Do we decide our live? In the quietness of my bedroom, I gaze the wall and look back at my life and how it has been guided in the better direction Allah wants it to be.
This always brings me back to the time when I was 5 and was told I accidentally dropped my glass milk bottle. It caused a deep gaze in my arm and I bled profusely. I was rushed to the hospital and was told, the doctor said had I come in an hour later, I would most probably not have made it but it was not meant to be.
When I was 19, I did a course assignment in the rural areas. On the way home, Some dogs were loitering on this narrow road so I kept to the left but my misjudgement thinking I was driving on the grass which was actually thick undergrowth saw the car tumbled down a 40ft ravine which stopped 2 inches short of rocky boulders beside a stream. It appeared the chassis got hooked to a thick branch which saved the fall. I was miraculously still in one piece without a scratch. The police who went to inspect the scene later said I should have died but it was not meant to be.
When I went for further studies in UK, my room mate decided to bring his wife out of all times, in the winter of December so I had to vacate the room. However, it was impossible to find a room for rent then as all had been taken. A few days later, a senior coursemate knew of a family who accepted me as tenant. We became close and I stayed with them throughout my course for almost 3 years. The children became very fond of me and took me like an older bother. I guess it was meant to be.
During my second year summer holiday in UK, I wanted to work in a restaurant and make some spare money but my learned father wanted me to venture Europe to gain some knowledge. Coincidentally, in the next few days, my coursemate invited me to Europe because he wanted to meet his grandmother in Spain. I accepted and four of us shared the expenses where we toured 13 countries within a period of 2 months. This is an unusual feat by any standard and I guess it was meant to be.
When I was 27, I went on a holiday to Tioman island where we rented a fishing boat for the whole trip. I was an accomplished swimmer so I am one of those who would dive or jump off the boat every time it anchored. At one of the places the boat anchored, the sun had still not penetrated the clear waters and the sea deeper than 10 feet was still cool. So when I dived straight deep into the sea, I got leg cramp some 12-15 feet deep. Fortunately, I saw one of the swimmers close by so I paddled with one leg and managed to quickly hold on to his shoulder telling him I got leg cramp. He initially thought I was joking but after clarifying I was serious, we swam back to the boat nearby. Things could have been worse but it was not meant to be.
At 35, I was already seasoned bachelor with a stable job. There, I met someone of humble background and good character. We got along fine and I wanted to settle down with her. However, as our relationship developed stronger, ironically, there were so many obstacles in the way. No matter how I tried, things always got in the way and we eventually parted. I had a talk with the Mufti and he said it was tragic but guessed it was meant to be.
Someone else eventually came into the scene. This time, amazingly, there were no obstacles. Parents from both sides even insisted we settle down as soon as possible. We hardly dated and our weekends became assignments to confirm proper preparations for the engagement and the wedding. Just to test myself, any idea to divert away from the potential inevitable often left me miserable so I eventually decided otherwise. After more than 27 years down the road, Alhamduillah, my family of five is still firmly intact. I guess it was meant to be.
I could go one telling other experiences and yes, life has ts ups and down but again, if it was meant to be, it was meant to be.
