Complex Public Figures

A brief reflection on the passing of Usama Canon, may Allah envelop him and all the believers in His mercy.

Those are a people who have passed away; theirs is that which they earned and yours that which ye earn. And ye will not be asked of what they used to do.

[Baqara:141]

People are complicated. Complex. Elusive. Enigmatic. Contradictory. Containing shades of light and darkness. That is the nature of the human soul. And in my line of work I confront that puzzling mystery of the human soul, at the ground level, every single day.

One thing I can share with you all in this time; know that you did not know this man who has passed unto his Lord. He was a public figure, yes, but his moments of publicity (or even notoriety) were few and far between while his interior life was known to no one, in reality, but God.

Was he perfect? No. Did he make mistakes? Yes. Of course, for he is human. But know that he was made by God, with his specific temperament and constitution, to fulfill a mission that only few people in the world could have done.

That nature that Allah instilled in him allowed him to be that innovative and magnetic enigma of a man that so many of us admired from near and far, while also having a temperament with blind-spots and challenges for himself and those around him. That is crystal clear.

What he was able to do was amazing and a product (along with divinely-inspired facilitation) of the very personality that many may want to criticize and judge. And, perhaps, rightfully so. But know that in God's world, this is how things work. This is how the nafs unravels itself and its destiny; complicated and admixed, a reflection of its own reality.

The man has died. The man has returned to his Lord, with God-willing more light than shadow and God-willing an acceptance commensurate with the secret of his heart's intention... something that no one knows but God.

So regardless of what you found in your heart today at the news of his passing, know that that is yours to deal with now. He has gone. His book is closed. He now awaits the Day in his grave. And your soul remains your soul to contend with.

Life will continue tomorrow, in sha Allah. And the day after. The interplay of lights and darknesses will continue to live out their realities on the inner stage of all of our souls.

And the only question that will have any significance tomorrow morning is: what are you doing with your very human soul? With its own archetypal personality structure inbuilt with its own roses and shadows, the latter of which you know very well (I hope) is more gross than you make seem, and I make mine to seem... what will be *our* legacy?

Destiny will continue to unfurl, and no one knows how their story will end. We ask Allah to have mercy on those who have graduated from the testing grounds and make steady the hearts of those who will awake to enter the arena again tomorrow.

May God help us all in the primordial pursuit of freeing our souls from the temptation of darkness and destruction. May the light within us all win.

تِلْكَ أُمَّةٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ ۖ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَلَكُم مَّا كَسَبْتُمْ ۖ وَلَا تُسْـَٔلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ

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Mazen Atassi, ND

Dr. Mazen is a naturopathic doctor, classic homeopath, and Hikma therapist. To learn more about him and his services visit: www.forwardtohealth.com/dr-mazen