The first four years of my imprisonment were spent mainly gathering information about the facility and developing various plans for escaping.
Initially, I was figuring out how to escape alone, then I included a friend (a new Muslim), so the plans had to change. Eventually, there was a group of us, so again, the plan had to be modified.
When i was trying to organize this plan, I had several inmates tell me, “if you can smuggle in a gun, we will join you.” Others wanted a hand grenade, or two.
It became clear that this was actually just an excuse to do nothing. If I had smuggled in a rocket launcher, organized a helicopter, and offered to physically carry them out the door, they would not have gone. What I could not smuggle in to them was their manhood, their courage.
Because human beings have a tremendous capacity to adapt to misery, it becomes easier, and seems safer, to do nothing than to fight back. But no one wants to admit their fear and passivity, so they invent excuses to rationalize their inaction.
However, the only excuses we have are the excuses Allah has given us, and if Allah has not excused us from fighting (and He has not), then our excuses are sins
“…انفِرُوا خِفَافًا وَثِقَالًا…”
In the end, the only true thing about you is what you do