A Message of Love and Hope from Saudi poetess Ni’mah Ismail Nawwab

“The most important thing in this world is to learn to give out love, and let it come in.” ~Morrie Schwartz

Dear Readers!

I first met Ni’mah Ismail Nawwab in 2009 in Jeddah Saudi Arabia. At that time I had just began my unaware journey into the world of Eating Disorder. Ni’mah Ismail Nawwab came across as a very strong independent confident woman who recited Shakespeare to us and quoted Keats, she radiated strength, passion and conviction. I was simply mesmerised by this beautiful, elegant and simple lady.   They say appearances are often deceiving and it was after many years I learnt that what a true gem Ni’mah Ismail Nawwab truly is. I never imagined her to be a woman with a soft loving mystical heart. I was astounded to discover her connection with Sufism and Mysticism.  For long time I was unaware of her list of credentials (with dead disordered mind, there’s a limit to how much information one can take in). Over the course of years, our long-distance friendship developed and I am truly grateful to God for bringing her into my life. When you’re suffering from an Eating Disorder, your world becomes a dark dungeon of living, without the light and hope. For some odd reason many sufferers are content with this darkness rather than light.  Subconsciously Eating Disorder becomes a part of their identity and they live a life without form and filled with void.

Ni’mah Nawwab’s insight into this illness and compassionate attitude really helped me in my journey of recovery.

Her treatment for Eating Disorders? Shower the sufferer with unconditional love and prayers. I still remember very vividly those periods of inchoate feelings and  how Ni’mah stepped in time and time again with her message of love and hope to save me from my anguish and pain. Her words meant so much to me and filled me with new hope and love for life. I sent her many E-mails at very odd hours in the morning expressing my inner turmoil, and within hours she would send me an E-mail back. Through her soft-spoken words she enables you to make sense of confusing, frightening, even chaotic experiences of your life.

It is her love for our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) that can never be put into words.  She loves God, His Prophets and All His Creation unconditionally and without any boundaries.  It is this unique Love that has softened her heart, prevented her from being critical of others and having a judgemental attitude, how can you criticize anyone or anything that your perfect Lord has created? Through Ni’mah I learnt that the greater our trust in Allah, the greater our compassion will be.

Her poetry brings tears to one’s eyes. Read Ni’mah’s epic master piece ‘Canvas of Soul’ and life becomes a luminous source of direction, a self-revelatory force.

A message from a beautiful Poetess from the heartland of Arabia to our Readers and to those who suffer from Eating Disorders.

“In light of the numerous self-imposed and societal imposed  pressure which a great number of our young are living with the spread of eating disorders are kept under wraps as they take their tragic toll on multi- faceted aspects of their lives and the lives of their family and friends. This campaign will aid in spreading vital messages on the symptoms and recovery processes of a battle waged internally and quietly. The utter helplessness of many in its wake is soul wrenching as in many cases sufferers are left unaware till their life is threatened or till they are at a stage beyond recall. We need to actively seek to spread awareness of the plight of many who quietly suffer and aid is needed urgently to address a growing issue related in present times to identity, age and inner and outer struggles.

A ray of hope, a ray of light for those courageous souls  who battle this illness everyday of their lives.”