How Did I Lose Weight?

How Did I lose weight?

Mawlana Asif Khan Attari Madani

On the 8^th of January 2021, I had the honour of meeting my spiritual guide and leader of Ahl al-Sunnah, Mawlana Ilyas Attar al-Qadiri دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ. The very next day, I received a heart-warming voice note from him expressing his concern about my increasing weight.

The message of Attar

Assalāmu ʿalaykum wa rahmatullāhī wa barakātuhū. May Allah Almighty give you good health and well-being and protect you against every major calamity. Your life is very precious. Yesterday, I saw you after a long time. It seems that your weight had increased significantly. Allah knows better whether you make an effort to address this issue or not. Allah forbid, anything can happen suddenly. May Allah Almighty safeguard you and, for your sake, protect me too. May your faith, life, and honour be preserved forever.

My dear child, you will be doing us a favour if you take a few steps to reduce your weight. I have heard that a diet formula is now available in Karachi which may be available for home delivery. It contains vegetables and other things. If you are interested, then you should consider it. If you are serious about this, I will provide the formula for you. If Allah wills, you will lose weight.

My reply

His eminence دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ convinced me in the most loving manner, so I responded: “Your kind grace merely needs to give the instruction. I will promptly obey, اِنْ شَــآءَالـلّٰـه.” Thus, the leader of Ahl al-Sunnah دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ asked for my height and weight before writing up a plan. After a few days, I received a detailed diet plan of three pages.

Enthusiasm to act upon the plan

I was very pleased after seeing the plan. I read the entire plan reassuringly and immediately made a list of required things. I placed an order for a weighing scale and ordered the herbal items and dry fruits from Hakim Khalil Attari (the reciter of naats). After much searching, I managed to find some pure honey, and after purchasing the other required items, I was ready. On the 2^nd of July, 2021, I began to implement the plan.

Through the blessings of my spiritual mentor, I saw immediate results. By acting on this plan, a person can lose 5 kilos in a month, but weight will decrease quickly in the first few days. اَلْـحَمْـدُ لـِلّٰـه, in the first 10 days I managed to lose 3 kilos. Gradually, this decreased until I started to lose 4 to 5 kilos in a month. اَلْـحَمْـدُ لـِلّٰـه, my weight decreased a lot within a few months, but I continued to stick to the plan. I managed to lose a significant amount of weight in a year.

Leaving immediate pleasures for long term success

Although challenging, I worked hard to follow the plan. I gave up biscuits, burgers, pakoras, samosas, pizza, ice cream, soft drinks, and other processed things and unhealthy foods. Even when appetising foods were prepared at home, I would force myself to avoid them. In fact, separate dishes consisting of vegetables, lentils and other simple foods would be prepared for me, which I would eat on the dining mat with everyone else.

If the plan did not mention a certain thing and I desired to eat it, I would ask first. For instance, I once had a craving for vermicelli pudding, so I asked Hakeem Khalil Attari whether I could consume it. He replied that they were made of flour, and I should not eat them. On another occasion, I wanted to eat some spinach, so I enquired and received the response that I could. I once asked regarding chickpeas and was told that I could have them once a month. Similarly, I also enquired about desi ghee.

In short, I tried my best to follow the plan. Once, I was careless due to eating rice pudding and deep-fried bread in the day, so I did not eat anything that night, out of fear that my weight will have increased in the morning. This is because after waking up each morning and taking a shower, I would first weigh myself, which would allow me to monitor my progress for the last 24 hours. If my weight had decreased compared to the previous day, that was fine, but if it had remained the same or increased, I would be stricter on myself in terms of my food intake for that day. As a result of this, when I would check again the next day, it would have decreased by the usual amount.

Previous difficulties and current comforts

By Allah’s grace, normalising my weight has transformed my life for the better:

* My ongoing knee pain which persisted for 15 years has gone away.

* I can now climb a staircase without becoming breathless.

* I used to become tired and breathless after walking a short distance. Currently, I can walk long distances without getting unusually tired, and I do not become out of breath.

* I used to return from work and just lie on the bed, completely exhausted. Now, I have the energy to volunteer for several hours daily for the “Messages of Attar Department” of al-Madinah al-Ilmiyyah.

* I was unable to sit without a support for more than 15 minutes, but I can currently sit for hours without any support.

* I would be concerned regarding my physical state, but now I feel a pleasant sense of nimbleness and energy within my body. In fact, my physical and mental state has noticeably improved.

* Due to my excess weight, after arriving in my locality, I would have to get a rickshaw from my stop to my home. I walk there with ease now (it takes around 15 minutes to walk from my stop to my home).

* On two previous occasions, I experienced such severe pain in my calf that I was unable to stand for more than 3 seconds. It had become difficult to walk, and if I had to walk for even a short distance, I would have to periodically sit down for some time. The intensity of the pain meant that I had to be injected in my arm morning and evening, but the pain would still not subside by much. Through the blessings of acting upon the diet plan, the calf pain has not returned.

* When I would previously stand for a short time, I would become tired and restless. I do not feel this at all now despite standing for long periods.

* I was unable to run, but now I can sprint.

* Another pleasant change which occurred was that I was previously eating mincemeat, kebabs, chicken karahi, beef karahi, biryani, and other foods that increase a person’s cholesterol and weight, around 5 times a week. If there happened to be vegetables made, they would usually contain meat. There was no accountability when it came to food, and due to being fond of food, if I felt even a little hunger, I would eat something. However, I am not preoccupied about eating and drinking now. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that I am in love with hunger.

* Before acting upon the diet plan, I weighed 128.1 kilos, and I now weigh 86.1 kilos. That is to say, I have lost 42 kilos.

The result of the leader of Ahl al-Sunnah’s attention

As my weight was excessive, many people, including family and friends, had advised me to lose weight, but I remained passive. However, when my beloved spiritual guide advised me, my heart immediately submitted. Through his uplifting spiritual gaze, I became committed to losing weight. During this period, I would present my progress to him, and despite his busy schedule, he would supplicate for me, give encouragement, and provide his guidance when required. This is why my heartfelt sentiments are that all of this happened through the means of my noble spiritual guide.

If the leader of Ahl al-Sunnah دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ had not brought my attention to this at that time, I would be facing many difficulties today due to my weight, as it was continuously increasing. At one point, my weight was around 100 kilos, then it increased to 120 kilos, and then it crossed 128 kilos. If things had continued, my weight would perhaps have exceeded 150 kilos at this point. Therefore, I am truly grateful to the leader of Ahl al-Sunnah دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ for his kindness and wisdom.

Those who wish to obtain the weight loss plan should scan this QR code.