The incredibly long and arduous journey to finding Islam (Revert Experiences)

Luck are the born Muslims who did not have to struggle much to understand and follow Islam. But blessed are those non-Muslims who chose a long and arduous journey. Islam did not come their way as a sudden flash of lightning. Though it happened to some reverts that way, but for most of the reverts, the path to finding Islam has been incredibly long, arduous and even at the cost of putting oneself to extreme rigours of living in jungles with monks, living in barns and meeting with people of diverse faith to ultimately find the truth. For this reason, I admire the reverts for their search for truth and their understanding of Islam exceeds that of many born Muslims, including myself.

Such reverts are generally well educated and it is through the wisdom that education inculcated in them that they tried to solve the jigsaw puzzle by picking and arranging pieces of information, cultural, spiritual and religious thoughts, that they finally joined all pieces together and found it was Islam that they have been looking for.

Today, in our series of posts on revert experience, share the incredible journey of Dr Abdallah Rothman to finding Islam. An adventure that takes him through the jungles of Thailand with Buddhist monks to Hindu priests in India and Rastafarians in Jamaica to finally accepting Islam. Being a therapist and expert in healing arts studies, he studied Taoism, Buddhism, Shinto, Christianity, that finally led him to Islam as Islam alone was able to answer all his questions which no other religion of faith could provide him.

Please watch the full video of a revert experience below and see how reading Qur'an melts hearts and lets non-Muslims enter the fold of Islam:

Today, Dr. Abdallah Rothman is the founder of Dar al-Shifaa and co-founder and Executive Director of the International Association of Islamic Psychology, working at the intersection of Islamic spirituality and mental health practice. He currently lectures, leads retreats, trains practitioners, and authors publications on his unique approach to Islamic psychology.

May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us have unflinching faith and trust in Divine Wisdom and decisions and should never lament for we do not know that something better has been planned for us by our most caring Lord. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 

وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 

(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”

That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.

Disclaimer: The data / video for this post has been collected from the references given below or YouTube. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.

To read personal accounts of many who have reverted to Islam, please visit our page: Embracing Islam: Revert Experiences.

You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.

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Posted in: Dr Abdallah Rothman,Revert Experiences