Spirit of Ramadan inadvertently led me to become Muslim

I have been sharing personal accounts of non-Muslims who have embraced Islam in my previous number of posts. And each personal account has a different motivation that has led a person to embrace Islam. Today I am sharing the personal account of Lauren Booth, who is a broadcaster, a journalist and also sister-in-law of Britain's ex-prime minister Tony Blair.

In her account which has been published in the Islamic Bulletin, she says that she visited a family in Rafa refugee camp and met a family of sixteen cramped inside a tent. She was greeted by the woman of the house and when she ushered her in, she asked her what it had been to live in a refugee camp during the month of Ramadan with almost little or no food? And the woman replied, "Allhamdulillah!! with such joy I couldn't help but smile. And as I sat there on the floor of this home eating what little leaves that they had; a bit of hummus, a pita bread that was our Iftar. 

She says she felt angry as to why God made hungry people go even more hungrier in the month of fasting. And the answer she received is worth reading:

"So, I turned to this sister and I said: " With all due respect I want to ask you, why does your God starve you in Ramadan? Why do you fast in Ramadan...sister, just explain to me? This lady who never owned a hand bag, whose children didn't have, never had shoes. Whose children I was sitting with didn't have pen or paper to do any drawings, she said to me: "Sister we fast in Ramadan to remember the poor" and a key went to my heart and unlocked it."

Later she visited Iran and visited the Fatima Mosque, named after the beloved daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the prophet of Islam. There she says she made a simple prayer: "Allah don't give me anything. I have everything. Thank you for this journey, but Allah don't forget the people of Palestine."

There she saw families with their children moving about in the courtyard of the mosque who were busy in their religious chores. She slept the night there and woke when the call for the pre dawn prayers was called. She said that just to be with everyone around, she offered prayer like everyone did. But she was still not for Islam in any way so far.

But a candle of truth had been alight in her heart and when she returned to London, a few days thereafter, she embrace Islam. Then she says she opened Qur'an for the first time and opened the first surah of Qur'an Surah Al Fatiha and said: "Hello Sarah where have you been, welcome to the religion of peace, joy and tranquility and I couldn't put it down. Someone once told me and I feel much like that before Islam I had given up on God but God never gave up on me. Allhamdulillah."

Her daughters reacted to her new faith and asked three very simple yet very intelligent questions:

1-Mummy when you're a Muslim will you still be mummy?

I said: When I am a Muslim you know what, I will be a better mummy, they said: "Horrayyy!!"

2-Mummy will you drink alcohol? 

When I am a Muslim, I will never drink alcohol again and they said "Horrayyy!!"

3-And this is an interesting and thought-provoking question from girls as small as 8 and 10: When you're a Muslim will you show your chest? 

I said why would you ask such a question? They said when you come to the school and your chest shows we are embarrassed and we hate it and we want you to stop it.  When I am a Muslim, I will cover all this area and to which they said: "we love Islam." 

She says reading Qur'an everyday strengthens one's Imaan (Faith), better than yesterday everyday.She says: "If you live in a non-Muslim country those of us who do it can go very low very quickly, you must read the Quran. Most of all your just not on the path of Islam if you come to Islam like me, if you're a Muslim you are on the path as well so make sure that you don't miss those signs in everyday life. All praise is to Allah (swt)."

May Allāh (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 to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. 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.

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

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.

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 material for this post has been collected from the references as given below. 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 know more about fasting and importance of month of Ramadan, please consult our reference page: Ramadan - A month of fasting and Blessings. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān and our special page on Embracing Islam: The Revert Experiences

Source | Do listen to the interview on which this post had been based HERE

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A Young Girl's Steadfastness leads her Entire Family to Embrace Islam

Never have I ever felt so emotional than while reading the personal account of a middle aged woman of embracing Islam and the changes in her life that finally turned the hostility of her entire family for embracing Islam into becoming Muslims themselves. This change of heart of the entire family couldn't have been possible had she not been steadfast in her decision and display of a good Muslim manners that finally moved hearts.

This is the story of a Southern Baptist girl, a radical feminist, and a broadcast journalist whom Allah led to Islam merely by a computer glitch. 

She was a devout Christian and always lived her life like a good Christian do. However, in 1975, while enrolling for a scholarship she pre-register her for degree on Recreation. Having registered herself she got late to begin her classes by two weeks and in those two weeks due to the computer error much had changed. When she joined the college, she was surprised to know that her admission has been mistakenly have been made in Theater class, requiring students to perform in front of others.

Being a rather religious girl, she persuaded the teacher to change her subject, who declined the request as it was already two weeks since the classes began. She then asked the teacher to enroll her in another branch of performing art. And when she got an alternative, she says she was "shocked by what she saw. The class was full of Arabs and "camel jockeys". And decided not to go back to the class anymore.

But back home, her husband reassured her that God had a reason for everything and that she should think before quitting or else lose the scholarship offered to her. Having thought about it, an idea struck her that she would resume her class with a mission: To convert the Arabs to Christianity. She says: "I proceeded to explain to them how they would burn in the fires of hell for all eternity, if they did not accept Jesus as their personal savior. They were very polite, but did not convert. Then, I explained how Jesus loved them and had died on the cross to save them from their sins. All they had to do was accept him into their hearts." They still did not convert, and so she decided to do something else: "I decided to read their own book to show to them that Islam was a false religion and Muhammad was a false God".

So she borrowed a copy of Holy Qur'an to find out flaws in there to convince her Arab classmates to change their faith. But more she read the Qur'an and related books on Islam, the more she grew closer to the truth she was reading. This had a telling effect on her personal life as she stopped going to bar with her husband and stopped eating pork. She became more quiet and distant which led her husband into suspecting her of having an affair with someone else. And thus one day they separated.

Then one day a Muslim religious scholar met her and invited her to Islam. Though she outrightly rejected his offer, she asked him to clear her queries about Islam. "He was very patient and discussed every question with me. He never made me feel silly or that a question was stupid", says she. And instead of being offended to her questions, he welcomed her to ask more as "He explained that Allah had told us to seek knowledge and questions were one of the ways to accomplish that."

And then it dawned on her the truth Islam carries and became a Muslim on 21 May 1977, when she was only 24 years. But with her conversion came seclusion and a wrath from her family. She lost her friends and had no fun anymore. While her sister attempted to put her in a mental health institution, his father drew out a gun to kill her for he said she'd better be dead rather than suffering in the deepest of Hell. But she stood on to her belief. Later even her hijab cost her job with one final blow yet to come.

His husband filed for a divorce, which meant the future of the custody of her two minor children she loved most dearly. Rather the judge giving her the custody of her children, he gave her two choices: Either renounce Islam and get custody of the children, or keep Islam and leave the children. She was given 20 minutes to make a decision. It were the most difficult 20 minutes of her life as on one side there were two loving children whom she adored very much and on the other hand stood her decision to leave Islam or continue to be a Muslim. She also knew that she wouldn't be able to bear any child in future as doctors had told her earlier. She says: "I prayed like I had never done before … I knew that there was no safer place for my children to be than in the hands of Allah. If I denied Him, there would be no way in the future to show my children the wonders of being with Allah."

And then she decided to continue to be a Muslim at the cost of sacrificing her children. But then she took solace from the following verses of Qur'an:

Allah! there is no god But He – the Living, The Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things In the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede. In His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to his creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory). (Quran 2: 255)

Or do ye think that ye shall enter the Garden (of Bliss) without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They encountered suffering and adversity, and were so shaken in spirit that even the Messenger and those of faith who were with him cried: "When (will come) the help of Allah?" Ah! Verily the help of Allah is (always) near! (Quran 2: 214)

Thereafter she continued to live alone but never left her family and continued to post cards on their special days with a verse from Qur'an or Hadith (Hadith is the way Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, explained Qur'an to this followers or the way he lived his life in total submission to the commandments of Allah), but not mentioning the source lest it offended them.

The change in her was soon visible in her manners, politeness and behaviour, which started to be noticed and appreciated by her family. And then things started to change for good. It was her grandmother, then 100, who converted to Islam, but died just days after. She believes: The day she pronounced Shahada, all her misdeeds had been erased, while her good deeds were preserved. She died so soon after accepting Islam that I knew her "book" was bound to be heavy on the good side. It fills me with such a joy!"

Her father who was well read otherwise was to take the next step. He read a book on Umar ibn Khattab, a companion of the Prophet who persecuted the early Muslims before he converted to Islam. One day he was going to kill the Holy Prophet when someone told him to first take care of your sister who had already converted to Islam. With the same drawn sword, he stormed into her sister's house to kill her. But upon hearing some of the verses from the Qur'an that his sister was reciting, he recognized the truth and went straight to the Prophet and accepted Islam. So her father also became Muslim and so did her mother and sister who once thought she had become delirious by changing her birth religion.

Still more was to become. His son who had become adult also embraced Islam and when he was 21 he called his mother to let her know his ultimate decision. And then some sixteen years since their divorce, her ex husband also embraced Islam too. He apologized to her for the divorce and wanted their daughter too should come under the fold of Islam.  And she forgave for she was now more forgiving.

Perhaps the greatest reward for her was yet to come. She who had married another person, in the meantime and despite the doctors' verdict that she could never conceive another child, Allah blessed her with a beautiful boy. If Allah (swt) makes a gift to someone, who can prevent Him? It was truly a wonderful blessing from Allah (swt), and so she named him "Barakah". She says: "True, Allah has tested me as was promised, and rewarded me far beyond what I could ever hoped for".

This is the most inspiring personal account of Aminah Assilmi, who is now the President of the International Union of Muslim Women. She delivers lectures nationwide and is on high demand. It was her organization that successfully lobbied for the "Eid Stamp" and had it approved by the United States Postal Service. She is now working on making the Eid Day as a national holiday in USA.

I hope her inspiring personal account of how she embrace Islam, her difficulties as Muslim and the rewards by Allah for steadfastness will inspire many non Muslims to find the true truth in Islam and help them taking their Ultimate Decision to embrace Islam.

Read her complete account at: The Islamic Bulletin

To read personal accounts of many a celebrity 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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The Prophet Muhammad: A Biography led me to Islam

While writing about an introduction to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), I quoted the reference of Barnaby Rogerson's book “The Prophet Muhammad: A Biography”. At that time I did not know that one day I shall be writing a post about a young man who embraced Islam just by reading this book.

Yusuf Derbeshyre was a typical Christian young man enjoying his life as all other Christian friends of his did by going to clubs drinking and making merry. But then a small incident changed the complexion of his who life.

In the account which I read he says that he had the habit of taking books in his backpack whenever he traveled to while away time at the airports or when in waiting for a transport. It so happened he went to WHSmith to buy a book or two for his travel to Greece. In the bookstore, he accidentally flipped over a bookshelf and a few books fell down. While picking up the books, Barnaby Rogerson's book “The Prophet Muhammad: A Biography” caught his eye and he read the first page and it looked interesting. He read the second page. Took it to the counter, and bought it and took it on holiday.

Reading the biography, his quest to know more got triggered and he though that  he wanted to learn more. So when he came back, he went to the local mosque and started to know more about Islam. Seeing his quest, one day Imam of the masjid said: “Well to tell you the truth, the best way to understand Islam is to become a Muslim.” He says he did not think twice and became a Muslim.

While reading the account of many companions and relatives of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), he specifically got interested in Ḥamzah ibn ‘Abdul-Muṭṭalib, Prophet's paternal uncle, who lived a life exactly like him before embracing Islam.

Then he went on to describe very emotionally his visit to the battlefield when he went for Hajj to Saudi Arabia where the Battle of Uhud was fought in which Hamza fighting bravely embraced martyrdom.

Here read the account in Yusuf Derbeshyre's own words:

I went to the cemetery, then got off the bus. As I was walking across, it was like I was walking through tranquility. I felt so emotional, and tears were just streaming down my face, and I couldn't stop them, and I didn't know why.

So I kept going, and as I got off this sandy patch unto the little paved area, it all went, and I thought that was strange. I went to the cemetery. I made my dua to the martyrs and Hamza. And made my way back to the bus when I said “Come on it’s time to go”, and as I walked across that patch of ground it happened again, just crying. Someone asked me “What’s the matter?” and I told him, to the man who was there next to me because he was translating for me. He said “When our Prophet found out what happened to his uncle he cried, and just wept and wept.” And I said “Maybe he just left something there for somebody who wanted to find it,” and I felt it here, in my chest, for Hamza and it hit me fully.

So amazed was he with his personal experience that on his return he told his wife that he would name his son Hamza if a boy is born to them. However when a baby girl was born to them, he asked his mother to suggest a name for their girl. After some research, his mother told him to name her Saffiyah, the name of Hamza's sister (Saffiyah binte ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib).

To read personal accounts of many a celebrity 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.

Account Reference

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Journey of a Catholic from an Atheist to Orthodox Church and finally Islam

Faith is the basic foundation of any human being. One may believe in anything or anyone, but the faith solidifies only when one comes to understand the truth and the wisdom behind a faith. Since Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) the large number prophets were chosen by Allah to help people find the truth. But it always so happened that soon after these prophets were gone, their followers became disillusioned and their faith became corrupted. 

This happens when pollution finds its way into one's faith or there are questions that still remained unanswered. That is when the unsatisfactorily leads a person to find answers in other faiths - and mostly such people finally chose Islam as their ultimate faith, for Islam answers all queries and question that saturate one' s mind.

I have already shared personal accounts of a few, and today I am sharing the account of young man Rosario who was a born Catholic, but went astray and became an atheist when his religion of birth could not answer his queries. I came across this account at the Muslim Stories and am sharing  a few excerpts while you may read the complete account from the source reference given at the end of the post.

Dissatisfied with Catholicism, he says he became an atheist. But it still made him more miserable as here too there were no answers. He then took up philosophy which made him more critical and open to the world. He started questioning his faith found him moving from denomination to denomination in search of the “true” Christianity, until he finally ended up in the Greek Orthodox Church. Although not fully content, he thought he had found “true” Christianity at last. However, perhaps still the most difficult doctrine was the fact that Jesus was God. He says he understood the Trinity, but the concept still felt as though it was “forced” on to what the scriptures were actually saying.

And then a friend introduced him to a Muslim and things started to clear up for him. He discussed various issues with the Imam of the masjid for over next 4 - 5 months. He found people around highly intellectual and engaged in philosophy more deeply than the average person. And then decided to read Qur'an, the last of the four holy books. The more he read the translation of the Qur'an, the more he understood that "how personal the Qur’an was — as though it was talking to me directly; it was drastically different than how the Bible was written."

Although he admits that nothing really “moved me” at the time. However, when one day while reading Surah Al-Isra (17th chapter), that’s when he finally felt something. It was ayahs 23-24 which captivated him:

And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age [while] with you, say not to them [so much as], "uff," and do not repel them but speak to them a noble word.And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy and say, "My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up [when I was] small."

This really moved him and made him cry for he remembered how his mother went through to take care of him "and how our culture we practiced and lived in made it the standard to be distant from one’s parents and to be disrespectful. It was the first time I realized that respecting one’s parents was essential. It had never dawned on me before. Even though I struggle to do so to this day, it was the Qur’an that made me realize it as a part of my moral duty."

And this reading made him realist that it was Islam that must be his ultimate faith to live his life in truth. He also came to know while reading history of Islam that Spain (Al Andulas) was once under Muslim rule for almost eight hundred years - a country which he originally belonged to.

By that time he had also read the differences between the two mainstream branches of Islam, i.e. Sunni and Shia, he chose to be a Sunni Muslim and 'reverted' to Islam and changed his name to Asadullah Ali Al-Andalusi (Al Andalusi fro his roots with Spain). He faced lot of resistance from his friends and family, specially his mother who had endured prejudice as a Spanish/Puerto Rican immigrant, which is why she had given me an English name and only wanted me to learn to speak English. 

HE then completed his studies and went to Malaysia to learn more about Islam. He is now doing a PhD in Islamic Studies and critiquing ISIS (my thesis is “The Delusional State of ISIS”), showcasing how their understanding of Islam is actually quite liberal and modern.

About Asadullah:

Asadullah Ali Al-Andalusi is a research fellow for Yaqeen Institute and the founder of the Andalusian Project, an independent research platform for counter-Islamophobia studies. He holds degrees in both Western and Islamic Philosophy and is currently pursuing his Ph.D in Islamic Studies. He specializes in topics related to the philosophy of science, atheism,  terrorism, Islamic  political thought and ethics, and other issues surrounding the global Muslim community.  

To read personal accounts of many a celebrity 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.

Source: Main Account | About Asadullah Ali Al-Andalusi 

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My Great Grandfather's Journey through other Faiths to know the Truth

I have started sharing experiences of people of other faiths who 'reverted' to Islam. Though the experiences are varied as people from different walks of life had different environments from they hailed, generally the reasons of their 'reversion' to Islam have been almost similar.

However, today I am taking a time out and want to share experiences of different faiths as experienced by my late great grandfather at the turn of 20th century. It was the time when the British had a control over the Indian sub continent and a massive campaign had been unleashed by the missionaries who had abound the length and breadth of the Indian continent to invite people to Christianity. And many people, specially from the lower untouchable castes of Hindus chose to be Christians.

My great grandfather was a well read person of his time and fairly religious. People of his town would often come to him for resolving petty matters relating to Islam and get enlightened from his knowledge about Islam. But he was a restless man and was always wanting to know more about other faiths and religions of Indian subcontinent. So one day, my father told me, he left his job and family and disappeared. He was gone for good about a year and a half till he returned, and he was a changed man. 

Herein under is what he told his family and friends about his disappearance and experiences.

He said he had many questions boiling in his mind when people of other faiths and religions came to him for answers, for which he had no knowledge. So he took a time off to know about other faiths and his own faith. He wandered from religious places of Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Jews beside atheists and people with no religion, sat and lived with them for two three months each and lived the way they did. Living close to people of other faiths, he began to ask questions vis a vis Islam to find out the truth. 

It was a hard task as some of the times he found his faith falling prey to disillusions for every faith and its preachers have their own charm to spellbound someone who seemed lost and weary. But he continued despite all the fascinating invitations and kept weighing the pros and cons of each faith to finally come to a conclusion that it was nothing but Islam which was the way to the enlightened path, the path shown by Allah through His own commandments contained in the last of the holy scripture The Holy Qur'an revealed on to prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). 

He said he better knew the difference between Allah and God of Christians, the finality of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the role Prophet Eesa (Jesus, peace be upon him) was to play in the final days before the Day of Judgment.

And when he thought he had ditched Islam against all faiths but was rebounded back to Islam, he chose to come back and started giving lessons and guidance to people who now came to him more than before and helped them to walk with confidence on the path of Islam.

The purpose of sharing this post is that before taking one's ultimate decision to embrace Islam, one must go through each faith or at least one's own faith very objectively and then try to find the truth by comparing one's faith with Islam. It  is only then one can see the light at the end of the tunnel - the light of truth and salvation.

And perhaps I too am trying to know about other faiths and keeping Islam as my pivot, the word of Allah and His wisdom contained in the Holy Qur'an and the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) which is a true specimen of living by Allah's will and commandments.

To read personal accounts of many a celebrity 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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Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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Embracing Islam: Do we Convert to or Revert to Islam

To some this post may seem surprising or even interesting. But sometimes without adequate knowledge we tend to confuse words or do not try to understand the conceptual difference. And while taking of such words, two stand out promptly for those embracing Islam: Conversion or Reversion.

Conversion is a simple understandable word in English and is often used when a person changes his religion or faith to another faith. He is said to have converted to, say Islam from his earlier faith Christianity or any other religion or faith. This word is most commonly used and everyone understands it easily and totally.

But why some people use the word "reversion" when embracing Islam. To understand the difference between conversion and reversion thus one needs to understand the concept first.

In Islam, we all believe that every child born to any faith is a born Muslim, for his birth is from Allah who sent countless prophets and messengers and revealed holy scriptures so that people should walk on the path chosen for them by Allah.

We as Muslim believe that we have a fitrah (innate nature) to the values of Islam, because we are all born as Muslims. This concept of fitrah has also been explianed by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who has been quoted as sauing:

No [child] is born but upon Fitra (natural inclination to Islam). It is his parents who make him a Jew or a Christian or a Polytheist. A person said: Allah's Messenger, what is your opinion if they were to die before that (before reaching the age of adolescence when they can distinguish between right and wrong)? He said: It is Allah alone Who knows what they would be doing.

Better still here is what the Holy Qur'an says about reversion:

Those to whom We sent the Book before this, they do believe in this revelation. And when it is recited to them, they say: 'We believe therein, for it is the Truth from our Lord. Indeed we have been Muslims from before this.' Twice will they be given their reward, for they have persevered, and they avert evil with good, and they spend in charity out of what We have given them. (Quran 28:51-54)

This solidifies the concept of Reversion rather than conversion as all those who embrace Islam are in fact reverting to their original faith of being born as Muslims. And based on the Qur'anic injection and Prophet Muhammad's sating, newly converted Muslims are said to have reverted to Islam rather than converted to Islam.

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Interaction with a German who had Embraced Islam

It is always very educative to interact with someone who has left his earlier faith and embraced Islam on his free will. In fact such Muslims prove to be better Muslims than those who are born Muslims as they understand Islam before embracing it.

Many years ago, I came across a German who had embraced Islam after being a born Christian. It so happened that I was posted on a foreign assignment in Saudis Arabia and our working place was in the field with desert on three side and Arabian Gulf on the fourth side. Our equipment was mostly placed in the open with no shelter or shade. It was month of Ramadan and the sun had shown no inclination to spare us of its intense sun rays and we were almost roasted and dehydrated as we were fasting.

One day it so happened that one of our vital pieces of equipment which was supposed to be operational round the clock developed a major fault and went out of action. We sent an SOS call to the maintenance company to send their technician ASAP. While sitting under my shelter, I saw a jeep coming towards us with a trail of dust rising behind it. No sooner did the jeep came to a halt near our equipment, two technicians disembarked, one Saudi and other a seemingly foreign national. 

The foreign national straightaway jumped over the equipment and went into action while the Saudi sat beside the equipment under its shade. I kept watching as the foreigner, who was rather bulky and sweating profusely, was continuously busy in his inspection and repair work. Seeing his plight, I asked my staff to take some cold drinks to the duo but he came back saying that both said that they were fasting. Well, this really puzzled him about the foreigner and I decided to talk to him on this.

It was almost the time for the mid-day prayers and I left for the masjid. When I finished offering my prayer and was going out, I found the foreigner also offering his prayers in a corner in the last row. I waited outside till the foreigner also came out. I introduced myself as the man in charge of the facility and asked him if he could come to my office. He said he sure would but after doing his job.

It took a while for him to fix the equipment and then, still sweating as if he had come from under a shower, he came to my office. And then he introduced me as Muhammad hailing from Germany. I obviously asked him if he was a born Muslim, to which he smiled and said that every Muslim who met him always asked him the same question. Well, he said that all along his teen-age life, he was a Christian born to a devout Christian family. Then his company sent him to a course in Turkey where he had a Muslim female colleague with who he befriended. And this meeting changed the course of his life.

As they both were working together, he felt after some time that she was the person he should marry and one day proposed to her. To his surprise, his friend declined the offer saying that though she liked him, she could not marry as her religion did not allow marrying a Christian or a person from other faith than Islam. This was both a setback to him and a surprise too. So, he decided to read about Islam and see how he could find a loophole to marry his Muslim friend. Although, he could not find such a concession, it provided him the God sent opportunity to study the new faith in detail, interact with Muslims around and discuss many issues which Islam and his faith were tangent at.

By and by the truth contained in the Qur'an started to dawn on him and many a question that sometime crept into his mind with regard to his birth faith started to getting answered. He said he had a clearer vision of God's oneness as compared to a vague term of God in three and matters like original sin that always confused him. He was surprised to find so much on Christ, addressed as Prophet Eesa (peace be upon him) and his part in the overall plan of the God Almighty, his lifting alive and saving him from the crucification and the day when he would be sent back to earth to pave way for spreading the final word of God before the Day of Judgment.

Something that impressed him the most was that there was no priesthood in Islam. Any Muslim could lead a prayer and didn't need to go to a priest to pray for him or ask Allah to forgive his sins on his behalf since the daily prayers are in fact a link between him and Allah to ask forgiveness of sins and showing of the path of the blessed and not of those that went astray and suffered from the wrath of Allah.

Thus, long sessions of understanding Islam with friends and religious scholars made him take his ultimate decision to change his faith from Christianity to Islam. Did you ever felt remorse or falling back to Christianity, I asked. He smiled and said, "I became Muslim after lot of research and took the decision until I was very much convinced that I was doing the right thing and obviously there was then no turning back.

What about your family and friends - how did they react to your decision? Well, he said, such decisions are hard to accept, especially when it entails a change of faith. "Obviously there was lot of resistance and even long spells of break-up like silence, but by and by they settled down as they thought that whatever decision has been taken has not been in haste and that I knew exactly what I have decided for myself after lot of deliberation and research."

And my last question was what about his Muslim friend who declined to marry him? He smiled and said that he was happily married to her and had their first child a year before.

This was my interaction with a newly converted Muslim and I found him more knowledgeable than I as I was a born Muslim, never challenging myself, but he read, interacted and understood what Islam was and what challenges he would face after his change of faith and how as a Muslim his whole life-scape would change forever. Stay blessed my friend wherever you are - Allah's blessing on you and your family.

To read personal accounts of many a celebrity 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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