من مدمن مخدرات بكل أنواعها إلى أحد أبـرز مكافحي الإدمان.. قصة توبة مبهرة بطلها بهاء الدين

My viewers everywhere, I am very happy to meet you in a new episode of "Life Taught Me." In this episode, we will listen to a story that may be completely different from what we have followed and watched in the stories of "Life Taught Me." This is because this story was on the verge of a very big failure. But in the end, my guest was able to save it, save his life, certainly with the success of God Almighty, and with great will and struggle. We will talk about a story that combines a set of situations and a set of similar stories for many who belong to our category, from our society, which is the category of addicts. We will try to summarize for you the method, secrets, and techniques that my guest relied on to emerge from the darkness of addiction to the light of recovery, to return to the right path, to his mind, to balance, after he spent very important stages in his life between two things: between prison and the grave, due to the very great risks he was taking and undertaking, and a life of prohibitions, to the light of guidance, the light of repentance from this sin, and also the light of recovery and treatment. My guest in this episode is the young man Bahaa El Din El-Dahabi, a recovered addict and now one of the fighters against addiction. We are honored to host you, Bahaa El Din. I am proud of you as an Algerian youth who was able to get out of this dangerous swamp. Welcome.

>> May God bless you, my brother Youssef. I thank you very much for this kind invitation, especially for the program "Life Taught Me" and the family program. The whole family wanted your program. And today, I am here to be a guest on your program.

>> Praise be to God. And I thank you for accepting this invitation. The first and last goal of this episode is to help anyone who wants to leave this darkness and these darknesses. I also know that many mothers and fathers communicate with you through your pages on social media platforms to gather the methods, tools, and secrets through which you were able to get out of that stage. Before talking about all of this, we must talk about the beginning. Bahaa El Din, a small child in Ouargla.

>> How was his life? How was his relationship with studies, family, and society? How did you start your life, Bahaa El Din? You are the son of a conservative family, a family known in the neighborhood, and even in the state. When I was four, five, up to six years old, I was a student in a Quranic school. I studied the Quran. I had memorized about 15 parts of the Book of God.

>> God bless.

>> And I didn't attend kindergarten. My parents' choice was for me to study in a Quranic school. They said, "Nursery," as we say, "you don't study in nursery." When I entered the first grade of primary school, I was already ahead of the students who were studying with me. I was better than them because I had a baggage.

>> From the Quranic school.

>> From the Quranic school. Even the teacher who taught me noticed. He noticed this superiority. He noticed this human being... he has it in his head. In the second grade of primary school, the teacher asked us to write an essay. I wrote my essay. I made only one mistake. I made it a problem, and an essay shouldn't be a problem.

>> He was surprised. He said, "Look, take the paper, go to all your colleagues," meaning the teachers in the institution where he taught. He said, "Look, I have a student in the second grade of primary school, look at his way of expression and his way of writing."

>> He said, "This person is capable of achieving things later. He can be something, God willing, he will excel."

>> Thank you. And I was always, even in my studies, I was excelling. I was always first or second at the institution level, not just in the class. I was challenged. There was a challenge between us. I had a friend, and there was a third girl with us. This word "challenge" - let's put one or two lines under it. The word "challenge" is coming later.

>> Even in scientific festivals, scientific festivals, my teacher assigned me to always recite a poem by Abdel Hamid Ben Badis. Ben Badis's son was born in 1898 and 181000. I still remember its beginning. These things are deeply ingrained in the mind. Oh God, the teacher, I always want to praise him and convey a message to the youth: when you see your teacher on the street or something, go greet him, kiss his head. This is a kind of loyalty. Even parents.

>> Thank you, our teachers, our educators.

>> Even parents, I always told them, "Educate your children to respect the teacher."

>> Because the teacher, when we were young, we all memorized: "Stand for the teachers and with respect, the teacher is almost..." I don't say he is almost a messenger, but he was almost something great, something big. The teacher.

>> Even the education sector.

>> The teacher is the main pillar on which the education system is built.

>> Primary school is the factory.

>> And the engineer of that factory is the teacher.

>> In the beginning, you studied well. You were a diligent student, a bright student. Yes.

>> What happened later? The things you see now after you grew up. Were there mistakes you made so that those who follow us now don't make them?

>> Look.

>> Where was the turning point?

>> The turning point was in high school.

>> In high school.

>> In high school. When I moved to middle school, I joined the sports section. I used to play handball. I played well.

>> I played well. I won championships. I won the cup. I played nationally. The middle school stage was normal. I never thought about deviating or going to something else. When I went to high school, and this is the most difficult stage for a person, it's the high school stage.

>> Adolescence.

>> Adolescence. First, the primary motivation for distancing myself from home. This high school I was studying in was far from home. And secondly, changing friends. I met other people, other friends.

>> Friends.

>> These friends, when anyone is in adolescence, they develop a sense of belonging.

>> A sense of belonging to that group, that group that sits in the back.

>> Whether in the back of the classroom or in the back of the institution. I started with smoking. I always told the boys, when...

>> In high school, you started smoking.

>> I started smoking. I saw the boys when I found them smoking, I told them, "Stay away from smoking." They said, "El-Dahabi, we're just smoking." I told them, "The first station of deviation is smoking."

>> Smoking.

>> Did anyone start with drugs? Did they start with smoking? It's a gradual process without realizing it. The first time I saw, Youssef, I saw this substance, Lyrica. The first time I saw it, I was shocked.

>> Hallucinogenic pills?

>> Yes. The first time I saw it, I was shocked. I was scared. The first time you see a drug.

>> In high school?

>> In high school. But with repeated viewing.

>> Inside high school or outside?

>> Inside high school.

>> Oh my.

>> Yes. But with repeated viewing of that substance, appreciation comes. And after appreciation comes curiosity. Most of the Algerian people who use drugs, it's curiosity.

>> Curiosity.

>> We call it exploration. We explore.

>> Right. Let's get back to your story, Bahaa El Din. You saw it for the first time in high school. How did you take it?

>> You took it. A friend offered it to you. You didn't buy it.

>> Offered. Look, that day, I still remember it. If only I had said no.

>> To this day.

>> Yes. A person can, with a "yes" or "no," change his life.

>> God is great. Right.

>> How did this friend offer it to you?

>> My friend, with me. He told me, "Just try it. Just try it." I tried it. I felt a surge of energy, and it went away. I liked its effect. Then it became something weekly. Then it became daily.

>> Weekly. Where did you get it from? Was it given to you for free?

>> At the beginning, it was free.

>> Free.

>> Free. At the beginning.

>> They drown you for free.

>> Exactly. And then I was lured, lured indirectly. And then it became a daily thing.

>> You had to take it every day.

>> Every day. The problem is that this thing, you underestimate it at first.

>> How old were you then?

>> I was 15 years old.

>> Oh, 15 years old.

>> It's better not to know how to distinguish. A person gets trapped easily. I tried it, and then my good friends started to distance themselves from me. I told you about the parents. When they said, "He's with El-Dahabi" or something.

>> I heard you. I heard you. It started to spoil. Especially at first, they would say, "He's with El-Dahabi." They would say, "Go with El-Dahabi." A person who is clearly a good student, a sporty person, and so on. You're with El-Dahabi. It's reassuring. When my friends saw this, they distanced themselves. Even one of my relatives used to walk with me. I asked him, "Why are you not looking at me?" He said, "My father told me not to walk with you." When he told me that, my spirit left me.

>> You were lost. Your life, God is great. El-Dahabi, where have you brought yourself? Where were you, and where have you become? People used to wish they could walk with you or study with you. Now they say, "Don't walk with him." Look, El-Dahabi, where you have brought yourself, where you have put yourself. But it's okay. Did you have a moment of conscience? But you were still drowning, unable to get out.

>> I was drowning. Then I became another person. I was no longer El-Dahabi. I became someone who didn't even trust himself. Perhaps addiction kills a person before it kills him internally.

>> Where is the real pain, Youssef? When you see the sadness in your parents' eyes, and you are unable to stop.

>> Your parents, you mean, in...

>> With time, they became...

>> With time, they became... Who realized? Your mother or...

>> Look, addiction is a family problem, not an individual problem.

>> How did the family have that... You know, I used to go to study in the morning and come back at night. Our son, they say he was studying and came back. I would go up, do my homework, and they wouldn't see what was wrong with me. They still trusted me.

>> They still didn't know. When I reached the baccalaureate, I started to discover. They finally knew that El-Dahabi was using drugs. The family knew, and so on. I started to lose my place in society. I started to lose the trust of people, my neighbors, my friends, and so on. I got the title of a "shabby" person. "Shabby El-Dahabi." I reached the baccalaureate. I saw one of the days of the baccalaureate. We were in a session one night. It was a dark session. In a session of intoxication, a scorpion stung me. My friend took me to the hospital. As I entered the hospital, I saw a teacher who used to teach me.

>> Ah, that was an Arabic teacher, Oweisat, may God have mercy on her.

>> A situation.

>> Because we were both like scorpions. They took her, and they took me. They took her directly to intensive care. I saw you, and I thought I would be taken to intensive care too. They took me downstairs. I sat, and I thought, "What will happen to me like my teacher? Will I be taken to intensive care? Will I die?" Then I went out. Thank God, it passed safely. I woke up in the morning, and they told me that Oweisat had died. Oh, God is great. Look, God was not taking my soul in that state.

>> Karim, may God have mercy on him.

>> This is God's grace and God's mercy.

>> God's mercy is vast. God doesn't want to take me in my state of intoxication. Because whoever dies on something, he will be resurrected on it.

>> Ah.

>> How will you meet God in a state of intoxication like this? Thank God, O Lord, for everything. I didn't get my baccalaureate. I left high school and went to another school, the school of the streets. This school, Youssef, the street, the parking lot, and the street. The street is unforgiving. Ah, right.

>> The street. We started to know other things. We discovered other things. You know, street things. Things at another level.

>> Ah.

>> We went to them, and I started to discover other substances. Youssef, substances that made me feel that this was the substance that would give me relief. But that substance would put me at the bottom.

>> Okay, let's go step by step, Bahaa El Din. So far, in the beginning, they gave it to you for free. But later, you had to buy it.

>> Exactly.

>> Where did you get the money to buy drugs?

>> Look, if you ask any parent.

>> They'll say, "My son leaves with zero dinars from home." It confuses me how my son returns to addiction, returns to my son being treated, and so on. An addict goes and gets it from the mouth of the snake and brings it by any idea, by any method. Can you wrong someone? Steal? There are thousands of ways, thousands of ways.

>> Maybe I wronged people. I transgressed against people. There are thousands of ways.

>> The important thing is to get the drugs.

>> I would get it. I would leave home in the morning. I would get it. I wouldn't care about it at all. Especially since I was in an area where this thing was available and cheap.

>> Ah.

>> Meaning, the amount you could get even...

>> Later, you stopped taking small quantities. You started taking large quantities. Not one pill.

>> Not one pill. I reached the point of taking 20, 25.

>> 25 pills.

>> Yes. I would take them.

>> In a day.

>> My blood, my sweat, nothing happened to me. I would mix. I discovered other substances. I would take them. You take four or five narcotic substances. I would take them. Nothing happened to me. Why? From the moment you wake up, you take it. From the moment you wake up, you take it. It becomes a normal daily habit. You keep taking it, and taking it, and nothing happens. One time, Youssef, I remember. I entered the house late at night. I opened our refrigerator. There were medicines in the refrigerator. I took them all. The sugar. Be careful.

>> I ate them all. Anything. I was standing and taking, taking, taking.

>> Oh my.

>> They took me from the house. They took me to the hospital. The hospital did a stomach pump. From Fardous, my grandmother. I entered a very dark and desolate corridor. Every minute that passed, I wasn't sure I would stay alive. Every minute that passed, I wasn't sure. That corridor also had people. Some, may God have mercy on them. Some are in prison. The end of that corridor was clear. What was the motivation that pushed you towards this addiction? Was it only because you got lost due to that experience, or did you want to feel a certain feeling, or what led you to this path?

>> First, I learned. I dealt with a reaction, especially the community's view of an addict or something. I dealt with a reaction. You want revenge, and in that revenge, you harm yourself. You say, "How can I see this? How can they say this about me? I must do it." They said, "He wants to go to jail. I want to do that." You keep saying, "Yes, I'll do it." Automatically, you react to the community's view of you.

>> Ah.

>> Yes. Then, what is it? Do you remember the day your parents told you that you were using drugs? They were ashamed to tell you.

>> They realized and kept it in their hearts.

>> Yes, they kept it in their hearts. They understood. Your parents let you understand yourself.

>> Did they hear from outside, or did they see something in the house?

>> They saw in the house. Because almost every day, not twice or three times, I would overdose at home.

>> My mother always found me. She would find me in the morning. Sometimes I would eat. She would tell me, "Is he alive or not?" Because sometimes they would find me gone, and they would take me to the hospital.

>> They went through the nightmare with me. Then events started happening. The events that happened to my friends. My friend would be here, and he would go by motorcycle or something. They would call and say, "Your friend died." There was a friend who died of an overdose. There was one who was murdered. You see these accidents, and you say, "God is great. Look, El-Dahabi, Azrael has passed you by. He took your friend."

>> He hovers over you daily.

>> God. Daily. Every day, every minute, I wasn't sure I would stay alive. Every minute that passed, I wasn't sure I would stay alive. I would pray. I gave up on myself. I saw myself as a street person, a person created for that. A person of "shabby" things and drugs. What would you expect from him?

>> Bahaa El Din, honestly, is there, honestly, is there a day or a moment when you felt happy while using drugs? Honestly, if there was, tell us. Eight years of pain.

>> There wasn't a single happy moment.

>> There wasn't. There wasn't. From the moment a person wakes up in the morning, his only concern is to secure his day's food, his day's drugs. I reached, Youssef, I traveled 100 kilometers to get the substances.

>> Hundreds of kilometers. I discovered other substances. I said, "I must take them every day." Those substances.

>> All hallucinogenic substances. I took them.

>> I took them. All kinds, all ways. Any idea that comes to your mind, or something, I took it. And the problem with this is that when the mind is absent.

>> Then the person becomes a criminal and commits crimes in society.

>> This is where the youth opens a long list of... trading, crime, theft, fraud. You do everything to secure your drugs. Everything is your priority. You are in a state of... a state of being set. That lure of drugs. You live for that lure. How do I fill it? How do I wake up and fill it? How do I do it? You live for that cloud, and that's it. That's its problem. Look, there was a friend of mine, and I was in that situation, Youssef.

>> Ah.

>> A friend of mine, a university student. From a university student in the Faculty of Medicine to a drug user, to an addict, to a criminal, to a wanted person with 10 years in prison now.

>> And almost this is the end when you tell it.

>> The end of 99% of them.

>> Yes.

>> This is it. There is no single end. There is none.

>> Unless he has the will, and God grants him success, and he leaves quickly, at the earliest opportunity, he leaves this swamp.

>> Ah. What were Bahaa El Din's daily routines? Tell us about a day. For example, give us a day of an addict Bahaa El Din. He woke up in the morning, what did he do?

>> I wake up in the morning. Directly from my bed. I don't sleep normally. The drug for the morning. I don't get out of bed. I start taking. I eat. I take. I eat. I get up. I go out. From the moment I wake up, I go out. To whom? This one? And that one? How? There's one. Ah, a deal. A deal came. This came. This came. Living with this worry. Problems. You get hit from here. You get hit from there. You're in the hospital. The police took you. Living this atmosphere for seven years.

>> What was the decisive moment that made you decide to get out, no matter the cost, from this swamp?

>> والله يا يوسف شوف، أنا ما لحقت ست سنوات، سبع سنوات، قطعت اليأس من روحي، حتى الناس قطعت مني اليأس. الناس كانوا يستناو كل يوم، يا راح نموت، يا راح نباصي. كل يوم، ملي ينوض الصباح، يقول لك الذهبي في السبيطار، ماماتش. إيه، ماماتش الذهبي. إيه، خلاص. منع اشت. هذيك ست سنوات، سبع سنوات. خطرة قلت لواحد صاحبي، كرهت على الإنسان كامل. تلقى الشباب هذو، تلقاهم كارهين. لما تجي تلحق زوج تاع الصباح، ثلاثة تاع الصباح، تلقاه مريح مع نفسه، يقول لك أنا ربي، ندير روحي هاكا، وأنا علاه؟ وأنا علاه؟ يتخذ القرار. تبقى خطوة واحدة، هي تنفيذ القرار.

>> That step is what a person struggles with. In the morning, one of those days, Youssef, I would enter and find my mother in the hallway, always crying.

>> Ah.

>> Always, my mother was crying. When I saw her, Youssef, what would I say? I would say, "She's doing this to me on purpose so I'll stop."

>> Look, plus the madness I was in.

>> Plus, it blinded me. It closed my ears. I would say, "Nothing. Mother, by God."

>> There is a mother who plays, she can't play. She cries.

>> Meaning, she was always, والله يا يوسف, I would always enter and find her in the hallway crying. She even... والله ما عاش تخرج الزجاجه من الدار، ما تروح للفرح، للقرح في العائله، من واش؟

>> You embarrassed her.

>> I embarrassed her. Wherever she went, they would ask her, "What did Bahia El-Dahabi do?" And El-Dahabi, for this and that, for that. She got tired, Youssef. She couldn't find anything. She couldn't even face people. One night, I entered and found my mother, on the occasion of night prayer, praying. She told them, "El-Dahabi, I prayed the night prayer because of him." She said, "I won the night prayer from him." I found my mother, a witness, holding my picture when I was young, crying and praying at night.

>> Ah.

>> And I approached her, saying, "Enough. El-Dahabi is gone. This person is gone." I was waiting for my end, either death or prison. That's it. Prison wasn't a solution. That's it. El-Dahabi is gone. She said to me, "I put my trust in God. This person, she said, no one can change him but God. God will change you." Look, God is great. Trust in God. They say, "I am as my servant thinks of Me, so let him think of Me whatever he wishes." So, thank God. God was able to.

>> That moment when you decided, Bahaa, I don't believe my mother was... I saw her crying. I thought she was crying on purpose. The blindness was still there. My mind was still closed. One incident happened a few days ago.

>> I am not present with you. You are telling me about it. This scene of a mother holding her son's picture when he was young and crying for him, how he became when he grew up, is very moving.

>> She didn't expect it her whole life. Because she had hope when he was studying. She was waiting. She was tracing the path for me. "My son, do this for me, do this for me." And after all that dream, it turned to dust. The last blow. Look, one of the problems. I reached eight years. I was hit here. A friend hit me. His blow was not intentional. He hit me here. I had 30 stitches. 30 stitches. That blow... I died. I died. God gave me life in that blow. A big blow. When I came out of the hospital, the doctor told me, "El-Dahabi, you will stay in bed for 20 days. Don't move. Your leg..." He said, "Don't count on it." I said, "God willing." The next day, I woke up. I took the motorcycle. I started increasing the doses. In the morning, out of anger, I was looking for my friend. I wanted to get revenge for the blow. While I was riding the motorcycle, I had a seizure. That's it. I told you, I became a person. People looked at me like I was crazy. I was looking for... Either harm or the corridor. I wish no one enters that corridor. It's difficult, Youssef. I told you, there is death, there is prison. My friends, I saw them die in front of me. They are in prison. My end was like that. But with God's success, I was able to get out. In the morning, Youssef, I had a seizure on the motorcycle. I fell off the motorcycle. My stitches... Ah.

>> The ambulance came. My friend. This friend called my brother. He said, "Perhaps El-Dahabi died." My mother heard that her son died. All the neighbors came to the hospital. They saw him. They found him still alive. They re-stitched my wound. They said, "Thank God." He sent you. Then my uncle came. My uncle told me, "El-Dahabi, go see." He told me, "El-Dahabi, I saw your mother. I didn't recognize her." I said, "How? Why didn't you recognize her?" He said, "Your mother, El-Dahabi, her face has changed from worry and crying." Her eyes have darkened. "Have mercy on your mother." When he told me that word, I woke up. Yes. I said, "So, I used to find her in the hallway crying, and so on. She was really crying, not..."

>> Even my uncle told me, "When?"

>> Because I was in a coma.

>> Your mind wasn't present.

>> Not present. Always drugged. Always dizzy. Always dizzy. My uncle told me, "Look, El-Dahabi, I'll find a solution for you. What is the solution?" He said, "I'll take you to the addiction treatment center." I said, "How? Addiction treatment center?" He said, "Listen to what I'm telling you. Look, the person who uses drugs, Youssef, the problem is with his self-confidence. He says, 'I am not an addict.' How then? The path to addiction."

>> Yes. It becomes madness. You develop schizophrenia. You have a split personality when you take drugs.

>> Exactly. Exactly.

>> You have two personalities. I said.

>> "I am not an addict." He said, "El-Dahabi, follow me. Listen to what I'm telling you." And I used to tell them before, "I swear, if they look for a loophole, they'll say 0.5 percent." Follow that. I told them, "I swear, I'll follow 0.5 percent." I'll get out. I entered, fell into a well, and my hands... Can someone pull me out? Someone or something. Then an realization came. I said, "El-Dahabi, perhaps this is the loophole you've been looking for." My uncle told me, "Look, with one word, Youssef. Especially at the time I am in. We lost the role of the uncle, the role of the aunt, the role of the father. He tells you, 'I am the head of my family.' Look, the uncle's role was fulfilled as it should be. What did he tell me?

>> Health.

>> He said, " والله يا الذهبي, if they tell me a billion and you go back to how you were, I swear I'll give them a billion." When he said that word, my spirit returned.

>> You decided.

>> I said, "Look, God is great. Look, my uncle. والله, I said, 'That's it. May God reward him. What he wants to do is for my good.'" Then I discovered that you can't heal in a sick environment.

>> Ah.

>> I noticed this in... in my treatment. Your friends. You changed the environment. You changed everything. My uncle took me. We went to Algiers. He took me to his house. He said, "Look, I have an addiction treatment center. I took you to my friend." His friend said, "Hamidou." His friend said, "Hamidou, look, I'll give you this, my nephew. Take care of him." He said, "My nephew, what's wrong?" He said, "Leave him to us, God willing." He said, "Take him to the treatment center." He said, "Okay, Abdel Hamid." And we went with him to the treatment center. When they were about to admit him, he said, "Keep him with you." The doctor said, "Look." He said, "What do you have?" I started telling him. I showed him pictures and what happened. He said, "Pretend you're with yourself. Why are you with yourself?" I said, " والله يا doctor, I'm coming. I'm coming to know why I'm with myself." He said, "You are with your fellow addicts." He took me into the treatment center, inside with the addicts. I saw people, groups, a monster. When I saw these people, I said, "I'm not at that level." He proposed to me.

>> He said, "Look, my son," he said, "I'll give you a treatment, and you'll follow it. He said, 'Stop all other substances you're using. He said, 'Keep this substance, the Pregabalin, gradually. He said, 'It's difficult. Reduce it gradually. He said, 'Every day, every 7, 8, we'll finish this month with the treatment, God willing, there will be good.'"

>> Every day, seven, eight. You reduced it.

>> I reduced it. Meaning, I used to take 20. I take it normally. This, as I told you, my blood, my sweat, nothing happened to me. I would take it, take it, until I fell. I would take it, take it, and nothing happened. I didn't feel anything. We went out with my friend. We went out, me and Hamid. We went back to Algiers. We bought our medicine. Tramadol. Hamid told us, "Sit down." I told him, "Hamid, an idea came to me." He said, "What?" I said, "Let's stop this medicine directly." I said, "Let's not take it every three pills." He said, "El-Dahabi, the doctor told you..." He said, "It's impossible." I returned to the word "challenge."

>> Ah.

>> Any person who enters a challenge in his life succeeds.

>> I challenged the impossible. We made it a barrier. We tried. We relied on God. We relied on God. We went through it. We got Tramadol. He used to give me the medicine every morning. He would give me lunch, give me dinner. I didn't sleep. The second day, the third day. I was passing by. I saw him with his wife. I greeted her. She said, "Hello, Bahadi. How are you? Thank you. Your steps are good, and so on. And God bless you." Then she said, "Bahadi, can I ask you something?" I said, "Of course." She said, "Do you pray?" I was ashamed. I said, "God, I'm struggling." I said, "I don't pray." She said, "Look, I'll give you advice. God is the one who grants success in this matter. Go pray your prayer." And from that day, I prayed the night prayer. Until today, I haven't missed it. She had a role in this matter.

>> God bless. God bless.

>> We reached four days, five days. I was tired, not that I wasn't tired. I lived it. Look, the mosque, the house. The mosque, the house. The mosque, the house. Prayer. Worship. The withdrawal stage. I knew I would be tired. But I said, "Okay." Until the fifth day. What did Hamid do? What did he do? Look, the companion in the treatment journey, 40%.

>> The treatment rate for a person. Look, a companion you trust is 40%. What did he say? He came and said, "You are not a small child or crazy. I will give you your medicine." He said, "Take your medicine yourself." And the doctor advised him, "Don't give him the medicine."

>> He gave you confidence.

>> Yes. Here, here. You have to have confidence in yourself. He didn't do anything else with me. I went through 10 days, 15 days, 20 days.

>> You didn't relapse during the treatment journey.

>> Nothing. He used to come. He would do what? We would leave the house. He would go up. He would go to count the medicine. He had the account.

>> He would count. He would find the medicine. He would say, "Thank God." He would say, "Uncle, El-Dahabi is like this. El-Dahabi is like this." Yes, I was another person. I told you, I didn't become that person.

>> But the pills. There was a time. You know, my time. How can a person eat this? Or how? At the end of the month, we would go to the doctor. We would do the tests. I went to the doctor. I took the tests. He opened the Pregabalin. I hadn't taken it. Then Hamid knew that I hadn't taken it.

>> Meaning, he confirmed.

>> Then Hamid said, "The rocket, I didn't take it either." The doctor said, "May God give you health." He said, "You challenged. You are a person who wants to be cured." He said, "Look, I reduced it." I said, "Don't reduce it. Let it go."

>> Let the medicine go. So, I took Tramadol again. I went through the second month normally. I did the tests again. He started reducing it. I reached the third month. We went back. Two days, three days, four days. We didn't find the medicine. Hamid and his friend. It had been four days without medicine. I pretended to be looking for medicine. He was with a friend, Nabil, may God have mercy on him.

>> May God have mercy on him. He also had a big role in this treatment journey. He said, "Look, when I call you, tell me the pharmacy is here." He said, "Nothing. He traveled for five days, six days, seven days." It's like there was no medicine. I called my uncle directly. He said, "Hello, الحاج." I said, "I don't have medicine." He said, "Okay, send me the prescription." Hamid called the الحاج. He said, "الحاج, didn't you give me the prescription? Let me finish it." He said, "What do you want to do?" He said, "What do I want to do?" He said, "Hamid, are you sure?" He said, "God reward you." He said, "Send me the prescription and tell him to send it to me directly. You're looking for it and telling him you can't find it." Eight days, nine days. الحاج called me. "El-Dahabi, are you okay?" He said, "I couldn't find your medicine. I'll send you a prescription from Algiers." Ah, we reached ten days. Hamid was able to tell me.

>> 10 days without taking it.

>> I didn't take it. Hamid was able to tell me, "El-Dahabi, you've been 10 days." But it was from me.

>> I was sick. Me and a page in the cafe. In the morning, I woke up. A program started in my head. Where is the medicine? Where is the medicine? Where is the medicine? Where is the medicine? He came and said, "El-Dahabi, so you've gone from an illegal addict to a legal addict, or what?" When he said that word, it was like a slap in the face.

>> Right. Right.

>> I'm still addicted.

>> Exactly.

>> I'm still using.

>> The phrase, I wrote it down on my phone until today. I don't forget it. Every time I see a prescription, I tear it up. I throw away the medicine. From that day, medicine never entered my mouth. Then I gave them an equation. This suffering, I summarized it in an equation that benefited thousands of Algerians. They sent it to me. I told them, "There is only one equation in this. You stop, you get sick, you get cured."

>> This equation.

>> From that day, I stopped completely.

>> Until today.

>> I never went back, even secretly. They don't see you using a pill, half a pill.

>> I hated this substance, Youssef. I hated it to the fullest. My life's wish was to stop this thing and get out of it. When I see it, it's something that makes my heart rise. I was disgusted by it. I no longer want that substance.

>> Very beautiful. We'll stop for a short break, Bahaa El Din. I salute your determination. Thank you. And your friends too, who helped you, or even your wife who gave you an important tool, which is prayer. When a person prays, he asks God for many things. Things can be facilitated. We'll stop for a short break and then continue to talk about the symptoms that appeared on you at the beginning of the recovery journey, because many people start the journey, and then relapse comes. A short break, my viewers, and then we continue. Please, Abu Bgha, stay with us. Welcome back, my viewers. We continue with you in this episode of "Life Taught Me" to continue listening to the story of Bahaa El Din, the drug fighter, after he was in an environment filled with the darkness of addiction. He was able, thanks to his will first, thanks to God Almighty's success, his will, changing the environment, changing friends, and his companions in the treatment journey, to leave this very dangerous area. My guest, as you heard, reached the point of taking more than 20 hallucinogenic pills a day. Bahaa El Din, welcome back.

>> We reached the end of the first part regarding recovery, regarding making the decision. You decided then that you would change, that you would end this phase where you transformed from an illegal user to a legal user and leave permanently and stop using drugs permanently. But in those first ten days when you stopped, even the treatment that the doctor gave you, you stopped in those first ten days. Surely there were symptoms. How did you deal with these symptoms? How can anyone watching us now, who is drowning, poor thing, wants to stop, wants to be treated, and cannot? There are thousands of our brothers who are drowning in this swamp and want to stop but cannot. How can they deal with this stage when they stop using?

>> Stopping drug use has two options: direct stopping or gradual stopping.

>> With a doctor, so that he accompanies you, gradually, perhaps for six or seven months, or you do direct stopping. Direct stopping is a bit difficult. You need strong will. A person needs will.

>> You did both. You started gradually, then directly.

>> I entered the challenge directly. I entered the challenge gradually, then directly. Here, here, I discovered that there are two options: direct stopping or gradual stopping. Both are options. You can force it a bit, but you prevent it. I told you, you stop, you get sick, you get cured. But after a person stops, he doesn't stop. He waits. He says, "I used to eat a carton or a biscuit or chocolate. I used to eat chemical medicine."

>> Even chocolate, when you get used to it, it's hard to stop. [Laughter] There will be withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms. What will they be?

>> There will be anxiety, stress. You start sweating. You can't sleep. Nightmares. You become afraid at night. You can't close the light. Those are its withdrawal symptoms. Especially this substance, double signature, double signature. This one, which is used in Algeria, in the entire Arab world.

>> This is a hallucinogen.

>> This is a hallucinogenic substance, not a pharmaceutical. Illegal drugs made in black laboratories.

>> Poisons, not even medicines.

>> They are considered poisons. And there is this substance, the "chapo." This "chapo" is one of the most dangerous drugs in the world.

>> A very dangerous drug. This double-signed one is what made me hate using. The pharmaceutical substances were cut off, and then these illegal drugs came.

>> When you were experiencing these severe symptoms you mentioned, how did you deal with them? What did you do when you got anxious, scared, and on the verge of relapse?

>> والله يا يوسف, look, in this matter, look, I turned to God Almighty.

>> How did you turn to God? This is the crux of the matter.

>> The most beloved deeds to God are the most continuous. I said, "I became diligent in night prayer." Oh Youssef, night prayer helped me a lot.

>> Mashallah.

>> Every night, in the last third of the night, I would go and cry to God.

>> Wonderful.

>> "Oh God, don't abandon me. Oh God." In prostration, Youssef, I would hit.

In five minutes, ten minutes, wonderful. Oh Lord, may it be with me. Oh Lord, do not leave me. Oh Lord, you said, "Call upon Me, I will respond to you." Oh Lord, respond to me. Oh Lord, respond to me. And God was with me in that phase. God said to you, "Call upon Me, I will respond to you." Who answers the distressed when he calls upon Him? How can a refugee seek refuge with God Almighty, and God calls us every day, and He does not respond to you? In a situation like this, be certain that God will respond to you. God told you, "I am as My servant thinks of Me, so let him think of Me whatever he wishes." From my experience, I... a moment when I felt that God responded to your supplication. In this phase. Oh Youssef, look, when I imagined something big stopping, I told you I would stop, and I was like this, my life stopped like this, and the difficult thing, and like this, by God, Youssef, it's not what I thought it would be. It's not that difficult. This is a squeeze, and this is the withdrawal symptom, and this is it, and like this, look how God eases the matter for you. It means it's pain, and that pain has a cure, but God eases that pain by returning to God. God makes man find himself in the street, the group of drinkers, you find him walking, upset, you find him in the street, cursing, and I am like this, and I am like this. Ask him, what will he tell you? By God, I don't know. Let's return. Say, say God Almighty in the Holy Quran, meaning when he talks to a person, an imam, or a scholar, meaning I have some information, I'll give it. The Messenger of God, peace be upon him, said, "Convey from me, even if it be one verse." Here, in this, you find the person upset. Say, God Almighty, "Whoever follows My guidance will not go astray nor suffer misery. And whoever turns away from My remembrance will have a miserable life." This is the miserable life he is in, which is distancing himself from God Almighty. A person who does not pray. Meaning that prayer, prayer was a very important tool in recovering from addiction. Yes, this is something that many people overlook. Many people overlook it. He stops, but he finds himself without prayer. Many people, I find them, I say, what do they say? I say to him, "Do you pray?" He says, "I don't pray." So I tell him, "You are exactly right. You are not doing what you should be doing. It's better than consuming it." God says, "Prayer restrains from indecency and evil." You are without prayer, you are doing nothing. This matter is God's success. He is the one who grants success, but God's success is through what? It is through prayer. Praise be to God. Now I have some pictures. I wanted us to see them. Let's look at them together. Yes. And I will show them to our viewers as well. These pictures show the state you were in and the state you have become. Perhaps many of you who will see these pictures now, viewers, may not expect that the person appearing in these pictures is my guest in this episode. You see the very big change that has occurred at the level of his face, from that darkness that seemed to be on his face to this light that appears on him now. This is the summary of leaving and departing from those dark swamps of drugs to the light of treatment, repentance, and guidance. This is another picture. When you see these pictures, what do you feel? Look at the picture. By God, these pictures, Youssef, remind me of those eight years, how they were, especially in this picture. By God, in this period, it was another world. I was not the person. The light on the face was cut off from every direction. And look at the previous picture. Look at the previous picture. Here I was. This was my daily state. Daily like this. Yes, my daily state like this. How much were you using here? I was using without limit. I didn't even have an overdose. We used to bet with each other, my friends. If someone went to a faraway place or something, he would say, "Let's eat, let's eat." We would call Al-Dhahabi, and I would meet him, and we would eat, eat. We reached a record. Yes, we eat, eat. Whoever fell first would go to the hospital, overdose, and that's it. Look at the third picture now. There is a picture. This is you and one of your friends. This is my friend Muhammad. He was with me in this domain. And he was. Here you were bad companions. We were companions. Here you were bad companions, to define the term. But look at the next picture. God Almighty, look, look. This friend of mine, Muhammad, he was my friend. After he became inseparable, we would go, he and I. This is the one who was in the first picture. Yes, this is him. After he was in the first picture. Look here, look how your faces have changed, glory be to God. Meaning, the light of God, the light. We were like this. Some people would say, "He won't be fixed with white thread." We were like this. Meaning, these people, when they saw me, they would say, "Latif." He can do it. He went to prison. And I went in another direction. He got out. He said, "People were giving up on me, and I was giving up on myself." He got out. He found you stopped. He said, "You stopped?" He was shocked. They were surprised how he stopped. It's impossible. Some people say, "No, these people are deceiving themselves. A person doesn't change." With God, everything is possible. God holds hearts in His hands, turning them as He wills. Glory be to God. I started with him, "Oh Muhammad, oh Muhammad, oh Muhammad, slowly, slowly, slowly." Look, before you is a person, God willing, a symbol in his neighborhood, a symbol in the neighborhood where he lives. Oh, he used to say, "Oh, what did Muhammad do?" Look at another picture now. Here, look, God bless. From those swamps, you moved to the place that every Muslim on Earth wishes to reach. Here you are in the Holy Mosque. And I never expected to be in this place. What was your feeling when you arrived here? How long had you stopped? I had been here for a year and a half. A year and a half. A year and a half here. When you arrived in Mecca, to the House of God, the Haram, what was your feeling? Oh, I used to see it in a dream. In those days, in those days, I used to see it in a dream. Then I would say, "Glory be to God." Did you go with your money, or did they help you, or did they give it to you as a gift? This is a very important point, Youssef. Ah. This brings us back to our question. Youssef, don't let everything be arranged. Here, Youssef, we come to the moment of weakness. The moment of weakness when you stopped. You fell into a moment of weakness. The moment of weakness, Youssef, when you fell, when you reached a year and three months. Um. A year and three months. Say, my uncle told me, "Al-Dhahabi, get married. I will marry you. I will do this for you, and I will do that for you." This uncle of mine, I saw him from fate, I feared him, meaning fate and fear. Even when I was on the other side, I couldn't face him. I always ran away. Even when you were in the criminal world. Yes, they say, "Al-Dhahabi, they say, we have red lines with my uncles. I see my uncle, my eyes lower. I can't. He speaks to me, I lower my eyes. I can't." Was the father deceased or still alive? He had passed away. I reached Amer, Youssef. God answered me. I always prayed, "Oh Lord, relieve me. Oh Lord, open for me." A night I will never forget, in the year, a year and three months. A night, by God, that day, when I remember it, my heart aches. I hear the cries of the neighbors. I run out, I go in. My aunts. This is what was. Yes. That was the moment. Oh, the Messenger of God. A very pivotal moment. This is a very difficult moment. I seek forgiveness from God. We started taking ourselves to the hospital. The next day, we performed our funeral prayer. May God have mercy on him. May God have mercy on him. Satan came to me, Al-Dhahabi. You stopped. And then, your uncle who had promised you, and so on. What will you do? Look, glory be to God, Youssef. I discovered that my uncle's death was for a wisdom that God knows. Glory be to Him. Then I said, "Oh Al-Dhahabi, you discovered that I was praying and pretending to be okay so that people would say he is fine, so that my uncle Al-Dhahabi would say he is fine." Meaning, I didn't find God Almighty. I found the servant. Then I said, "Oh Al-Dhahabi, you are tired. Have you repented to God, or have you repented to the servant?" By God, Youssef, your uncle died. Yes. As soon as the term changed, and after 40 days or two months, I received an honorarium from God Almighty. He paid for my mother and me. The picture. You didn't strive for it. No. I didn't strive for it. Zero dinars. I had nothing. From a businessman or from? From people. I gave a lecture. Sheikh Taher, Taher, the person I love, and so on. Yes, a person who influenced me a lot, Sheikh Taher. And God bless him. He influenced many young people, many addicts. Hundreds of thousands of Algerians are stopping because of him. He is the doctor of hearts. I always told them, "By God, if I were the Minister of Health, Sheikh Taher would be the doctor of hearts." The doctor of hearts. The person came to me with the honorarium, and I didn't have money. You see how this money came. People, and so on. By God, I received phone calls from people I didn't know. They would give me money in my hand and leave. I collected 20. Meaning, I said, "Glory be to God. You knew that this was a divine matter. This is God's matter. He is the one who orchestrates the matter." The Umrah trip. The Umrah trip. The Umrah trip. My Umrah trip was a matter orchestrated by God. Another matter is that God wrote for me the Umrah. I went with my mother and Sheikh Taher. Ah. You went together. We went together. Meaning, she performed Umrah, God willing. In that phase when you stopped using and started your treatment journey, you were unemployed. Unemployed. Two days. Unemployed. Meaning, the one who does [laughter]. Meaning, the one who makes unemployment an excuse for addiction is incorrect. These are reasons. A person can make reasons to convince himself. He deceives himself. He convinces himself that I am one who says, "Poverty is my cause." When you tell me, "Poverty is my cause," I ask you, at least in addiction, 200,000, 300,000, up to a million daily. Excuse me, there is no poor person who spends 200,000 a day. This is not considered poverty. This is not in history at all. And the rich person who uses, is it wealth? We have refuted it, or why? Meaning, this matter does not differentiate between rich and poor, between rich and poor. It is a disease. A person has a programming he is programmed with, he changes the programming. That's all. Wonderful, beautiful. Because now we are witnessing God Almighty's success for you after praying at night. In the moment of weakness, with the death of your uncle, may God have mercy on him, God opens a door for you that you had no knowledge of. And because of which you went for Umrah, which you are sure will renew your faith and give you a moral boost. This is a picture. There is another picture after this, which is very important, and it is this lady who was greatly distressed and who accompanied your picture and cried while you were alive. Do you know what it means for your mother to see your picture and cry while you are alive? It means as if you were dead to her, or if you had not become like that, you would not have become in that state you were in. Yes. And she was praying. When you told her that that child was lost and would not return, she told you, "I have faith in God Almighty." And this is the faith we are witnessing in this picture. This is the faith of the mother, her prayers, your efforts, and your prayers as well. What does this picture mean to you? By God, look. May God forgive us for our parents. My mother suffered with me and told them, "I did not expect God to reward me like this, that I would be with my son, the son from whom people despaired, the son, and so on, and so on, all the sayings that were said about him, that God would honor me with Him and me." And she was shocked. Um. She said, "Glory be to God." She also knew that I had commanded God Almighty. She was shocked. This is an indication that a mother, every Algerian mother, pray for your son, no matter how bad your son is, or so on. By God, the day will come when he will change, and he will surprise you. You will say to me, "My son, how did he become like this?" The mother's prayer is answered, answered. Praise be to God. Now I am sure that there are many Algerian mothers who feel the same feeling and the same emotion that your mother felt years ago when you were in that swamp. And I am sure now, after you have platforms on social media through which you publish many messages, messages reach you. Are there stories and messages that have reached you and remained etched in your mind and you felt them? What are the stories? Youssef, every day, dozens of stories. They make me cry, mothers. They send me voice messages. A mother tells me, "My son is hitting me." And that mother says, "My son has kicked me out of the house." That mother says, "If I don't bring him money, he will do this and that to me." Every day, dozens of stories. The only one suffering in this story is the mother. She is the one who suffers from such a matter. By God, I have a story that I lived with my friend. I have a friend I was talking to. This affected me greatly, Youssef. I talk to him. He talks to his father, and I am stopped, and I am like this. I say, "Enough. Leave it. Get rid of it. Get rid of him." He was arrested and went to prison for five years. When a person is in prison, he sits with himself, always sitting, thinking, and so on. Something came to his mind. He remembered my words. He wrote me a letter. He sent me a letter saying, "Oh Al-Dhahabi, I am in prison, and I can't handle it. By God, I didn't expect this to happen to me. And I regret it. If only I had listened to your words and your father's words. If only, and so on, and so on. May God take care of my mother. I only have her in this life. And send her my regards." And the problem is, Youssef, he died. Ah. God is great. He didn't know. He didn't know. This is still a recent story. May God have mercy on her. By God, with that story, with that message, I went to her grave. I am talking to you. I climbed the stairs. I wanted to deliver the message. I told her, "Your son, and I feel like she is talking to me." He says to me, "Al-Dhahabi, after what? After what?" Al-Dhahabi says, "Do good for yourself." Go. You are going up. Your mother died. Go. Give him. Did he? Will this child forgive himself, or what will he do? God knows. Meaning, look, Youssef, mistakes can cost you dearly. The moral of this story is that stopping today, making a decision, don't postpone it. Don't postpone it. Tomorrow, God may turn the whole world upside down. God is. Meaning, the essence of the wisdom of this story you are telling now, with religion. That now you make the decision. Now, go get treatment. Now, go to the doctor. Now, make this decision. Yes. And it's not difficult. By God, look, it's a button press. You press that button. Making a decision. Implementing a decision. Changing the environment. Changing the routine. Everything is fine. And you made an important observation. Drugs and hallucinogens were not born with a person. Something that didn't stay with you. Look, Youssef, look at me. This ring. It's a bit difficult. This is addiction. It's a bit difficult for you. After that, you are done. Meaning, you are at the obstacle. That is a withdrawal symptom. But withdrawal symptoms are not always. One day, you reach 20 days, it's good. Nothing is wrong with you. You are left with a little sadness. That sadness is because dopamine was secreted. In large quantities. For example, the human body secretes 10%. With drugs, it becomes 90%. Exactly. Then the body demands it. You fall into sadness. That sadness, the cells regenerate over time. Correct. Dopamine is secreted when a person does something he is proud of and honored by. He achieves it. He achieves a goal. He gets a salary. But to have a false dopamine in your body, that is the biggest trick. Yes, yes. But getting out of it is not that difficult. By God, it's not difficult. It's not difficult. By God, making a decision is enough. Making an immediate decision is enough. You mentioned earlier an important point, with religion, which is that there are those who are classified as poor who use drugs, and there are those who are classified as rich and also use them. Have you heard stories of well-off people who drowned in drug addiction? By God, they contacted me from all segments of society. Ah. This, I told you, is a widespread epidemic. Perhaps this prayer reminds me of the Corona incident. Except for those whom God has mercy upon. When they contacted me, from the richest of the rich and from the poorest of the poor, you would be amazed. God has blessed him with sustenance, wealth, and richness. You would say, "Glory be to God." This person, when I talked to her, she told me, "By God, Al-Dhahabi, look. God has blessed us with sustenance, but we have not enjoyed it." I asked her why. She said, "My son made me drink bitterness. I went to hospitals, to doctors, from this and that. Every day, something happened to her. Or two days ago, something happened to her. Poor thing. Like my mother. By God, she no longer talks to me. I remembered my mother's days. I couldn't stand with her. I did everything possible with her. But the person is slipping away. And there is a person. These are stories I live. Every day, I live a story. A couple. Correct. This person contacted me, Youssef. This is the point I want to make so that a person doesn't give himself a high ceiling of confidence. I would never go. This person memorized the Book of God. A young child, when he was 16, 17 years old. And he is young today, 22 years old. When they hear that so-and-so will pray in the mosque, that mosque will explode. He has a tone of voice, Youssef. You would hear it. Oh, the Messenger of God. I said, "Glory be to God. Your tone of voice, like in the Haram, praying or something. And God, God is well-off and has blessed him with sustenance, and so on, and so on. He made a mistake. He made a mistake with his cousin. He went from this, bad. He was lured, lured, without realizing it. Problems happened for years in their home. He was kicked out of the house. His father was kicked out. For three months, he was sleeping. Look at the person. A person who was praying Tarawih. How did this happen to him? Or a person of cocaine and so on. He talked to me. He was crying. He said, "Al-Dhahabi, God, I am following you. And by God, I haven't done anything for 15 or 20 days. I am praying at night. I am praying Fajr." I told him, "What do you want from me before?" He said, "I want you to deal with me. And my house, what is happening to me?" I told him, "Okay." I started following him. I told him, "Every time you wake up in the morning, send me a message at Fajr. I'll see if he prays Fajr or not." When Fajr comes, I find he sent me a message. I know he prayed Fajr. I stayed with him for a month. I told him, "Give me your mother's contact. Let's see how to contact your mother." He gave me her Instagram. I found she had followed me. I sent her a voice message of about three minutes. I told her, "It's okay, my mother. And there is no one who makes mistakes in this life. Everyone says, 'Son of Adam is a sinner, and the best of sinners are the repentant.' And I know you have given him many chances, and he goes back and makes mistakes again." I told you again, but now he has realized and concluded. The moment of realization has come that he made a mistake and embarrassed you, and you are with the guardians, and so on. And she heard my message and was touched. She said, "My son, you are late. I have divorced my husband." Because of him. Because of him. Meaning, the family was scattered. It was a religious family, a well-off family. This child scattered it. Addiction scattered it. Addiction. If addiction enters a family, it destroys it. Many divorces. Go to court. Most divorce cases are directly or indirectly related to drugs. Most cases are related to drugs. I told him, "May God grant that the message reaches your husband, that your son, my son, is a person, God willing, and he has realized and is remorseful, and so on, and so on." I was ashamed to call the child. I was afraid to tell him that the honorarium had arrived. Divorce. He told me, "Go and tell him." And I cut off contact directly. You don't have the means to face him. I don't have the means to face him. He told me, "Al-Dhahabi, I have hope in God and in you. Do something for me." May God grant that all addicts be in a lifeline. Because there are people who reach divorce. I mediate. I tell them, "By God, I will stand with him, and so on, and so on." It has become like a genuine paper. That's it. With any family, or with any wife, or with any husband. After 20 days, he sends me a voice message. I said, "What will this person tell me?" Listen to the voice message. "Hello, Al-Dhahabi. How are you?" He said, "Praise be to God." He said, "I have returned home, and the family has returned." Youssef, I was so happy. You can't imagine. Ah. Wonderful. I said, "Praise be to God, my Lord." He said, "By God, praise be to God. We have returned, and we are like this, and so on, and so on. Perhaps you are cursing me. May God protect you. May God bless you." I said, "Praise be to God, my Lord." Look, that joy, by God, I will never forget it. Exactly. Because his life turned from darkness to light. Glory be to God. We also talked about the story of a wealthy man in the background. He wanted to be treated in a large center in Russia, I believe. Yes, yes. Look at a person. A wealthy person. God blessed him with sustenance. He used to use 12 grams, 13 grams daily. And the eggs they use have become difficult. One says, "Flexi." One says, "Piki." Some smoke it. They call it "boufa." This "boufa" is very difficult. He uses "boufa" daily. He uses 11 grams, 12 grams. Then they took him to a center. They took him out of Algeria. To the best centers in the world. They spent a lot of money on him. And he returned. He stopped. He didn't like it. He relapsed. Relapse, you know, when a person relapses, how is it? Youssef, it's shameful. He has no way to face it. He feels guilt. Why did I go? I was treated, and I was fine. Why did I relapse? Youssef, he starts using double. Why? So that he doesn't feel that feeling of guilt and shame. He goes to the maximum. He started using double what he used to do. This person was using cocaine. Cocaine. He went again. They spent a lot of money on him. They brought him back. He relapsed again. Then something happened to him. This treatment cost billions. Billions. Meaning, I tell you, from the best treatment centers in the world. When he returned, something happened to him. He tried to commit suicide. And so on. When he woke up in the morning and found himself alive, he said, "Praise be to God, my Lord. God did not take me in this state." He immediately went, Youssef, to prayer. God, you gave me this. God said, "Oh Lord, what I did with this, I am done." He attempted suicide. He attempted suicide. It failed due to God's mercy and compassion. God did not want to take him in that state. God said to Al-Dhahabi, "I prayed two rak'ahs." He said, "God, remove this from my heart." I told him, "The lack?" He said, "You didn't lack anything. You spent billions." He said, "Here, you know that this matter is God's success." It's not that the centers or anything else. You have to go to God Almighty. Go cry to Him. Say, "Oh Lord, do not leave me." God will not leave you in a situation like this. We are all certain. Meaning, sir, this situation, and dozens. You can cry to the policeman or to the house. When they arrest you with drugs, cry directly to God. Cry directly to God. To the source directly. Exactly. Exactly. And we are approaching the month of Ramadan, which is always an opportunity for repentance, an opportunity for correction, an opportunity to abandon many wrong decisions. A person reviews himself in Ramadan. This is one of the wisdoms of the month of Ramadan. In the month of Ramadan, how did you deal with it? Did you use when you were in the addiction phase, or did you stop, or how? Here, Youssef, look. Ramadan is an opportunity that comes to us every year. A person thanks God and says, "Thank God, God has kept me alive to renew myself." I used to, Ramadan, Youssef, I didn't do anything. I would stop. No doctor, nothing. Nothing at all. One. Ramadan, I realized that I am not addicted. And anyone I ask, he says, "I eat this, and I use, and I smoke." I tell him, "Ramadan, do you fast?" He says, "He is not addicted." Can you fast? The addict cannot fast. I know people who don't fast. Every two hours, they have to smoke. Ramadan, he said, "I can't." I know personally, anyone who fasts Ramadan is not addicted. I used to spend Ramadan. I would spend it. I saw the next night. They say, "Tomorrow is Eid." The night of doubt. They say, "Tomorrow is Eid." I break my fast. From this, I give it a shot. The next Ramadan, I don't wake up for a minute. I spend it with you. But praise be to God that you decided to return now. You are among the youth who are diligent in their prayers, and you also dedicate your time to advising youth and families to help them in this dangerous and very harsh battle against drugs. By God, you are an example for many Algerians, and we are proud of you because you truly decided to leave it, and you are steadfast, and God willing, you will continue to be steadfast. You promised us steadfastness. Look, we ask God for steadfastness, because the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, used to say, "Oh Turner of hearts, keep my heart firm on Your religion." And God said to him, "If it were not for Our having strengthened you..." He said, "It is not I who strengthened you." He said, "Any person, we all pray and say, 'You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help.' I seek help from God Almighty." Meaning, if God, for a moment, look, be sure that in moments of weakness, we are all with you. I always used to say, "A person who is diligent in his Fajr prayer, reads his portion of the Quran, and has good companions." Look, if you have these things, God willing, a person can tell you that you are prevented. Praise be to God. Especially, especially companionship. There is a proverb that says, "Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are." Correct. Indeed. Yes. We have reached the end of the episode. Bahae-Din, you have gone through several stages in your life, and they have been very turbulent. You said that you lived for a long time with a man in prison and a man in the grave. The very great dangers you faced from all these stages, what has life taught you? I learned that the deepest fall can be the beginning of the greatest rise, and I am a living example that an addict is not born corrupt. It is that whoever is honest with himself will be saved, no matter how deep his fall. The important thing is that you decide. Decision. Making a decision. Pressing that button. God willing. God willing. Be happy with good news in such a matter. Put your parents here, between your eyes. If you haven't left this for your mother, especially the married category, if you had daughters or so on, if you had young daughters and young sons, they would see. By God, they don't deserve to live with the ghost of a person. If you are addicted, you are a ghost. Don't let this matter. When they grow up, they will be ashamed of you. And this matter too, if you haven't left it for your parents, or for yourself, or for God Almighty, whoever leaves something for God, God will compensate him with better. If God closes a door for you, know that He is opening a wider door for you. There is one equation: stop, get sick, get better. Thank you, Bahae-Din. Thank you very much. I hope these messages have truly reached many of our brothers and sons, our addicted neighbors. May God guide them. And this is the opportunity. The most important thing from your story is that a person makes this decision quickly. Thank you very much for being with us. May God bless you and keep you steadfast, Bahae-Din. May God heal you, my brother Youssef. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, viewers. We have reached the end of this episode, which, as I said, was full of lessons and morals. Perhaps the most prominent lesson we can observe in everything Bahae-Din was narrating about the journey of addiction and the journey of treatment is the speed of making a decision. You must make a decision as quickly as possible, because tomorrow, many things may turn upside down, and you may find yourself in a deeper state of drowning than you were. So, a person relies on God. And before you, there is a living and present example, a young man from your generation who said that the journey of recovery is not as difficult as you imagine. Perhaps, perhaps 10 to 20 days, and after that, a person will return to his natural state, to his balance, and will be able to stop this pain and the great tears of parents. Parents are with you today, crying. Tomorrow, they may not be present. So imagine being the cause of this tragedy for your parents. May God grant success to all Algerian youth to quit, to get out, to leave this very dangerous swamp. We have reached the end of this episode of "Life's Lessons." I will see you next week. Peace.