Revert Experiences: A Solo Journey to Islam after Hearing the Call to Prayer (Adhan)

Revert experiences are always unique. I have so far shared many such experiences and personal accounts, but most of these have been from inspiration from others or even with a will to contesting Islam, reverts finding truth instead and coming under the fold of Islam. But today I came to a personal account wherein one Irish man reverted to Islam all by himself - no motivation or no mentor to lead him to Islam but his personal study of the Holy Qur'an.

For Alan Rooney from Scotland, it all started from listening to the call of prayer, Adhan, while on holidays in Turkey. He had otherwise never met a Muslim in his life but the magic of truth embedded in the words he heard of a unknown language still mesmerized him and invoked in him to know about this mysterious religion.

"For me, it all started when I heard the call to prayer from a local mosque while on a beach holiday in Turkey. It woke something up inside me, and inspired me to begin a spiritual quest."

So once back home, he bought a copy of the Holy Qur'an and started his solo journey to Islam. "While reading, I always asked God to guide me on the journey I had set out on," says Alan.

The more he read the Qur'an, more scared he became for the Qur'an was talking back and telling Alan who he really was and how could he embark upon a spiritual journey which could lead him to the real truth. "I knew that I could stop reading the Qur’an and halt the process at any time, but I also knew that would mean giving up something really important. And I knew what the end result of this process would be: I would be a Muslim." 

So he kept up with the reading and like any inquisitive non Muslim was always on the lookout for a catch, a spill or something vague that could deter him from further pursuits. But the more he read, the more clear his vision became. All the time wondering:

"The difficult part in all of this was wondering who I would become. Would I become strange, dress differently, speak differently in the eyes of others? What would my family, friends and workmates think of me? Most importantly, what would I think about myself? Would I like who I became?"

But his journey continued, praying a lot for himself to come out successfully. And then he started searching for revert experiences on the net, but every account was a different account, as I mentioned earlier and as can be read from many such experiences I have already shared,

I would spend time conducting searches online, looking for the stories of people who had gone through this experience themselves. Nothing ever seemed to quite fit the bill - each person’s journey, of course, is unique. It is good to know, however, that others have gone down this same path as you. Put simply, I turned to these resources when I became afraid I’d be seen as an oddball. 

But even then he continued his journey for the next 18 months on his own, questioning himself of new things he was learning both by reading the Qur'an and reading the revert experiences. All the time asking himself "If something doesn’t feel right to you, then it’s a clear indication that it’s not for you. You have to listen carefully to your intuition and your heart."

And by then, he was already offering daily five prayers and unknown to him he had become a Muslim. "After those 18 months, however, I considered myself a Muslim. I was praying five times a day, fasting for Ramadan, and eating and drinking only what was considered acceptable according to the teachings of the Qu’ran."

And then he went to a small mosque in his town one day and knocked. He knocked at the mosque door, but in fact he knocked at Allah's door to open him his heart to Islam. The Muslims in the mosque didn't know how to accommodate him as he could not clearly tell them why he was there. But he was accepted from the very beginning - but there was still lot to learn. 

"What is Islam and how do you divorce that religion from somebody’s culture? It’s important to point out that it’s Islam you have to accept, rather than any cultural specification from out in the world. You always retain the freedom to define your own identity, so long as you stay true to the written tenets of the Qu’ran."

A happy Alan Rooney as middle-aged Scottish Muslim

His quest to continue to learn more about Islam finally gave him strength,to take that ultimate decision of his life: Taking shahadah and coming under the fold of Islam. Alhamdolillah. Now Alan is a practicing Muslim and is too happy with his new identity as a devout Muslim.

End Note: On another forum, I usually come across questions about Islam and have been interacting with a 70 years old Christian who claims to have read the Holy Qur'an three times and yet his hate against Islam is yet to diminish and he continues to take out small points that could help him to point a score against Islam. And while trying to appease him and provide him answers to his questions, I continue to think that look here is a man who is not finding the truth becasue his heart is sealed and he is reading Qur'an with a closed heart only to be little Islam. But there are many like Alan who instantly find the truth in Islam and are attracted to it right from outset. This is the power of Islam for it trickles down into a humble heart easily but stubborn and closed hearts are deprived of this blessing.

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.

Photo | Source

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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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Revert Experiences: From Proving Islam Wrong to Embracing Islam

Reading, and sharing, the revert experiences is really educative and enlightening for it shows why people leave their region of birth and come under the fold of Islam. I have shared many such experiences in my previous posts, and each new post has a new experience being shared.

Today's shared revert experience is also unique of dear sister Danielle LoDuca is an American author from Oakdale New York. Since she was a born Catholic Christian, she never aspired to be a Muslim. But at the same time she didn't even like to be a Christian for she was inspired by Bertrand Russel, a British philosopher land Nobel laureate, who believed that that religion and the religious outlook serve to impede knowledge and foster fear and dependency.

It was the 9/11 morning that she says she cannot be sure whether or not she heard of Islam before that date. She says: "My disdain of religions was really validated when I thought about a religion being related to this atrocity. This propelled me to embark upon a project I thought would be groundbreaking. I decided to prove all religions were man made. I was going to do it by methodically comparing them to political philosophies, which I had begun studying that same semester and found strikingly similar to religion. Flawed and conflicting with one another, they provided the perfect medium to show the world what I had come to believe: Religions were human falsifications and religious adherents, dupes."

So she got into reading all religious books from Bible to Hindu scriptures, Buddhism, Taoism. In her quest to know more, she also bought a copy of the Quran. But soon she found that Quran figured out prominently from all other books she had on other religions. She confesses: "Its flow, accessibility and its message was so much more digestible, easy to understand and strikingly applicable. The other books, in comparison, had become a struggle to complete and my interest in them, and my project, slowly faded."

In those times, she also had a chance to visit countries of Southeast Asia, specially Vietnam, where she could still feel the after effects of American war and found misery and poverty on streets, people living a life of suffering, because of a war waged before I was even born. This gave her a feeling of remorse and shame for seeing humanity suffering.

During her stay in Australia, an Israeli who was leaving to go back home for some time owned the apartment she sublet. Prior to that, her knowledge of the conflict in the Middle East was murky. Although she from landlord, she garnered enough information to fuel insatiable curiosity, she needed more to know about Middle East. And this led her to vising Middle East along with a group for  humanitarian initiatives, despite many cautions from friends and family for safety concerns.

While in Jerusalem, she came across many Christians and one day had her first encounter with practicing Muslims. In the beginning she was uneasy with those "all covered up" Muslim women, separate from men but her interaction with them and their kindness to her put her to ease. "Without a common language, I felt their warmth and hospitality. I was taken aback by the generosity of the Muslims I met." says she.

It was there that she first found out the meaning of Alhamdulillah, because nearly every person I saw said it, even when they were standing in front of the ruins of their lives. Even when their child had been killed, even when their existence appeared to me utterly hopeless and helpless. I couldn't believe they were praising God amidst what looked to me, like misery. Not only that, overall, they handled extreme hardship and destruction with such grace. True patience. What is this? I wondered. 

Although she had been reading Quran, bur she had never heard anyone reading it. One day, while walking in the streets, she says: "I heard a beautiful sound. A sound that, to me, was symbolic of the life now thriving where there had previously been desolation. I told a journalist I was walking with, “Ah, It’s so good to hear music!”. She laughed at me and shook her head, “That’s not music. That’s the Quran!”. Her statement stopped me in my tracks. When the Quran I had been reading, connected with the sound of its recitation for the first time, a new burning desire was ignited inside me. That recitation, coupled with my experience living with Muslims in the weeks I spent there, resulted in an insatiable thirst to know more about Islam."

Once sitting with Muslim women, one of them said to her, “You are so nice. You should be Muslim like us.” It was a statement she would have normally scoffed at and repelled, but when she said it, she felt flattered. And back home in New York, she decided to read more about Islam for she thought her wandering out for almost 22 years was finally finding some meaning. 

And then one evening, while reading about Islam in a library she says: "I stared in disbelief at the words on the pages. There is nothing worthy of worship except God, and Muhammad is His messenger. This can’t be happening. I couldn't possibly believe that. I couldn't possibly be certain. My shock culminated in elation. It was true. I gratefully surrendered to the Owner of the heavens and the Earth. It was as if the trees and lights glistened and danced in happiness with me as I continued the rest of the way to my apartment. To my new life."

For detailed account, please click "see more" at the end of text below:

Her account made my quite emotional and my eyes watered for the way she described her last encounter to the truth and beginning a new life as a blessed Muslim. I hope this may mean a lot to others who have some inclination in their hearts about truth and one day, In Sha Allah (Allah willing) their hearts too will melt and accept Islam as a final religion of their lives for as long as they live.

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.

Photo | References: | 1 | 

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

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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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Revert Experience of a Paranormal Activity Investigator

The word Islam means voluntary “submission” or “surrender” to the Will of of one and only One Allah, without attributing anyone else with Him. This is the monotheistic concept we the Muslims believe in. 

Islam derives from the root word “salam,” meaning peace. Islam is in nutshell is about man since eternity to eternity. It is about how a man should follow a path that guides him to live a life of truth as spelt out very clearly by the Master of the Universe in His Divine scripture The Holy Qur'an. And that is the reason, every day more and more people who ponder over the real meaning of life are turning towards Islam and reverting to the very true meaning of life.

The main purpose of my blog, when I started it, was to know, and in the process tell others, why people of other faith revert to Islam. I have been sharing the revert experience every now and then, and the experiences are really revealing. And today's experience is one of the very special for a brother found an answer in the Holy Quran which he could not otherwise.

Today's revert experience is an amazing story of the known Paranormal Activity Investigator Brother Michael Hallowell who spent years investigating the paranormal activities and he worked with the police on cases related to these things. 

One day he came across a case where he witnessed an invisible being stalking a family in their home and couldn't solve the case. It was then a Muslim friend of his son recommended him to read about the "Jinn" beings from the Noble Qur'an. Hit against the corner, he thought to give it a try. And when he started the relevant portions of the Holy Qur'an, specifically the Surah Jinn the 72nd chapter of Islam. he was amazed to find how the Noble Qur'an perfectly explained all his questions about those paranormal activities he's been wondering about for long time.

This made him realize that none except Allah could unveil the secret behind these otherwise invisible beings called Jinn.  This was enough to convince about the truth he has always been looking for and converted to Islam. His reversion sat in a chain reaction in his family where members of his family started converting one after another, his father of 73 being the first one.

Watch the video below in which brother Michael Hallowell explains his revert experience:

I am sure such sharing of revert experience would provide a cue to others who are half way in deciding and taking their ultimate decision to accept Islam. Please read all such revert experiences I have already shared and find the truth yourself. I assure you in Islam you will find the peace of mind that no other faith can provide.

Give it a try!!

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.

Photo 

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

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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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Revert Experiences: A Born Ahmadi Reverts to Islam

The Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him) who was chosen to be the last of the prophets b y Allah had warned the believers during his lifetime about innovations as Allah had completed His Divine message and guidance to the entire mankind and that there would be no prophets after Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). 

In Surah Ahzab, verse 40, it is said:

مَا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ اَبَآ اَحَدٍ مِّنۡ رِّجَالِكُمۡ وَلٰـكِنۡ رَّسُوۡلَ اللّٰهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيّٖنَ ؕ وَكَانَ اللّٰهُ بِكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ عَلِيۡمًا‏  

40. Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the last (end) of the Prophets. And Allah is Ever All-Aware of everything.

The verse above in nutshell emphasis that when a document is sealed, it is complete, and there can be no further addition. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) closed the long line of Messengers. Allah's teaching is and will always be continuous, but there has been and will be no Prophet after Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The later ages and times will want thinkers and reformers, not Prophets. This is not an arbitrary matter. It is a decree full of knowledge and wisdom, for "Allah has full knowledge of all things."

Fearing innovations, the Prophet of Allah often said:

“Whoever Allah guides, no one can lead him astray. Whoever Allah sends astray, no one can guide him. The truest word is the Book of Allah and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad. The most evil matters are those that are newly invented, for every newly invented matter is an innovation. Every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Hellfire.” [Reported by Jabir ibn Abdullah :Source: Sunan al-Nasā’ī 1578, Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani]

However, it was a pity, that soon after the death of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), a section of believers took advantage of the void and by giving wrong interpretations of this verse, opened the way to a great mischief and raised false prophets challenging the finality of Prophethood. Three such false prophets during the times of first Caliph of Islam Abu Bakr surfaced who were rightly checked and killed in a series of battles, called the Ridda Wars, along with their followers. These included Tulayha, Musaylima, and Sajjah ( a false prophetess).

Unfortunately this did not end there and in late 19th century another false prophet, by the name of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, appeared from Qadian, a place in India who proclaimed continuation of prophet-hood despite the clear Quranic verse above. This false prophet took advantage of the British rule in India and came up with a new religion and his followers were called Qadianis in India and upon independence, the group also surfaced in Pakistan calling them Ahmadis with their headquarters at Rabwah in central Punjab near city of Sargodha.

Since the emergence of this group suited the British for it seemed to divide the Muslims of the Indian Sub Continent, this group was allowed to thrive and never checked despite reservations and objections of Muslims of British India. Some believe that it was at the behest of the British that this innovation was created. Today Ahmadis are also called as Mirzai, Qadiani, the Lahori Group.

However, this innovation has never been accepted by the mainstream Muslims and have always been considered as non believers for they blatantly negated the concept of the seal of the Prophets. In 1974, the Parliament of Pakistan after a long debate with the representatives of the Ahmadi faction, declared them non Muslims. 

Under president Zia-ul-Haq, an anti-Ahmadiyya ordinance was made in the Constitution of Pakistan which restricted the freedom of religion for Ahmadis. According to this law, Ahmadis cannot call themselves Muslim or "pose as Muslims" which is punishable by three years in prison.

After the promulgation of Anti Ahmadi ordnance, Ahmadis started to seek political asylum in the West and were readily granted the asylum for it suited the West to make a case against Islam. And presently, they are very active in spreading their word and form of religion and trapping Muslims who do not have adequate knowledge about Islam. Germany and England are two countries where Ahmadis abound and are often found preaching their faith openly.

We will someday write about the beliefs of the Ahmadis, but this post today is a confession of a born Ahmadi who sought the light of truth and reverted to Islam and in a video below shares the beliefs of Ahmadi and how he was blessed an opportunity to revert to mainstream Islam as is practiced by majority of Muslims around the world.

Please listen to the video shared by Mufti Syed Adnan Kakakhail which is in Urdu with English sub titles for those who cannot understand Urdu:

May Allah bless us to understand the true Islam and follow the Divine message as revealed to last of the Prophets, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Amy those who follow Ahmadi faith and revert to Islam by listening to the confession and experience as described in the video.

Author's Note: The data above has been collected from the references as given below. If any one 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 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.

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

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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Kristiane Verena Backer 's Journey to Islam

Many centuries ago a man in his forties stood in front of the most powerful people of Makkah and proclaimed to them that he had been chosen by the Creator of the universe to be His prophet to spread His divine message to them so that they leave the life of polytheism, invited them to monotheism and to start worshiping none but one and the only Allah. He was not only mocked and laughed at by his audience but was severely ridiculed, teased and bodily harmed along with his meager companions to an extent that he was forced to leave Makkah and emigrated to Medina.  And from then on, his small group of devotees who chose to follow their new faith started to swell and a time came that they all under the patronage of that lone man, now called Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the prophet of Allah, entered Makkah to make it home of Islam.

And from then on, there has been no stopping people from embracing Islam and today, Alhamdollilah, Islam is not only the second largest religion after Christianity, but many non Muslims fear that one day it may overtake the Christianity - and the day doesn't seem to be very far.

In a series of posts on personal accounts of non Muslims reverting to Islam, I have tried to put across personal experiences and reasons why they chose to be Muslims. Each personal account is worth reading. 

While I shared experiences of ordinary people, I also shared personal account of famous Irish singer Sinead O'Connor. Today I am adding one more celebrity with a moving account from how from a top TV anchor and DJ of famous MTV Europe, the German born Kristiane Verena Backer, who proudly embraced Islam.

At the age of 24 Kristiane became one of the leading presenters on MTV Europe where she interviewed many celebrities, major artists and musicians of her time. But then came one person who changed the entire complexion of her future life. 

Kristiane Verena Backer with Imran Khan [Photo]

This man is Imran Khan, then a young talented cricketer and captain of Pakistan cricket team, and presently the prime minister of Pakistan. During their three years' association, Imran Khan gave her a number of books on Islam and she even traveled to Pakistan with him. And reading the books on Islam made her change and take shahada in 1995 and converted to Sunni branch of Islam after living here previous life as a devout Protestant. 

“I was convinced. I converted because I wanted to bring God into my life, and I wanted to purify myself to taste the spiritual fruits I was reading about,” she once told the HuffingtonPost.

I could narrate her experience and how she reached at this critical decision of her life, but it would be much better if you listen to her telling an audience about her journey to Islam. Her life experience provides a jump pad for those who have been inspired by Islam through reading books on Islam or interacting with Muslims, to take their decision to find the ultimate truth of their lives in Islam.

Please watch a video of Kristiane Verena Backer in which she reveals her journey form her hay days of early life to the pinnacle of career with MTV and then taking her ultimate decision to become a Muslimah.  And this video can is so adsorbing, listening to a high profile show biz presenter and celebrity to bow down to oneness of Allah and change her high profile life to that of a devout Muslim. I would say it is a must listen-to video for those who are aspiring to embrace to Islam - this will surely guide them how it feels like taking one big step of their lives into the realm of blessings of Allah.

Please watch the video:

In 2001, she performed Umrah when she visited Madinah and in 2006 performed Hajj rituals after which she wrote her famous book “From MTV to Makkah: How Islam Inspired My Life,” she wrote about her eventful journey from entertainment to ‘inner-tainment’.. And she very proudly claims that she feel elevated and blessed for being a Muslim. Backer now lives in London and works as a fine art consultant.

I commend her for her boldness to step down from the ladder of show biz and start climbing another ladder at the end of which is shining the heavenly light that changes one's life for ever and for good. For whenever takes the first step on the ladder, the entire perspective of life changes and a new meaning is given to one's aspirations, life and goals. May Allah bless her the best of both worlds. Aameen.

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.

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 |

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

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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A Racist and Anti Islam Mindset finally finds Solace in Islam

My Ultimate Decision, the name and theme of my blog basically hinges about people of other faiths finally taking their Ultimate Decision of life by discarding their earlier faiths and embracing Islam. I have in the past shared circumstances and reasons by some of those who questioned their beliefs but did not find the satisfying answers till they voluntarily started reading about Islam and the Holy Qur'an when the truth started to unfold on them and took them into the final religion sent by Allah Almighty through Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

I have read many sites of Christianity which outrightly reject Islam as a Divine religion and trying to base their anti Islamic mindset - but when Islam provides answers to the very practicing Christians or those who have become racist with anti Islam mindset, many chose to be come practicing Muslims. In fact better than born Muslims.  

And this post today is of a man who was raised in a family where the father was extremely racist and anti Islam. Naturally, someone living in the United States where every incident of shooting is attributed to "Muslims fundamentalists" if the shooter turns out to be a Muslim and labelled as terrorist, but when a Christian does the same, he or she is simply shrugged of as a case of troubled family or bringing up,

Now back to the story of this young Christian who became a bully and extremely racist and anti Muslim and became was heavily involved in the racist neo-Nazi skinhead movement. But deep inside hi, he always felt bad about what he dis but continued doing so for it also pleased him hurting others. He confides that "I remember a Mexican schoolmate of mine asking me when I was 16 "why do you hang out with those losers, you are better than that." He was right, he recalls, but I guess there was a part of me that, even though I hated my father for what he was doing to the family, that I wanted to be just like him. That is where my racism and hatred came from.

Then by age of 23, he started to seriously think of changing and finding answers to keep his mind at rest. He says: 

During this time the Intifada was raging in Palestine. My father, racist and anti-Semite though he was, had always supported the Jewish state. I now think that he hated Jews, as well as any one else who wasn't white, but he hated the Arabs more than he hated the Jews, so that is why he supported Israel. As I was rethinking everything I was taught when I was younger I decided to take a closer look at this struggle in the Middle East.

So he started reading about history of Middle East and the Arabs, and Islam to see why his father so hated this religion. And as his insight into the Arabs, Middle East and Islam broadened, he started to find answers of the questions that he had had about religion. He says:

From the very beginning some things struck a chord with me and answered doubts I had always had concerning the religion I was raised in. I had always taken issue with the idea that God would ever have offspring. From my reading I recognized this belief as one pulled from pagan sources. Zeus, Odin, and numerous other pagan gods all had children. In the case of Odin, his followers even believed he hung on a tree, much like Christians believe that Jesus (PBUH) hung on a cross. Odinists, the name given to the followers of this ancient Northern European religion, also believed in a trinity of sorts formed by Odin, his son Thor, and his consort Freja. It was clear this innovation of the Christians did not have its basis in God, but in previous pagan beliefs.

The other issue that he had always struggle with was the concept of original sin. The idea that God could be so unjust as to hold himself and everyone else responsible for the sins of others who died thousands of years before me just seemed so unjust. He says:

I had a basic concept of God, and the idea He could be so unjust to do such a thing just did not sit well with me. It always seemed to me that Christians just didn't have the answer to these questions, and if they did, their answers just reinforced these unjust positions.

I looked to Judaism, but that religion offered more questions than answers as well. Their attitude towards the prophets, peace be upon them all, was disgraceful. Their religious texts accused these greatest of men of the most terrible crimes and I refused to believe God would pick such men to lead his people on earth.

If Judaism held such beliefs how could I look to them for guidance?

Reading more  about Islam was like finding a place of tranquility and solace for he finally came to the understanding that Islam had all of the answers, for understanding of Islam cleared up the confusion of the lie of the trinity, and asserted Jesus' (pbuh) true role as a prophet, and not the son of God. Islam revered all of the prophets, peace and blessings of God be upon them, and recognized them for the great people they were. In Islam, and the values it promotes, 

He saw the answer to his problems and questions, and the future of mankind. "The issue was to now try to implement Islam in my life," says Marc Springer, the narrator of his experience of other religions and finally coming home to the world of Islam - the final religion by Allah for the entire mankind till the Day of Resurrection.

Blessed are those like Marc Springer who having experienced their earlier faiths, questioned them and when found no answers, found the same in Islam, in the commandant contained in the Holy Qur'an and the teachings and way of life of the last of the prophets, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).  Marc Springer later married a Muslim woman with her ancestral linkage to Saudi Arabia and lives a happily married life in Washington DC.

You may read the complete narration of Marc Springer' change of faith from the source given below.

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.

Photo | Photo of Marc Springer courtesy Source

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

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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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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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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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.

Photo

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Follow @IslamUltimate

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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