'I officially declare my disassociation with this field': In a cathartic post, Dangal actress Zaira Wasim announces decision to quit Bollywood. Read her letter here

Bollywood woke up to Zaira Wasim's shocking and cathartic heartfelt letter on Sunday. actress anunced her decision to quit Bollywood.

Re letter below -

"5 years ago I me a decision that changed my life forever. As I stepped my foot in Bollywood, it opened doors of massive popularity for me. I started to become prime candidate of public attention, I was projected as gospel of idea of success and was often identified as a role model for youth. However, that’s never something that I set out to do or become, especially with regards to my ideas of success and failure, which I h just started to explore and understand.

As I complete 5 years today, I want to confess that I am t truly happy with this identity i.e my line of work. For a very long time w it has felt like I have struggled to become someone else. As I h just started to explore and make sense of things to which I dedicated my time, efforts and emotions and tried to grab hold of a new lifestyle, it was only for me to realise that though I may fit here perfectly, I do t belong here.

This field indeed brought a lot of love, support, and applause my way, but what it also did was to le me to a path of igrance, as I silently and unconsciously transitioned out of imaan. While I continued to work in an environment that consistently interfered with my imaan, my relationship with my religion was threatened. As I continued to igrantly pass through while I kept trying to convince myself that what I was doing is okay and isn’t really affecting me, I lost all Barakat from my life. Barakat is a word whose meaning isn't just confined to happiness, quantity or blessing, it also focuses on idea of stability, which is something I struggled with extensively. 

I was constantly battling with my soul to reconcile my thoughts and instincts to fix a static picture of my iman and I failed miserably, t just once but a hundred times. matter how hard I tried to wrestle to firm my decision, I ended up being same person with a motive that one day I will change and I will change soon. I kept procrastinating by tricking and deluding my conscience into idea that I kw what I am doing doesn’t feel right but assumed that I will put an end to this whenever time feels right and I continued to put myself in a vulnerable position where it was always so easy to succumb to environment that damd my peace, iman and my relationship with Allah .

I continued to observe things and twist my perceptions as I wanted m to be, without really understanding that key is to see m as y are. I kept trying to escape but somehow I always ended up hitting a de end, in an endless loop with a missing element that kept torturing me with a longing I was neir able to make sense of r satisfy. Until I decided to confront my weakness and began to strive and correct my lack of kwledge and understanding by attaching my heart with words of Allah. In great and divine wisdom of Quran, I found sufficiency and peace. Indeed hearts find peace when it acquires kwledge of Its Creator, His Attributes, His Mercy and His commandments.

I began to heavily rely upon Allah’s mercy for my help and guidance inste of valuing my own believability. I discovered my lack of kwledge of basic fundamentals of my religion and how my inability to reinforce a change earlier was a result of confusing my heart's contentment and well being with strengning and satisfying my own (shallow and worldly) desires. I discovered my disease of doubt & error that my heart was afflicted with- re are 2 s of diseases that attack heart, one; DOUBT and Error and second; LUST and Desire. Both are mentioned in Quran.

Allah says, “ In ir hearts is a disease (of doubt & hypocrisy) and Allah increased ir disease. [Quran 2:10]. And I realized remedy to this could only be attained through guidance of Allah and indeed Allah guided my path when I lost my way.

Quran and guidance of Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) became weighing factor in my decision making and reasoning and it has changed my approach to life and it’s meaning.

Our desires are a reflection of our morals, our values are an externalization of our internal integrity. Similarly, our relationship with Quran and Sunnah defines and sets tone of our relationship with Allah and our religion, our ambitions, purpose and meaning of life. I carefully questioned deepest sources of my ideas of success, meaning and purpose of my life. source code that governed and impacted my perceptions evolved into a different dimension. Success isn’t correlated with our biased, delusional and conventional shallow measures of life. Success is accomplishment of purpose of our creation. We have forgotten purpose we were created for as we igrantly continue to pass through our lives; deceiving our conscience. “And That hearts of those who don’t believe in hereafter, may incline to it ( deception) and that y may be well pleased with it and that y may earn what y are going to earn, (and it’ll be evil). [Quran 6:113]

Our purpose, our righteousness or terribleness isn’t defined by our selfish consumption, it isn’t equated by worldly measures. Allah says, “I swear (by Al-Asr) by time  (that’s running out). Verily, man is drowning in great loss, with exception of (a few) those who believe, do good deeds and call on ar to way of truth and counsel one ar to patience and perseverance. [Quran 103]

This journey has been exhausting, to battle my soul for so long. Life is too short yet too long to be at war with oneself. refore, today I arrive at this well-grounded decision and I officially declare my disassociation with this field.

success of journey is dependent on how you take first step and reason why I am openly doing so is t to paint a holier picture of myself but this is least I can do to start afresh and this is just my first step as I have arrived at clarity of realisation of path I wish to be on and strive for and during this time I may have consciously or unconsciously planted a seed of temptation in hearts of many but my sincere vice to everyone is that amount of success, fame, authority or wealth is worth tring or losing your peace or light of your Imaan for.

Strive t to surrender to your desires for desires are infinite and always leap out ahe of whatever has just been achieved. Do t deceive yourself or become deluded and find believability in self-assured biased narratives of principles of deen-where one conceals truth while kwing it or where one picks and chooses to accept only what suits his situation or desires best. Sometimes we have deep flaw in our iman and we often cover it up with words and philosophies. What we say is t in our hearts and we seek every manner of excuse for clinging to it and indeed He is aware of contrictions, He is aware of all thoughts unspoken for He is All-Hearing (As-Sami), All-Seeing (Al-Baseer), and All-Kwing (Al-Aleem). “And Allah kws what you conceal and what you reveal”. [Quran 16:19]. Inste of valuing your own deceptive conviction, make genuine efforts to strive and discover and understand truth yourself with a heart full of faith and sincerity.  “O you who have believed, if you are conscious of Allah, He will give you ability to distinguish right from wrong”.  (Quran 8:29). 

Don’t look for role models or measures of success in displeasure of Allah and transgressions of His commandments. Do t allow such people to influence your choices in life or dictate your goals or ambitions. Prophet said, “A person will be (raised on day of Judgement) with whom he loves.” And do t become arrogant to seek vice from better informed but position yourself away from your ego and arrogance and rely only on Allah’s guidance, indeed only He is turner of hearts and ones He guides, ne can le astray. t everyone has conscience or conscious to recognise what we need to kw or change and hence, it is t for us to judge, abuse, belittle or mock such people. It is our responsibility to make a positive impact by reinforcing correct understanding by reminding each or. “And remind, for indeed reminder benefits believers” (Quran 51:55). 

And we must do so t by ramming facts down each ors throats by abuse or hostile behaviour or through violent disapprovals but it can only be done through kindness and mercy that we can affect people around us. [If you see that one of you has slipped, correct him, pray for him and do t help shaytan against him by insulting or mocking him- Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab]

But before we do that we must remember to exemplify Islam and it’s understanding ourselves in our kwledge and in our hearts, actions, intentions and behaviour and n use it to benefit ones lack grasp on fundamentals of religion in terms of understanding, beliefs and manners . And remember that when you will start your journey or to find your ground in His Commandments- you are going face hardships, resistance, ridicule or discomfort from ors and sometimes it can come from people who you love and are closest to you. Sometimes it can be because of how you have been acting previously or have acted all your life, but do t let it discour you or le you to lose hope in Allah’s mercy and guidance- for He is Al-Hādīy ( Guide). Do t let your previous actions stop you from seeking repentance, kw that He is Al-Ghafaar ( repeatedly forgiving). Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify mselves. [Quran, 2:222]. Do t let  judgement, ridicule, abuse, words or fear of people take you off from path of you wish to be on or stop you from expressing yourself to fullest, remember He is Al-Walīy helper. Do t let worry of tomorrow get in your way to reassess your life, for he is Ar-Ražzaq ( Provider). 

It can be a tough, complicated and sometimes an unimaginably lonely path, especially in today’s time but remember 
Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “re will come upon people a time when holding onto religion will be like holding onto hot coal.” 

May Allah guide our boats to find its shore and help us to distinguish between truth and deception. May Allah makes us strengn us in our Imaan and make us amongst ones who eng in His remembrance and make our hearts firm and help us to remain stefast. May Allah give us a better understanding of His wisdom and allow us to exhibit our efforts to alleviate doubt and error at individual levels and guide each or. May Allah cleanse our hearts from hypocrisy, arrogance and igrance and rectify our intentions and grant us sincerity in speech and in our deeds. Ameen"