What should we do to draw closer to Allah and abandon the forbidden — "talking to young men on the phone," which makes us feel alive — and how can we return to life and be accepted by society, and for Allah to decree a share for us in it, especially given that our family circumstances (a father addicted to alcohol, a mother practicing magic) and our delayed marriage have alienated us from religion and made us more introverted and despairing?

Affliction is one of God's ways, and the wise Muslim should transform it into a gift through patience. The believer's entire affair is good: if prosperity befalls him, he is grateful; if adversity befalls him, he is patient. Impatience and discontent are useless; rather, they increase sorrow. Despair and hopelessness concerning God's mercy are grave sins, so one must have a good opinion of God, supplicate, repent, and be upright. God says: "I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me." Sins increase calamities, "And whatever strikes you of disaster – it is for what your hands have earned." The duty is to repent and do good, to seek a righteous husband with modesty and decorum, and to treat relatives well and advise them.