In a previous incarnation,I was married to a lady whose best friend was going out with a man we called”Yves,le processus” and then his last name which will remain anonymous.This man was driving his girlfriend crazy because whenever it came to making decisions ,he would come back to the argument that everything is a process and one shouldn’t be hasty in decision-making.I think they eventually broke up lol.And the”processus’ was one of the major reasons.That and the fact that the process never concluded with a commitment to marriage!

But,in all fairness,this IS a dilemma.The dialectic between process and decision-making is a complex one.

Two examples-one historical and one personal.Our Prophet saws received a revelation.No choice there.Imposition from his Lord.Ya Jabbar.He began teaching and preaching in Mecca.But there was a lot of opposition.After 13 years he saws made the hijrah to Madina.Now,many of his companions wanted him to leave earlier because of all the nastiness going on in Mecca and others would have preferred to stay since all of their worldly belongings were in Mecca.So how do we get the timing right ?Our Prophet was Divinely guided.But what about the rest of us? Are we still processing what we should have acted on a long time ago-like leaving a bad job or a bad relationship or are we being impulsive and leaving too early.Check out my article on Istikhara to get some tools on right decision-making.

At the same time as thinking of our holy Prophet, I was thinking of my “process’ in becoming Muslim(and many other decisions along the way).When I decided to convert I still had many concerns and doubts about Islam.It was by no means my first choice as a religion.Actually I was heading to the Hindu Rishis in the himalayas when I became Muslim! But luckily,I was given a certain capacity to read the signs.Not to attend to my mind-productions and my socially-conditioned feelings,but to the signs around me.

It was time to take the plunge.And that is one of the metaphors that is appropriate here.You’re standing at the edge of the pool or the diving board.Jump or go home! It’s as simple as that.There are moments like that in our lives.The other more vulgar English expression is”S–t or get off the pot.” Sometimes,a little extra fiber may help lol but you still can’t get around the need to act.There are moments like that.Don’t miss them or you’ll miss the boat of life.

Salaams,Ibrahim