Cancer led me to My Creator…
~ A STORY OF REPENTANCE ~
This is an interesting account of a true story of Layla Al Helw, a Moroccan woman who had been afflicted by cancer, and the doctors were completely helpless to cure her. The best specialists of Europe had no hope for her recovery - even Layla herself lost all hope - but Allah Subhanuhu wa ta’ala (SWT) had the solution…
Sister Layla to tells of her ‘Imaan-boosting’ story in her own words - as it is originally a translation from French, please do excuse any grammatical errors. Translated, edited and abridged from the book titled: “Those who repented to Allah”, written by: Ibrahim Abdullah Al Hazemy.
Layla says:
“9 years ago I found out that I have a very dangerous disease, cancer.. everyone here knows even the mention of this name is scary!”.. My faith in Allah was very weak. I had completely drifted away from the remembrance of Allah SWT, and I used to think that one’s beauty and health shall remain all her life.. I never ever thought I would be afflicted by a disease like cancer.. and so when I found out, it did shake me so strongly from the inside.. I thought of escaping.. but, where? where in the world I can escape from this disease that is inside me whereever I go? I thought of committing suicide! but.. I was deeply in love with my husband and my children.. I did not think of Allah’s punishment if I committed such a sin.. because, as I told you before, I was far away from remembering Allah.. It was of Allah’s will that this disease was the reason for my guidance and the reason for guiding a lot of people as well..
I went to Belgium, and I visited many doctors there.. they told my husband that I first have to remove my breasts, then go on certain medication! I knew that such medication would make my hair fall and my eye lashes and brows to disappear.. it shall also grow a beard on my face and make the nails and teeth fall as well… so I completely refused this solution.. “I would rather die with my breasts, teeth and everything that Allah has created for me than to live without them”, I said… I asked the doctors to give me another medication course that is less effective.. and so they did..
I went back to Morocco.. I used the medication course and it did not have any bad effects on my body which made me so happy.. I thought; maybe the doctors were wrong and I didn’t have cancer… However, after about six months, I started losing weight quickly, my color started to change and I had a continuous pain.. My Moroccan doctor adviced me to go back to Europe, and so I did..
There, in Belgium, was the disaster!.. the doctors told my husband that the disease has spread all over my body, that the lungs were completely infected and that they now have no solution for my case… they said: “you better take your wife back to her country so that she dies there!”..
My husband got shocked… and instead of going back to Morocco, we went to France thinking that we might reach to a solution there… But, we got in France, nothing more than what we achieved to in Belgium!
Finally, we decided to enter the hospital to remove my breasts through a surgical therapy and go on the strong medication (the doctors prescribed before).. However… my husband thought of something that we had always forgot.. something that was always too far away from our thoughts, sadly.. God inspired my husband to take me to His holy house in Mecca.. maybe we can stand in front of Allah and ask Him to help us find away out of this problem…
We left Paris saying: “Allaho Akbar, La Ilaha Illa Allah” (Allah is the Greatest, No God but Allah)… I was very happy because this was the first time for me to visit the Holy House of Allah and see the “Kaaba”.. I bought a copy of the Quran from Paris, I did not even have that with me before that!..
And we went to Mecca… When I entered the holy mosque and first saw the Kaaba I cried a lot.. the sight, of the place of worship of the prophets of God, the Holy Mosque, the multitude of Muslims and Majesty, the Bounty and the sheer Splendour of my Lord, Allah…!
I was crieing because I couldnt face all this, because I regretted all those past years I had spent without praying and seeking Allah’s help… I said: “O’ Lord, the doctors were disabled to cure me… (You) have the cure for every disease.. All the doors are locked in front of me.. I have nothing left to seek except Your door, so please.. please Lord, don’t close Your door on me…” I kept on praying to Allah and making Dua’a while I was going around the Kaaba.. I asked Him not to disappoint me or send me back with empty hands…