Prior to my conversion to Islam, I lived my life as a Jew. Although my family was not traditional, I learned Judaism from traditional Jews. I went to an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, and an Orthodox Jewish school. I lived, and continue to live, in a Jewish community in the United States where there is little diversity. And considering how much Judaism was involved in my life, I did not have any non-Jewish friends. But about a year ago, I began to chat online quite often and my e-mail list slowly began to fill with more and more Muslims.
I developed a strong interest for studying other religions as well as my own. I paid special attention to Islam, for I knew it was a religion not much different than Judaism. We share many similar prophets (peace be upon them all), morals, values, and most importantly, we worship the same God — Allah. Although I knew much about Islam and knew it was a peaceful religion, I cannot say I did not have stereotypes. I was lucky because I knew many Muslims online, one of which was my girlfriend who I consider to be my guide to Islam. She led me to the doors of Islam, and Allah took me through the rest. Regardless, when I heard of a terrorist attack, similar to many others, I figured the cause of it was Islamic extremists.
Many times I was not wrong. But then you must ask yourself, what makes these people go to the extreme? Does their religion really teach to kill innocent people? The reality is that it does not. Prophet Muhammad was a great warrior. Yet he managed to never kill an innocent human being. I realized that Islam is a religion that teaches respect, peace, and tolerance. Never does it say to kill an innocent disbeliever. A true Muslim is taught never to force conversion, but instead, to share his knowledge with the world, which I hope to do in this article. In the Qur'an a valuable lesson to be learned is "to kill a man, is to destroy the world."
[Whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men.] (Al-Ma'idah 5:32)
After realizing Islam was not a religion of war, I decided to look deeper into the faith. By doing so I discovered flaws in my own religion. According to the Old Testament, the great Prophet Aaron committed the worse sin possible. Due to pressure put upon him by the people while waiting for Moses to return with the Torah from Mount Sinai, he built an idol.
How could a great prophet possibly commit one of the three sins that are so great that one should prefer death before committing them? In the Qur'an, Moses comes down and sees the Jews worshiping the Golden Calf. At first he thinks it is the creation of Aaron and is angry at him; later he finds it was other Hebrews who had created this idol. A lot can be learned from this story.
Would a nation of people led by God really be forgiven for such a sin? My view on this story matches the Islamic view that the Old Testament has changed over the years. In the past, there have been many Cohaneem (religious leaders at the Holy Temple) who were corrupt. Couldn't it easily be possible for them to have changed Judaism to make it easier to observe and less time-consuming in order to make more money with their profession?
Another astonishing factor that led me to Islam is the scientifictruth written in the Qur'an. The Qur'an mentions the human embryonic development long before it was discovered by science.
[And certainly We created man of an extract of clay, Then We made him a small seed in a firm resting-place, Then We made the seed a clot, then We made the clot a lump of flesh, then We made (in) the lump of flesh bones, then We clothed the bones with flesh, then We caused it to grow into another creation, so blessed be Allah, the best of the creators.] (Al-Mu'minun 23:12-14)
The Qur'an also mentions how mountains are formed and talks about the layers of the atmosphere! These are just a few of so many scientific discoveries mentioned in the Qur'an 1400 years before discovered by science. Here is one of the key factors that led me to explore my heart to find the truth of life. In Arabic, the word Islam comes from salama which means "to submit"; "purity" and "peace" come from the same root. The person submits to the One, the Merciful, and the Most Beneficent Allah; whereas other religions are named after people: Judaism comes from the tribe of Judea, Christianity from Jesus Christ, etc. Islam is a word derived from a verb; anyone who submits to Allah and believes in all the prophets is a true Muslim. Many of the great prophets mentioned in the Old Testament lived prior to Judaism and Judea; they submitted to God, and therefore they were all Muslims. And we shall live as the prophets lived, for they were great human beings.
Considering my situation of being very young and living in an all-Jewish area, it would be difficult to have my beliefs accepted. My parents and relatives are very respectful, but I am unsure how they would react if it is their own son who reverts to Islam. So for now, I am unable to live out an Islamic life to the fullest, but thanks to Allah, I am able to pray five times a day, I am able to study Islam online, and at least I am openly able to believe in one God and express those feelings. In some ways it can be very difficult. I become more emotional than most people would when I debate something involving Muslims, for example the Middle East. When I talk about Israel, my whole family supports Israel and doesn't know the truth of what goes on to Palestinians, but I think they should have proper treatment for the Palestinians. And when they talk about this situation, I become easily offended, especially if they bring up the idea that it is "the Jewish Holy Land" and "Promised Land."
Because I have not yet told my parents of my reversion to Islam, I am unable to attend prayers at a mosque. As I stated before, my area has little diversity and all the mosques are far away. I have never had the opportunity to do Shahadah in front of witnesses although I have said Shahadah for the best witness of all — Allah. When I am 16 in about one year, I will be able to drive to the mosque, in sha' Allah (Allah willing). The most important thing is to improve the person I am. I try to avoid my friends who do drugs, watch porn, drink alcohol, and steal. It is not always easy to avoid close friends, but I try my best for the sake of Allah. And I hope over time my personality will meet what Allah wishes to see from us all.
When studying Qur'an, my advice to you is to read it for yourself. Looking at biased websites, you are not able to see the full content of a verse. "Go forth to war" will be a phrase you can find on prejudiced sites in order to make you think Islam is a religion of war. But if you read on, you will see the Qur'an specifically says only with those who first wage war with Islam. Through this whole experience I have discovered that I did not find Islam, I re-embraced Islam; nor did I convert, I reverted; and on my ride from darkness to light, it has only made me a stronger, more spiritual, and a better human being. May Allah guide us all to the truth that I was led to.
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1155064242788&pagename=Zone-English-Discover_Islam/DIELayout#
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Sunday, March 29, 2009
The new face of Islam
At first she tried to resist. She did not want this to happen. She was
not
that sort of person. After all, there were no gaps in her life, no
spiritual ache, she did not need support or direction. But she kept
reading
and it kept making sense.
'I had absolutely no expectation or desire to end up where I am,' she
says.
'It was almost with trepidation that I kept turning the pages and the
trepidation just increased. I kept thinking: "OK, where's the flaw?
Where's
the bit that doesn't make sense?" But it never came. And then it was
like:
"Oh no, I can see where this is leading. This is disastrous. I don't
want
to be a Muslim!"
Caroline Bate is 30 years old, blonde, blue-eyed and pretty, with a
soft
Home Counties accent. She has a degree from Cambridge (she studied
Russian
and German before switching to management studies) and works for an
investment bank in the City. She is Middle England's dream daughter or
daughter-in-law. And though she has yet to make her formal declaration
of
faith in Allah and the prophet Mohammed - a two-line pledge called the
Shahada - she considers herself Muslim. She ticked the box on a form
recently. It felt good, she says.
Caroline is not alone. Though data is hard to come by, several London
mosques have been reporting an increase in the number of converts to
Islam,
especially since 11 September. Like Caroline, many of these converts
are
from solid middle-class backgrounds, have successful careers, enjoy
active
social lives and are fundamentally happy with their lot.
This is not a new trend, however. Matthew Wilkinson, a former head boy
of
Eton, became Tariq, when he converted to Islam in 1993. Jonathan Birt,
son
of Lord Birt, late of the BBC and now the government's transport guru,
converted in 1997. The son and daughter of Lord Justice Scott also
converted and Joe Ahmed Dobson, the 26-year-old son of the former
Health
Secretary Frank Dobson, has recently and, somewhat reluctantly, emerged
as
the voice of new Muslim converts in Britain. But it is a trend that has
been pushed along by recent events. So far it has gone largely
unnoticed,
as the press concentrates on some of the more colourful characters that
11
September has thrown up.
Since 11 September, the luridly painted poster boys of British Islam
have
been radical clerics such as Abu Hamza al-Masri, the steel-clawed,
milky-eyed so-called 'mad mullah' of Finsbury Park mosque. Here are
Victorian villains, fiendish emissaries of some ancient and foreign
evil,
straight out of an Indiana Jones movie.
Their followers are blank-eyed drones like Richard Reid, packing his
high-tops with high explosives. Or James McLintock, the 'Tartan
Taliban'.
There are lost boys, dislocated and dysfunctional, petty thieves preyed
on
in South London prisons and young offenders' institutions by fakir
Fagins
who forge an untempered anger into a righteous ire and provide it with
a
target. (Three imams working in British prisons have been suspended
since
11 September for making 'inappropriate remarks' about the terrorist
attacks.)
But that is a sideshow, a compelling melodrama played out beyond the
fringes of Islamic culture in this country. And while it might be
stretching a point - and answering caricature with caricature - to
insist
that a demure English rose is the exemplar of the modern British
convert to
Islam, Caroline Bate is certainly more representative than Richard
Reid.
Talking to recent Muslim converts, it is striking how similar the
descriptions of their embrace of Islam are. Most were introduced to
Islam,
and Islamic history and teaching, by friends. And, given that Islam is
not
generally a missionary faith, these were gentle introductions. For
most,
conversion was born of curiosity, an attempt to better understand the
people around them.
Caroline first started reading about Islam last April. A school friend
she
has known since she was 11 was marrying a Tunisian, a Muslim. 'My best
friend was marrying into a different culture so I wanted to know more
about
it,' she explains. 'I came at it from more of a cultural perspective
than a
religious one. But the literature that I picked up just stimulated me.
And
Islamic teaching made perfect, logical sense. You can approach it
intellectually and there are no gaps, no great leaps of faith that you
have
to make.'
Roger (not his real name) is a doctor in his mid-thirties. About a year
and
a half ago, he started talking about Islam to Muslim colleagues at
work.
'All I had ever heard about Islam in the media was Hezbollah and
guerrillas
and all of that. And here were these really decent people whom I was
beginning to get to know. So I started to ask a few questions and I was
amazed at my own ignorance.' He became a Muslim a couple of months ago.
For these new converts, embracing Islam is usually a covert operation.
They
quietly read, talk, listen, learn. The hard part is coming out,
declaring
your newly acquired faith to friends and family, and, in some cases at
least, facing up to fear, scepticism and even loathing.
Caroline insists that the coming-out process has not been too painful.
'The
reaction has been pretty much what I expected. I've had everything from
"Do
you know how they treat women?" to "Wow, great timing!" But your
friends
are your friends and I expect them to deal with it.'
Others have had a harder time. Eleanor Martin, now Asya Ali (or some
other
combination of these names, depending on the circumstance), was a
24-year-old TV actress when she met Mo Sesay. She had a regular role as
WPC
Georgie Cudworth in BBC's Dangerfield during the mid-Nineties and
Sesay,
who later starred in Bhaji on the Beach, was also a Dangerfield
regular.
Sesay is a Muslim.
'Mo was such a kind man, just a good person. He wanted to know me as a
person, there was nothing else going on. And I thought, well, here is
this
really decent guy and he is a Muslim. And the image I had of Islam was
of
men beating up women and going round in tanks killing people.
'The thing is we both had regular parts on the show, but they weren't
very
big parts, so we had a lot of time to sit in the caravan and talk. He
really opened my eyes.'
Eleanor finally converted in 1996. 'I wasn't sure I was going to until
the
last minute and then it just felt as if everything had fallen into
place
and there was no other option.'
At first she kept her conversion secret. 'I was afraid of an adverse
reaction from friends and family. I was really worried about what my
father
would say.' Her father was a devout Christian. A former radiotherapist,
he
had taken early retirement to go into the priesthood. But circumstances
forced Eleanor's hand. A few months after she converted she met a
Muslim
African-American actor, Luqman Ali, and they decided to get married. 'I
went home and said: "I've got some news. I'm getting married and I'm a
Muslim." My mum was great. My dad said: "I think I'm going to get a
drink now."
'It took Dad time. He went to see his spiritual adviser, a nun, whose
brother happened to be a convert to Islam, and that helped. And he's
great
now, too. He's just happy that I'm following a path to God.'
Roger, meanwhile, has yet to tell family or work colleagues of his
conversion. 'I worry it will affect my career prospects,' he admits. 'I
know first-hand how little people understand Islam. I know there is
prejudice based on ignorance. A couple of years ago, if someone had
told me
they had converted, I would have thought they were odd. I don't want
people
to think I am an oddity or a curiosity because I don't think of myself
like
that.'
Most converts acknowledge that living in an ethnically diverse city has
made conversion easier than it might have been elsewhere. Stefania
Marchetti was born and raised in Milan but came to London to study in
1997.
She converted to Islam from Catholicism in April last year. 'It would
have
been far more difficult for me to convert in Italy,' she admits. 'The
Italian media is very anti-Islam and generally Italians think that
Muslim
men are all terrorists and all Muslim women are slaves.'
Certainly Karen Allen, a 28-year-old scheduler for Sky TV from Stoke
Newington, has enjoyed a relatively smooth transition period. She
converted
to Islam last June and soon started wearing the traditional headscarf
or
hijab. 'When I first started wearing the hijab to work, there were a
few
jibes about Afghanistan and stuff, but people are fine now. They say
things
like: "That's a nice one you're wearing today."
'I think it might be more difficult outside London, but here there are
a
lot weirder things to look at than me.'
What is especially striking about this stream of converts to Islam is
that
the majority seem to be women. Some suggest that twice as many women as
men
are turning to Islam.
Batool Al Toma, who heads the New Muslim Project at the Leicester-based
Islamic Foundation, which offers advice and support to recent converts,
suggests this might be exaggeration, but admits that female converts
are in
the majority. 'A lot of people seem to think that women are more
susceptible to Islam. I think it's largely because a lot of people are
obsessed with the idea of an educated, liberated British woman
converting
to Islam which they feel subjugates and represses them in some way. We
just
get a lot more attention I suppose and that sparks people's interest.'
The lure of Islam for women is surprising, given that the conversion
process may be even more problematic for them than for men. There is
the
commonly held belief that Islam represses women and female converts
often
have to deal with recrimination from female friends who view their
adoption
of Islam as some sort of betrayal. The wearing of a headscarf or hijab
(a
sartorial option, it should be noted, not a requirement) also makes
Muslim
women more visible than their male counterparts.
Certainly, all the women I spoke to were quick to refute the idea that
Islam imposes a women-know-thy-place ideology.
'The perception of how women are treated is completely incorrect,'
insists
Caroline. 'Women have a fantastic position in Islamic society.'
Indeed, many women converts talk about the adoption of the Islamic
dress
code as a liberation. They see it not as a denial of sex and sexuality
but
rather as an acknowledgement that these are treasures to be shared with
a
loved one and them alone. They are not hidden but rather freed from
objectification.
Asya insists that the trick is to turn preconceptions on their head.
She
wears a scarf to show she is a Muslim and a smile to prove she is happy
being one.
One problem for converts is that they are caught between two cultures.
'Young Muslims are very accepting,' says Caroline. 'They are really
happy
that you have chosen to become Muslim. The older generation are not so
accepting. For them, Islam is part of their cultural background, it's
about
the country they came from and it's what binds their communities
together.'
One step towards greater acceptance came last October when Reedah
Nijabat
opened ArRum, an Islamic restaurant/members' bar/ cultural
centre/social
club in Clerkenwell. Nijabat, a 31-year-old former barrister and
management
consultant from Walthamstow, originally conceived ArRum as a meeting
place
and networking venue for professional first- and second-generation
London
Muslims. But it has also become a focal point for many of London's
Muslim
converts.
It is easy to see why. On any work evening, a mixed bag of middle-aged
Pakistani men, young couples (some Muslim, some curious non-Muslim),
kids
and white British converts chat and tuck into halal 'fusion' food.
While
the club promotes Islamic culture, the vibe is a Hempel temple of inner
calm. Sufi wailing calms the nerves, while the bar specialises in
healthy
juices.
For the new converts I spoke to, ArRum is a place to meet other Muslims
and
somewhere to bring non-Muslim friends and introduce them to Islam in a
way
that doesn't scare them.
ArRum accents Islam's USP among the major faiths: its openness and lack
of
hierarchy. And Nijabat has realised that if there is an endemic
suspicion
of stuffy organised religion among the British (and increasingly, one
suspects, second-generation British Muslims) there is great interest in
'spirituality', whatever that might mean.
'I think that the problem has not been with the substance of the major
faiths, whatever they are, but a marketing defect,' argues Nijabat.
'Everything we do here is about remembrance of God and Islam, but you
can
get that across in a cool way. I'm not saying anything that isn't in
the
Koran, but you have to talk to people on their level.
'I'm beginning to see that there is a huge misunderstanding and a
bridge
that needs to be crossed between ethnic communities, host communities
and
spiritual communities, and I think we are making a contribution to
that.
You can get so hung up on the divisions and how different we are, but
it is
the same God for all of us. And we still feel that loss whether it is
an
American life or a Palestinian life. A lot of people are going through
a
period of soul-searching and that can only be a good thing.'
For many, that soul-searching has led them to Islam, not the Islam of
the
suicide bombers but mainstream Islam. And, as Joe Ahmed Dobson points
out,
ArRum and its new converts do not represent some kind of liberal
IslamLite,
media-friendly dilution of the real thing. Dobson and the other new
converts are orthodox, in the truest sense, and proud.
They are also part of a project that may help all parties see Islam in
new ways. As Nijabat admits: 'You can end up being quite defensive about
it. And you can either get hung up about it or be proactive. Opening ArRum
has
helped me recognise that I can be British and Pakistani and a Muslim
and a woman. And I'm not going to be a victim in any of this.'
source: www.islamawareness.net
Thousands Of British Elite Embrace Islam: Study
Jonathan Birt, the son of Lord Birt and Emma Clark, the granddaughter of former liberal prime minister Herbert Asquith, are only two of 14,000 mostly-elite white Britons having reverted to Islam.
In the first authoritative study of the phenomenon, carried by the Sunday Times on February 22, some of the country’s top landowners, celebrities and the offspring of senior Establishment figures have embraced the Muslim faith after being disillusioned with western values.
The new study by Yahya (formerly Jonathan) Birt, son of Lord Birt, former director-general of the BBC, provides the first reliable data on the sensitive subject of the movement of Christians into Islam.
He uses a breakdown of the latest census figures to conclude that there are now 14,200 white reverts in Britain.
Mass Conversion
Speaking publicly for the first time about his faith this weekend, Birt argued that an inspirational figure, similar to the American revert Malcolm X for Afro-Caribbeans, would first have to emerge if the next stage, a mass conversion among white Britons, were to happen.
“You need great transitional figures to translate something alien (like Islam) into the vernacular,” Birt, whose doctorate at Oxford University is on young British Muslims, was quoted by the Times.
“The image of Islam projected by political Islamic movements is not very attractive,” he said.
Initially, Birt said he had no coherent reasons for reverting, but “in the longer term I think it was the overall profundity, balance and coherence and spirituality of the Muslim way of life which convinced me,” he said.
‘All Rage’
Meanwhile, it emerged this weekend that Emma Clark, the great-granddaughter of a British prime minister has reverted.
Emma, whose ancestor, the Liberal prime minister Herbert Asquith, took Britain into the first world war, said: “We’re all the rage, I hope it’s not a passing fashion.”
Clark, who helped design an Islamic garden for the Prince of Wales at Highgrove, his Gloucestershire home, is now helping create a similar garden for a mosque in Woking, Surrey, on the site of a car park, said the British newspaper.
Furthermore, fresh evidence came this weekend that Islam has received formal acceptance at the heart of the Establishment.
The Queen has approved new arrangements to allow Muslim staff at Buckingham Palace time off to attend Friday prayers at a mosque.
A member of staff in the finance department is the first to take advantage of it, said the British paper.
‘Trophy Lists’
Others have come to Islam through love or marriage.
Kristiane Backer, a former girlfriend of the cricketer Imran Khan, said she was introduced to the religion through love but reverted after her break-up.
She has shrunk from speaking publicly about her religion before because of fears it might affect her work prospects.
“Imran sowed the seeds, but when (the relationship) finished (the faith) took on a momentum of its own,” she said.
Drawn to Sufi mysticism, Baker said that white reverts had to overcome prejudice both from those born into Islam and from non-believers.
“In the mosque women come up and say to me, ‘You have hair showing: you must cover up completely.’ I say, ‘Mind your own hair, you’re here to think about God’ ”.
Many reverts have been inspired by the writings of Charles Le Gai Eaton, a former Foreign Office diplomat, it added.
“I have received letters from people who are put off by the wishy-washy standards of contemporary Christianity and they are looking for a religion which does not compromise too much with the modern world,” said Eaton, author of Islam and the Destiny of Man.
Wary
Some prominent reverts are even more wary, said the Times.
The Earl of Yarborough, 40, who owns a 28,000-acre estate in Lincolnshire, declined to discuss anything about his faith.
“I have nothing to say to you,” said Yarborough, who has apparently taken the name Abdul Mateen.
Muslim leaders are harnessing modern campaigning methods to promote their faith. Groups have sprung up on the internet publishing “trophy lists” of white reverts.
The state-funded school in London founded by Yusuf Islam, formerly the singer Cat Stevens, has turned to Premiership footballers to provide role models, said the Times.
Sources close to the school say reverts including Nicolas Anelka, the Manchester City striker, and Omer “Freddie” Kanoute, of Tottenham Hotspur, have made visits.
The trend is being encouraged by Muslim leaders who are convinced that the conversion of prominent society figures will help protect a community stigmatized by “terrorism and fundamentalism“.
The Muslim Council of Britain has co-opted Joe Ahmed-Dobson, son of Frank Dobson, the former health secretary, to chair its regeneration committee.
“The community has been unfairly targeted and these developments encourage it in a time of difficulty,” said Zaki Badawi, chairman of the Imams and Mosques Council.
source : www.islamonline.net
Friday, March 27, 2009
Islam converts speak on how they found religion
By Karen Schwartz, Daily Staff Reporter
LSA sophomore Michael Dann was raised as a Christian,
going to church and Sunday school in Amherst, Mass.,
as was his family's tradition. But four years ago, he
decided he was destined for a different path. Dann
converted to Islam, which he said has changed his
life.
Dann said he went from being involved in "the drug
culture" and party scene in junior high school to
looking for something more in life - thanks to the
example set by his tennis coach, a black Muslim man
from New Jersey.
"Through my contact with him, and especially through
tennis, I got to see there was something more serious
about life, something more serious than gratifying
your immediate desires," he said, adding that his
coach did not often talk about Islam explicitly but
rather led by example.
"It was just through his approach to life and his
character, being around him - I was attracted to
something I knew he had, something that was motivating
his life," Dann said. "He gave me different books to
read, not mostly about Islam except for the Quran, but
those books served more to wake me up to that there's
more to life than partying and fun, and that God
should be in my life."
Dann, who also goes by Abdullah, which means "servant
of God," helped organize a panel held last night in
Hutchins Hall as part of Islam Awareness Week. The
panel featured testimonies from three people who
converted to Islam, who told an audience of 50 their
stories and answered questions about their experiences
with the religion.
"It's important because it's a chance to speak for
ourselves, for Muslims to present Islam as they
understand it and not as other people understand it,"
Dann said. He added that the event was a chance for
people to learn about the process of becoming Muslim
and the diverse experiences that bring people to
Islam.
"Ultimately all we can do is present Islam as we've
experienced it and understand it," he said. "What
other people do with it will be different according to
who they are and what they want. I'm looking at it
more from our angle, that we have a responsibility to
express ourselves."
Law School student Felix Chang said he attended the
event out of curiosity and was very impressed with the
testimonies he heard.
"I think they were really honest and open about the
decisions they had to make, something very personal to
them that they shared, and I appreciated that," he
said. "I think their stories are really interfaith,
that their stories of conversion can pretty much be
applied to any belief system, so it has universal
appeal."
Muslim Students Association President Omar Khalil said
the panel drew positive response last year, and that
people commented that they enjoyed seeing how
panelists were introduced to Islam and what aspects of
Islam affected them the most.
"We had a lot of feedback last year saying perhaps
that was people's favorite event of the week, so we
felt it was something we should continue," said
Khalil, a Rackham student.
He said the event also showcases the diversity within
Islam and gives campus and community members a more
familiar angle from which to approach understanding
Islam.
"First of all, what we wanted to show is that Islam
isn't just a foreign religion (and that Muslims are)
not just from the Middle East or Pakistan or from
Indonesia," he said. "We wanted to show that there are
people like the students on this campus who are born
American, raised American, and yet they felt this for
them was the religion they chose for themselves."
Dann remembers being 14 years old and having a short
discussion about Islam with his coach, but it was not
until later that he said he realized the impact the
discussion had on him and the process he had embarked
upon.
"I didn't realize it at the time, but suddenly it had
an attraction to me. When I met a Muslim I would ask
him what he believed and if he had anything I could
read. The seed was already there," he said.
His conversion was a gradual process, Dann said, but
it didn't entirely negate his previous beliefs.
"Becoming a Muslim to me wasn't disbelieving in Jesus
or leaving everything from Christianity behind. It was
about believing in what I considered to be a more
accurate version of God's message."
He added that Islam has changed his life and his
interactions with his family for the better.
"Without Islam I don't know where I would be today. My
motivation for succeeding academically and succeeding
professionally - all that stems from Islam, and I
don't think it'd be there if it weren't for Islam."
source : www.islamawareness.net
Russian Converts to Islam Promote Tolerance
By Nathan Gray
Staff Writer
Taras Cherniyenko looks like a typical young Russian
banker: neatly dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and
necktie, with a thin beard and short hair.
Sitting in a cafe on Ulitsa Sretenka, he told the
story of how a spiritual discovery that began in his
early teens led to his conversion to Islam and the
adoption of the name Abdul Karim.
Now Cherniyenko is the vice chairman of a new
organization of ethnic Russian converts to Islam, the
National Organization of Russian Muslims.
The values that Islam offers as guidance, such as the
restriction on alcohol consumption, are values he and
his colleagues in the group wish to share with Russia
as possible solutions to problems that the country
faces.
"One can say that drinking vodka or wine is a
significant aspect of Russian culture, yet I can be a
good Russian while not drinking alcohol," Cherniyenko
said. "Most of the social problems in Russia are
caused by alcohol consumption.
"If we can introduce some Islamic social values to
Russia, society and the country will become stronger."
When Cherniyenko tells Russians he is Muslim, they
react mostly with curiosity, he said. Many ask him why
he chose to convert, not out of rudeness but out of
interest.
"I am not counting the hard-core nationalists, of
course, but those are maybe only 5 percent," he said.
"I grew up in a rather liberal environment in St.
Petersburg," he said. "My parents encouraged me in all
of my studies, which included different religions and
cultures.
"I learned to read the Torah in Hebrew, the Gospels in
Greek. I did not study Hindu texts as much,
unfortunately, but I did read them."
Cherniyenko's study of different religions led him on
a search for a faith whose interpretation would
coincide with his own.
"For me, to understand Jesus' passions, one had to
understand them as a man's passions," he said. "I was
searching for a faith that, rather than rejecting
Jesus or worshipping him as a god, would recognize him
as a man -- a pure, sinless man, but a man. That led
me to Islam."
The number of Russians who convert to Islam is quite
small, said Alexei Malashenko, an analyst at the
Carnegie Moscow Center. "I would count them in the
dozens, at most," he said.
Vladimir Divakhov, a spokesman for the Moscow
Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, agreed,
saying that the church has no stated policy on
Russians converting to Islam. "The situation arises
very rarely," he said. "Most often, Russian converts
to Islam have been Russian women who marry Muslim men.
It occurs very infrequently, however."
Cherniyenko estimated that the membership of the group
stands at about 2,000, in approximately 20 of the
country's regions. He cautioned, however, that since
the organization has not yet applied for registration
with the Justice Ministry, no formal list of members
exists.
There are 19 million Muslims in Russia, making Islam
the country's second-largest religion, behind Russian
Orthodoxy.
Russian conversion to Islam is not always viewed
neutrally. In an April 2003 interview with the web
site portal-credo.ru, Gusman Iskhakov, the mufti of
Tatarstan, expressed his displeasure at the idea of
Russians converting.
"A person must remain himself. He was born, that is
his homeland, his nation. He must not change his
nation, his religion, his name every year," Iskhakov
was quoted as saying. "The Russians who convert to
Islam are not very reassuring. They are usually more
aggressive, and their mentality is completely
different."
But a spokesman for Iskhakov's office clarified the
mufti's remarks, saying that the reporter made them
sound more negative than they were intended to sound.
"The mufti said simply that it would make him happier
to see more Tatars, Muslims, return to the practice of
Islam," the spokesman said by telephone from Kazan.
Cherniyenko dismissed Iskhakov's reported concerns
about the susceptibility of Russian converts to
extremism. Another goal the group has is to develop
discipline among Muslims, he said, and to prevent them
from falling into extremist and militant groups.
Cherniyenko sees Iskhakov's statement as not merely a
usurpation of spiritual authority that ultimately
belongs to an individual Muslim, but also a
deprivation of a constitutional right.
"The Constitution of the Russian Federation gives
every citizen the right to worship according to the
dictates of his conscience," he said. "When the mufti
of Tatarstan says [that Russians should not convert to
Islam], he is taking away a right we have under the
Constitution."
Farid Asadullin, assistant to the head of the Council
of Muftis of Russia, offered a more neutral position
than that reported by portal-credo.ru.
"Conversion to Islam is a personal choice," he said.
"Our task is to encourage a proper understanding of
Islamic teachings. We will work together with such an
organization as the occasion requires, because they
are our spiritual brothers."
As for the group's future, "we hope that we will
extend beyond Russia into all of the countries of the
former Soviet Union," Cherniyenko said. At the
founding meeting in Omsk in June, there were
representatives of Russian Muslim communities in
Kazakhstan, and the group has been in contact with
potential members in Ukraine.
Fundamentally, the common thread among the
organization's membership and among all Muslims is
spirituality. Cherniyenko's prayers usually have two
parts, he said, the first being a prescribed prayer,
required of all Shiite Muslims. The second can be
about anything a person might be feeling on any
particular day.
"Mostly, I pray for my mother, my family, and peace
and prosperity for the Muslim community," he said.
source :http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/08/31/015.html
Staff Writer
Taras Cherniyenko looks like a typical young Russian
banker: neatly dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and
necktie, with a thin beard and short hair.
Sitting in a cafe on Ulitsa Sretenka, he told the
story of how a spiritual discovery that began in his
early teens led to his conversion to Islam and the
adoption of the name Abdul Karim.
Now Cherniyenko is the vice chairman of a new
organization of ethnic Russian converts to Islam, the
National Organization of Russian Muslims.
The values that Islam offers as guidance, such as the
restriction on alcohol consumption, are values he and
his colleagues in the group wish to share with Russia
as possible solutions to problems that the country
faces.
"One can say that drinking vodka or wine is a
significant aspect of Russian culture, yet I can be a
good Russian while not drinking alcohol," Cherniyenko
said. "Most of the social problems in Russia are
caused by alcohol consumption.
"If we can introduce some Islamic social values to
Russia, society and the country will become stronger."
When Cherniyenko tells Russians he is Muslim, they
react mostly with curiosity, he said. Many ask him why
he chose to convert, not out of rudeness but out of
interest.
"I am not counting the hard-core nationalists, of
course, but those are maybe only 5 percent," he said.
"I grew up in a rather liberal environment in St.
Petersburg," he said. "My parents encouraged me in all
of my studies, which included different religions and
cultures.
"I learned to read the Torah in Hebrew, the Gospels in
Greek. I did not study Hindu texts as much,
unfortunately, but I did read them."
Cherniyenko's study of different religions led him on
a search for a faith whose interpretation would
coincide with his own.
"For me, to understand Jesus' passions, one had to
understand them as a man's passions," he said. "I was
searching for a faith that, rather than rejecting
Jesus or worshipping him as a god, would recognize him
as a man -- a pure, sinless man, but a man. That led
me to Islam."
The number of Russians who convert to Islam is quite
small, said Alexei Malashenko, an analyst at the
Carnegie Moscow Center. "I would count them in the
dozens, at most," he said.
Vladimir Divakhov, a spokesman for the Moscow
Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, agreed,
saying that the church has no stated policy on
Russians converting to Islam. "The situation arises
very rarely," he said. "Most often, Russian converts
to Islam have been Russian women who marry Muslim men.
It occurs very infrequently, however."
Cherniyenko estimated that the membership of the group
stands at about 2,000, in approximately 20 of the
country's regions. He cautioned, however, that since
the organization has not yet applied for registration
with the Justice Ministry, no formal list of members
exists.
There are 19 million Muslims in Russia, making Islam
the country's second-largest religion, behind Russian
Orthodoxy.
Russian conversion to Islam is not always viewed
neutrally. In an April 2003 interview with the web
site portal-credo.ru, Gusman Iskhakov, the mufti of
Tatarstan, expressed his displeasure at the idea of
Russians converting.
"A person must remain himself. He was born, that is
his homeland, his nation. He must not change his
nation, his religion, his name every year," Iskhakov
was quoted as saying. "The Russians who convert to
Islam are not very reassuring. They are usually more
aggressive, and their mentality is completely
different."
But a spokesman for Iskhakov's office clarified the
mufti's remarks, saying that the reporter made them
sound more negative than they were intended to sound.
"The mufti said simply that it would make him happier
to see more Tatars, Muslims, return to the practice of
Islam," the spokesman said by telephone from Kazan.
Cherniyenko dismissed Iskhakov's reported concerns
about the susceptibility of Russian converts to
extremism. Another goal the group has is to develop
discipline among Muslims, he said, and to prevent them
from falling into extremist and militant groups.
Cherniyenko sees Iskhakov's statement as not merely a
usurpation of spiritual authority that ultimately
belongs to an individual Muslim, but also a
deprivation of a constitutional right.
"The Constitution of the Russian Federation gives
every citizen the right to worship according to the
dictates of his conscience," he said. "When the mufti
of Tatarstan says [that Russians should not convert to
Islam], he is taking away a right we have under the
Constitution."
Farid Asadullin, assistant to the head of the Council
of Muftis of Russia, offered a more neutral position
than that reported by portal-credo.ru.
"Conversion to Islam is a personal choice," he said.
"Our task is to encourage a proper understanding of
Islamic teachings. We will work together with such an
organization as the occasion requires, because they
are our spiritual brothers."
As for the group's future, "we hope that we will
extend beyond Russia into all of the countries of the
former Soviet Union," Cherniyenko said. At the
founding meeting in Omsk in June, there were
representatives of Russian Muslim communities in
Kazakhstan, and the group has been in contact with
potential members in Ukraine.
Fundamentally, the common thread among the
organization's membership and among all Muslims is
spirituality. Cherniyenko's prayers usually have two
parts, he said, the first being a prescribed prayer,
required of all Shiite Muslims. The second can be
about anything a person might be feeling on any
particular day.
"Mostly, I pray for my mother, my family, and peace
and prosperity for the Muslim community," he said.
source :http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/08/31/015.html
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Increasing Number Of Germans Embracing Islam
BERLIN, October 25 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) -
The number of Germans who accept Islam "is rising each
year" and they "are getting younger and younger,"
confirmed the director of a Muslim cultural center in
the capital Berlin.
"Many are looking for new lifestyles and some sense of
direction," Herzog-turned Mohammed – a former
Protestant who worked in a social welfare center for
Turkish immigrants for many years, told Agence
France-Presse (AFP) Saturday, October 25.
To all appearances Herr Herzog is an average German,
but on Sunday, October 26, he will be one of a growing
number of his compatriots to observe the Muslim
fasting month of Ramadan, one of the five pillars of
their faith, according to AFP.
Herzog converted to Islam in 1979 when he realized
that "the Qur'an gathered together everything I had
ever believed in."
Today he is the director of a Muslim cultural center
in the capital Berlin and he maintains that the number
of Germans who embrace Islam "is rising each year."
The central institute on Islam archives estimates that
about 12,400 people born in Germany to German parents
are Muslims, with the total Muslim population set at
around 3.5 million people, most of them of Turkish
origin.
Each year, the institute issues between 350 and 400
documents in German and Arabic, complete with identity
photograph, as proof people have converted.
"It would be an exaggeration to talk of a rash of
conversions," the center director Salim Abdullah told
AFP.
Nevertheless, the document gives its owner the right
to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, another of the five
pillars of Islam which has to be performed at least
once in a lifetime, provided the believer is both
financially and physically able.
Norbert Mueller grew up with almost no exposure to
religious instruction, but he says he has found warmth
and "the feeling that he belongs to a community" with
his Turkish and Arab friends in the northern city of
Hamburg.
A 41-year-old practicing lawyer, Mueller embraced
Islam in 1991 and has married a Muslim woman from
Iran.
When he was a student, he used to go to bars with
other Germans, but some grew irritated when he refused
to drink a beer with them.
"I never realized that alcohol played such an
important role in one's social life," says Mueller,
who now mainly frequents other Muslims.
"Impossible To Know How Many"
According to Monika Wohlrab-Sahr, a Leipzig University
professor and author of a study on religious
conversions in Germany and the United States, it is
impossible to know how many people have become
Muslims.
Professing one's faith before another Muslim is enough
to convert, she says.
"The majority are people whose spouses are Muslims.
Nothing obliges though to convert," Wohlrab-Sahr says.
"Many of them have difficult pasts that pose them
problems, they are looking for discipline in their
lives."
By becoming Muslims, though, they are confronted with
other problems.
"The newest of converts have to deal with a new world
which they have to assimilate," says Norbert Mueller.
"They have to find their way and for that reason some
give the impression they are observing the rules 150
percent, but it's usually a passing phase."
Nor does Wohlrab-Sahr see this as a big issue.
"One could say that some new converts follow the rules
in a particularly strict way. But that's a tendency
one finds with all converts, Catholics included," she
says.
source :http://www.islamonline.net
The number of Germans who accept Islam "is rising each
year" and they "are getting younger and younger,"
confirmed the director of a Muslim cultural center in
the capital Berlin.
"Many are looking for new lifestyles and some sense of
direction," Herzog-turned Mohammed – a former
Protestant who worked in a social welfare center for
Turkish immigrants for many years, told Agence
France-Presse (AFP) Saturday, October 25.
To all appearances Herr Herzog is an average German,
but on Sunday, October 26, he will be one of a growing
number of his compatriots to observe the Muslim
fasting month of Ramadan, one of the five pillars of
their faith, according to AFP.
Herzog converted to Islam in 1979 when he realized
that "the Qur'an gathered together everything I had
ever believed in."
Today he is the director of a Muslim cultural center
in the capital Berlin and he maintains that the number
of Germans who embrace Islam "is rising each year."
The central institute on Islam archives estimates that
about 12,400 people born in Germany to German parents
are Muslims, with the total Muslim population set at
around 3.5 million people, most of them of Turkish
origin.
Each year, the institute issues between 350 and 400
documents in German and Arabic, complete with identity
photograph, as proof people have converted.
"It would be an exaggeration to talk of a rash of
conversions," the center director Salim Abdullah told
AFP.
Nevertheless, the document gives its owner the right
to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, another of the five
pillars of Islam which has to be performed at least
once in a lifetime, provided the believer is both
financially and physically able.
Norbert Mueller grew up with almost no exposure to
religious instruction, but he says he has found warmth
and "the feeling that he belongs to a community" with
his Turkish and Arab friends in the northern city of
Hamburg.
A 41-year-old practicing lawyer, Mueller embraced
Islam in 1991 and has married a Muslim woman from
Iran.
When he was a student, he used to go to bars with
other Germans, but some grew irritated when he refused
to drink a beer with them.
"I never realized that alcohol played such an
important role in one's social life," says Mueller,
who now mainly frequents other Muslims.
"Impossible To Know How Many"
According to Monika Wohlrab-Sahr, a Leipzig University
professor and author of a study on religious
conversions in Germany and the United States, it is
impossible to know how many people have become
Muslims.
Professing one's faith before another Muslim is enough
to convert, she says.
"The majority are people whose spouses are Muslims.
Nothing obliges though to convert," Wohlrab-Sahr says.
"Many of them have difficult pasts that pose them
problems, they are looking for discipline in their
lives."
By becoming Muslims, though, they are confronted with
other problems.
"The newest of converts have to deal with a new world
which they have to assimilate," says Norbert Mueller.
"They have to find their way and for that reason some
give the impression they are observing the rules 150
percent, but it's usually a passing phase."
Nor does Wohlrab-Sahr see this as a big issue.
"One could say that some new converts follow the rules
in a particularly strict way. But that's a tendency
one finds with all converts, Catholics included," she
says.
source :http://www.islamonline.net
Catholics turn to Islam as faith conversions rise
By Jonathan Petre
PEOPLE are converting from one religious denomination or faith to
another at a faster rate than ever, with 1,000 swapping every week,
according to a new study.
Despite the decline in formal church attendance, the remaining
"religious traffic" is "heading in all directions", Rabbi Jonathan Romain claims
in a book to be published next month. Traditional barriers between religions
are crumbling in a multi-faith, consumerist society, he says in Your
God Shall Be My God.
Anglicans are becoming Roman Catholics, and vice versa, Jews are
becoming Buddhists, Muslims are becoming Anglicans and Roman Catholics Jews.
Between 10 and 30 per cent of converts to Buddhism are Jewish,
according to official estimates. Such converts are referred to as a "Jew-Bu".
Dharmachavi Vishvapani, 35, a Jew who changed his name from Simon
Blomfield to join the Western Buddhist Order, said he preferred
Buddhism because it focused on practice rather than dogma. He said: "Not long
after my barmitzvah, at the age of 15, I took up meditation. It all happened
quite quickly after that. Judaism did not seem relevant to my life. It
was more about sustaining a culture than living a good life."
A high proportion of the 1,500 to 2,500 converts to Islam every year
are Catholics. According to Sarah Jacobs, a former Catholic who is now a
Muslim, the leap between the two faiths is not as great as it seems.
She was confirmed in the Catholic Church, the faith of her mother, at 13.
When one of her brothers married a Muslim she was horrified, but three years
ago she followed him, to the dismay of the rest of her family. She
said: "What appealed to me was the incredible simplicity and clarity of
Islam."
Dr Ahmed Andrews, a lecturer in the sociology of religion at Derby
University and another convert from Catholicism to Islam said: "There
are between 5,000 and 10,000 white Muslim converts in this country, and
most of the ones I know are former Catholics." Rabbi Romain maintains that
Islam is not the only beneficiary: of the 300 to 400 coverts to Judaism
every year, about a fifth are Catholics.
Catholicism has also had some high-profile converts, including the
Duchess of Kent and Ann Widdecombe, the shadow Home Secretary. Defections from
Anglicanism to Rome, dubbed "crossing the Tiber", reached a peak after
the Church of England's decision to ordain women. The traditionalist
umbrella group Forward in Faith, believes about 350 clergy and thousands of lay
people have switched.
Many conversions follow marriage, as in the high-profile cases of the
society girl Santa Palmer-Tomkinson, who became a Jew after she married
the writer Simon Sebag-Montefiore, and Jemima Goldsmith, the daughter
of the half-Jewish tycoon Sir James, who became a Muslim after marrying
the former cricketer Imran Khan.
Rabbi Romain, minister of Maidenhead synagogue, Berkshire, says in his
book: "Not only is Britain a multi-faith society, but it is proudly so.
People previously used to one faith are now presented with an array of
different religious options that were hardly thought of beforehand." He
says that a further spiritual impetus has been created by the
Millennium.
"While there has been a decline in knowledge about religion, the
spiritual yearning for answers to questions of the meaning of life and personal
direction remain. People feel a spiritual vacuum so they look outside
their own religious backgrounds, and there is a lot more on offer."
The biggest growth is being experienced by Islam and Buddhism, and
movements such as New Age and paganism. Rabbi Romain believes that
Britain is more fruitful territory for the "new religious movements", or cults,
than the United States. An estimated 400 have spring up since 1945, and
there are 3.2 cults per million of the population in this country
compared with 2.3 per million in the US. "Britain also has the distinction of
being the country in Europe with the highest number of Indian and Eastern
cult centres and communities," he adds.
Peter Brierley, of Christian Research, said the rate of
cross-fertilisation appeared to have increased. He added: "What we
don't know is whether people, having changed, are not changing back again
five years later."
source :
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000140326706927&rtmo=LlS7GKid&atmo=LlS7GKid&pg=/et/00/9/3/nrel03.html
New converts to Islam -- Some advice
ssalamu Alaikom,
The process of conversion isn't a simple journey, and sometimes a person feels rather alone. I thought I would write an article for new female converts and those thinking of converting, based on my experiences and the experiences of other converts that I have read online and heard about in person.
When I was in the process of converting, I devoured all information I could about Islam. My primary source was the internet, simply due to the volume and variety of sources available. Oftentimes, I was confused, because what one website stated as fact was not necessarily what another said. And what one Muslim poster thought was the cat's meow made another Muslim poster howl. Oh so many opinions, and so many Qur'anic verse and hadith to back up all these opinions! What to think, for the new convert who is just learning and isn't quite yet sure what is opinion and what is fact?
Having been in the faith for a while now, I am aware that there are schools of thoughts and difference of opinion between scholars. (Islam has no central authority to turn to, unlike other religions with a very set hierarchy.) This difference of opinion is allowed, and scholars (and therefore the rest of us) are to respect the opinions of one another.
However, some of the websites one encounters have a set opinion and will not tolerate any deviance from this opinion. Not only this, but some posters to Islamic websites will answer as if from a position of knowledge, when they actually do not have the necessary knowledge.
This occurs in person, too. There are Muslims with very set opinions, who very strictly adhere to their school of thought, and seek to impose this way of living Islam on those around them... especially new converts, who are like sponges, eager to soak up absolutely anything relating to Islam.
So, it is vital that the new Muslim research everything for themselves, and never blindly accept what others are telling them. Take from multiple sources! Read the Qur'an and hadith, read the scholarly opinions relating to them, and also read articles and fatwas from a variety of sources. Yes, ask your fellow Muslims, but don't blindly follow. In addition, don't take the easiest path *or* the hardest path. Don't quickly accept an opinion that says what you want to hear, when you know that 99.9% of the other opinions did not agree with this one. If it seems like a controversial or weak opinion, look deeper before deciding. And don't take the opinion that makes the religion too difficult to bear. The Qur'an itself warns us against this, too!
You know, when I converted, I was given a giant haram list: makeup, music, dogs, any piercing beyond a single earlobe piercing, pants, Western dress, Western haircuts, exposed feet, maintaining friendships with non-Muslims, talking to men on the phone even for business purposes, brushing the teeth while fasting, eating with the left hand, tampons, wearing bright colors, travelling anywhere alone, working in a mixed environment, using any sort of guide to pray, all Western holidays and celebrations, praying a certain way or failing to pray a certain way, and so on. I thought my head would burst. It seemed like Islam was merely a collection of millions of minute rules intended to strictly regulate every single breathing moment of a person's life! It is true that there are rules we are expected to follow, or recommendations that we ought to consider, but at first, give yourself time and space to grow into these commitments. Don't expect yourself to magically become super Muslim in the blink of an eye (or in the time it takes to recite the shahada.)
And of course, don't forget the biggest insistence a new Muslim woman will hear: YOU MUST WEAR HIJAB STARTING NOW!
Later, I found out a lot of what those few Muslims around me insisted were... if you'll pardon me for saying this... "gospel", were either distortions of scholarly opinion, the strictest opinion, one opinion out of a few, or flat out wrong. That means I spent a lot of time obsessing and feeling like a failure for no good reason at all. It wasn't until I started meeting a larger variety of Muslims and researching things for myself that I realized there is more than one way to live Islam.
Many converts are isolated and do not have direct access to a mosque or Muslim community. Many must rely on books, tapes, the internet, and perhaps one or two Muslim families or friends to guide them. It's difficult and I sympathize because I was once in that situation, myself.
The best way to understand the dazzling beauty and variety within Islam is to meet as many Muslims as you can, and to visit as many mosques and communities as you can. When I came to Dearborn, and when I met my husband's family, I was floored by the rich variety in how people live as Muslims. There are Muslim women who do not wear hijab at all. There are Muslims who own dogs. There are Muslims who do not pray every day but fast each Ramadan and intend to make the hajj. There are Muslims who follow every last rule of Islam and those who ignore most. There are Muslims who have very set opinions on how a Muslim ought to live, and those who are quite agreeable to disagreeing. There are Muslims who are extremely knowledgeable about the religion and those who know very little. In other words, given that there are six billion of us worldwide, it makes perfect sense that there are all kinds of Muslims in the world. Your job as a convert is to find *your* Islam, *your* path, *your* voice. I am not advocating that you fail to meet what could be called the basic requirements of the faith... but I am advocating that you find a way of living Islam that is right for you.
As I have already briefly mentioned, hijab is a major issue. Such a small, simple piece of cloth, yet it wields incredible power. While researching Islam, I was struck by how much attention hijab is given. A woman could go her whole life without truly understanding Islam, but she sure as heck understands that she ought to have that square of cloth on her head. So much attention is devoted to this topic. A new Muslim convert is also going to encounter the opinion that hijab is not a requirement at all. The need to cover is agreed upon by all four schools of thought, I am sure, but there are individuals and groups out there that do not believe it is necessary. So, with all of this in mind, a convert has some decisions to make. Remember that this is your life, your spirituality, and hijab is an intensely personal issue. Don't allow others to badger you into doing something that you are not yet comfortable with. Likewise, don't let others badger you out of doing something you feel you must. I know for myself, it took me some time to want to wear hijab. Honestly, it took me more time to understand hijab on an inner, spiritual level. I wore hijab first out of duty and only later came to identify with it and understand the inner modesty it represents.
I want to mention marriage. As a new convert, I felt intense pressure to marry, and I've heard other new Muslims say the same. "Marriage is half your deen" is an expression you are going to hear regularly, and from acquaintance and stranger alike. Whether or not you wish to marry is a personal choice, but I would recommend that you spend a few years as a Muslim before you do so. "You'll learn from your husband, he can teach you Islam" is something you will hear, and sure, that's true, but you have your own brain and you can learn Islam without a husband! You must learn and grow into your deen, because trust me, you are going to undergo some changes in your first few years of being a Muslim. You will look back at the person who converted to Islam, and the person you are now, and you are going to see some real differences. Wait until you are firm in your religion and a little more knowledgeable before you put your future in the hands of somebody else. What if his Islam is much more strict than yours? What if it's too lenient? And let's be honest here... It is entirely possible that a convert will be manipulated due to her lack of knowledge. "Oh yes, honey, it's required that the wife massage the man's feet every day or else the angels curse her. Oh yes, honey, it's recommended that the wife does all the housework. Oh yes, honey, it's totally halal for me to smoke weed." Being a part of a Muslim family will strengthen your Islam and will improve your knowledge and perhaps even make you feel closer to the community, but it is something that should not be rushed. "Marry in haste, repent in leisure".
Not to mention that for most of us, we don't have family and community behind us when we decide to marry. If we wish to follow Islam properly, we avoid dating and being alone with potential partners. Because converts may find themselves on the fringe of the Muslim community, and alone when in search of a marriage partner, we are often quite vulnerable when seeking marriage. Not all of us have any connections, we must rely on the word of our wali (who is sometimes someone we don't know very well), or if we cannot find a wali, the word of the potential husband himself. We can't look into his background and his reputation because we don't know who to ask and what to ask. We may not have many offers of marriage because of our distance from the community. This is not a secret, and there are opportunists who will take advantage of this vulnerability. So, do not rush marriage. Learn your religion, become comfortable in it, attempt to become part of a larger Muslim community if possible, network with your trusted Muslim friends, and proceed very slowly with potential partners.
Now, enough of your interactions with Muslims. What about non-Muslims? You are going to be asked many questions about Islam, some simple, some intricate, some obscure. Don't answer beyond your ability. Be honest with people, tell them when you cannot answer for something. (And then go home and research it!) Likewise, you are not responsible for everything done in the name of Islam, nor do you have to agree with it. Here is a radical example: honor killing. Honor killing is known within Islamic societies but it's not at all Islamic. It is cultural. You are going to be asked difficult questions, and it's worth being prepared for it. Similarly, becoming Muslim does not nullify your ethnicity and cultural background. You do not have to become something or somebody else. You are not renouncing your people or your culture.
Also, don't feel any shame about your non-Muslim family. Do not turn away from them if you've previously had a relationship with them. Don't discard your non-Muslim friends (although it's fine to evaluate a friendship if, say, your primary connection is the fact that you went bar hopping together every weekend...) Becoming Muslim does not mean you must entirely reinvent yourself and do away with anything that came before.
Another thing I would like to discuss is the topic of name changes. A number of new Muslims are told that they must take on an Islamic name. It is true that a Muslim is required to change his or her name if their current name insults Islam or has a bad meaning. A man or woman named "Christian" might want to change their name, for example. But I would guess that for many of us, our names do not have negative meanings. A woman may wish to adopt an Islamic name as part of the conversion process, but that is a personal choice. As a funny aside, one time a man *told* me what my new Islamic name would be. Yeah, sure! I like having a Western name because it's mine, it's my identity, and also because I feel it promotes understanding. Most non-Muslims think all Muslims are Middle Eastern, and when they see me, Ms. European-Descent Convert, it makes them re-evaluate some of their preconceived notions of Islam!
Give your family and friends time to accept the changes you're making in your life. Your journey toward Islam may have been a long time in the making from your perspective, but it may be completely surprising to your loved ones. Additionally, I would recommend that you refrain from insisting that those outside of your direct influence (such as your children) follow you into Islam... You can certainly make dawah to your friends and family, but be gentle with them. And although I have heard of non-Muslims following their sole Muslim relative into Islam, I would say don't expect this. Respect is a two way street, of course. I highly recommend that you talk to your friends and family all along the way, as you grow into your new religion.
Now, having written all of this, I can't help but think that the overall tone of this article is negative. That is entirely not the case! Converting to Islam will be a wondrous journey, and you will be amazed at the improvements in your outlook, frame of mind, and habits. Islam has brought me very little discomfort and a whole lot of security and peace. But, a new Muslim may find herself encountering some of these situations and I wanted to better prepare her for it.
source :www.torntoislam.com
The process of conversion isn't a simple journey, and sometimes a person feels rather alone. I thought I would write an article for new female converts and those thinking of converting, based on my experiences and the experiences of other converts that I have read online and heard about in person.
When I was in the process of converting, I devoured all information I could about Islam. My primary source was the internet, simply due to the volume and variety of sources available. Oftentimes, I was confused, because what one website stated as fact was not necessarily what another said. And what one Muslim poster thought was the cat's meow made another Muslim poster howl. Oh so many opinions, and so many Qur'anic verse and hadith to back up all these opinions! What to think, for the new convert who is just learning and isn't quite yet sure what is opinion and what is fact?
Having been in the faith for a while now, I am aware that there are schools of thoughts and difference of opinion between scholars. (Islam has no central authority to turn to, unlike other religions with a very set hierarchy.) This difference of opinion is allowed, and scholars (and therefore the rest of us) are to respect the opinions of one another.
However, some of the websites one encounters have a set opinion and will not tolerate any deviance from this opinion. Not only this, but some posters to Islamic websites will answer as if from a position of knowledge, when they actually do not have the necessary knowledge.
This occurs in person, too. There are Muslims with very set opinions, who very strictly adhere to their school of thought, and seek to impose this way of living Islam on those around them... especially new converts, who are like sponges, eager to soak up absolutely anything relating to Islam.
So, it is vital that the new Muslim research everything for themselves, and never blindly accept what others are telling them. Take from multiple sources! Read the Qur'an and hadith, read the scholarly opinions relating to them, and also read articles and fatwas from a variety of sources. Yes, ask your fellow Muslims, but don't blindly follow. In addition, don't take the easiest path *or* the hardest path. Don't quickly accept an opinion that says what you want to hear, when you know that 99.9% of the other opinions did not agree with this one. If it seems like a controversial or weak opinion, look deeper before deciding. And don't take the opinion that makes the religion too difficult to bear. The Qur'an itself warns us against this, too!
You know, when I converted, I was given a giant haram list: makeup, music, dogs, any piercing beyond a single earlobe piercing, pants, Western dress, Western haircuts, exposed feet, maintaining friendships with non-Muslims, talking to men on the phone even for business purposes, brushing the teeth while fasting, eating with the left hand, tampons, wearing bright colors, travelling anywhere alone, working in a mixed environment, using any sort of guide to pray, all Western holidays and celebrations, praying a certain way or failing to pray a certain way, and so on. I thought my head would burst. It seemed like Islam was merely a collection of millions of minute rules intended to strictly regulate every single breathing moment of a person's life! It is true that there are rules we are expected to follow, or recommendations that we ought to consider, but at first, give yourself time and space to grow into these commitments. Don't expect yourself to magically become super Muslim in the blink of an eye (or in the time it takes to recite the shahada.)
And of course, don't forget the biggest insistence a new Muslim woman will hear: YOU MUST WEAR HIJAB STARTING NOW!
Later, I found out a lot of what those few Muslims around me insisted were... if you'll pardon me for saying this... "gospel", were either distortions of scholarly opinion, the strictest opinion, one opinion out of a few, or flat out wrong. That means I spent a lot of time obsessing and feeling like a failure for no good reason at all. It wasn't until I started meeting a larger variety of Muslims and researching things for myself that I realized there is more than one way to live Islam.
Many converts are isolated and do not have direct access to a mosque or Muslim community. Many must rely on books, tapes, the internet, and perhaps one or two Muslim families or friends to guide them. It's difficult and I sympathize because I was once in that situation, myself.
The best way to understand the dazzling beauty and variety within Islam is to meet as many Muslims as you can, and to visit as many mosques and communities as you can. When I came to Dearborn, and when I met my husband's family, I was floored by the rich variety in how people live as Muslims. There are Muslim women who do not wear hijab at all. There are Muslims who own dogs. There are Muslims who do not pray every day but fast each Ramadan and intend to make the hajj. There are Muslims who follow every last rule of Islam and those who ignore most. There are Muslims who have very set opinions on how a Muslim ought to live, and those who are quite agreeable to disagreeing. There are Muslims who are extremely knowledgeable about the religion and those who know very little. In other words, given that there are six billion of us worldwide, it makes perfect sense that there are all kinds of Muslims in the world. Your job as a convert is to find *your* Islam, *your* path, *your* voice. I am not advocating that you fail to meet what could be called the basic requirements of the faith... but I am advocating that you find a way of living Islam that is right for you.
As I have already briefly mentioned, hijab is a major issue. Such a small, simple piece of cloth, yet it wields incredible power. While researching Islam, I was struck by how much attention hijab is given. A woman could go her whole life without truly understanding Islam, but she sure as heck understands that she ought to have that square of cloth on her head. So much attention is devoted to this topic. A new Muslim convert is also going to encounter the opinion that hijab is not a requirement at all. The need to cover is agreed upon by all four schools of thought, I am sure, but there are individuals and groups out there that do not believe it is necessary. So, with all of this in mind, a convert has some decisions to make. Remember that this is your life, your spirituality, and hijab is an intensely personal issue. Don't allow others to badger you into doing something that you are not yet comfortable with. Likewise, don't let others badger you out of doing something you feel you must. I know for myself, it took me some time to want to wear hijab. Honestly, it took me more time to understand hijab on an inner, spiritual level. I wore hijab first out of duty and only later came to identify with it and understand the inner modesty it represents.
I want to mention marriage. As a new convert, I felt intense pressure to marry, and I've heard other new Muslims say the same. "Marriage is half your deen" is an expression you are going to hear regularly, and from acquaintance and stranger alike. Whether or not you wish to marry is a personal choice, but I would recommend that you spend a few years as a Muslim before you do so. "You'll learn from your husband, he can teach you Islam" is something you will hear, and sure, that's true, but you have your own brain and you can learn Islam without a husband! You must learn and grow into your deen, because trust me, you are going to undergo some changes in your first few years of being a Muslim. You will look back at the person who converted to Islam, and the person you are now, and you are going to see some real differences. Wait until you are firm in your religion and a little more knowledgeable before you put your future in the hands of somebody else. What if his Islam is much more strict than yours? What if it's too lenient? And let's be honest here... It is entirely possible that a convert will be manipulated due to her lack of knowledge. "Oh yes, honey, it's required that the wife massage the man's feet every day or else the angels curse her. Oh yes, honey, it's recommended that the wife does all the housework. Oh yes, honey, it's totally halal for me to smoke weed." Being a part of a Muslim family will strengthen your Islam and will improve your knowledge and perhaps even make you feel closer to the community, but it is something that should not be rushed. "Marry in haste, repent in leisure".
Not to mention that for most of us, we don't have family and community behind us when we decide to marry. If we wish to follow Islam properly, we avoid dating and being alone with potential partners. Because converts may find themselves on the fringe of the Muslim community, and alone when in search of a marriage partner, we are often quite vulnerable when seeking marriage. Not all of us have any connections, we must rely on the word of our wali (who is sometimes someone we don't know very well), or if we cannot find a wali, the word of the potential husband himself. We can't look into his background and his reputation because we don't know who to ask and what to ask. We may not have many offers of marriage because of our distance from the community. This is not a secret, and there are opportunists who will take advantage of this vulnerability. So, do not rush marriage. Learn your religion, become comfortable in it, attempt to become part of a larger Muslim community if possible, network with your trusted Muslim friends, and proceed very slowly with potential partners.
Now, enough of your interactions with Muslims. What about non-Muslims? You are going to be asked many questions about Islam, some simple, some intricate, some obscure. Don't answer beyond your ability. Be honest with people, tell them when you cannot answer for something. (And then go home and research it!) Likewise, you are not responsible for everything done in the name of Islam, nor do you have to agree with it. Here is a radical example: honor killing. Honor killing is known within Islamic societies but it's not at all Islamic. It is cultural. You are going to be asked difficult questions, and it's worth being prepared for it. Similarly, becoming Muslim does not nullify your ethnicity and cultural background. You do not have to become something or somebody else. You are not renouncing your people or your culture.
Also, don't feel any shame about your non-Muslim family. Do not turn away from them if you've previously had a relationship with them. Don't discard your non-Muslim friends (although it's fine to evaluate a friendship if, say, your primary connection is the fact that you went bar hopping together every weekend...) Becoming Muslim does not mean you must entirely reinvent yourself and do away with anything that came before.
Another thing I would like to discuss is the topic of name changes. A number of new Muslims are told that they must take on an Islamic name. It is true that a Muslim is required to change his or her name if their current name insults Islam or has a bad meaning. A man or woman named "Christian" might want to change their name, for example. But I would guess that for many of us, our names do not have negative meanings. A woman may wish to adopt an Islamic name as part of the conversion process, but that is a personal choice. As a funny aside, one time a man *told* me what my new Islamic name would be. Yeah, sure! I like having a Western name because it's mine, it's my identity, and also because I feel it promotes understanding. Most non-Muslims think all Muslims are Middle Eastern, and when they see me, Ms. European-Descent Convert, it makes them re-evaluate some of their preconceived notions of Islam!
Give your family and friends time to accept the changes you're making in your life. Your journey toward Islam may have been a long time in the making from your perspective, but it may be completely surprising to your loved ones. Additionally, I would recommend that you refrain from insisting that those outside of your direct influence (such as your children) follow you into Islam... You can certainly make dawah to your friends and family, but be gentle with them. And although I have heard of non-Muslims following their sole Muslim relative into Islam, I would say don't expect this. Respect is a two way street, of course. I highly recommend that you talk to your friends and family all along the way, as you grow into your new religion.
Now, having written all of this, I can't help but think that the overall tone of this article is negative. That is entirely not the case! Converting to Islam will be a wondrous journey, and you will be amazed at the improvements in your outlook, frame of mind, and habits. Islam has brought me very little discomfort and a whole lot of security and peace. But, a new Muslim may find herself encountering some of these situations and I wanted to better prepare her for it.
source :www.torntoislam.com
Thursday, March 19, 2009
A CATHOLIC NUN:BAD EXPERINCE BUT BEATIFUL END
By: Sister Saleha (formerly Sally)
I was brought up in devoted Catholic family and raised with Catholic values and traditions. At fifteen, I entered the monastery. While inside the monastery, I was happy because I can perform my duties as a nun and the people around me including my family were also pleased with me.
Until such time when I began to ask myself every night;"What am I doing here inside the monastery?" I stayed in our small and humble chapel and started to ask god if he is really listening to me, because i have learned in our cathechism that god is present in the blessed sacrament
Many question were lingering my mid. Doubts were cropping up particularly concerning the reality of Jesus Christ. However, I did not gave the courage to ask the priest nor my co-nuns who were with me that time. I was so afraid that they might take it against me.
So i let all doubts linger. I even allowed myself to profess my first temporary vows. I kept renewing it every year for TEN YEARS! Until such time i could not take it anymore; my pertual vows of chastity and poverty; professing the Jesus Christ is my go; and that he is lord and son of God.
I started to pray harder, asking God for guidance and to show me the right path.
If i will leave the monastery, it would bring great pain to my mother! My father actually did mind if i leave the church and have my own family.
But I do not want to hurt my family particularly my mother, my two brothers who are both priest, my four sisters who happen to be all nuns!
Above all I do not want to be a hypocrite and pretend that i am happy practicing something which is against my under lying principle.
So I did not submit my application letter of perpetual profession. I talked to my superior general, informing her that I am leaving the monastery.
Without informing my family, I left to find a work to survive. After awhile I met a close friend of mine who is a priest and offered me to work with him in his church in Marawi City, as a parish coordinator.
Incidentally, my family heard the news that i left the church and it was very hard for them to accept the fact. But they were hoping that one day, I might come bask to serve the church.
While working as parish coordinator, the priest who hired me was not treating me so well.
He did not even pay me salary and he tried to sexually abuse me. But alhamdulillah, he was not successful with his evil intentions.
Again I started to pray asking God to be with me and to make me happy, because I have never been at peace with my life. My heart and mind were miserable.
A NEW DAY
On June 17, 2001, early morning, I heard a beautiful sound but I did not understand what it was. I thought it was coming from the mosque nearby. As soon as I heard the sound, I felt like I was dipped in refreshing water. I cannot explain the feeling.
That day I felt happiness entering my heart, though, I did not understand what I heard. So after hearing this amazing sound, I said to myself these few words; there is a new day, there is new beginning."
I woke u p that morning asking what the sound was and they told me it was call for prayers of the muslims. Strange! I came to this city(Marawi) on the first week of May 2001 but i can hardly hear the sound until one morning of June 2001.
That day I decided to find out about Islam and the Muslims. I started to research through reading books until I finally left my work. I went back to my family in Pampanga and found out that my father had already passed away.
I was depressed for a while but i did not stop to discover Islam. So i went back to Manila hoping to find someone to explain to me about Islam. In my heart, I was ready to embrace Islam but I did not know how!
I did not give up, I search on internet. I went to the extent of joining chatting rooms, hoping to find a Muslim who can enlighten me about Islam.
On June 16, 2004, I met the brother in Manila. He started to explain about Islam. On the day, I declared;
la ilaha illalah muhammadur rasulullah wa 'isa ibnu maryam abdullahi wa rasuli(There is no god worthy of worship except Allah, Muhammad is the messenger and that Jesus son of Mary, is a slave and messenger of Allah.)
That fateful day, I finally found a new home, the home of Islam. A home where you can find love, happiness and joy. Now I can smile. A smile that comes from my heart. On that day, I slept very well.
Every time I pray, I cry, not tears of sorrow, but tears of joy. A joy which money cannot buy. It is indescribable
Now I remember when I had a conversation with my grandfather who is a Catholic priest( my mother's uncle) He said; "If you want to change your religion, go back to Islam!"
Allahu Akbar!
May Allah (swt) open the hearts of my family to the light of Islam, and may he protect us from shaytan. Ameen.
O brothers and sisters! Include me in your prayers
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh!
source :www.turntoislam.com
I was brought up in devoted Catholic family and raised with Catholic values and traditions. At fifteen, I entered the monastery. While inside the monastery, I was happy because I can perform my duties as a nun and the people around me including my family were also pleased with me.
Until such time when I began to ask myself every night;"What am I doing here inside the monastery?" I stayed in our small and humble chapel and started to ask god if he is really listening to me, because i have learned in our cathechism that god is present in the blessed sacrament
Many question were lingering my mid. Doubts were cropping up particularly concerning the reality of Jesus Christ. However, I did not gave the courage to ask the priest nor my co-nuns who were with me that time. I was so afraid that they might take it against me.
So i let all doubts linger. I even allowed myself to profess my first temporary vows. I kept renewing it every year for TEN YEARS! Until such time i could not take it anymore; my pertual vows of chastity and poverty; professing the Jesus Christ is my go; and that he is lord and son of God.
I started to pray harder, asking God for guidance and to show me the right path.
If i will leave the monastery, it would bring great pain to my mother! My father actually did mind if i leave the church and have my own family.
But I do not want to hurt my family particularly my mother, my two brothers who are both priest, my four sisters who happen to be all nuns!
Above all I do not want to be a hypocrite and pretend that i am happy practicing something which is against my under lying principle.
So I did not submit my application letter of perpetual profession. I talked to my superior general, informing her that I am leaving the monastery.
Without informing my family, I left to find a work to survive. After awhile I met a close friend of mine who is a priest and offered me to work with him in his church in Marawi City, as a parish coordinator.
Incidentally, my family heard the news that i left the church and it was very hard for them to accept the fact. But they were hoping that one day, I might come bask to serve the church.
While working as parish coordinator, the priest who hired me was not treating me so well.
He did not even pay me salary and he tried to sexually abuse me. But alhamdulillah, he was not successful with his evil intentions.
Again I started to pray asking God to be with me and to make me happy, because I have never been at peace with my life. My heart and mind were miserable.
A NEW DAY
On June 17, 2001, early morning, I heard a beautiful sound but I did not understand what it was. I thought it was coming from the mosque nearby. As soon as I heard the sound, I felt like I was dipped in refreshing water. I cannot explain the feeling.
That day I felt happiness entering my heart, though, I did not understand what I heard. So after hearing this amazing sound, I said to myself these few words; there is a new day, there is new beginning."
I woke u p that morning asking what the sound was and they told me it was call for prayers of the muslims. Strange! I came to this city(Marawi) on the first week of May 2001 but i can hardly hear the sound until one morning of June 2001.
That day I decided to find out about Islam and the Muslims. I started to research through reading books until I finally left my work. I went back to my family in Pampanga and found out that my father had already passed away.
I was depressed for a while but i did not stop to discover Islam. So i went back to Manila hoping to find someone to explain to me about Islam. In my heart, I was ready to embrace Islam but I did not know how!
I did not give up, I search on internet. I went to the extent of joining chatting rooms, hoping to find a Muslim who can enlighten me about Islam.
On June 16, 2004, I met the brother in Manila. He started to explain about Islam. On the day, I declared;
la ilaha illalah muhammadur rasulullah wa 'isa ibnu maryam abdullahi wa rasuli(There is no god worthy of worship except Allah, Muhammad is the messenger and that Jesus son of Mary, is a slave and messenger of Allah.)
That fateful day, I finally found a new home, the home of Islam. A home where you can find love, happiness and joy. Now I can smile. A smile that comes from my heart. On that day, I slept very well.
Every time I pray, I cry, not tears of sorrow, but tears of joy. A joy which money cannot buy. It is indescribable
Now I remember when I had a conversation with my grandfather who is a Catholic priest( my mother's uncle) He said; "If you want to change your religion, go back to Islam!"
Allahu Akbar!
May Allah (swt) open the hearts of my family to the light of Islam, and may he protect us from shaytan. Ameen.
O brothers and sisters! Include me in your prayers
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh!
source :www.turntoislam.com
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Hungarian Convert to Islam: Sultan
Sultan
Khadega Pihan from Germany
i find that islam is the only Religion who have clear rules.Who read the Quran with his heart find a clear religion.I believe that theres only one God and i am proud to find my way with him.Now after one year i know every day that i did the right to change to islam. I thanks God to bring me on the right way of God.even i lost my hold Family to be Moslem but if this is the price to be near to God i will pay this price. I know that he will bring them back to me one day insha allah and they will understand insha allah that this is the right way to go.Now when i am praying i feel that i talk with god and i feel that he listen to me."
Al salam alaikum
My name is Miss Khadega Acuna Pihan from Germany.I want u to tell u my way to Islam.
Born as Christian and grow up with this Religion i went to church as other believers.But when i came into the church and i haer the words of our father who tell us storys about Jesus as the son of god.I thought by myself why,why this man talk and i dont want to listen what he say.Why i tell up my pray verses that i learn from my age 7 but i dont feel that someone listen to me even not Jesus.Why this people came to church and after this the mans go to a restaurant to drink Alkohol and after that Womans fight with him becouse he came drunken home.
Is this Christianity? It cant there must be more than this.So i start to study about Religions.A lot of strange Religions.This strange Religions who people pray for Buddah as god or a sun or a cow or flowers or devil.That cant be my Religion i thought by myself.
Then i start to read a book about the way of Prophet Mohammad(peace be upon him).his Birthday at 22 April about his Father Abdullah ibn Abdul Mutalib.About his Mother Aminah bint Wahab ibn Abdul Manaf ibn Zahrab.About his way to bring islam to the People and how dangerouse was this way for Moslems in this time.The marriage Mohammads(peace be upon him)with 25 years with the 18 years older Khadega his first wife and his other wifes who the youngest Aisha was 9 years.I couldnt stop to read and so i read all this book in one day.This book tell about the holy Quran who say the words of god and i started to be couriously about the Quran and i procuerd him.I startet to read and just with the 1.sura Al-Fathia my heart start to shake very strong.I thought whats happen why with this words from Quran my heart shake so strong.I go on to read and i feeled becaming calm reading.When i came to sura19.Maryam and i read whats writhen there i start to know why i couldnt believe the word of our father in church.
In the Chritianity we learned that Jesus are the Son of God and we must pray for him and thats what we do all time and now i read the quran who is the same word as 1300 years as today that Jesus was his Prophet as Mohammad (peace be upon him)and the others in the quran it say that god tell us I dont have a son Jesus was createt from me he is my Prophet like Mohammad and the other Prophets.Dont pray for other Gods accept me.
This are the words what makes me change to Islam also the trough that the Quran is writhen as 1500 years and never changed as today but the old Testament are different as the new Testament.even God sayed dont change my words accept i tell u to change them.The Christians have the 10 holy Rules. One of this Rules are dont kill but when the Christians went to Southamerica they Killed a lot of Indians becouse they didnt want to change her Religions. The same they did in Africa.
So i thought how they say for us dont Kill if they Kill.I cant say to the believers dont Kill and i go to Kill a lot of Peoples.This all makes me change my Religion
I just was tiered about the lie of the christianity and i find that islam is the only Religion who have clear rules.Who read the Quran with his heart find a clear religion.I believe that theres only one God and i am proud to find my way with him.Now after one year i know every day that i did the right to change to islam.I thanks God to bring me on the right way of God.even i lost my hold Family to be Moslem but if this is the price to be near to God i will pay this price. I know that he will bring them back to me one day insha allah and they will understand insha allah that this is the right way to go.Now when i am praying i feel that i talk with god and i feel that he listen to me.
Islam brings me my freedom back in my heart and i am happy from the day i start to Islam.islam is my live.without my Islam i am nothing,and if allah ever turn his magnificent face from me,i cant survive.
May God bless all Moslems in the world. Al salam aleikom
(- This Story Was Submitted to www.TurnToIslam.Com by Khadega Pihan from Germany)
source : www.TurnToIslam.Com
MUSLIMS IN AUSTRIA: THE EARLY RECOGNITION OF RELIGIOUS RIGHTS
Islam is officially acknowledged in Austria and is considered the second religion in the country, after Catholicism. Among Austria�s population of 8 million, nearly half a million Muslims enjoy legal rights and privileges unmatched by those offered sometimes larger Muslim populations in other western countries.
One reason for this is the long period of interaction between Austria and Islam, stretching back to 1525 when the Ottoman sultans tried to invade the Austrian empire. Although these attempts failed, there were significant cultural repercussions, and many Austrians adopted Islam. Continual Muslim immigration to the Austrian empire from Turkey and eastern Europe increased after the 1878 Berlin conference, which assimilated Islamic populations into the empire, and the new arrivals were welcomed by the authorities, which allowed them to practice their religious rituals. A law issued in 1867, which guaranteed respect for all religions throughout the empire, gave Muslims the right to establish mosques and practice their religion. The country�s first mosque was built in Vienna in 1878 with the government�s assistance to service Muslims enlisted in the Austrian army. Following the second world war, Austria received new waves of Muslim immigrants, mainly skilled labour attracted to work in the country�s reconstruction efforts. Further immigration ensued as a result of the economic boom witnessed in western Europe during the 1970s and the disintegration of Yugoslavia at the beginning of the 1990s. Arab Muslims, meanwhile, have added a new demographic dimension to the Muslim population in Austria. The true start of the legalisation of Muslims� rights in Austria was in 1908, when the government proposed a draft law to acknowledge Islam as an official religion. This �Law of Islam,� as it came to be known after its passage in 1912, gave Muslims various rights and privileges, including the right to organise and manage their community affairs independently through municipal councils and to establish Islamic endowment funds. These rights and privileges were enhanced by the signing of the Saint-Germain agreement in 1919, in which the Austrian government pledged its protection for minorities and affirmed the right of each citizen to assume important national posts regardless of religion or ethnic origin.
In 1988, the government amended the �Law of Islam� to recognise all the Islamic theological schools in addition to the Hanafi school, which was covered by previous legislation. This led to increased rights and privileges for Austria�s Muslims. Women, for example, were permitted to wear the veil at work and in public ceremonies, students in public institutions too were permitted to veil, and Muslims gained the right to study Islam in state schools and in the army. Austria�s Muslim soldiers also gained the right to take paid vacations for the Islamic holidays of Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, and Eid Al-Adha.
Austria�s Muslims have established several Islamic institutions, including the Islamic Centre in Vienna in 1977 and the Islamic Religious Authority in 1979, which functions as the religious and spiritual representative of Muslims in the country, in the same way as the country�s leading Christian and Jewish bodies do for their communities. Islamic education institutions include the Islamic Academy in Vienna, founded in 1998, and the Al-Azhar Institution in Vienna, founded two years later. A 34,000 sq km Islamic cemetery has also been built, and there are various Islamic associations and unions sponsored by different Muslim countries. However, these institutional structures do not include any mechanisms for political action, and their activities are confined to religious and educational activities. Despite all this progress, a number of anti-Muslim campaigns organised by right-wing extremists and neo-Nazis left Muslims aware of their need for Islamic institutions to adopt their opinions and support their cause. The Islamic community thus made efforts to play a role in the country�s political life, and several Islamic figures qualified themselves to assume distinguished positions inside parties and governmental bodies, including Amr Al-Rawi, a Muslim parliament member for the Communist Party of Austria.
In April 2000, Vienna�s Muslims, in collaboration with various political parties and authorities, organised a campaign to counter the hostile attacks launched by the right-wing Freedom Party against them. As Austria�s Muslims gradually increased their role in political life they became more important for the leaders of the big political parties, who made greater efforts to win their political support and votes.
A major problem for Austria�s Muslims is the existence of theological and ethnic differences and discrepancies in their ranks that have led to social and cultural disharmony. The Turks, for instance, who represent 80% of Austria�s Muslims, live in a closed community with their own mosques and social life. Those of Bosnian origin have different traditions, affected by years of communist rule, while the Arab contingent, 50% of which is Egyptian, of course has its own traditions.
One issue for Austria�s Muslims that has yet to be resolved with the government is related to a law that allows hospitals and medical centres to take human organs from the recently deceased without the permission of their families, provided the deceased is not carrying documentation expressly forbidding this. For the majority of Austria�s Muslims this is a problem.
A rise in conversion to Islam in Austria, meanwhile, has angered extremist groups and led to hostility against Muslims. Several campaigns have been organised through mass media and intellectual and cultural forums to distort the image of Islam, and there have also been attacks against Islamic figures and institutions. To counter such campaigns, Austria�s Muslims, in collaboration with various political parties and authorities, organised a campaign to underscore the tolerance of Islam and its openness to other religions and cultures. During the campaign, various political leaders hailed the honourable role of Muslims in Austrian life.
In other efforts to promote integration and understanding, the Communist Party held an iftar (fast-breaking) banquet in Ramadan 2002 in which the party leader highlighted the importance of Muslims� participation in elections and noted their tangible role in Austrian life in general. The Austrian People�s Party held three iftar banquets in Ramadan 2003 for the Turkish Muslim community.
Following the events of 11 September 2001, Austrian officials expressed their rejection of all forms of terrorism � like their counterparts around the world � but they refused to link the phenomenon with Islam. Austrian foreign minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner, moreover, underscored that Islam is a religion of tolerance and peace and that it has nothing to do with terrorism. This stance runs in accordance with the broad lines of the Austrian policy of consolidating dialogue between religions and cultures with the aim of increasing comprehension and rapprochement.
source : http://www.siyassa.org.eg/esiyassa/ahram/2004/4/1/FILE4.htm
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Turning Muslim in Texas Documentary
George W Bush may be backed by Christian fundamentalists but in his home state of Texas, Islam is the latest big draw.
Eric was a Baptist preacher before he became a Muslim 14 years ago. Now he prays five times a day – even in the middle of watching a football game. His wife, Karen, also a convert, is covered from head to toe in the traditional Muslim Clothes. Islam, says Eric, ‘is everything I wanted Christianty to be’. His mother has found it hard to come to terms with her son’s conversion and believes he will return to the Christan faith: ‘Then he will be a dynamic preacher.’ Eric says: ‘Maybe some day she’ll embrace Islam.’
source :www.turnislam.com
Eric was a Baptist preacher before he became a Muslim 14 years ago. Now he prays five times a day – even in the middle of watching a football game. His wife, Karen, also a convert, is covered from head to toe in the traditional Muslim Clothes. Islam, says Eric, ‘is everything I wanted Christianty to be’. His mother has found it hard to come to terms with her son’s conversion and believes he will return to the Christan faith: ‘Then he will be a dynamic preacher.’ Eric says: ‘Maybe some day she’ll embrace Islam.’
source :www.turnislam.com
My converting to Islam
It was the day before Ramadan in August 2008 and my boyfriend Hamid and I were discussing the differences between our religions, I being raised as Catholic and he being raised as Muslim. After mine and Hamid’s discussion I discovered that there were many similarities and that the Muslim faith had a lot of respect for women. I had not really followed the Catholic religion since I was age 12 as it confused me and seemed to be very unclear on how Jesus was the son of God and I had great doubts about the religion.
Hamid said that he was going to fast in September as it was a sign to Allah that we are grateful to him for all the food we have, and also that we do not take things for granted.
A few days later Hamid was walking past a stall in Manchester which gave out DVD, books and pamphlets about the Muslim religion. He brought several DVD’s home, one entitled “The Similarities between Christianity and Islam.” I sat watching it, and as the minutes went by I realised the greater benefits of Islam and that Christianity is very vague in comparison. The sheikh on the DVD knew a lot, he was very wise, and any questions asked of him by Christians in the audience, he knew the answer to. I carried on watching a few more about women in Islam and the rights and respect women had. Now I have never been one to pay attention to the media but this came as a shock because all you see portrayed in the media is women being beaten by fundamentalists and treated like slaves. After watching this DVD I decided to learn more about it.
There was a website address on the back of one of the booklets Hamid had brought home for me, so I went to the website and discovered they were giving literature for free. I then ordered my most prize possession, The Glorious Quaran. When it arrived I read through the first Sura (chapter) and I realised I wanted to be part of this religion, but obviously I wanted to know more about it before I made my decision.
By this time I had decided I would cover my head with Hijab (a headscarf) as the DVD showed me that is brought more respect to women and dignity. I was also fasting for the whole month of Ramadan as I agreed that we should show we are grateful to Allah for what we are given.
The following Saturday Hamid and I were shopping in Longsight. The same stall that Hamid had been to had moved there, I approached the stall, intrigued by the amount of pamphlets and booklets that were on display. Hamid, along with the Muslim man on the stall helped me choose a DVD and some booklets that would benefit me in my search for knowledge.
The DVD I remember was about a woman who converted, she was a journalist and she had been captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Being a journalist she had heard only bad things about Muslim people and was under the impression that she would be hurt, beaten or raped, as the media would lead people to believe, but she soon realised the media couldn’t be more wrong!! She was amazed at how they treated her, she got treated with utmost respect and dignity and they would not look her in the eye. The main thing that shocked me was that they gave her the key to her own cell; she was able to open it or lock it as she pleased. She vowed to a Muslim Imam that if she could be released she would research more into Islam and possibly convert. So upon her release she started reading the Quaran and later on converted.
This made me realise that Muslim people were more respectful of others and were not all fundamentalist or violent. In fact, the DVD also stated the violence is forbidden in Islam.
There were a few more things I wanted to know before I officially converted. For example, why did the bible say that Jesus was the son of God and the Quaran didn’t?…Well as I read further into the Quaran I realised that Jesus was in it also but he is not portrayed as the son of God, he is portrayed as a messenger of God, which made more sense to me that what the bible had said. What the Quaran says about a lot of things in the bible makes more sense that in the bible itself. This was of great relief to me as I saw that the beliefs were all the same, it is the same God, only he is called Allah.
I spent the rest of the time learning for the internet, in the Quaran and through Muslim Chat rooms. I also became friends with a Muslim girl in my college class called Amina, she I now my best friend and has helped me a lot in my search for religion and also in becoming a more devoted Muslim.
Now I decided that, because I was wearing my Hijab as a permanent item of clothing that I had to tell my mother. At first she seemed shocked, weary and anxious as she explained her fears about fundamentalism and that people were targeting Muslims in the streets and attacking them. I knew that this was just media propaganda and calmly explained to her that I am still the same person, I am still her daughter, and I just have different beliefs and ethics. She seemed upset but there is no real way to tell your mother you have changed been considering changing your religion without causing upset. I left her the DVD I had seen about the woman who converted, and I went back home.
I then informed my uncles by text message as they are very open-minded individuals and have very rich full lives. My uncle in Derby said that if I am 100% sure and I am going to stick to it then he is happy as long as I am happy. My other uncle, who is an archaeologist had done work on Islamic architecture and was very inquisitive and asked lots of questions about it.
So now all that was left in close family was my grandparents, although my granddad had already been made aware by my mother. Obviously at his age he wasn’t very open-minded to the idea and had serious fears about it and being the type of person who doesn’t adapt easily to change either made it harder for him to accept.
It was just before Christmas that I told my nana, as she was suffering with back pain I did not want to give her the news until she was feeling better and also as I thought she would take it badly. But she was surprisingly interested in it and her intrigue into it made me smile. She asked a lot of questions and seemed to understand a lot more.
Hamid and I still went to see my family over Christmas and exchanged gifts and we enjoyed it a lot. I was under pressure to drink alcohol but I informed my granddad that it was forbidden in Islam to drink and the rest of the day went fine. I always thought since I became an adult that Christmas is far too commercial and although I would miss the family gatherings I knew that I wouldn’t mind not having Christmas again. Plus I knew that Muslim’s have Eid 3 times a year and they celebrate with family and enjoy nice food and exchange gifts.
I knew by now that all meat we eat has to be Halal, which means that it has to be blessed and killed in a humane way. This makes it more sacred and Muslim people believe it to be bad if you eat non-Halal meat. This however, doesn’t cause problems because there are a lot of Halal butchers in Manchester and one had just opened in Asda near to my house.
In January 2009 I made it one of my new year’s resolutions to be more religious and to have a better life. After researching online I discovered that to convert I have to say 7 words in Arabic and if they are said with conviction and believe then I will become Muslim.
Having read the Quran, watched DVD’s, looked online and spoken to a lot of Muslim people I then decided to convert to Islam.
On 18th January 2009 I took my Shahada (the Muslim testimony of faith) “La ilah illa Allah, Muhammad rasoolu Allah” which translates into “I testify that there is no true god (deity) but God (Allah), and that Muhammad is a Messenger (Prophet) of God.”
I know now, that I will never look back.
source : http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50239
Hamid said that he was going to fast in September as it was a sign to Allah that we are grateful to him for all the food we have, and also that we do not take things for granted.
A few days later Hamid was walking past a stall in Manchester which gave out DVD, books and pamphlets about the Muslim religion. He brought several DVD’s home, one entitled “The Similarities between Christianity and Islam.” I sat watching it, and as the minutes went by I realised the greater benefits of Islam and that Christianity is very vague in comparison. The sheikh on the DVD knew a lot, he was very wise, and any questions asked of him by Christians in the audience, he knew the answer to. I carried on watching a few more about women in Islam and the rights and respect women had. Now I have never been one to pay attention to the media but this came as a shock because all you see portrayed in the media is women being beaten by fundamentalists and treated like slaves. After watching this DVD I decided to learn more about it.
There was a website address on the back of one of the booklets Hamid had brought home for me, so I went to the website and discovered they were giving literature for free. I then ordered my most prize possession, The Glorious Quaran. When it arrived I read through the first Sura (chapter) and I realised I wanted to be part of this religion, but obviously I wanted to know more about it before I made my decision.
By this time I had decided I would cover my head with Hijab (a headscarf) as the DVD showed me that is brought more respect to women and dignity. I was also fasting for the whole month of Ramadan as I agreed that we should show we are grateful to Allah for what we are given.
The following Saturday Hamid and I were shopping in Longsight. The same stall that Hamid had been to had moved there, I approached the stall, intrigued by the amount of pamphlets and booklets that were on display. Hamid, along with the Muslim man on the stall helped me choose a DVD and some booklets that would benefit me in my search for knowledge.
The DVD I remember was about a woman who converted, she was a journalist and she had been captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Being a journalist she had heard only bad things about Muslim people and was under the impression that she would be hurt, beaten or raped, as the media would lead people to believe, but she soon realised the media couldn’t be more wrong!! She was amazed at how they treated her, she got treated with utmost respect and dignity and they would not look her in the eye. The main thing that shocked me was that they gave her the key to her own cell; she was able to open it or lock it as she pleased. She vowed to a Muslim Imam that if she could be released she would research more into Islam and possibly convert. So upon her release she started reading the Quaran and later on converted.
This made me realise that Muslim people were more respectful of others and were not all fundamentalist or violent. In fact, the DVD also stated the violence is forbidden in Islam.
There were a few more things I wanted to know before I officially converted. For example, why did the bible say that Jesus was the son of God and the Quaran didn’t?…Well as I read further into the Quaran I realised that Jesus was in it also but he is not portrayed as the son of God, he is portrayed as a messenger of God, which made more sense to me that what the bible had said. What the Quaran says about a lot of things in the bible makes more sense that in the bible itself. This was of great relief to me as I saw that the beliefs were all the same, it is the same God, only he is called Allah.
I spent the rest of the time learning for the internet, in the Quaran and through Muslim Chat rooms. I also became friends with a Muslim girl in my college class called Amina, she I now my best friend and has helped me a lot in my search for religion and also in becoming a more devoted Muslim.
Now I decided that, because I was wearing my Hijab as a permanent item of clothing that I had to tell my mother. At first she seemed shocked, weary and anxious as she explained her fears about fundamentalism and that people were targeting Muslims in the streets and attacking them. I knew that this was just media propaganda and calmly explained to her that I am still the same person, I am still her daughter, and I just have different beliefs and ethics. She seemed upset but there is no real way to tell your mother you have changed been considering changing your religion without causing upset. I left her the DVD I had seen about the woman who converted, and I went back home.
I then informed my uncles by text message as they are very open-minded individuals and have very rich full lives. My uncle in Derby said that if I am 100% sure and I am going to stick to it then he is happy as long as I am happy. My other uncle, who is an archaeologist had done work on Islamic architecture and was very inquisitive and asked lots of questions about it.
So now all that was left in close family was my grandparents, although my granddad had already been made aware by my mother. Obviously at his age he wasn’t very open-minded to the idea and had serious fears about it and being the type of person who doesn’t adapt easily to change either made it harder for him to accept.
It was just before Christmas that I told my nana, as she was suffering with back pain I did not want to give her the news until she was feeling better and also as I thought she would take it badly. But she was surprisingly interested in it and her intrigue into it made me smile. She asked a lot of questions and seemed to understand a lot more.
Hamid and I still went to see my family over Christmas and exchanged gifts and we enjoyed it a lot. I was under pressure to drink alcohol but I informed my granddad that it was forbidden in Islam to drink and the rest of the day went fine. I always thought since I became an adult that Christmas is far too commercial and although I would miss the family gatherings I knew that I wouldn’t mind not having Christmas again. Plus I knew that Muslim’s have Eid 3 times a year and they celebrate with family and enjoy nice food and exchange gifts.
I knew by now that all meat we eat has to be Halal, which means that it has to be blessed and killed in a humane way. This makes it more sacred and Muslim people believe it to be bad if you eat non-Halal meat. This however, doesn’t cause problems because there are a lot of Halal butchers in Manchester and one had just opened in Asda near to my house.
In January 2009 I made it one of my new year’s resolutions to be more religious and to have a better life. After researching online I discovered that to convert I have to say 7 words in Arabic and if they are said with conviction and believe then I will become Muslim.
Having read the Quran, watched DVD’s, looked online and spoken to a lot of Muslim people I then decided to convert to Islam.
On 18th January 2009 I took my Shahada (the Muslim testimony of faith) “La ilah illa Allah, Muhammad rasoolu Allah” which translates into “I testify that there is no true god (deity) but God (Allah), and that Muhammad is a Messenger (Prophet) of God.”
I know now, that I will never look back.
source : http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50239
Iman (Monica) Aparicio Christianity to Islam
Iman (Monica) Aparicio Christianity to Islam
*Recommended Viewing* Beautiful Story. This sister became Muslim after her daughter started questioning her about various beliefs such as the trinity and she asked why she had to pray to the cross. So Monica started on her path to find the truth, and alhamdulilah she found Islam. This is a really amazing story about how someone found guidance in Islam. She also talks about her own experience in Arab countries with what she sees as problem, with their lack of understanding about Islam.
source: www.turntoislam.com
*Recommended Viewing* Beautiful Story. This sister became Muslim after her daughter started questioning her about various beliefs such as the trinity and she asked why she had to pray to the cross. So Monica started on her path to find the truth, and alhamdulilah she found Islam. This is a really amazing story about how someone found guidance in Islam. She also talks about her own experience in Arab countries with what she sees as problem, with their lack of understanding about Islam.
source: www.turntoislam.com
Friday, March 13, 2009
Ibrahim Karlsson
I was born in an ordinary , non-religious Swedish home, but with a very loving relationship to each other. I had lived my life 25 years without really thinking about the existence of God or anything spiritual what-so-ever; I was the role model of the materialistic man.
Or was I? I recall a short story I wrote in 7th grade, something about my future life, where I portray myself as a successful games programmer (I hadn't yet even touched a computer) and living with a Muslim wife!! OK, at that time Muslim to me meant dressing in long clothes and wearing a scarf, but I have no idea where those thoughts came from. Later, in high school, I remember spending much time in the school-library (being a bookworm) and at one time I picked up a translated Qur'an and read some passages from it. I don't remember exactly what I read, but I do remember finding that what it said made sense and was logical to me.
Still, I was not at all religious, I couldn't fit God in my universe, and I had no need of any god. I mean, we have Newton to explain how the universe works, right?
Time passed, I graduated and started working. Earned some money and moved to my own apartment, and found a wonderful tool in the PC. I became a passionate amateur photographer, and enrolled in activities around that. At one time I was documenting a marketplace, taking snapshots from a distance with my telelens when an angry looking immigrant came over and explained that he would make sure I wasn't going to take any more pictures of his mum and sisters. Strange people those Muslims...
More things related to Islam happened that I can't explain why I did what I did. I can't recall the reason I called the "Islamic information organisation" in Sweden, ordering a subscription to their newsletter, buying Yosuf Ali's Qur'an and a very good book on Islam called Islam - our faith. I just did!
I read almost all of the Qur'an, and found it to be both beautiful and logical, but still, God had no place in my heart. One year later, whilst out on a patch of land called "pretty island" (it really is) taking autumn-color pictures, I was overwhelmed by a fantastic feeling. I felt as if I were a tiny piece of something greater, a tooth on a gear in God's great gearbox called the universe. It was wonderful! I had never ever felt like this before, totally relaxed, yet bursting with energy, and above all, total awareness of god wherever I turned my eyes.
I don't know how long I stayed in this ecstatic state, but eventually it ended and I drove home, seemingly unaffected, but what I had experienced left uneraseable marks in my mind. At this time Microsoft brought Windows-95 to the market with the biggest marketing blitz known to the computer industry. Part of the package was the on-line service The Microsoft Network. And keen to know what is was I got myself an account on the MSN. I soon found that the Islam BBS were the most interesting part of the MSN, and that's where I found Shahida.
Shahida is a American woman, who like me has converted to Islam. Our chemistry worked right away, and she became the best pen-friend I have ever had. Our e-mail correspondence will go down in history: the fact that my mailbox grew to something like 3 megabytes over the first 6 months tells its own tale. She and I discussed a lot about Islam and faith in god in general, and what she wrote made sense to me. Shahida had an angels patience with my slow thinking and my silly questions, but she never gave up the hope in me. Just listen to your heart and you'll find the truth she said.
And I found the truth in myself sooner than I'd expected. On the way home from work, in the bus with most of the people around me asleep, and myself adoring the sunset, painting the beautifully dispersed clouds with pink and orange colours, all the parts came together, how God can rule our life, yet we're not robots. How I could depend on physics and chemistry and still believe and see Gods work. It was wonderful, a few minutes of total understanding and peace. I so long for a moment like this to happen again!
And it did, one morning I woke up, clear as a bell, and the first thought that ran through my brain was how grateful to God I were that he made me wake up to another day full of opportunities. It was so natural, like I had been doing every day of my life!
After these experiences I couldn't no longer deny God's existence. But after 25 years of denying God it was no easy task to admit his existence and accept faith. But good things kept happening to me, I spent some time in the US, and at this time I started praying, testing and feeling, learning to focus on God and to listen to what my heart said. It all ended in a nice weekend in New York, of which I had worried a lot, but it turned out to be a success, most of all, I finally got to meet Shahida!
At this point there was no return, I just didn't know it yet. But God kept leading me, I read some more, and finally got the courage to call the nearest Mosque and ask for a meeting with some Muslims. With trembling legs I drove to the mosque, which I had passed many times before, but never dared to stop and visit. I met the nicest people there, and I was given some more reading material, and made plans to come and visit the brothers in their home. What they said, and the answers they gave all made sense. Islam became a major part of my life, I started praying regularly, and I went to my first Jumma prayer. It was wonderful, I sneaked in, and sat in the back, not understanding a word the imam was saying, but still enjoying the service. After the khutba we all came together forming lines, and made the two 'rakaas'. It was yet one of the wonderful experiences I have had on my journey to Islam. The sincerity of 200 men fully devoted to just one thing, to praise God, felt great!
Slowly my mind started to agree with my heart, I started to picture myself as a Muslim, but could I really convert to Islam? I had left the Swedish state-church earlier, just in case, but to pray 5 times a day? to stop eating pork? Could I really do that? And what about my family and friends? I recalled what Br. Omar told me, how his family tried to get him admitted to an asylum when he converted. Could I really do this?
By this time the Internet wave had swept my country, and I too had hooked up with the infobahn. And "out there" were tons of information about Islam. I think I collected just about every web page with the word Islam anywhere in the text, and learned a lot. But what really made a change was a text I found in Great Britain, a story of a newly converted woman with feelings exactly like mine. 12 hours is the name of the text. When I had read that story, and wept the tears out of my eyes I realized that there were no turning back anymore, I couldn't resist Islam any longer.
Summer vacation started, and I had made my mind up. I had to become a Muslim! But after all, the start of the summer had been very cold, and if my first week without work was different, I wouldn't lose a day of sunshine by not being on the beach. On the TV the weatherman painted a big sun right on top of my part of the country. OK then, some other day... The next morning; a steel grey sky, with ice-cold gusts of wind outside my bedroom window. It was like God had decided my time was up, I could wait no longer. I had the required bath, and dressed in clean clothes, jumped in my car and drove the 1 hour drive to the mosque.
In the Mosque I approached the brothers with my wish, and after dhuhr prayer the Imam and some brothers witnessed me say the Shahada. Alhamdulillah! And to my great relief all my family and friends have taken my conversion very well, they have all accepted it, I won't say they were thrilled, but absolutely no hard feelings. They can't understand all the things I do. Like praying 5 times a day on specific times, or not eating pork meat. They think this is strange foreign customs that will die out with time, but I'll prove them wrong. InshaAllah!
source :media.isnet.org
Christopher Shelton
My conversion to Islam began in my eighth grade year. There was a Muslim student by the name of Raphael who first told me a little about Islam. At the time he was not so knowledgeable about Islam, but he put the initial interest in my mind which never went away.
In the ninth grade there was another student by the name of Leonard who claimed at one time or another that he was a Muslim but he was more or less a 5 percenter. The one thing he did do was to give me a pamphlet on true Islam which increased my interest in Islam. I didn't hear much more about Islam until my tenth grade year.
That year me and Leonard would sit in the back of geometry class and blame all of the world's problems on white people while we would exalt the status of black people above all other races. At that time in my life I thought that Islam was the religion for black people, but unfortunately the Islam I was talking about was nothing more than black nationalism with a slight touch of true Islam. It was very similar to The Nation of Islam. As time went on I began to see that my black nationalist views and my perception of what Islam was about became tired. It was useless to hate almost all white people and to blame this on Islam. Around the same time I totally denounced Christianity as my religion. I got tired of the unintelligible doctrines and the many contradictions within the religion.
The next year of high school I was conversing with a few students about religion and they told me to buy a Qu'ran so I did. I went to the nearest bookstore and bought a very poor translation of the Qu'ran but it was the first real look into the truth about Islam. Within a few weeks I took on the beliefs of a Muslim even though I hadn't taken shahadah yet. Most of what I was doing concerning Islam was wrong because I never had a chance to go to a masjid because my mother totally forbade it. As time went on I finally got an Abdullah Yusuf Ali translation of the Qu'ran which opened my eyes to so much about Islam.
In the meantime my mother was doing everything in her power to prevent me from embracing Islam. She took me to see her preacher three times which was of no avail. As time passed I began to learn more and more about Islam from various books I could get my hands on. I finally learned how to make salat correctly from one of these books. My mother was still trying her best to make me become a Christian again.
My mother and I would frequently argue about religion until one day my mother had enough and told my dad that I was going to have to live with him. He had absolutely no problem with this. The day after I graduated from high school I moved in with my dad. I can see now that my parent's divorce was actually a blessing in disguise. Their divorce provided me with a place to live in which I could practice Islam freely. My dad had no problem with my interest in Islam.
One day I called the Islamic Learning Center in Fayetteville and a brother by the name of Mustafa told me to come down for the Taleem (lesson) to learn more about Islam. Everybody was extremely hospitable and Mustafa even gave me a ride home. After three weeks of going to Jumuah (Friday congregational prayers) and Taleem I finally took my Shahadah on July 2,1995. Ever since then I have been an active member of the Islamic community. I am also very pleased to say that Raphael (the person who gave me my initial in interest in Islam) got back to Islam seriously and took shahadah a few months before I did. We still keep in touch even though he is in England.
source :media.isnet.org
Lady Evelyn Zeinab Cobbold
Becoming Muslim
Lady Evelyn Zeinab Cobbold (England)
I am often asked when and why I became a Muslim. I can only reply that I do not know the precise moment when the truth of Islam dawned upon me. It seems that I have always been a Muslim. This is not so strange when one remembers that Islam is the natural religion that a child, left to itself, would develop. Indeed as a Western critic once described it. 'Islam is the religion of common sense.'
The more I read and the more I studied, the more convinced I became that Islam was the most practical religion, and the one most calculated to solve the world's many perplexing problems, and to bring to humanity peace and happiness. Since then I have never wavered in my belief that there is but one God; that Moses, Jesus, Muhammad and others before (peace be on all of them) were prophets, divinely inspired, that to every nation God has sent an apostle, that we are not born in sin, and that we do not need any redemption, that we do not need anyone to intercede between us and God, Whom we can approach at all times, and that no one can intercede for us, not even Muhammad or Jesus [unless God permits it -ed.], and that our salvation depends entirely on ourselves and on our actions.
The word 'Islam' means surrender to God. It also means peace. A Muslim is one who is 'in harmony with the decrees of the author of this world', one who has made his peace with God and His creatures.
Islam is based on two fundamental truths: (a) the Oneness of God and (b) the Brotherhood of Man, and is entirely free from any encumbrances of theological dogma. Above everything else it is a positive faith.
The influence of the Hajj cannot be exaggerated. To be a member of that huge congregation gathered together from the four corners of the earth, on this sacred occasion and on the sacred spot, and to join with this mass of humanity, in all humility, in the glorification of God, is to have one's consciousness impressed by the full significance of the Islamic ideal, is to be privileged to participate in one of the most soul inspiring experiences that have ever been granted to human beings. To visit the birthplace of Islam, to tread the sacred ground of the prophet's struggle to call erring humanity back to God, is to re-live those hallowed by the memories of Muhammad's long toil and sufferings in glorious years of sacrifice martyrdom, is to have one's soul kindled by that celestial fire which lighted up the whole earth. But this is not all. The Hajj, above everything else, makes for unity among Moslems. If there is anything that unifies the scattered forces of Islam and imbues them with mutual sympathy it is the pilgrimage. It provides them with a central point to which they rally from all corners of the earth. It creates for them annually an occasion to meet and know one another, to exchange views and compare experiences and unite their various efforts to the common good. Distances are annihilated. Differences of sect are set aside. Divergences of race and colour cease to exist in this fraternity of faith that unites all Moslems in one great brotherhood and makes them conscious of the glorious heritage that is theirs.
From "Islam, Our Choice"
source :media.isnet.org
Rob Wicks ,Becoming Muslim
I grew up Baptist, in a family of ministers, in rural Mississippi. I went to college at Morehouse College in Atlanta, so I was exposed to the NOI, but I had the good fortune to become friends with an orthodox Muslim who explained to me the difference between NOI and Islam, and the lack of knowledge most NOI have of true Islam. Later, after I left school and began working, I got an internet account, and started to study some of the religions of the world. I had never really been a particularly religious person, due to my somewhat scientific nature. I always insist on proof. I started to delve deeper into Christianity, and studied it intently on the Web. I was somewhat disdained however by some inconsistencies in the Bible. I principally was troubled by the Trinity, though. I just did not see it. The one passage I saw as being most supportive (1 John 5:7) was partially forged. When I read Mathew 19:16-17, and Jesus (pbuh) says "Why callest thou me good?, it was clear to me that he was saying that he was not good, and only God was. But most of the Christians seemed to think Jesus was being tongue-in-cheek at this point. I found that I would have to be dishonest to accept this.
Then fortune? smiled upon me. I hit a deer in my car. It was out of service for almost a month. During that time, I was unemployed, but had saved money, so I could live (I also have two roommates). I still had my internet account, and I decided to study more. After I had studied the Biblical contradictions, in addition to the inherent idolatry and unscriptural nature of the Trinity, along with other things, I rejected Christianity as a religion. Even Jesus did not seem to teach it, he taught belief in God. I went a time without any religion, thinking maybe it was all a sham. I have a friend who is in the 5% NOI, and I saw how much he hated religion, and I decided that I did not want to be like that. I believe that God kept my mind open and my heart from hardening against Him, and I studied Islam. Everything just seemed to fit: a reasoned faith which was very prayerful to keep us on the straight path, yet did not disdain acquisition of knowledge (the preachers back home loved to rail against education, as if ignorance is preferred by God). Islam seemed to be made for me. A good Muslim was the exact sort of person I aspired to be. After another month of study and prayer, I decided that if Muhammad (pbuh) was not a prophet, then there had never been prophets in the first place. The moment of decision came one night when I was reading the Qur'an and I read 21:30, and I read of God expanding his creation. Now, I almost became an astronomer at one point, and I still am interested, and these verses hit me like a sledgehammer. I became fearful of God, and wanted to worship him better.
source :media.isnet.org
Yahiye Adam Gadahn
My first seventeen years have been a bit different than the youth experienced by most Americans. I grew up on an extremely rural goat ranch in Western Riverside County, California, where my family raises on average 150 to 200 animals for milk, cheese, and meat. My father is a halal butcher [a butcher who slaughters in an Islamic manner -ed.] and supplies to an Islamic Food Mart a few blocks from the Islamic Center in downtown Los Angeles.
My father was raised agnostic or atheist, but he became a believer in One God when he picked up a Bible left on the beach. He once had a number of Muslim friends, but they've all moved out of California now. My mother was raised Catholic, so she leans towards Christianity (although she, like my father, disregards the Trinity). I and my siblings were/are home-schooled, and as you may know, most home-school families are Christian. In the last 8 or so years, we have been involved with some home-schooling support groups, thus acquainting me with fundamentalist Christianity. It was an eye-opening experience. Setting aside the blind dogmatism and charismatic wackiness, it was quite a shock to me when I realized that these people, in their prayers, were actually praying TO JESUS. You see, I had always believed that Jesus (pbuh) was, at the very most, the Son of God (since that is what the Bible mistranslates "Servant of God" as). As I learned that belief in the Trinity, something I find absolutely ridiculous, is considered by most Christians to be a prerequisite for salvation, I gradually realized I could not be a Christian.
In the meantime, I had become obsessed with demonic Heavy Metal music, something the rest of my family (as I now realize, rightfully so) was not happy with. My entire life was focused on expanding my music collection. I eschewed personal cleanliness and let my room reach an unbelievable state of disarray. My relationship with my parents became strained, although only intermittently so. I am sorry even as I write this.
Earlier this year, I began to listen to the apocalyptic ramblings of Christian radio's "prophecy experts." Their paranoid espousal of various conspiracy theories, rabid support of Israel and religious Zionism, and fiery preaching about the "Islamic Threat" held for me a strange fascination. Why? Well, I suppose it was simply the need I was feeling to fill that void I had created for myself. In any case, I soon found that the beliefs these evangelists held, such as Original Sin and the Infallibility of "God's Word", were not in agreement with my theological ideas (not to mention the Bible) and I began to look for something else to hold onto.
The turning point, perhaps, was when I moved in with my grandparents here in Santa Ana, the county seat of Orange, California. My grandmother, a computer whiz, is hooked up to America Online and I have been scooting the information superhighway since January. But when I moved in, with the intent of finding a job (easier said than done), I begin to visit the religion folders on AOL and the Usenet newsgroups, where I found discussions on Islam to be the most intriguing. You see, I discovered that the beliefs and practices of this religion fit my personal theology and intellect as well as basic human logic. Islam presents God not as an anthropomorphic being but as an entity beyond human comprehension, transcendent of man, independant and undivided. Islam has a holy book that is comprehensible to a layman, and there is no papacy or priesthood that is considered infallible in matters of interpretation: all Muslims are free to reflect and interpret the book given a sufficient education. Islam does not believe that all men are doomed to Hell unless they simply accept that God (apparently unable to forgive otherwise) magnanimously allowed Himself to be tortured on a cross to enable Him to forgive all human beings who just believe that He allowed Himself to be tortured on a cross... Islam does not believe in a Chosen Race. And on and on...
As I began reading English translations of the Qur'an, I became more and more convinced of the truth and authenticity of Allah's teachings contained in those 114 chapters. Having been around Muslims in my formative years, I knew well that they were not the bloodthirsty, barbaric terrorists that the news media and the televangelists paint them to be. Perhaps this knowledge led me to continue my personal research further than another person would have. I can't say when I actually decided that Islam was for me. It was really a natural progression. In any case, last week [November 1995 -ed.]I went to the Islamic Society of Orange County in Garden Grove and told the brother in charge of the library I wanted to be a Muslim. He gave me some excellent reading material, and last Friday I took Shahada [accepted the creed of Islam -ed.]in front of a packed masjid. I have spent this week learning to perform Salat and reflecting on the greatness of Allah. It feels great to be a Muslim! Subhaana rabbiyal 'azeem!
source :media.isnet.org
Friday, March 6, 2009
Limitless Love for The Praised One
He 
was born on a Monday in Rabbi al Awwal, this very month into which we have entered, and one that is adorned with his praise and remembrance just as it was honoured with his blessed birth. When he emerged into the world he brought with him a light which lit up the East and the West, a light by which the castles and the market places of Syria were illuminated, enabling the necks of the camels of Busra to be seen. He dropped down to his hands and knees and raised his head towards the heavens and his midwife saw a light fill the house and the stars appear so close that she feared they would fall. His very birth was ushered in by many miracles, as seen by the Jews and Persians, as seen by those present at his birth and those afar, and as he himself later narrated that he was born circumcised and with his umbilical cord already cut, and that this was an honour from Allah. Ibn Kathir reports that Abd al-Muttalib invited the people of Quraysh to enjoy the feast after making the sacrifice in celebration of his birth, and they asked his name.
“I have named him Muhammad” he replied.
“Why?...”, they asked.
“Because I wanted God to praise him in heaven and His creatures to praise him on earth.”
And indeed this sentiment is echoed in the Quran itself, wherein Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says: status as the final Messenger of God. And so no moment passes as the day turns to night in one part of the world or the night turns to day in another part, but he is being praised, his name is being uttered and peace and blessings are being sent upon him.
This continuous, collective praise which rings out the world over - whether in silent prayer or reverberating chant, all heard clearly in the heavenly realm - is simply one manifestation of the limitless love that is felt towards the Beloved of Allah, Muhammad. And that love is an undeniable, necessary tenet of our religion.
In fact Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala Himself censures the one who loves anything more than Allah and His Messenger, saying in the Noble Quran:
It’s clear from this and similar reports that loving the Prophet is something necessary to true belief, and anyone who has experienced a deep love will attest that it is a limitless ocean of feeling the depths of with are often impossible to plumb. The emotion and act of loving is something to which volumes of poetry have been dedicated and lifetimes have been spent philosophizing in trying to determine its reality.
With such concepts that are so difficult to define, and perhaps best left undefined, such as love, the best way to recognize it can be through its signs. And the signs of love for the Prophet are clearly seen in his companions, whose descriptions of him read like poetry and whose actions are a testament to limitless love. They left their homes and families for the love of Allah and His Messenger, they fought and died for him, and when he left them and this world they were as forlorn lovers pining after the beloved.
When Bilal (ra) approached death and his wife cried out in sorrow, his response was “What joy! I will meet those I love, Muhammad and his party!”Out of sorrow he had stopped calling the adhan after the death of the Prophet, save at the special request of his blessed grandson (ra), since such reminders of times with the Prophet were too painful. Yet, the only joy to be felt again was at the thought of being reunited with him through death.
Abu Sufyan (ra) in times of enmity had remarked “I have not seen any people who love anyone the way the Companions of Muhammad love Muhammad.”
Qadi Iyad (rh) sets out eleven signs of loving the Prophet which are worth noting and measuring oneself against, they are:
1.Emulating him by following his sunnah.
2.Preferring his verdict to one’s own desires.
3.Only getting angry for the sake of Allah (as the Prophet did this)
4.Mentioning him often.
5.Yearning to meet him
6.Mentioning him with exaltation and respect, being humbled when he is mentioned.
7.Loving those who love him, and loving his Ahlul Bayt and his sahaba (ra).
8.Hating anyone who hates Allah and His Messenger
9.Loving the Quran which he brought.
10.Having compassion for his community; giving them good counsel and striving for their best interests.
11.Preferring poverty to the things of this world.
Perhaps the best expression of the unlimited nature of this love is in the words of Imam Busiri who said:
There is no such thing as “over-exaggeration”, since how can the praise be exaggerated for one whose rank is so great that it can never be known by other than his own Creator. No words of praise, no depth of love can be too much, since as Hassan ibn Thabit said, words to not praise him , rather his mention makes the words praiseworthy. And man’s love for his own soul and his own desires sees no end in sight, how many a man sells his Hereafter for his desires, and how many a man abandons this worldly life to safeguard his soul’s eternal life? How then, if true belief is loving the Prophet Muhammad more than one’s own soul, can anyone attempt to place limits on that love?
birth, and they asked his name.“I have named him Muhammad” he replied.
“Why?...”, they asked.
“Because I wanted God to praise him in heaven and His creatures to praise him on earth.”
And indeed this sentiment is echoed in the Quran itself, wherein Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says:
Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation. [Ch. 33 Vr. 56]A contemporary munshid wrote:
For his name is Ahmad and MuhammadHis names reflect his nature, for he is praised in every place and in every age, by the residents of the heavens and the earth alike. Every corner of this globe now holds people who accept his message and worship Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala alone, and thus recognize his
He is praised in heaven and praised on earth
Though no praise can reach to his true worth
Send peace on him and his family.
status as the final Messenger of God. And so no moment passes as the day turns to night in one part of the world or the night turns to day in another part, but he is being praised, his name is being uttered and peace and blessings are being sent upon him.This continuous, collective praise which rings out the world over - whether in silent prayer or reverberating chant, all heard clearly in the heavenly realm - is simply one manifestation of the limitless love that is felt towards the Beloved of Allah, Muhammad
. And that love is an undeniable, necessary tenet of our religion.In fact Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala Himself censures the one who loves anything more than Allah and His Messenger, saying in the Noble Quran:
“Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your tribe and your possessions you have earned, commerence you fear may slacken, dwellings you love – if these are dearer to you than Allah and His Messenger and to struggle in His way, they wait until Allah brings His command.” [Ch. 9, Vr. 24]And the Prophet said, “None of you will believe until I am dearer to him than his own soul.”
It’s clear from this and similar reports that loving the Prophet
is something necessary to true belief, and anyone who has experienced a deep love will attest that it is a limitless ocean of feeling the depths of with are often impossible to plumb. The emotion and act of loving is something to which volumes of poetry have been dedicated and lifetimes have been spent philosophizing in trying to determine its reality.With such concepts that are so difficult to define, and perhaps best left undefined, such as love, the best way to recognize it can be through its signs. And the signs of love for the Prophet
are clearly seen in his companions, whose descriptions of him read like poetry and whose actions are a testament to limitless love. They left their homes and families for the love of Allah and His Messenger, they fought and died for him, and when he left them and this world they were as forlorn lovers pining after the beloved.When Bilal (ra) approached death and his wife cried out in sorrow, his response was “What joy! I will meet those I love, Muhammad and his party!”Out of sorrow he had stopped calling the adhan after the death of the Prophet, save at the special request of his
blessed grandson (ra), since such reminders of times with the Prophet were too painful. Yet, the only joy to be felt again was at the thought of being reunited with him through death.Abu Sufyan (ra) in times of enmity had remarked “I have not seen any people who love anyone the way the Companions of Muhammad love Muhammad.”
Qadi Iyad (rh) sets out eleven signs of loving the Prophet
which are worth noting and measuring oneself against, they are:1.Emulating him
by following his sunnah.2.Preferring his
verdict to one’s own desires.3.Only getting angry for the sake of Allah (as the Prophet
did this)4.Mentioning him
often.5.Yearning to meet him
6.Mentioning him
with exaltation and respect, being humbled when he is mentioned.7.Loving those who love him
, and loving his Ahlul Bayt and his sahaba (ra).8.Hating anyone who hates Allah and His Messenger
9.Loving the Quran which he
brought.10.Having compassion for his
community; giving them good counsel and striving for their best interests.11.Preferring poverty to the things of this world.
Perhaps the best expression of the unlimited nature of this love is in the words of Imam Busiri who said:
Leave what the Christians have said about their Prophet!As long as the wrongful claims of partnership with God or other forms of deification are cast firmly aside, since they are unthinkable and against the very foundation of religion, then after such negation of there being any God but Allah, there is unlimited room for praise and love for the Prophet
And then affirm what you will in praise, and do so with excellence.
There is no such thing as “over-exaggeration”, since how can the praise be exaggerated for one whose rank is so great that it can never be known by other than his
own Creator. No words of praise, no depth of love can be too much, since as Hassan ibn Thabit said, words to not praise him , rather his mention makes the words praiseworthy. And man’s love for his own soul and his own desires sees no end in sight, how many a man sells his Hereafter for his desires, and how many a man abandons this worldly life to safeguard his soul’s eternal life? How then, if true belief is loving the Prophet Muhammad more than one’s own soul, can anyone attempt to place limits on that love?References
Al Quran Al Kareem
Al Sira al Nabawiyya, Ibn Kathir
Ash Shifa, Qadi Iyad
Imam Busiri, Qasida Burda
Talib al Habib, Hilya (Portrait of the Prophet)
source : www.ummah.com
Al Quran Al Kareem
Al Sira al Nabawiyya, Ibn Kathir
Ash Shifa, Qadi Iyad
Imam Busiri, Qasida Burda
Talib al Habib, Hilya (Portrait of the Prophet)
source : www.ummah.com
In Praise of Muhammad Mustafa saw
Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala says; “And Verily, you oh Muhammad (saw) are on an exalted standard of character” [68:4]Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala sent Muhammad Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam to spread the message of the oneness of Allah and to call mankind to worship none but Allah alone! However, Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala didn’t just send any ordinary man. Allah sent a man who was the best of creation, who was a mercy for the worlds, who is the most beloved to Allah, who is our master and a man who perfected good conduct! Reading and learning about the characteristics of RasulAllah Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam, brings nothing but tears to ones eyes. Firstly, tears of happiness and admiration because of his modesty, generosity, his pleasant character and secondly, tears of sadness, because our beloved Rasul Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam is no longer amongst us and how far away we have become from following in his footsteps.
The mockers of Islam do nothing but ridicule and accuse the prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam of things that he did not promote, of bad characteristics that he did not posses, BUT The Love of RasulAllah Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam will always outshine and overpower the hatred of such ignorant people. The more he is mocked and ridiculed, the more people want to know this great man, thus more people come and turn to Allah and turn to follow his Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam’s sunnah! Look to every corner of the world! Although we are separated in distance, we are together, united following the same sunnah. There are countless reasons as to why Our Prophet, our leader deserves to be praised after our Lord. Muhammad Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam, was kind, caring, and most generous as has been narrated in Bukhari that “…his gifts and endowments manifest a man who does not fear poverty”. We can learn that Prophet saw gave much in charity which is why he did not fear poverty, which shows his Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam’s tawakal and reliance on Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala. Even when giving charity, we must realise that out wealth does not decrease, as in fact Allah puts more barakah in our lives. Jabir (ra) said “the prophet would never deny anything he was asked for” (Sahih al Bukhari) The fact that the prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam did not deny anything he was asked for shows that he did not turn anyone away, which means that he was a very open hearted man, who did not shun others and only put others before himself. Tell me something, if there was one last biscuit left in the biscuit tin, or one slice of cake left in the fridge, would we take it for ourselves or would we leave it for someone else?. You will find that we would usually take it for ourselves. Our persona is quite different from the persona of RasulAllah Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam and the people amongst the best generations.
The prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam was trustworthy, he was most honest and spoke the truth. The prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam was indeed the best companion. Zahir (ra) was a companion of the prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam who used to bring gifts from the desert to the Prophet. In return the Prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam would provide him with whatever he needed when he went out to fight. The Prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam said, "Zahir is our man of the desert, and we are his town-dwellers." The Prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam loved him very much, and he (Zahir) was an ugly man. One day the Prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam came to him whilst he was selling some goods. He embraced him from behind. The man could not see him, so he said, "Let me go! Who is this?" Then he turned around and recognized the Prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam, so he tried to move closer to him once he knew who it was. The Prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam started to say, "Who will buy this slave?" Zahir said, "O Messenger of Allah (pbuh), you will find me unsellable." The Prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam said, "But in the sight of Allah (almighty) you are not unsellable," or he said, "But in the sight of Allah (almighty) you are valuable." Reported by Imam Ahmad from Anas (radhiallahu `anhu).
There are many beauties in this narration. Look how the prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam made his companion feel better about himself. Zahir (ra) didn’t think much of himself and was described as an ugly man, however the prophet saw didn’t think so, as Zahir (ra) was valuable in the eyes of Allah. This shows that RasulAllah Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam is teaching us that Allah will not look at our exterior, but at our interior. The beauty of lightening other people’s burdens, worries and sadness are also evident within this narration.
He Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam was the walking talking qur’an, he was loving to his wives, he was merciful to children, he was just, he treated others with fairness, and he was most modest. If we look to the Seerah of the Prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam, we will notice many narrations highlighting his beautiful and sublime modesty. He was modesty was such that Abu Said Al Khudri (ra) said “He was shier than a virgin. When he disliked something, we could read it on his face” (Sahih Al Bukhari). It is mentioned that the prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam always had his eyes cast down and that he would look more to the ground than the sky and would not laugh excessively. His laughing was just a smile. Subhanallah!. We can take many lessons from these noble characteristics. If we compare this to our own lives, what will we find?. You will find that today we laugh excessively, forgetting our deen and Allah. This is not to say that we cannot laugh and enjoy ourselves, but not to the extent that we forget about Allah. In our society you will also find that if you speak less, look down, you are deemed an unconfident, weak individual. However, these are some of the righteous traits of good believers.
He never looked down upon others. He never thought of himself as superior although Muhammad Mustafa Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam was superior to the whole of mankind. Once when the prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam was on a journey with his companions, he asked his companions to slaughter a sheep so that they could eat. One of the companions said “I will slaughter it”. Another companion said “I will skin it out”. A third companion said “I will cook it”. Allah’s messenger Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam, then said “I will collect wood for fire” . They said “no we will do that work” Muhammad Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam then replied “I know that you can do it for me, but I hate to be privileged. Allah hates to see a servant of his privileged to others” So the prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam, went to collect the firewood [Kulasatus-Siyar p22] This shows that our prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam taught us to humble ourselves, to not think of ourselves as superior to anyone, and most importantly that Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala dislikes injustice.
The prophet Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam was and still is an inspiration to the whole of the muslim ummah. He is our leader and our example. Every action of his had a wisdom behind it and every speech has a great meaning. We can never go wrong by following the sunnah. We will gain nothing but reward and to follow Rasul Allah means to obey Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala. There are countless numbers of hadith that have been carried through generations to generations preserved for us to learn from. These are the reasons why our Prophet Muhammad Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam deserves to be praised, and after your eyes have lifted off this page, remember to send your salutations on our beloved nabi Salalahu ‘alayhi wasalam at least once InshaAllah
I remind myself before anybody else
Jazakallahukhair
Bibliography
The Sealed Nectar: Biography of the Noble Prophet Muhammad (saw) by Safi-ur-Rahman Al Mubarakpuri
source : http://www.sahaba.net/index.php
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