Stories of Converted Muslims

10/17/2015
STORIESOFCONVERTEDMUSLIMS
ISLAMICISLAMIC
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1)STORYOFSALMAANALFAARISI(RTU)
2)UMARBINALKHATTAB'SJOURNEYTOISLAM
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ConvertedMuslims
3)CHRISTOPHERSHELTONBECOMINGMUSLIM
4)IBRAHIMKARLSSONBECOMINGMUSLIM
5)MALIKBECOMINGMUSLIM
6)MICHAELYIPBECOMINGMUSLIM
7)ROBWICKSBECOMINGMUSLIM
8)SAMIRBECOMINGMUSLIM
9)YAHIYEADAMGADAHNBECOMINGMUSLIM
10)YUSUFMUHAMMADANSARIBECOMINGMUSLIM
11)YUSUFISLAMBECOMINGMUSLIM
12)YUSUFALIBERNIER
13)SHARIFFACARLOBECOMINGMUSLIM
14)ERIN/SUMAYAFANNOUNBECOMINGMUSLIM
15)HERACLIUS,THERULEROFBYZANTINE
16)STORYOFABDULMALIKLEBLANC
17)MARIANORICARDOCALLE
18)WILLIAM
19)KHALIL
20)RAFAEL(SULEYMAN)CASTRO
21)MICHAELDAVIDSHAPIRO
22)DAVIDPRADARELLI
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http://www.islamicislamic.com/gents_to_islam.htm
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1.STORYOFSALMAANALFAARISI(RTU)
Question:
How sound is the hadeeth about a Christian who, when he
embraced Islam, told the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allahbeuponhim)aboutthestoryofhowhecametoIslam.
He told him that he met a number of monks, each of whom
advised him to go to another, and the last of them was a
righteous man who came out once a year to heal the people,
andwhenhemethimheadvisedhimtogotoMakkah,andhe
gave him a description of the Messenger (peace and blessings
ofAllahbeuponhim),andtheMessenger(peaceandblessings
ofAllahbeuponhim)said:Youhavespokenthetruth,hewas
theMessiahEesa?.
Answer:PraisebetoAllah.
The hadeeth which the questioner is referring to is a lengthy
hadeeth about the story of how the great Sahaabi Salmaan al
Faarisi(mayAllahbepleasedwithhim)cametoIslam.Hewas
a Magian (Zoroastrian), then he became a Christian, then he
became a Muslim. That was after he had met a number of
Christianmonks,thelastofwhomwasarighteousmanwhohad
knowledgeofthelastProphet.ThemonkadvisedSalmaantogo
to Arabia, where the last Prophet would appear, and he
described the place to him, and it was the City of the Prophet
(peaceandblessingsofAllahbeuponhim)i.e.,Madeenah.
Butthereis nothingin this hadeeth to suggest that the Prophet
(peaceandblessingsofAllahbeuponhim)saidthatthismonk
wastheMessiahEesaibnMaryam(peacebeuponhim),rather
Eesa(peacebeuponhim)isinheavenAllahtookhimupand
hewillremainthereuntiltheappointedtime,thenAllahwillsend
himbackdownandhewillsupportIslamattheendoftime.
ThestoryofhowSalmaancametoIslamisagreatstory,fullof
lessons and exhortations. We will let the questioner read the
hadeethinfull,sothathemightbenefitfromit:
It was narrated that AbdAllah ibn Abbaas said: Salmaan al
Faarisitoldmehisstoryfromhisownlips.Hesaid:
I was a Persian man, one of the people of Isbahaan, from a
village thereof called Jayy. My father was the chieftain of his
village,andIwasthedearestofAllahscreationtohim.Heloved
mesomuchthathekeptmeinhishousenearthefire,asgirls
arekeptin.IstrovehardintheMagianreligionuntilIbecamethe
keeper of the fire, which I tended and did not let go out for a
moment. My father had a huge garden, and he was busy one
day with some construction work, so he said: O my son, I am
toobusywiththisbuildingtoday,goandcheckmygarden,and
hetoldmesomeofthethingshewanteddone.
Iwentout,headingtowardshisgarden,andIpassedbyoneof
the Christian churches, where I could hear their voices as they
werepraying.Ididnotknowanythingaboutthepeoplebecause
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my father had kept me in his house. When I passed by and

heard their voices, I entered upon them to see what they were
doing.WhenIsawthem,IwasimpressedwiththeirprayerandI
wasattractedtotheirway.
Isaid:ByAllah,thisisbetterthanthereligionthatwefollow.By
Allah, I did not leave them until the sun set, and I forgot about
myfathersgarden and did not go there. I said to them: Where
didthisreligionoriginate?Theysaid:InSyria.ThenIwentback
tomyfather,whohadsentpeopleouttolookforme,andIhad
distractedhimfromallhiswork.
WhenIcametohim,hesaid:Omyson,wherewereyou?DidI
notaskyoutodowhatIasked?Isaid:Omyfather,Ipassedby
somepeoplewhowereprayinginachurchoftheirs,andIwas
impressed with what I saw of their religion. By Allah, I stayed
withthemuntilthesunset.Hesaid:Omyson,thereisnothing
good in that religion. Your religion and the religion of your
forefathers is better than that. I said: No, by Allah, it is better
thanourreligion.Hewasafraidforme,andheputfettersonmy
legsandkeptmeinhishouse.
Isentword to the Christians saying: If any Christian merchants
come to you from Syria, tell me about them. He said: Some
ChristianmerchantscametothemfromSyria,andtheytoldme
about them. I said to them: When they have completed their
businessandwanttogobacktotheirowncountry,tellmeabout
that.Sowhentheywantedtogobacktotheirowncountry,they
told me about that, and I threw off the irons from my legs and
wentoutwiththem,untilIcametoSyria.WhenIreachedSyria,I
said: Who is the best person in this religion? They said: The
bishopinthechurch.
SoIwenttohimandsaid:Ilikethisreligion,andIwouldliketo
staywith you and serve you in your church and learn from you
andpraywithyou.Hesaid:Comein.SoIwentinwithhim,but
hewasabadman.Hewouldcommandthemandexhortthemto
givecharity,buthekeptagreatdealofitforhimselfanddidnot
give it to the poor he had amassed seven chests of gold and
silver. I hated him deeply when I saw what he was doing, then
hediedandtheChristiansgatheredtoburyhim.
I said to them: This was a bad man he commanded you and
exhortedyoutogivecharity,butwhenyoubroughtittohimhe
kept it for himself and did not give any of it to the poor. They
said:Howdoyouknowthat?Showuswherehistreasureis.SoI
showed them where it was and they brought out seven chests
filled with gold and silver. When they saw that they said: By
Allah,wewillneverburyhimthentheycrucifiedhimandpelted
himwithstones.
Thentheybroughtanothermanandappointedhiminhisplace.
Salmaansaid:Ihaveneverseenamanwhodoesnotofferthe
five daily prayers who was better than him he shunned this
world and sought the Hereafter and no one strive harder than
him night and day. I loved him as I had never loved anyone
before, and I stayed with him for a while. Then when he was
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abouttodie,Isaid:OSoandso,IwaswithyouandIlovedyou
asIhadneverlovedanyonebefore,andnowthedecreeofAllah
hascometoyouasyouseetowhomdoyouadvisemetogo?
Whatdoyoucommandmetodo?Hesaid:Omyson,byAllah,I
do not know of anyone today who follows what I followed. The
peoplearedoomedtheyhavechangedandabandonedmostof
what they used to follow, except for a man in Mosul. He is So
andso,andhefollowswhatIusedtofollow,sogoandjoinhim.
Whenhediedandwasburied,IwenttothemaninMosul.Isaid
to him: O So and so, So and so advised me when he died to
come to you, and he told me that you follow the same as he
followed.Hesaidtome:Staywithme.SoIstayedwithhim,and
I found him to be a good man who followed the same as his
companionhadfollowed.Butsoonhedied.WhenhewasdyingI
saidtohim:OSoandso,Soandsoadvisedmetocometoyou
and told me to join you, but now there has come to you from
Allahwhatyousee.Towhomdoyouadvisemetogo?Whatdo
you command me to do? He said: O my son, by Allah I do not
know of anyone who follows what we used to follow except a
maninNasayyibeen.HeisSoandsogotohim.
When he died and was buried, I went to the man in
Nasayyibeen.Icametohimandtoldhimmystoryandwhatmy
companionhadtoldmetodo.Hesaid:Staywithme.SoIstayed
withhimandIfoundhimtobeafollowerofthesamewayashis
twocompanions,andIstayedwithagoodman.ByAllah,soon
deathcameuponhim,andwhenhewasdyingIsaidtohim:O
Soandso,SoandsoadvisedmetogotoSoandsothenSo
andsoadvisedmetocometoyou.Towhomdoyouadviseme
togoandwhatdoyoucommandmetodo?Hesaid:Omyson,
byAllahwedonotknowofanyoneleftwhofollowsourwayand
towhomIcantellyoutogo,exceptamaninAmmooriyyah.He
followssomethinglikewhatwefollow.Ifyouwish,gotohim,for
hefollowsourway.
When he died and was buried, I went to the man in
Ammooriyyahandtoldhimmystory.Hesaid:Staywithme.SoI
stayed with a man who was following the same way as his
companions. I earned wealth until I had cows and sheep, then
the decree of Allah came to him. When he was dying I said to
him:OSoandso,IwaswithSoandso,andSoandsotoldme
togotoSoandsothenSoandsotoldmetogotoSoandso
thenSoandsotoldmetocometoyou.Towhomdoyouadvise
metogoandwhatdoyoucommandmetodo?
He said: O my son, by Allah, I do not know of anyone who
follows our way to whomI can advise you to go. But there has
comethetimeofaProphet,whowillbesentwiththereligionof
Ibraaheem. He will appear in the land of the Arabs and will
migrate to a land between two harrahs (lave fields land with
black rocks), between which there are palm trees. He will have
characteristicsthatwillnotbehidden.Hewilleatofwhatisgiven
asagiftbuthewillnoteatofwhatisgivenascharity.Between
hisshoulderbladesistheSealofProphethood.Ifyoucangoto
thatlandthendoso.
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Thenhediedandwasburied,andIstayedinAmmooriyyahas
longasAllahwilledIshouldstay,thensomemerchantsofKalb
passedbymeandIsaidtothem:Willyoutakemetothelandof
the Arabs and I will give you these cows and sheep of mine?
They said: Yes. So I gave them the cows and sheep, and they
tookmethere,butwhentheybroughtmetoWaadialQurathey
wrongedmeandsoldmeasaslavetoaJewishman.
WhenIwaswithhimIsawthepalmtrees,andIhopedthatthis
wasthelandthatmycompanionhaddescribedtome,butIwas
not sure. Whilst I was with him, a cousin of his from Banu
QurayzahcametohimfromMadeenah,andhesoldmetohim,
and he took me to Madeenah. By Allah, as soon as I saw it, I
recognized it from the description given to me by my
companion.
I stayed there, and Allah sent His Messenger, who stayed in
Makkahaslongashestayed,andIdidnothearanythingabout
him because I was so busy with the work of a slave. Then he
migratedtoMadeenah,andbyAllah,Iwasatthetopofapalm
tree belonging to my master, doing some work on it, and my
master was sitting there. Then a cousin of his came and stood
besidehim,andsaid:MayAllahkillBanuQaylah!ByAllah,right
now they are gathering in Quba to welcome a man who has
come from Makkah today, and they say that he is a Prophet.
When I heard that, I began to shiver so much that I thought I
wouldfallontopofmymaster.
I came down from the tree and started saying to that cousin of
his:Whatareyou saying, what are you saying? My master got
angryandhestruckmewithhisfistandsaid:Whathasitgotto
dowithyou?Gobacktoyourwork!Isaid:NothingIjustwanted
tomakesureofwhathewassaying.IhadsomethingthatIhad
collected, and when evening came, I went to the Messenger of
Allah(peaceandblessingsofAllahbeuponhim)whenhewas
inQuba,andIentereduponhimandsaidtohim:Ihaveheard
thatyouarearighteousmanandthatyouhavecompanionswho
arestrangers and are in need. This is something that I have to
give in charity, and I see that you are more in need of it than
anyoneelse.IbroughtitneartohimandtheMessengerofAllah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to his
companions:Eat,butherefrainedfromeating.
I said to myself: This is one. Then I went away and collected
some more. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allahbeuponhim)movedtoMadeenah,thenIcametohimand
said:Iseethatyoudonoteat(foodgivenin)charitythisisagift
withwhichIwishtohonouryou.TheMessengerofAllah(peace
andblessingsofAllahbeuponhim)atesomeofitandtoldhis
companionstoeattoo.Isaidtomyself:Thisistwo.
ThenIcametotheMessengerofAllah(peaceandblessingsof
Allah be upon him) when he was in Baqee alGharqad, where
he had attended the funeral of one of his companions and he
waswearingtwoshawlsandwassittingamonghiscompanions.
I greeted him with salaam then I moved behind him, trying to
look at his back to see the Seal that my companion had
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described to me. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and

blessings of Allah be upon him) saw me going behind him, he
realized that I was trying to find confirmation of something that
hadbeendescribedtome,sohelethisridadropfromhisback,
andIsawtheSealandrecognizedit.
Then I embraced him, kissing (the Seal) and weeping, and the
MessengerofAllah(peaceandblessingsofAllahbeuponhim)
saidtome:Turnaround.SoIturnedaroundandItoldhimmy
storyasIhavetoldittoyou,OIbnAbbaas.TheMessengerof
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wanted his
companionstohearthat.ThenSalmaanwaskeptbusywiththe
work of a slave, until he had missed attending Badr and Uhud
with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
uponhim).
He said: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said to me: Draw up a contract of
manumission, O Salmaan. So I draw up a contract of
manumission with my master in return for three hundred palm
trees which I would plant for him, and forty uqiyahs. The
saidtohiscompanions:Helpyourbrother.
So they helped me with the palm trees, one man gave thirty
small trees and another gave twenty, and another gave fifteen,
andanothergaveten,i.e.,eachmangaveaccordingtowhathe
had, until they had collected three hundred small trees for me.
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
uponhim)saidtome:Go,OSalmaan,anddigtheholeswhere
theyaretobeplanted.Whenyouhavefinished,cometomeand
Iwillplantthemwithmyownhand.
So I dug the holes for them, and my companions helped me,
then when I had finished, I came to him and told him. The
cameoutwithmeandwestartedtobringthetreescloseandthe
planted them with his own hand. By the One in Whose hand is
thesoulofSalmaan,notonesingletreeamongthemdied.
SoIhadpaidoffthetreesbuttherestillremainedthemoney.A
pieceofgoldthesizeofaneggwasbroughttotheMessengerof
Allah(peaceandblessingsofAllahbeuponhim)fromoneofhis
campaigns.Hesaid:WhathappenedtothePersianwhohada
contractofmanumission?Iwassummonedtohimandhesaid:
Take this and pay off what you owe, O Salmaan. I said: How
couldthispayoffeverythingIowe,OMessengerofAllah?
He said: Take it, and Allah will help you to pay off what you
owe. So I took it and weighed it for them, and by the One in
Whose hand is the soul of Salmaan, it was forty uqiyahs, so I
paidthemtheirduesandIwassetfree. Iwas present with the
atalKhandaq,andafterthatIdidnotmissanymajoreventwith
him.
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Narrated by Ahmad in alMusnad (5/441). The scholars of

hadeethsaid:Itsisnaadishasan.AndAllahknowsbest.
TOP
2.UMARBINALKHATTAB'SJOURNEYTOISLAM
Ùmar bin alKhattab (may Allah be well pleased with him), of
whom all the Muslims are justly proud, was most adamant in
opposingtheProphet(peacebeuponhim)andveryprominentin
persecutingtheMuslimsbeforeheembracedIslam.Oneday,the
Qurayshinameetingcalledforsomebodytovolunteerhimselffor
the assassination of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Ùmar
offeredhimselfforthisjob,atwhicheverybodyexclaimed,Surely,
youcandoit,Umar!
Withswordhangingfromhisneck,hesetoutstraightawayonhis
sinistererrand.Onhisway,hemetSaadbinAbiWaqqasofthe
Zuhrahclan.Saadinquired,Whither!Ùmar?
Ùmarreplied,IamafterfinishingMuhammad.
Saadsaid,ButdonotyouseethatthetribesofHashim,Zuhrah
andAbdeMunafarelikelytokillyouinretaliation?
Ùmar, upset at the warning, said, It seems that you also have
renouncedthereligionofyourforefathers.Letmesettlewithyou
first.
Sosaying,Ùmardrewouthissword.SaadannouncinghisIslam,
also took out his sword. They were about to start a duel when
Saadsaid,Youhadbetterfirstsetyourownhouseinorder.Your
sisterandbrotherinlawbothhaveacceptedIslam.
Hearingthis,Ùmarflewintoatoweringrageandturnedhissteps
towardshissistershouse.Thedoorofthehousewasboltedfrom
inside and both husband and wife were receiving lessons in the
QuranfromtheCompanionKhabbab(mayAllahbewellpleased
withhim).Ùmarknockedatthedoorandshoutedforhissisterto
open it. Khabbab hearing the voice of Ùmar, hid himself in an
inner room, forgetting to take the manuscript pages of the Holy
Quran with him. When the sister opened the door, Ùmar hit her
on the head, saying, 0, enemy of yourself! You too have
renouncedyourreligion.
Herheadbegantobleed.Ùmarwentinsideandinquired,What
wereyoudoing?AndwhowasthestrangerIheardfromoutside?
Hisbrotherinlawreplied,Weweretalkingtoeachother.
Ùmar said to him, Have you also forsaken the creed of your
forefathersandgoneovertothenewreligion?
The brotherinlaw replied, But what if the new religion be the
betterandthetrueone?Ùmargotbesidehimselfwithrageand
fell on him, pulling his beard and beating him most savagely.
Whenthesisterintervened,hesmotehersoviolentlyonherface
thatitbledmostprofusely.Shewas,afterall,Ùmarssistershe
burstout:
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Ùmar! We are beaten only because we have become Muslims.

Listen!WearedeterminedtodieasMuslims.Youarefreetodo
whateveryoulike.
When Ùmar had cooled down and felt a bit ashamed over his
sisters bleeding, his eyes fell on the pages of the Quran left
behindbyKhabbab.Hesaid,Alrightshowme,whatarethese?
No,saidthesister,youareuncleanandnouncleanpersoncan
touchtheScripture.Heinsisted,butthesisterwasnotprepared
to allow him to touch the leaves unless he washed his body.
Ùmaratlastgavein.Hewashedhisbodyandthenbegantoread
theleaves.ItwasSurahTaha.Hestartedfromthebeginningof
theSurah,andhewasachangedmanaltogetherwhenhecame
totheverse:
Lo! I, indeed I am Allah. There is none worthy of worship save
Me.SoservemeandestablishthePrayerforMyremembrance.
Hesaid,Alright,takemetoMuhammad.
On hearing this, Khabbab came out from inside and said, 0,
Ùmar! Glad tidings to you. Yesterday (on Thursday night) the
Prophet(peacebeuponhim)prayedtoAllah,0,Allahstrengthen
Islam with either Ùmar or Abu Jahl, whomsoever Thou likest. It
seemsthathisprayerhasbeenansweredinyourfavor.
Ùmar then went to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and
embraced Islam on Friday morning. Ùmars Islam was a terrible
blow to the morale of the unbelievers, but still the Muslims were
few in number and the whole country was against them. The
disbelieversintensifiedtheireffortsforthecompleteannihilationof
MuslimsandtheextinctionofIslam.WithÙmarontheirside,the
Muslims now started saying their group prayers in the Haram
(HolySanctuary).
AbdullahbinMasood(mayAllahbewellpleasedwithhim)says,
Ùmars Islam was a big triumph, his emigration to Madinah a
tremendous reinforcement, and his accession to the Caliphate a
greatblessingfortheMuslims.
From:http://www.readingislam.com/
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3.CHRISTOPHERSHELTONBECOMINGMUSLIM
My conversion to Islam began in my eighth grade year. There
wasaMuslimstudentbythenameofRaphaelwhofirsttoldme
a little about Islam. At the time he was not so knowledgeable
about Islam, but he put the initial interest in my mind which
neverwentaway.
In the ninth grade there was another student by the name of
Leonard who claimed at one time or another that he was a
Muslimbuthewasmoreorlessa5percenter.Theonethinghe
diddowastogivemeapamphletontrueIslamwhichincreased
my interest in Islam. I didn't hear much more about Islam until
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mytenthgradeyear.
That year me and Leonard would sit in the back of geometry
class and blame all of the world's problems on white people
whilewewouldexaltthestatusofblackpeopleaboveallother
races.AtthattimeinmylifeIthoughtthatIslamwasthereligion
forblackpeople,butunfortunatelytheIslamIwastalkingabout
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
perceptionofwhatIslamwasaboutbecametired.Itwasuseless
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
contradictionswithinthereligion.
The next year of high school I was conversing with a few
studentsaboutreligionandtheytoldmetobuyaQu'ransoIdid.
I went to the nearest bookstore and bought a very poor
translationoftheQu'ranbutitwasthefirstreallookintothetruth
aboutIslam.WithinafewweeksItookonthebeliefsofaMuslim
even though I hadn't taken shahadah yet. Most of what I was
doing concerning Islam was wrong because I never had a
chanceto go to a masjid because my mother totally forbade it.
AstimewentonIfinallygotanAbdullahYusufAlitranslationof
theQu'ranwhichopenedmyeyestosomuchaboutIslam.
Inthemeantimemymother 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
begantolearnmoreandmoreaboutIslamfromvariousbooksI
could get my hands on. I finally learned how to make salat
correctlyfromoneofthesebooks.Mymotherwasstilltryingher
besttomakemebecomeaChristianagain.
MymotherandIwouldfrequentlyargueaboutreligionuntilone
daymymotherhadenoughandtoldmydadthatIwasgoingto
have to live with him. He had absolutely no problem with this.
The day after I graduated from high school I moved inwith 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
problemwithmyinterestinIslam.
OnedayIcalledtheIslamicLearningCenterinFayettevilleand
abrotherbythenameofMustafatoldmetocomedownforthe
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)andTaleemIfinallytookmyShahadahonJuly2,1995.
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.
WestillkeepintoucheventhoughheisinEngland.
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IntheNameofAllah,mostCompassionate,mostMerciful
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4.IBRAHIMKARLSSONBECOMINGMUSLIM
Iwasborninanordinary,nonreligiousSwedishhome,butwith
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 whatsoever I was the role model of the
materialisticman.
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
gamesprogrammer(Ihadn'tyeteventouchedacomputer)and
livingwithaMuslimwife!!OK,atthattimeMuslimtomemeant
dressinginlongclothesandwearingascarf,butIhavenoidea
where those thoughts came from. Later, in high school, I
remember spending much time in the schoollibrary (being a
bookworm)andatonetimeIpickedupatranslatedQur'anand
read some passages from it. I don't remember exactly what I
read, but I do remember finding that what it said made sense
andwaslogicaltome.
Still, I wasnot atall religious, I couldn't fit God in my universe,
and I had no need of any god. I mean, we have Newton to
explainhowtheuniverseworks,right?
Time passed, I graduated and started working. Earned some
moneyandmovedtomyownapartment,andfoundawonderful
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
anymorepicturesofhismumandsisters.Strangepeoplethose
Muslims...
MorethingsrelatedtoIslamhappenedthatIcan'texplainwhyI
did what I did. I can't recall the reason I called the "Islamic
information organisation" in Sweden, ordering a subscription to
theirnewsletter,buyingYosufAli'sQur'anandaverygoodbook
onIslamcalledIslamourfaith.Ijustdid!
IreadalmostalloftheQur'an,andfoundittobebothbeautiful
and logical, but still, God had no place in my heart. One year
later,whilstoutonapatchoflandcalled"prettyisland"(itreally
is) taking autumncolor 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.Itwaswonderful!Ihadnevereverfeltlikethisbefore,
totally relaxed, yet bursting with energy, and above all, total
awarenessofgodwhereverIturnedmyeyes.
I don't know how long I stayed in this ecstatic state, but
eventuallyitendedandIdrovehome,seeminglyunaffected,but
what I had experienced left uneraseable marks in my mind. At
this time Microsoft brought Windows95 to the market with the
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biggest marketing blitz known to the computer industry. Part of

thepackagewastheonlineserviceTheMicrosoftNetwork.And
keentoknowwhatiswasIgotmyselfanaccountontheMSN.I
soonfoundthattheIslamBBSwerethemostinterestingpartof
theMSN,andthat'swhereIfoundShahida.
Shahida is a American woman, who like me has converted to
Islam. Our chemistry worked right away, and she became the
bestpenfriendIhaveeverhad.Ouremailcorrespondencewill
godowninhistory:thefactthatmymailboxgrewtosomething
like 3 megabytes over the first 6 months tells its own tale. She
andIdiscussedalotaboutIslamandfaithingodingeneral,and
what she wrote made sense to me. Shahida had an angels
patience with my slow thinking and my silly questions, but she
nevergaveupthehopeinme.Justlistentoyourheartandyou'll
findthetruthshesaid.
AndIfoundthetruthinmyselfsoonerthanI'dexpected.Onthe
wayhomefromwork,inthebuswithmostofthepeoplearound
me asleep, and myself adoring the sunset, painting the
beautifullydispersedcloudswithpinkandorangecolours,allthe
parts came together, how God can rule our life, yet we're not
robots. How I could depend on physics and chemistry and still
believeandseeGodswork.Itwaswonderful,afewminutesof
totalunderstanding and peace. I solongfor a moment like this
tohappenagain!
Anditdid,onemorningIwokeup,clearasabell,andthefirst
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.Itwassonatural,likeIhadbeendoingeveryday
ofmylife!
After these experiences I couldn't no longer deny God's
existence.Butafter25yearsofdenyingGoditwasnoeasytask
to admit his existence and accept faith. But good things kept
happeningtome,IspentsometimeintheUS,andatthistimeI
started praying, testing and feeling, learning to focus on God
and to listen to what my heart said. It all ended in a nice
weekendinNewYork,ofwhichIhadworriedalot,butitturned
outtobeasuccess,mostofall,IfinallygottomeetShahida!
Atthispointtherewasnoreturn,Ijustdidn'tknowityet.ButGod
keptleadingme,Ireadsomemore,andfinallygotthecourage
to call the nearest Mosque and ask for a meeting with some
Muslims.WithtremblinglegsIdrovetothemosque,whichIhad
passed many times before, but never dared to stop and visit. I
metthenicestpeoplethere,andIwasgivensomemorereading
material,andmadeplanstocomeandvisitthebrothersintheir
home.
What they said, and the answers they gave all made sense.
Islambecameamajorpartofmylife,Istartedprayingregularly,
andIwenttomyfirstJummaprayer.Itwaswonderful,Isneaked
in,andsatintheback,notunderstandingawordtheimamwas
saying, but still enjoying the service. After the khutba we all
cametogetherforminglines,andmadethetwo'rakaas'.Itwas
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yetoneofthewonderfulexperiencesIhavehadonmyjourney
toIslam.Thesincerityof200menfullydevotedtojustonething,
topraiseGod,feltgreat!
Slowly my mind started to agree with my heart, I started to
picturemyselfasaMuslim,butcouldIreallyconverttoIslam?I
had left the Swedish statechurch earlier, just in case, but to
pray5timesaday?tostopeatingpork?CouldIreallydothat?
Andwhataboutmyfamilyandfriends?IrecalledwhatBr.Omar
told me, how his family tried to get him admitted to an asylum
whenheconverted.CouldIreallydothis?
BythistimetheInternetwavehadsweptmycountry,andItoo
had hooked up with theinfobahn. And "out there" were tons of
informationaboutIslam.IthinkIcollectedjustabouteveryweb
pagewiththewordIslamanywhereinthetext,andlearnedalot.
But what really made a change was a text I found in Great
Britain,astoryofanewlyconvertedwomanwithfeelingsexactly
likemine.WhenIhadreadthatstory,andweptthetearsoutof
my eyes I realized that there were no turning back anymore, I
couldn'tresistIslamanylonger.
Summervacationstarted,andIhadmademymindup.Ihadto
become a Muslim! But after all, the start of the summer had
beenverycold,andifmyfirstweekwithoutworkwasdifferent,I
wouldn'tloseadayofsunshinebynotbeingonthebeach.On
theTVtheweathermanpaintedabigsunrightontopofmypart
ofthecountry.OKthen,someotherday...Thenextmorninga
steel grey sky, with icecoldgusts of wind outside mybedroom
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.
IntheMosqueIapproachedthebrotherswithmywish,andafter
dhuhrprayertheImamandsomebrotherswitnessedmesaythe
Shahada.Alhamdulillah!Andtomygreatreliefallmyfamilyand
friends have taken my conversion very well, they have all
acceptedit,Iwon'tsaytheywerethrilled,butabsolutelynohard
feelings.Theycan'tunderstandallthethingsIdo.Likepraying5
times a day on specific times, or not eating pork meat. They
think this is strange foreign customs that will die out with time,
butI'llprovethemwrong.InshaAllah!
TOP
5.MALIKBECOMINGMUSLIM
Firstoffall,Iwould like to start by saying that this true story is
notformyownfameoradmirationbutforthesakeofmyLord
and your Lord Allah. All praises due to Allah, the Lord of the
worlds, the Beneficent, the Merciful Owner of the day of
judgement.IwouldliketorepeattoyousomethingIheard:the
journey of a thousand miles has to start with the first step and
thisisthefirstpartofmyjourney.
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My name is Malik Mohammed Hassan and I have recently

convertedtoIslam.WhenIwasinjuniorhighschoolIwasfirst
introducedtoIslambyreadingthebookRootsbyAlexHaley.It
taught me a little bit about the strong will that most Muslims
possess, myself included. It also introduced me to Allah. I had
neverheardofAllahinhisrealformuntilIreadthatbookandI
was very curious. I then started reading about The Nation Of
Islam(specificallyMalcolmX)anditfascinatedmehowdevoted
hewastoAllah,especiallyafterhelefttheselfservingNationOf
Islam.ReadingaboutMalcolmmademethinkaboutaGodwho
(forachange)didnothaveanyphysicalformorlimitationsand,
beingatotallyblindperson,itmademerelatetothesepeople:
thepeoplewhoMalcolmandHaleyreferredtoasMuslims.
I continued reading what I could about Islam which wasn't as
much as it should have been. My reading material was very
limitedbecauselikeIsaidabove:Iamatotallyblindpersonand
the material available about Islam in braille or on tape was not
only very little, but also very general. I believe the reason was
thatthematerialthatIhadaccesstowasn'twrittenbyMuslims
anditkindofpaintedadarkpictureofIslam.Ithinkmostofthe
literaturewrittenbyChristiansornonMuslimsaboutIslamtends
to do that most of the time. And I didn't know that their were
evenMuslimsin Halifax so I obviously didn't know any. I didn't
evenknowaboutthelocalIslamicassociationuntilIwasalready
aMuslim.
So, I read what I could until my first year out of high school
around the month of May, 1996, when I received a phone call
asking me if I wanted to participate in a camp for blind and
visually impaired people known throughout Canada as Score. I
agreed and sent them a resume and praise be to Allah I was
acceptedforwork.
AtfirstIreallydidn'twanttogobutsomethingkepttellingmeit
wouldbeagoodideaifIwent.So,onJune30th1996Iboarded
aplanefromNovaScotiatoTorontoandtookmylasttripasa
nonMuslimIjustdidn'tknowityet.
IgottoTorontoandeverythingatfirstwasprettynormal...Itwas
on the second day that I was there when the journey of a
thousandmilesfirststarted.
IarrivedonaSundayandonthenextdayImetthepersonwho
Allah would use with His divine power to help guide me to the
beautifulReligionofIslam.ImetasisternamedRizvanaandif
she reads this I hope she doesn't get mad at me for using her
name.
When I met her, I immediately wanted to talk to her because I
liked her name. I asked her of what origin her name was and
shetoldmethatitwasArabicsoIaskedherifshewasMuslim
and she replied with the answer of yes. I immediately started
telling her what I already knew about Islam which lasted about
tenseconds.Istartedaskingherquestionsandalsoaskingher
totalktomeaboutIslam.
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Oneparticularincidentthatcomestomymindiswhenallofthe
workersatthecampwenttoabaseballgameandthesisterand
IstartedtalkingaboutIslamand missed pretty much the whole
game.
Well, anyways, we talked for about three, maybe four days on
and off about Islam and on July the fifth if my memory doesn't
failmeIbecameaMuslim.Mylifehasbeentotallydifferentever
since.IlookatthingsverydifferentlythanIusedtoandIfinally
feellikeIbelongtoafamily.AllMuslimsarebrothersandsisters
in Islam so I could say that I have approximately 1.2 billion
brothers and sisters all of whom I'm proud to be related to. I
finallyknowwhatitfeelsliketobehumbleandtoworshipaGod
thatIdon'thavetosee.
ForanynonMuslimreadingthisjustlookatitthisway.It'sgood
to learn, but you never know when you will be tested and if
you're not in the class at the time of the final exam no matter
howmuchyouknowyou'llnevergetanycredit.SolikeIsaidit's
goodtolearnbutifyouwanttogetcreditsignupfortheclass.In
otherwords,declareshehada (testimony to faith) and let Allah
teachyoueverythingyouneedtoknow.Believemethereward
isworthit.Youcouldsaytherewardisliterallyheaven.
IfanygoodcomesoutofthisstoryallthecreditisduetoAllah
onlythemistakesaremyown.Iwouldliketomentionapartofa
hadiththathashadagreateffectonmeandthatis:
"WorshipAllah as if you see him and if you don't see him,
knowthatheseesyou."SahihMuslim,Volume1,Number1
TOP
6.MICHAELYIPBECOMINGMUSLIM
June23,1996IwasintroducedtoIslamin1995byanEgyptian
classmate who arrived in New Zealand the previous year, and
who was placed into my Chemistry class. I had no religion
before this, though I guess I was a non practicing Christian,
sinceIattendedSundayschoolwhenIwasyoung,(but mainly
tolearnChinese,mynativetongue,ratherthanreligion).InfactI
was uninterested in much that was taught to me, however I
never at any stage discounted the notion of a higher being (ie.
Allah,orGod).
Because of my background in religion, I did not know much
about religions other than Christianity and Buddhism. My
parentsareBuddhists,butmyknowledgeofitwassoweakthat
Ididnotevenknowthepropernamefortheirreligionuntilafew
years ago. So I was naive when I met my classmate,
Muhammed.
During the first few weeks, another classmate of mine kept
teasingMuhammedabouthisreligion,askingleadingquestions
andthelike.Ithusbecameinterestedinsomeofthethingsthat
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this other classmate, James, was suggesting. So I got talking

withMuhammedaboutthisreligioncalledIslam,andwebecame
acquaintedquickly.
I requested to see a Quran but did not find the time to read it,
duringabusyschoolyear.Sowhentheworkloadbecameabit
lighter, I went to see my friend's father, who is our local imam.
HespoketomeatlengthaboutIslam,andplantedaseedwhich
inafewmonthstime,withtheblessingofAllah,blossomedinto
strongmuslim,alhumdulillah.ItookshahadainNovember1995.
I am often asked why I came to Islam. The question seems
logical, and simple, but in fact, I still find it the most difficult
questiontoanswer,eventhoughIhavebeenaskeditsomany
times.Yousee,IsawmanythingsinIslamthatIliked.Included
inthiswerethestrongbrotherhoodandsisterhoodinIslam,the
way fellow muslims looked after each other, and the logic in
Islam.Thelogicinwomenwearinghijabtodeterfromthatwhich
is haram, the logic in the forbidding of alcohol, which harms
morethaniteverwillheal,andthelogicinmanyotherareasof
ourlives.IhavebeentoldthatmanypeoplewhoreverttoIslam
findtheyfitrightinwiththereligion.
Indeedthiswasthecasewithme.Comingfromakafircountry
such as New Zealand (I have lived here most of my life), it is
rare for a person to be good religiously like myself,
alhumdulillah, masha Allah. You see, alhumdulillah, I made
intentionsinmyheartnevertodrinkinmylife,andneverhaveI
made intentions not to fornicate, even though everyone around
me in school was either fornicating or planning to. So you see,
alhumdulillah, Allah blessed me from the beginning, and I felt
Islamwasthenextobviousstepformetotakeinmylife.
I decided in November of 1995, with the encouragement with
somebrothersandsistersontheInternet,totakeshahadaasa
first step in Islam, and then take further steps to learn more
about Islam, after all we are all in a constant state of learning
about Islam. Alhumdulillah since then I have progressed slowly
butsurely,learningsomesuratsfromQuranduringaverybusy
school year. Allah blessed me with some amazing results last
year, alhumdulillah, and now I want to thank my Allah by
increasingthetimeIspendlearningQuranandaboutIslamthis
year, insha Allah, while I pursue entry into a Medical degree.
May Allah give me the strength insha Allah to enter Medical
school next year. May Allah help us all to learn more about
Islam,andletusallundertaketoliveourlivesinthecorrectway,
and follow the one true and surely straight path, that of Islam.
Ameen.
TOP
7.ROBWICKSBECOMINGMUSLIM
[Inthefollowingarticle,"NOI"referstotheNationofIslam,which
inspiteofitsname,isagroupfarremovedfromIslam.Ed.]
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IgrewupBaptist,inafamilyofministers,inruralMississippi.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
mostNOIhaveoftrueIslam.Later,afterIleftschoolandbegan
working,Igotaninternetaccount,andstartedtostudysomeof
thereligionsofthe world. I had never really been a particularly
religiousperson,duetomysomewhatscientificnature.Ialways
insist on proof. I started to delve deeper into Christianity, and
studied it intently on the Web. I was somewhat disdained
howeverbysomeinconsistenciesintheBible.Iprincipally 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 19:1617, and Jesus
(pbuh)says"Whycallestthoumegood?,itwascleartomethat
he was saying that he was not good, and only God was. But
mostoftheChristiansseemedtothinkJesuswasbeingtongue
incheekatthispoint.IfoundthatIwouldhavetobedishonest
toacceptthis.
Thenfortune?smileduponme.Ihitadeerinmycar.Itwasout
of service for almost a month. During that time, I was
unemployed,buthadsavedmoney,soIcouldlive(Ialsohave
tworoommates).Istillhadmyinternetaccount,andIdecidedto
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.EvenJesusdidnotseemtoteachit,hetaughtbeliefin
God.Iwentatimewithoutanyreligion,thinkingmaybeitwasall
a sham. I have a friend who is in the 5% NOI, and I saw how
muchhehatedreligion,and I decidedthatI did not wantto be
likethat.
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
keepusonthestraightpath,yetdidnotdisdainacquisition
of knowledge (the preachers back home loved to rail against
education,asifignoranceispreferredbyGod).Islamseemedto
bemadeforme.AgoodMuslimwastheexactsortofpersonI
aspiredtobe.Afteranothermonthofstudyandprayer,Idecided
that if Muhammad (pbuh) was not a prophet, then there had
neverbeenprophetsinthefirst place. The moment of decision
cameonenightwhenIwasreadingtheQur'anandIread21:30,
andIreadofGodexpandinghiscreation.Now,Ialmostbecame
anastronomeratonepoint,andIstillaminterested,andthese
verses hit me like a sledgehammer. I became fearful of God,
andwantedtoworshiphimbetter.
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim
TOP
8.SAMIRBECOMINGMUSLIM
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MyconversiontoIslamhasbeenintellectualandemotional.My
parents have both been educated at the universitylevel. My
mother is a Christian convert (she was atheist), and my father
haspersonalbeliefs.Myfamilyisratherrich.
Ever since I was very young, I've been interested by political
questions. I enjoyed reading history books, although I was
confusedalittlebitbetweenmilitaryhistoryandpolitics.Icalled
myself a communist, but today I wouldn't say I knew what it
means.Overtime,Ilearnedrealpoliticsandsociology,butwhen
thecommunistblocfell,Iadmittedmyerrorandwasnolongera
fan of the communist states. I became agnostic, and thought
that all human beings are condemned to egotism and to
ignorance of some questions, like the existence of God. I
learnedphilosophy.Iwantedtoavoiddoingthesamemistakes
asinthepast,andsoIrefusedalldogmas.Atthistimeoccured
theseparationofmyparents,andalsootherpersonalproblems.
To forget all this, I spent a lot of time in laughing with (fake)
friends, drinking, and then smoking cigarettes, then hash. I
sometimes took hard drugs (heroin, LSD, and some other
poisons). Despite this, I passed my baccalaureat (this is an
exam that ends four years of college and gives the right to
continuegraduatelevelstudyattheuniversity).Bychance,Ihad
togoatthearmy(wedonothavethechoiceinthecountryIlive
in). The strict rules I could not avoid there were a very good
thingformealso,Iwastiredenoughtoenjoysimplethingsas
eating and sleeping. Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), my
mentalitychanged.
Back in civil society, I spent one more dark year: I always had
the temptation of my bad habits, and I felt that life was very
superficialafterthebigefforts and the friendship of the army. I
began feeling the necessity of something else in my life. Then
oneofmysisters,backfromajourneytoSyria,gavemeabook.
This book, written in my language, is a gift she received there.
Its author, who had titled it "The Bible, Quran and Science",
wanted to show that there are in the Quran some things that
were simply impossible for a human being to know at the time
the Quran was revealed. Conclusion: the authenticity of the
Quran is proved, scientifically proved. The first thing I thought
afterhavingreadthebookwas:"Oh!Itwouldbesuper!"Iwas
readyforachangeinmywayoflife.
I bought a translation of the Quran to compare. Before having
entirely read it, I had become a Muslim, alhamdulillah. As you
can see, a psychologist wouldn't have any problem to explain
whathewouldcallmychoice.Forme,allthingscomefromGod
andHehadwrittenthisforme,Hehadchosenthesemeansto
makemeacceptIslam.Alhamdulillah!Whatnopsychologistcan
see is what happens in my heart when I read the Quran: faith
has little to do with what one feels in front of a scientific
demonstration!
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TOP
9.YAHIYEADAMGADAHNBECOMINGMUSLIM
Myfirstseventeenyearshavebeenabitdifferentthantheyouth
experiencedbymostAmericans.Igrewuponanextremelyrural
goat ranch in Western Riverside County, California, where my
family raises on average 150 to 200 animals for milk, cheese,
andmeat.Myfatherisahalalbutcher[abutcherwhoslaughters
inanIslamicmannered.]andsuppliestoanIslamicFoodMart
afewblocksfromtheIslamicCenterindowntownLosAngeles.
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.HeoncehadanumberofMuslimfriends,butthey'veall
movedoutofCalifornianow.MymotherwasraisedCatholic,so
she leans towards Christianity (although she, like my father,
disregards the Trinity). I and my siblings were/are home
schooled,andasyoumayknow,mosthomeschoolfamiliesare
Christian.Inthelast8orsoyears,wehavebeeninvolvedwith
somehomeschoolingsupportgroups,thusacquaintingmewith
fundamentalistChristianity.Itwasaneyeopeningexperience.
Settingasidetheblinddogmatismandcharismaticwackiness,it
was quite a shock to me when I realized that these people, in
theirprayers,wereactuallyprayingTOJESUS.Yousee,Ihad
always believed that Jesus (pbuh) was, at the very most, the
SonofGod(sincethatiswhattheBiblemistranslates "Servant
of God" as). As I learned that belief in the Trinity, something I
findabsolutelyridiculous,isconsideredbymostChristianstobe
aprerequisiteforsalvation,IgraduallyrealizedIcouldnotbea
Christian.
In the meantime, I had become obsessed with demonic Heavy
Metalmusic,somethingtherestof my family (as I now realize,
rightfullyso)wasnothappywith.Myentirelifewasfocusedon
expandingmymusiccollection.Ieschewedpersonalcleanliness
and let my room reach an unbelievable state of disarray. My
relationship with my parents became strained, although only
intermittentlyso.IamsorryevenasIwritethis.
Earlierthisyear,Ibegantolistentotheapocalypticramblingsof
Christianradio's"prophecyexperts."Theirparanoidespousalof
variousconspiracytheories,rabidsupportofIsraelandreligious
Zionism,andfierypreachingaboutthe"IslamicThreat"heldfor
me a strange fascination. Why? Well, I suppose it was simply
theneedIwasfeelingtofillthatvoidIhadcreatedformyself.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)andIbegantolookforsomethingelsetoholdonto.
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
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intentoffindingajob(easiersaidthandone),Ibegintovisitthe
religion folders on AOL and the Usenet newsgroups, where I
founddiscussionsonIslamtobethemostintriguing.
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, independent 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
bookgivenasufficienteducation.
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
crosstoenableHimtoforgiveallhumanbeingswhojustbelieve
thatHeallowedHimselftobetorturedonacross...Islamdoes
notbelieveinaChosenRace.Andonandon...
AsIbeganreadingEnglishtranslationsoftheQur'an,Ibecame
moreandmoreconvincedofthetruthandauthenticityofAllah's
teachingscontainedinthose114chapters.Havingbeenaround
Muslims in my formative years, I knew well that they were not
thebloodthirsty,barbaricterroriststhatthenewsmediaandthe
televangelistspaintthemtobe.Perhapsthisknowledgeledme
to continue my personal research further than another person
would have. I can't say when I actually decided that Islam was
forme.Itwasreallyanaturalprogression.
Inanycase,lastweek[November1995ed.]IwenttotheIslamic
SocietyofOrangeCountyinGardenGroveandtoldthebrother
in charge of the library I wanted to be a Muslim. He gave me
someexcellentreadingmaterial,andlastFridayItookShahada
[accepted the creed of Islam ed.]in front of a packed masjid. I
havespentthisweeklearningtoperformSalatandreflectingon
thegreatnessofAllah.ItfeelsgreattobeaMuslim!Subhaana
rabbiyal'azeem!
TOP
10.YUSUFMUHAMMADANSARI
"YoungManTravelstheWorldtoFindHimselfInPrison"
Assalaamu'alaikum!Iampostingthisstoryonbehalfofabrother
whoisnowservinghisterminaprisoninScotlandandhencehas
noaccesstotheinternet.Heisabrotherwhotakeshisbeliefvery
seriouslyandlooksforwardtocorrespondwithotherbrothersand
sistersfordiscussions,exchangeopinionsandideas.Ihopethis
storywouldattractattentionofvisitorsofyourwebsitetobefriend
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thissincerebrother.JamaludinYaakob
MYJOURNEYTOISLAM
In September 4 1993 I began a journey that was a childhood
dream.IleftmyhomecityofAberdeen,Scotlandat4.10p.m.with
the intention of driving my camper van all thewaytoGoa,India,
and back. Before I undertook this journey I spent a lot of time
readingonthecountries,customs,peoplesandreligionswhichat
the very least could give me a basic understanding of the how I
shouldreactwhenarrivinguponeachplace.
Althoughthediversityofthepeopleswasatasktotakeonboard,
itwasthediversityofreligionsthatstuckmostinmymind.There
seemedtobeformeanexcitementaboutIslamiccountries,which
keptcomingtomythought.
The journey went well with the exception of a few mechanical
problems throughout Eastern Europe. The first Islamic country I
wastoreachwasTurkey.AlthoughIhadbeentherebefore,Ihad
neverbeentoIstanbul.
Iwastiredandneededrest.Asonewoulddo,Ileftmycamperin
a campsite and spent the next three weeks adhoc traveling
throughthecenterofthecitytoseethesites.Onwhatwastobe
my last day in Istanbul I visited the Blue Mosque and the Pink
Mosque [probably the Aya Sofia MSAUSC.]. This, my brothers
andsisters,wastobemyintroductiontotheoneandtruereligion
of AlIslam. It wasaFriday, and as I recall during 'Asr prayer no
one(fromthetourists)wasallowedinthePinkMosque.Duetomy
inquisitiveness I got firstly lost inside the mosque and secondly
found myself locked in standing at the back watching the
wonderful event of 'Asr prayer unfolding before my eyes. I feel I
canneverquiteexpressclearlywhathappenednextexcepttosay
that I felt drawn, numb and very hot all at the same time.
Unwittingly I remembered thinking that this was really for me
withoutquestioningwhyorwhatthisreligionwasallabout.Iknew
thebasicbeliefwasthattherewasonlyoneGod.Ibelievedthat
allmylifeanyway. The prayer had finished and all were on their
way out. A brother approached me. I felt embarrassed as I
apologized for being there when I should not. He smiled and
assuredmethatitwasallright.
Afterleavingthemosque,Iwentonawalkaboutheadingtowards
theharbourarea.IwasstandinglookinginawindowwhenIfelta
presencebehindme.IturnedaroundtoseethesamemanImet
inthemosqueagainhesmiled.Hetoldmetowaitamomentas
he went downstairs in the shop. When he appeared again a few
momentslater,hehandedmeaplasticbagandsaid"Isthiswhat
youhavebeenlookingforbrother?"AsIlookedinthebagthere
wasatranslationoftheHolyQur'aninEnglish.Thiswaswhenan
amazing thing happened. I looked up to thank him but he was
gone.Thestrangethingwasthattherewasnosideroad,alleyor
lane for him to simply disappear. Until this day I have never
figuredoutwherehehadgone.
The journey recommenced the next day, heading towards
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EasternTurkey.IbegantoreadtheQur'anintheeveningandfelt
drawntovisitmosquesroute.EverytimeImetMuslimpeoplethey
were forever inviting me to their homes for meals, etc. Their
politeness and good character was what I have encountered
before. My head was full of emptiness waiting to be filled with
knowledge and I constantly asked questions about Islam. I
somehow felt that I had found something that was always there
butdidnotknowhowtofinditandwhatitwas.
Iranwastobethesame.ThemoreItraveledthemoreIfeltdrawn
to the mosques and the company of the people. There was
somethingdistinctiveabouthowthepeoplewere.AtfirstIcouldn't
put my finger on it. I came from the West where I had been
nurtured into a set of beliefs, values and attitude. The attitude
seemed hard to shake off. The attitude that I matter, I am
indispensable, I will stand on who I need to, so I may get to the
top. Who is God? Does it matter? Money and prestige is more
important, is it not? I felt a constant battle as I came from there,
butIsomehowfeltIbelongedhere.
All the way through Iran I never felt intimidated, in fact, quite the
opposite. If I had taken all the many offers of meals,
accommodation,etc.,IfearthatIwouldstillbethere,andIwould
havegottenintotroublewiththeauthorities.Myvisawasforone
weekonly.
ThenextcountrywasPakistan.Herewaswherethingsgoteven
better. The people were quite at ease and seemed happy to
answermynonstopquestionsonIslam.Ivisitedmoremosques.I
wasinmorehousesinPakistanthanIhadprobablyeverbeenat
home.
Another thing that I have always believed in before embracing
Islamwaspredestination.Othersmaycallitfate.Thishadledme
to the next encounter of life with the Muslim people. My
windscreen had broken and I ended up searching Quetta for a
newone.IwasdirectedtoTradesmenStreet.TherewaswhereI
met Muhammad, a motor body repairer. He kindly let me stay in
hislockupyard for five days until he could locate a windscreen.
EverydaywithoutfailheIateathishouseorhebroughtmefood.
He took me to meet the headmasters of both a public and a
privateschool.HerefusedpointblankthatIshouldputmyhandin
my pocket to buy anything. He told me stories of the Prophet
(p.b.u.h.) and other Islamic issues. At times I found it difficult to
contain my emotions. I could not believe the hospitality I was
receiving.
One occasion sticks in my mind which left me in tears and
astounded.IwasinMuhammad'shouseforlunch.Therewashis
familythereincludingaroundthirteenchildren.WhileItaughtthem
a Scottish nursery rhyme Muhammad videotaped us together.
Within minute the children who spoke no English, mastered it.
WhenIwasenteringmyvanIheardsomecommotionattheend
of the street. There, there were around one hundred children
running towards me singing the Scottish nursery rhyme. I was
surrounded as the tears ran from my cheeks with joy. It was so
beautiful.Herewasastrangerinastrangelandandtheywanted
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nothingfrommeexceptjusttostayalittlebitlonger.Ihadtogo.
ThefollowingdayIvisitedthelocalmosqueandsaidmygoodbye
withregret.
OntheroadtothePakistani/IndianborderIcontinuedtoreadthe
Qur'anandstillquestionwhythesepeoplewerebeingsoniceto
mebutwantednothinginreturn.Strangeindeed.
As I said before, I was coming from the West where, in the
material sense, they have everything. There was me traveling
throughalandwithahouseonwheelswhilearoundmesomany
people were living in squalor. If you have never had nothing you
donotknowwhatit'slike,or,frommypointofview,Ihadnever
experiencednothing.
Mynextencountershowedmethesimplicityofmaninrelationto
our Creator, Allah (s.w.t.). As I drove the Sindh region in the
desert I began to become anxious to find a place off the road to
park for the evening. Suddenly I came upon a simple house of
clay in the middle of nowhere. I approached the house and
knocked on the door. An old man answered. I said "As salaam
Alaykum", he replied in kind. I asked if it was ok to park for the
night?HespokenoEnglishbutacknowledgedwhatImeant.
Heinvitedmefortea.ImmediatelyIbecameconsciouslyawareof
the simplicity of his dwelling. There was nothing which did not
haveause,andeverythingwastoabareminimum.AsIrecalled
theitems,therewasastaffcarpet,acopyofalQur'an,apotand
awaterskin.Wesatonthecarpetanddranktea.Ashemovedto
thewindow,heleftwithoutwarningwiththewaterskinandamat
in hand. After a good five minutes had passed, I went outside.
What I saw next I could only describe as 'the day the world
stopped.' As the sun dropped out of the sky below the horizon,
therewascompletesilence.Themaninfrontofmedroppedtohis
knees in total obedient worship to our Creator, a memory that
lastswithmeuntilthisday.
ImadeittoIndia,visitedmoremosquesandmadeitalltheway
back unscathed. I thought the people back home had changed,
theyhadnot,butIhad.
It is so easy to allow yourself to be consumed by the method
ratherthanbeingthemethod.Pleaseallowmetoelaborate.While
intheEast,Ihadaccommodation,moneyandforonceinmylife,
simplicity, empathy and understanding. It is not that I don't have
them now. It's simply a different game with different rules and
players.Itendtocallitthereverseprocess.Insimpleterms,tothe
wonderfulcreationsintheEast,Godistheimportantfactor.Itwas
tobemydownfallbackhereintheWest,tradinggodformoney,
or you may call it materialism. It seems easy to say now but for
meanythingwiththeword'ISM'attachedshouldbeavoidedatall
costs.
No! I still had not embraced Islam. Although conscious of what I
hadlearned,Iputitonthebackburner.Thequestforme,which
seemed more important, was accommodation, job, flat, and car.
Allofthesedon'tgrowontreesand,really how money becomes
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available never really mattered. I couldn't find a proper job. My

wifewhohadbeenmyconstanttravelingpartnerbecamejustas
disillusionedasIdid.Wehadonlybeenmarriedashorttimeand
evengettingmarriedtoeachotherwasevershorteronthreeand
a halfmonth. We couldn't get work we were tired of travel and
extremelytiredofeachother.
As things got progressively worse as we could not find work or
accommodation,thingsweregettingdesperate.Mywifefoundan
advertisementinthelocalpaperaskingforasaunareceptionist.In
ournaivetwebothbelievedthataSaunawasinfactaSauna.At
the same time she got the job, I got offered some work dealing
and running drugs. The sauna turned out to be a front for
prostitution and it was not long before my wife decided to swap
answering the telephone for the red light. We both loved the
money,webothbecamedrugsusersandallseemedfantastic.
This was to be short lived. It tore us apart. We were in a web
wherethereseemednowayout.Ontheonehandweneededthe
moneytofeedourcocainehabit.Ontheotherhand,Igotsickof
drugs, money, prostitution, in fact, everything. We kept the
companyoflikemindedcharactersthathelpedfeedthedesirefor
selfgratification. I tried so hard to get off the drugs. In the mean
timeItriedtogetmywifeofftheprostitution.Sheseemedbynow
to love the money more than me. I would sit for many hours
staringatthisaccumulatingamountofmoneybeforemyeyeswith
totaldisdain.LittledidIrealizethatallwasabouttochangefirst
fortheworst.
Two weeks before 15 April 1996 two things happened
simultaneously.Thefirstthinghappenedafteranencountertothe
library. I took a book out on loan called "The Basics of Islam".
Inside I found what one says when taking the Shahadah. I was
lonely,desperateandsearchingfortherightway.Ihadnoonein
this strange city to witness me taking the Shahadah. I therefore
had no choice. I took my Shahadah bearing witness to Allah
(s.w.t.)fourtimes.Itookthepilesofmoneyandputitinajackina
cupboard.Iflushedtheremainingdrugsinthetoilet.Ifeltalivefor
thefirsttimeinalongtime,althoughshortlived.
My wife who had become a stranger to me arrived back that
evening. I told her of the day's events. This was to be the final
acclaim. We spoke little over the next two weeks. I had my plan
setthatIwasgoingbackeast.Inallthisconfusionwebothplotted
aterriblecrimeandtheendresultwouldbewewouldgotogether
east. Everybody says I am innocent. I was set up, etc. etc. I am
not going to say this at all: I am guilty of committing a horrible
crimeandtheconsequenceofmyactionhasledmeservingalife
sentence. My wife? She got off and now we are divorced, thank
God!
I have now served three years of my sentence and expect to
serve a further seven or eight years. You may well remember
earlierthatIsaideverythingispreordained.Ihavequestionedon
manyoccasionsastohowdidIenduphere.Thestorysaysitall.
Nevertheless,brothersandsisters,everythinghasareason.One
might ask what have you done with your time in prison? What is
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the future of your life? What are your hopes, dreams and
aspirations?
Well,Ithinkitgoeslikethis.Nomancanrunriotthroughtheland
withouttakingresponsibilityforhisactionsandIfeelitisbetterto
bepunishedinthislifethaninthehereafter.
When I first came to prison I was in Stoughton Jail, Edinburgh.
Afterbeingprocessedwherealldetailswereaskedfor,oneofthe
questions was what religion are you? I replied Islam. I was
immediatelygivenaMuslimdietandallowedtogototheMuslim
meetings where brothers from outside came to the prison
fortnightly.IrecalledthefirstmeetingasIwalkedintotheroomI
heldmyheadinshame.Icouldn'tstopsayingwhydidIdothat.I
weptasthebrothersgavemesupport.Ibymyactionscreatednot
just one victim but so many. My victim's family, friends, work
associates,etc.haveallbeenaffectedbymythoughtlessactions.
Ihaveseenmyfatherturnedgray,mymotheronantidepression
tabletsandmybrothertoo.
Iwillprobablynevereverknowtherealimpactofmycrimeupon
myvictim,nordoIeverexpectforgiveness.Iamdeeplysorryand
ashamedofmyactions.
OneofthebrothersinEdinburghsaidtome'youcan'tchangethe
past, you can only hope to attain to be a better person in the
future.'ItookmyShahadahagainthateveningthistimeinfrontof
witnesses,backin1996.
The easy part, which may seem the hardest part, is getting
accustomedtonothingnessandsolitude.Thatisonethingprison
does for a man. It gives you time, plenty of it, to think. My first
reactionwastothinkofwhatIhadlostnotonlyfamily,friends,my
respectandallofthat"ISM'materialism.
Soon I lost the need for materialism. As I sit here now in the
concretetomb,Iexchangemycoatofmaterialismforspiritualism.
IhaveembracedIslamfully,slowly,butsurely.Iambuildingupa
new set of moral and ethical values. I pray five times daily as
prescribedinIslamandbegAllah(s.w.t.)forforgiveness.
WhathaveIdonewithmytimeyoumayask?Ihaveundertakena
home study course in Islamic Studies which consists of twenty
bookletsonvariousIslamicsubjects,whichoncompletionleadsto
five O' grades or GCSES. I have undertaken the first year of a
degree course in Arabic and Islamic Studies. I read the Qur'an
and the Ahadeeth of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) daily. I get
immeasurable support from regular visits from the brothers from
theAberdeenMosque.Whyalltheseyoumayask?Well,Ibelieve
in Allah (s.w.t.), I believe that good can overrule bad and only
throughthestraightpathofIslamcanthisbeachieved.
IwanttobeanassettosocietywhenIeventuallyleavetheprison,
inshallah. I hope that I may have obtained my degree in Arabic
andIslamicStudiesbythensoasImayundertakeda'awahwork
andhopefullygetajobteachingIslamicsubjects.
My shortterm objective is that I may be able to obtain some
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correspondence with Muslims world wide in the hope that I may

be able to give support and hopefully receive some too. My final
hopeisthatImaybeabletogetanotherchanceofmarriage.So,
if any of you out there would be interested in correspondence
and/ormarriage,youcancontactmeatthefollowingaddress.
YusufMuhammadAnsari
Reg.No26202,H.M.Prison,PeterheadAB426YYScotland
May Allah (s.w.t.) grant you all success in this life and in the life
Hereafter,Ameen.
Myshortresume:
Name:YusufMuhammadAnsari
Age:38
Height:5'7"
Weight:11.7stone
Appearance:Roundface,beard,shorthair
CurrentStatus:Lifesentenceprison
Qualifications:EnglishGCSE,InformationTechnology1+2,
WordProcessing,Math,5GCSEIslamicStudies,
currentlyundertakingDegreecourseinArabic
andIslamicStudies.
Nationality:British
Caucasian:White
MaritalStatus:Divorced
Children:1daughter(noaccessorvisitingright)
Previous
Employment:Oilrigsoffshore(6&1/2years)
:Helicopterlandingofficer
:Derrickman
:Selfemployedhouserestorer(5years)
Sincerelyyours:YusufMuhammadAnsari
Aug.3rd,1999
Excerptedfrom:http://www.islamtomorrow.com/converts/
TOP
11.YUSUFISLAM
(HowIcametoIslambyYusufIslam.FromMusicianto
MuslimbyAllah'sWill)
AllIhavetosayisallwhatyouknowalready,toconfirmwhatyou
already know, the message of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam)asgivenbyGodtheReligionofTruth.Ashumanbeings
we are given a consciousness and a duty that has placed us at
the top of creation. Man is created to be God's deputy on earth,
and it is important to realize the obligation to rid ourselves of all
illusions and to make our lives a preparation for the next life.
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Anybodywhomissesthischanceisnotlikelytobegivenanother,
to be brought back again and again, because it says in Qur'an
Majeedthatwhenmanisbroughttoaccount,hewillsay,"OLord,
sendusbackandgiveusanotherchance."TheLordwillsay,"IfI
sendyoubackyouwilldothesame."
MYEARLYRELIGIOUSUPBRINGING
Iwasbroughtupinthemodernworldofalltheluxuryandthehigh
lifeofshowbusiness.IwasborninaChristianhome,butweknow
thateverychildisborninhisoriginalnatureitisonlyhisparents
that turn him to this or that religion. I was given this religion
(Christianity) and thought this way. I was taught that God exists,
but there was no direct contact with God, so we had to make
contactwithHimthroughJesushewasinfactthedoortoGod.
Thiswasmoreorlessacceptedbyme,butIdidnotswallowitall.
I looked at some of the statues of Jesus they were just stones
withnolife.AndwhentheysaidthatGodisthree,Iwaspuzzled
evenmorebutcouldnotargue.Imoreorlessbelievedit,because
Ihadtohaverespectforthefaithofmyparents.
POPSTAR
Gradually I became alienated from this religious upbringing. I
startedmakingmusic.Iwantedtobeabigstar.AllthosethingsI
sawinthefilmsandonthemediatookholdofme,andperhapsI
thought this was my God, the goal of making money. I had an
unclewhohadabeautifulcar."Well,"Isaid,"hehasitmade.He
hasalotofmoney."Thepeoplearoundmeinfluencedmetothink
thatthiswasitthisworldwastheirGod.
Idecidedthenthatthiswasthelifeformetomakealotofmoney,
havea'greatlife.'Nowmyexampleswerethepopstars.Istarted
making songs, but deep down I had a feeling for humanity, a
feelingthatifIbecamerichIwouldhelptheneedy.(Itsaysinthe
Qur'an, we make a promise, but when we make something, we
wanttoholdontoitandbecomegreedy.)
So what happened was that I became very famous. I was still a
teenager, my name and photo were splashed in all the media.
Theymademelargerthanlife,soIwantedtolivelargerthanlife
andtheonlywaytodothatwastobeintoxicated(withliquorand
drugs).
INHOSPITAL
Afterayearoffinancialsuccessand'high'living,Ibecameveryill,
contractedTBandhadtobehospitalized.ItwasthenthatIstarted
to think: What was to happen tome?WasIjustabody,andmy
goalinlifewasmerelytosatisfythisbody?Irealizednowthatthis
calamity was a blessing given to me by Allah, a chance to open
my eyes "Why am I here? Why am I in bed?" and I started
looking for some of the answers. At that time there was great
interest in the Eastern mysticism. I began reading, and the first
thing I began to become aware of was death, and that the soul
movesonitdoesnotstop.IfeltIwastakingtheroadtoblissand
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high accomplishment. I started meditating and even became a

vegetarian. I now believed in 'peace and flower power,' and this
wasthegeneraltrend.ButwhatIdidbelieveinparticularwasthat
Iwasnotjustabody.Thisawarenesscametomeatthehospital.
OnedaywhenIwaswalkingandIwascaughtintherain,Ibegan
runningtotheshelterandthenIrealized,'Waitaminute,mybody
isgettingwet,mybodyistellingmeIamgettingwet.'Thismade
methinkofasayingthatthebodyislikeadonkey,andithasto
betrainedwhereithastogo.Otherwise,thedonkeywillleadyou
whereitwantstogo.
ThenIrealizedIhadawill,aGodgivengift:followthewillofGod.
I was fascinated by the new terminology I was learning in the
Eastern religion. By now I was fed up with Christianity. I started
making music again and this time I started reflecting my own
thoughts.Irememberthelyricofoneofmysongs.Itgoeslikethis:
"IwishIknew,IwishIknewwhatmakestheHeaven,whatmakes
theHell.DoIgettoknowYouinmybedorsomedustycellwhile
othersreachthebighotel?"andIknewIwasonthePath.
Ialsowroteanothersong,"TheWaytoFindGodOut."Ibecame
even more famous in the world of music. I really had a difficult
timebecauseIwasgettingrichandfamous,andatthesametime,
I was sincerely searching for the Truth. Then I came to a stage
whereIdecidedthatBuddhismisallrightandnoble,butIwasnot
readytoleavetheworld.Iwastooattachedtotheworldandwas
not prepared to become a monk and to isolate myself from
society.
I tried Zen and Ching, numerology, tarot cards and astrology. I
triedtolookbackintotheBibleandcouldnotfindanything.Atthis
time I did not know anything about Islam, and then, what I
regarded as a miracle occurred. My brother had visited the
mosqueinJerusalemandwasgreatlyimpressedthatwhileonthe
one hand it throbbed with life (unlike the churches and
synagogues which were empty), on the other hand, an
atmosphereofpeaceandtranquilityprevailed.
THEQUR'AN
When he came to London he brought back a translation of the
Qur'an,whichhegavetome.HedidnotbecomeaMuslim,buthe
feltsomethinginthisreligion,andthoughtImightfindsomething
initalso.
And when I received the book, a guidance that would explain
everythingtomewhoIwaswhatwasthepurposeoflifewhat
was the reality and what would be the reality and where I came
fromIrealizedthatthiswasthetruereligionreligionnotinthe
sensetheWestunderstandsit,notthetypeforonlyyouroldage.
IntheWest,whoeverwishestoembraceareligionandmakeithis
onlywayoflifeisdeemedafanatic.Iwasnotafanatic,Iwasat
firstconfusedbetweenthebodyandthesoul.ThenIrealizedthat
the body and soul are not apart and you don't have to go to the
mountaintobereligious.WemustfollowthewillofGod.Thenwe
canrisehigherthantheangels.ThefirstthingIwantedtodonow
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wastobeaMuslim.
I realized that everything belongs to God, that slumber does not
overtakeHim.Hecreatedeverything.AtthispointIbegantolose
the pride in me, because hereto I had thought the reason I was
here was because of my own greatness. But I realized that I did
notcreatemyself,andthewholepurposeofmybeingherewasto
submittotheteachingthathasbeenperfectedbythereligionwe
knowasAlIslam.AtthispointIstarteddiscoveringmyfaith.IfeltI
was a Muslim. On reading the Qur'an, I now realized that all the
ProphetssentbyGodbroughtthesamemessage.Whythenwere
the Jews and Christians different? I know now how the Jews did
notacceptJesusastheMessiahandthattheyhadchangedHis
Word.EventheChristiansmisunderstandGod'sWordandcalled
Jesus the son of God. Everything made so much sense. This is
thebeautyoftheQur'anitasksyoutoreflectandreason,andnot
to worship the sun or moon but the One Who has created
everything. The Qur'an asks man to reflect upon the sun and
moonandGod'screationingeneral.Doyourealizehowdifferent
thesunisfromthemoon?Theyareatvaryingdistancesfromthe
earth, yet appear the same size to us at times one seems to
overlaptheother.
Even when many of the astronauts go to space, they see the
insignificant size of the earth and vastness of space. They
become very religious, because they have seen the Signs of
Allah.
When I read the Qur'an further, it talked about prayer, kindness
andcharity.IwasnotaMuslimyet,butIfeltthattheonlyanswer
formewastheQur'an,andGodhadsentittome,andIkeptita
secret.ButtheQur'analsospeaks on different levels. I began to
understanditonanotherlevel,wheretheQur'ansays,
O ye who believe! Take not for friends unbelievers rather
than believers: Do ye wish to offer Allah an open proof
againstyourselves?(AnNisa4:144)
ThusatthispointIwishedtomeetmyMuslimbrothers.
CONVERSION
ThenIdecidedtojourneytoJerusalem(asmybrotherhaddone).
AtJerusalem,Iwenttothemosqueandsatdown.Amanasked
mewhatIwanted.ItoldhimIwasaMuslim.Heaskedwhatwas
my name. I told him, "Stevens." He was confused. I then joined
the prayer, though not so successfully. Back in London, I met a
sistercalledNafisa.ItoldherIwantedtoembraceIslamandshe
directedmetotheNewRegentMosque.Thiswasin1977,about
one and a half years after I received the Qur'an. Now I realized
that I must get rid of my pride, get rid of Iblis, and face one
direction. So on a Friday, after Jummah' I went to the Imam and
declared my faith (the Kalimah) at this hands. You have before
yousomeonewhohadachievedfameandfortune.Butguidance
wassomethingthateludedme,nomatterhowhardItried,untilI
was shown the Qur'an. Now I realize I can get in direct contact
with God, unlike Christianity or any other religion. As one Hindu
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ladytoldme,"Youdon'tunderstandtheHindus.Webelieveinone
God we use these objects (idols) to merely concentrate." What
shewassayingwasthatinordertoreachGod,onehastocreate
associates, that are idols for the purpose. But Islam removes all
these barriers. The only thing that moves the believers from the
disbelieversisthesalat.Thisistheprocessofpurification.
FinallyIwishtosaythateverythingIdoisforthepleasureofAllah
and pray that you gain some inspirations from my experiences.
Furthermore,IwouldliketostressthatIdidnotcomeintocontact
with any Muslim before I embraced Islam. I read the Qur'an first
andrealizedthatnopersonisperfect.Islamisperfect,andifwe
imitate the conduct of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam) we will be successful. May Allah give us guidance to
followthepathoftheummahofMuhammad(Sallallahualayhiwa
sallam).Ameen!
YusufIslam(formerlyCatStevens)
Excerptedfrom:http://www.islamtomorrow.com/converts/
TOP
12.YUSUFALIBERNIER
(CanadianCatholicDiscoversIslam)
ThisdayhaveIperfectedyourreligionforyou,completed
My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your
religion...(HolyQur'an,Surah5,verse3)
TheRomanCatholicreligionisdictatedbythePopefromthetop
downtothepriestsatthebottom.IfaMuslimweretowalkintoa
Catholicchurch,itwouldbelikewalkingintoadifferentworld.He
would find row upon row of pews in which the worshipers sit,
stainedglasswindowswithperhapsscenesofthelastsupperor
theMessiahcarryingacross,etc.Onthefrontwallinallchurches
istheMessiahonacrossandbelowisanaltarwherethepriest
delivers his Sunday sermon. In some older churches, you may
even find magnificent statue figures of Jesus, saints, Mary the
motherofJesusandsoon.Churchservicesaremainlyrepetitive
rituals, singing, and prayers to Jesus or Mary or God and
sometimestosaints.ThisisthetypeofworldinwhichIlivedand
grewupmostofmylife.
IfyouweretoaskmewhyIconvertedtoIslam,myanswerwould
fillvolumes.However,ifyouweretoaskmewhatledmetoIslam
I would have to say, now looking back, that it was my first
encounterreadingtheBibleattheageofaboutten.Iusedtosit
bewilderedreadingtheBibleintoataperecorder.Afterfinishing,I
would play the tape back in hopes of grasping the meaning of
whatIhadjustread,usuallytonoavail.SoonSundaysIwatched
sermonsontelevision,orderedfreeBibles,anddonatedasmuch
as I could (which could not have been much for a boy of ten) to
the television evangelists. I received letters of gratitude and
blessingsandthatmademefeelgood.
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ThiscontinuedforayearorsountilfinallyIbecametoofrustrated,
lost,andhonestlyboredwiththewholeprocess.ItuckedtheBible
away in my dresser drawer, and I would only refer to it
occasionally throughout my childhood and teenage years. I
accepted the fact that I would never truly understand the Bible.
Thatis,ironically,untillaterwhenIbecameMuslim.Onlythendid
Ibegintogainacompleteunderstandingofit.
What had confused me reading the Bible then was the
contradictionbetweenthebookandwhatIhadbeentaughtallmy
lifebypriestsandreligiouspedagogues.Ifoundthatalmostevery
aspectofmybeliefwasshakenorsimplydidnotmakesenseat
all upon referring to the Bible. The very core of my faith, I had
learned,wasfalse.ThisbroughtmetothepointinmylifewhereI
waspessimisticandcynicaltowardreligion.Imockedmyreligion
in my teens by going to church chewing gum and halfheartedly
participatinginservices.IwouldgruntatthemerementionofGod
orJesus.IdidnotknowwhatIbelievedanymore.TheonlythingI
was sure of was that there was a God. All of my confusion and
disenchantment, starting from the age of ten, would ultimately
triggermyquestforTruthandfinallyleadmetothereligioncalled
Islam.
My first encounter with Muslim people was through business
dealings. Their warm and generous hospitality won my heart.
TheirloyalremembranceofAllahintriguedmeinphraseslike,al
Hamdulillah(allPraisebetoGod)andinshahAllah(GodWilling).
I have never come upon people in a state of such strong faith
before. Their kindness, generosity, and compassionate nature, I
woulddiscoverlater,wereallpartofbeingaMuslim.Iwantedto
be like them. This is what attracts people to Islam this is what
attractedme.
IbegantolearnthebasicsofIslam.ThemoreIlearnedthemoreI
wantedtoknow.Beforelong,IwasstudyingIslamthroughbooks
writtenbyMuslimsinadditiontoreadingatranslationoftheHoly
Qur'an.OnlyaselectfewknewthatIwasstudyingIslam,sinceI
did not want any interference from Muslims and especially from
myChristianandJewishfriends.Iknewthatifanyonewasgoing
toguideandaidmeinmyquestforTruthitwouldbeAllah.
As time passed, my knowledge expanded into realms of Truth
hithertounbeknownsttome.Islambecameapowerfulforcelikea
magnet drawing me closer and closer to it. Allah was the only
thingonmymindduringtheday,asIdriftedtosleep,andthefirst
thought when I awoke. Islam appealed to my intellect as well as
myheart,andsomypassiongrewforit.IeventuallylearnedSurat
AlIkhlas(AchapterintheHolyQur'ancalledPurityInFaith)and
although I was not yet Muslim, I began to teach myself to pray
using a book and reciting the only Surah I knew. I felt an
overwhelming need to prostrate in reverence to the All Mighty to
ask for forgiveness and guidance in the way that made most
sensetome.
Shortly thereafter, I departed on a holiday taking the Qur'an with
me.Fourdayslater,aloneinaforeigncountry,Ibecameseverely
ill.Iwasbedstrickenforamontheachdaylosingalmostapound
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of my body weight. Facing my mortality and alone in my agony I

rememberpleadingtoAllahnottoletmedieincomplete.Ihadnot
yetconvertedbutIknewinmyheartthatIwantedtobeaMuslim.
Iwasprocrastinatingtryingtolearneverythinghumanlypossible.I
nowbelievethatthiswasmywakeupcallfromtheMostMerciful.
Thatistosaythatlifeistooshorttoputthingsoffthatyouwantto
do.Youneverknowiftomorrowwillevercome.
Two weeks after my return to Canada, alHamdulillah (all praise
be to God), I converted to Islam. alHamdulillah I did not die
before saying the shahadah (Bearing witness that there is only
ONEGod&MuhammadisHisMessengerandServant).Allahis
ever so Merciful. He gives people many chances and signs. The
part that is difficult is not so much recognizing them, but rather
actinguponthemwithallyourheart.
Islamislikeamedicine.Itchangesdeviantbehaviorandsoothes
the sobbing soul. Islam is the religion of Truth and the Qur'an is
the guide for all aspects of life. The Qur'an gave me all of the
answerstomyquestions.Italleviatedmyconfusionandturnedit
into clarity and understanding. Never did I know that there is a
religionthatisabsoluteTruthinitspurestform.Ifallmankindonly
realized that this truth is the religion of Islam. I pray to Allah to
guideallofustothestraightpath.ThepathofalltheProphetsof
Allah including Abraham, Noah, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad
(peacebeuponthemall).Ameen.
Excerptedfrom:www.readingislam.com/
TOP
13.SHARIFFACARLOBECOMINGMUSLIM
ShariffaACarlo(AlAndalusia)
ThestoryofhowIrevertedtoalIslamisastoryofplans.Imade
plans,thegroupIwaswithmadeplans,andAllahmadeplans.
And Allah is the Best of Planners. When I was a teenager, I
came to the attention of a group of people with a very sinister
agenda.Theywereandprobablystillarealooseassociationof
individualswhoworkingovernmentpositionsbuthaveaspecial
agendatodestroyIslam.ItisnotagovernmentalgroupthatI
am aware of, they simply use their positions in the US
governmenttoadvancetheircause.
Onememberofthisgroupapproachedmebecausehesawthat
I was articulate, motivated and very much the women's rights
advocate.HetoldmethatifIstudiedInternationalRelationswith
anemphasisintheMiddleEast,hewouldguaranteemeajobat
theAmericanEmbassyinEgypt.Hewantedmetoeventuallygo
theretousemypositioninthecountrytotalktoMuslimwomen
andencouragethefledglingwomen'srightsmovement.Ithought
this was a great idea. I had seen the Muslim women on TV I
knew they were a poor oppressed group, and I wanted to lead
themtothelightof20thcenturyfreedom.
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Withthisintention,Iwenttocollegeandbeganmyeducation.I
studied Quraan, hadith and Islamic history. I also studied the
ways I could use this information. I learned how to twist the
wordstosaywhatIwantedthemtosay.Itwasavaluabletool.
OnceIstartedlearning,however,Ibegantobeintriguedbythis
message. It made sense. That was very scary. Therefore, in
order to counteract this effect, I began to take classes in
Christianity. I chose to take classes with this one professor on
campusbecausehehadagoodreputationandhehadaPh.D.
inTheologyfromHarvardUniversity.IfeltIwasingoodhands.I
was, but not for the reasons I thought. It turns out that this
professor was a Unitarian Christian. He did not believe in the
trinityorthedivinityofJesus.Inactuality,hebelievedthatJesus
wasaprophet.
HeproceededtoprovethisbytakingtheBiblefromitssources
in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic and show where they were
changed.Ashedidthis,heshowedthehistoricaleventswhich
shapedandfollowedthesechanges.BythetimeIfinished this
class,mydeenhadbeendestroyed,butIwasstillnotreadyto
accept Islam. As time went on, I continued to study, for myself
and for my future career. This took about three years. In this
time, I would question Muslims about their beliefs. One of the
individuals I questioned was a Muslim brother with the MSA.
Alhamdulillah, he saw my interest in the deen, and made it a
personal effort to educate me about Islam. May Allah increase
hisreward.Hewouldgivemedawaaateveryopportunitywhich
presenteditself.
Oneday,thismancontactsme,andhetellsmeaboutagroup
of Muslims who were visiting in town. He wanted me to meet
them. I agreed. I went to meet with them after ishaa prayer. I
was led to a room with at least 20 men in it. They all made
spaceformetosit,andIwasplacedfacetofacewithanelderly
Pakistani gentleman. Mashallah, this brother was a very
knowledgeable man in matters of Christianity. He and I
discussed and argued the varying parts of the Bible and the
Quraan until the fajr. At this point, after having listened to this
wisemantellmewhatIalreadyknew,basedontheclassIhad
taken in Christianity, he did what no other individual had ever
done. He invited me to become a Muslim. In the three years I
had been searching and researching, no one had ever invited
me.Ihadbeentaught,arguedwithandeveninsulted,butnever
invited.MayAllahguideusall.
Sowhenheinvitedme,itclicked.Irealizedthiswasthetime.I
knew it was the truth, and I had to make a decision.
Alhamdulillah,Allahopenedmyheart,andIsaid,"Yes.Iwantto
be a Muslim." With that, the man led me in the shahadah in
English and in Arabic. I swear by Allah that when I took the
shahadah, I felt the strangest sensation. I felt as if a huge,
physical weight had just been lifted off my chest I gasped for
breath as if I were breathing for the first time in my life.
Alhamdulillah,Allahhadgivenmeanewlifeacleanslatea
chanceforJennah,andIpraythatIlivetherestofmydaysand
dieasaMuslim.Ameen.
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TOP
14.ERIN/SUMAYAFANNOUNBECOMINGMUSLIM
BismillahArahmanAraheemApril12,1998.
My intention in writing my story is that for Allah's sake, I may
helpsomeonewhoissearchingfortheTruth,torealizethatthey
havefounditinAlIslam.IbeganwritingthisonEasterSunday,
kind of appropriate, I think. I have been Muslim now for seven
years, Alhamdu Lillah (all praise is for Allah, [God]). I first
learnedofIslamwhileattendingUniversity,fromaMuslimfriend
ofmine.Ihadmanagedtogetoutofaverygood,collegeprep
high school believing that the Qur'an was a Jewish book, and
thatMuslimswereidolworshippingpagans.Iwasnotinterested
inlearningaboutanewreligion.Iheldtheethnocentricviewthat
ifsince the US was "#1", we must have the best of everything,
includingreligion.
I knew that Christianity wasn't perfect, but believed that it was
thebestthattherewas.Ihadlongheldtheopinionthatalthough
theBiblecontainedthewordofGod,italsocontainedtheword
ofthecommonman,whowroteitdown.AsAllahwouldhaveit,
every time I had picked up the Bible in my life, I had come
acrosssomereallystrangeandactuallydirtypassages.Icould
not understand why the Prophets of God would do such
abominablethingswhenthereareplentyofaveragepeoplewho
live their whole lives without thinking of doing such disgusting
andimmoralthings,suchasthoseattributedtoProphetsDavid,
Solomon,andLot,(peacebeuponthemall)justtonameafew.
IrememberhearinginChurchthatsincetheseProphetscommit
such sins, how could the common people be any better than
them? And so, it was said, Jesus had to be sacrificed for our
sins, because we just couldn't help ourselves, as the "flesh is
weak".
So,Iwrestledwiththenotionofthetrinity,tryingtounderstand
howmyGodwasnotone,butthree.Onewhocreatedtheearth,
one whose blood was spilled for our sins, and then there was
thequestionoftheHolyGhost,yetalloneandthesame!?When
IwouldpraytoGod,Ihadacertainimageinmymindofawise
oldmaninflowingrobe,upintheclouds.WhenIwouldprayto
Jesus,Ipicturedayoungwhitemanwithlonggoldenhair,beard
and blue eyes. As for the Holy Spirit, well, I could only conjure
up a misty creature whose purpose I wasn't sure of. It really
didn't feel as though I was praying to one God. I found though
that whenI wasreallyinatightspot,Iwouldautomaticallycall
directly on God. I knew inherently, that going straight to God,
wasthebestbet.
When I began to research and study Islam, I didn't have a
problemwithprayingtoGoddirectly,itseemedthenaturalthing
todo.However,IfearedforsakingJesus,andspentalotoftime
contemplatingthesubject.IbegantostudytheChristianhistory,
searchingforthetruth.ThemoreIlookedintoit,themoreIsaw
the parallel between the deification and sacrifice of Jesus, and
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thestoriesofGreekmythologythatIhadlearnedinjuniorhigh,
whereagodandahumanwomanwouldproduceachildwhich
would be a demigod, possessing some attributes of a god. I
learnedofhowimportantithadbeento"St.Paul",tohavethis
religionacceptedbytheGreekstowhomhepreached,andhow
someofthediscipleshaddisagreedwithhismethods.Itseemed
veryprobablethatthiscouldhavebeenamoreappealingform
of worship to the Greeks than the strict monotheism of the Old
Testament.AndonlyAllahknows.
I began to have certain difficulties with Christian thought while
stillinhighschool.Twothingsbotheredmeverymuch.Thefirst
was the direct contradiction between material in the Old and
New Testaments. I had always thought of the Ten
Commandmentsasverystraightforward,simplerulesthatGod
obviously wanted us to follow. Yet, worshipping Christ, was
breaking the first commandment completely and totally, by
associating a partner with God. I could not understand why an
omniscientGodwouldchangeHismind,sotospeak.Thenthere
isthequestionofrepentance.IntheOldTestament,peopleare
told to repent for their sins but in the New Testament, it is no
longer necessary, as Christ was sacrificed for the sins of the
people."Pauldidnotcalluponhishearerstorepentofparticular
sins,butratherannouncedGod'svictoryoverallsininthecross
ofChrist.
The radical nature of God's power is affirmed in Paul's
insistence that in the death of Christ God has rectified the
ungodly(seeRomans4:5).Humanbeingsarenotcalleduponto
do good works in order that God may rectify them." So what
incentive did we even have to be good, when being bad could
bealotoffun?
Society has answered by redefining good and bad. Any
childcare expert will tell you that children must learn that their
actions have consequences, and they encourage parents to
allow them to experience the natural consequences of their
actions. Yet in Christianity, there are no consequences, so
people have begun to act like spoiled children. Demanding the
right to do as they please, demanding God's and peoples'
unconditionalloveandacceptanceofevenvilebehavior.Itisno
wonderthatourprisonsareoverflowing,andthatparentsareat
alosstocontroltheirchildren.ThatisnottosaythatinIslamwe
believe that we get to heaven based on our deeds, on the
contrary, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) told us
that we will only enter paradise through God's Mercy, as
evidencedinthefollowinghadith.
Narrated 'Aisha: The Prophet said, "Do good deeds properly,
sincerelyandmoderately,andreceivegoodnewsbecauseone's
good deeds will not make him enter Paradise." They asked,
"Evenyou,OAllah'sApostle?"Hesaid,"EvenI,unlessanduntil
AllahbestowsHispardonandMercyonme."
Soinactuality,IdidnotevenknowwhoGodwas.IfJesuswas
not a separate god, but really part of God, then who was he
sacrificed to? And who was he praying to in the Garden of
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Gethsemane?IfhewasseparateinnaturefromGod,thenyou
have left the realm of monotheism, which is also in direct
contradiction to the teachings of the Old Testament. It was so
confusing, that I preferred not to think of it, and had begun to
thoroughly resent the fact that I could not understand my own
religion.
That point was brought home when I began to discuss religion
withmyfuturehusbandatcollege. He asked me to explain the
Trinity to him. After several failed attempts at getting him to
understand it, I threw my hands up in frustration, and claimed
that I couldn't explain it well because, "I am not a scholar!" To
which he calmly replied, "Do you have to be a scholar to
understandthebasisofyourreligion?"
Ouch!, that really hurt but the truth hurts sometimes. By that
point, I had tired of the mental acrobatics required to
contemplate who I was actually worshipping. I grudgingly
listened while he told me of the Oneness of God, and that He
had not changed his mind, but completed his message to
mankind through the Prophet Muhammad, Allah's peace and
blessingsbeuponhim.
I had to admit, it made sense. God had sent prophets in
succession to mankind for centuries, because they obviously
kept going astray, and needed guidance. Even at that point, I
told him that he could tell me about his religion, just for my
general information. "But don't try to convert me", I told him,
"becauseyou'llneverdoit!"
"No",hesaid,"Ijust want you to understand where I'm coming
fromanditismydutyasaMuslimtotellyou."Andofcourse,he
didn't convert me but rather, Allah guided me to His Truth.
AlhamduLillah.
Ataboutthesametime,afriendofminegavemea"translation"
oftheQur'aninEnglishthatshefoundatabookstore.Shehad
nowayofknowingthatthisbookwasactuallywrittenbyanIraqi
Jew for the purpose of driving people away from Islam, not for
helping them to understand it. It was very confusing. I circled
and marked all the passages that I wanted to ask my Muslim
friend about and when he returned from his trip abroad, I
accostedhimwithmyquestions,bookinhand.Hecouldnottell
fromthetranslationthatitwassupposedtobetheQur'an,and
patientlyinformedmeofthetruemeaningoftheversesandthe
conditions under which they were revealed. He found a good
translationofthemeaningoftheQur'anformetoread,whichI
did.
I still remember sitting alone, reading it, looking for errors, and
questioning.ThemoreIread,themoreIbecameconvincedthat
thisbookcouldonlyhaveonesource,God.Iwasreadingabout
God's mercy and His willingness to forgive any sin, except the
sinofassociatingpartnerswithHimandIbegantoweep.
Icriedfromthedepthofmysoul.Icriedformypastignorance
and in joy of finally finding the truth. I knew that I was forever
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changed. I was amazed at the scientific knowledge in the

Qur'an, which is not taken from the Bible as some would have
you believe. I was getting my degree in microbiology at that
time,andwasparticularlyimpressedwiththedescriptionofthe
embryologicalprocess,andsomuchmore.OnceIwassurethat
this book was truly from God, I decided that I had to accept
Islam as my religion. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but nothing
worthwhileeveris.
I learned that the first and most important step of becoming
Muslimistobelievein"LaillahailAllah,waMuhammadarasool
Allah", meaning that there is no god worthy of worship except
Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. After I
understoodthatJesuswassentasaprophet,toshowtheJews
thattheyweregoingastray,andbringthembacktothepathof
God, I had no trouble with the concept of worshipping God
alone.
ButIdidnotknowwhoMuhammadwas,anddidn'tunderstand
what it really meant to follow him. May Allah bless all those
people who have helped me to understand and appreciate the
lifeoftheProphetMuhammad,(peacebeuponhim),throughout
these last seven years. I learned that Allah sent him as an
exampletomankind.Anexampletobefollowedandimitatedby
all of us in our daily lives. He was in his behaviors, the Qur'an
exemplified.MayAllahguideusalltoliveashetaughtus.
TOP
15.HERACLIUS,THERULEROFBYZANTINE
Abu Sufyan Ibn Harb was rigid opponents of Islam for long time
duringprophettime,andfollowingisahadithwhichisnarratedby
him, when he was converted to Islam. He was so much against
Islam that he wanted to misguide the Christian king, but was
unable as he was in a difficult situation. Read his story. In this,
althoughthekingwasnotfinallyconvertedtoIslam,butbyheart
hewasconvincedthatprophetMohammadistherightprophet.
NarratedAbdullah Ibn Abbas: Abu Sufyan Ibn Harb informed me
that Heraclius had sent a messenger to him while he had been
accompanying a caravan from Quraish. They were merchants
doing business in Sham (Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan)
atthetimewhenAllah'sMessengerhadatrucewithAbu Sufyan
andQuraishinfidels.SoAbuSufyanandhiscompanionswentto
HeracliusatIlya(Jerusalem).
Heraclius called them in the court and he had all the senior
Roman dignitaries around him. He called for his translator who,
translatingHeraclius'squestion,saidtothem:"Whoamongyouis
closely related to that man who claims to be a Prophet?" Abu
Sufyan replied: "I am the nearest relative to him (amongst the
group)."
Heracliussaid:"Bringhim(AbuSufyan)closetomeandmakehis
companionsstandbehindhim."AbuSufyanadded:"Heracliustold
his translator to tell my companions that he wanted to put some
questions to me regarding that man (The Prophet) and if I told a
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lie they (my companions) should contradict me. By Allah! Had I

notbeenafraidofmycompanionslabelingmealiar,Iwouldhave
not have spoken the truth about the Prophet." Abu Sufyan's
narrationcontinues:
"Thefirstquestionheaskedmeabouthimwas
Whatishisfamilystatusamongyou?"
"Ireplied:"Hebelongstoagoodnoblefamilyamongstus."
Heraclius further asked: "Has anybody among you ever
claimedthesame(tobeaProphet)beforehim?"
Ireplied:"No."
Hesaid:"Wasanybodyamongsthisancestorsaking?"
Ireplied:"No."
Heracliusasked:"Dothenoblesorthepoorfollowhim?"
Ireplied:"Itisthepoorwhofollowhim."
He said: "Are his followers increasing or decreasing (day by
day)?"
Ireplied:"Theyareincreasing."
He then asked: "Does anybody amongst those who embrace
his religion become displeased and renounce the religion
afterwards?"
Ireplied:"No."
Heraclius said: "Have you ever accused him of telling lies
beforehisclaim(tobeaProphet)?"
Ireplied:"No."
Hereacliussaid:"Doeshebreakhispromises?"
I replied: "No. We are at truce with him but we do not know
whathewilldoinit."Icouldnotfindopportunitytosayanything
againsthimexceptthat.
Heracliusasked:"Haveyoueverhadawarwithhim?"
Ireplied:"Yes."
Thenhesaid:"Whatwastheoutcomeofthebattles?"
Ireplied:"Sometimeshewasvictoriousandsometimeswe."
Heracliussaid:"Whatdoesheorderyoutodo?"
Isaid:"HetellsustoworshipAllahandAllahaloneandnotto
worshipanythingalong with Him, and to renounce all that our
ancestorshadsaid.Heordersustopray,tospeakthetruth,to
bechasteandtokeepgoodrelationswithourkithandkin."
Heraclius asked the translator to convey to me the following: "I
askedyouabouthisfamilyandyourreplywasthathebelongedto
averynoblefamily.In fact, all the Messengers come from noble
familiesamongtheirrespectivepeoples.Iquestionedyouwhether
anybodyelseamongyouclaimedsuchathingyourreplywasin
the negative. If the answer had been in the affirmative, I would
have thought that this man was following the previous man's
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statement.ThenIaskedyouwhetheranyoneofhisancestorswas
a king. Your reply was in the negative, and if it had been in the
affirmative, I would have thought that this man wanted to take
backhisancestralkingdom.Ifurtheraskedwhetherhewasever
accusedoftellingliesbeforehesaidwhathesaidandyourreply
was in the negative. So I wondered how a person who does not
tellalieaboutotherscouldevertellalieaboutAllah.Ithenasked
youwhethertherichpeoplefollowedhimorthepoor.Youreplied
that it was the poor who followed him. And, in fact, all the
Messengers have been followed by this very class of people.
Then I asked you whether his followers were increasing or
decreasing. You replied that they were increasing, and, in fact,
this is the way of true faith, till it is complete in all respects. I
further asked you whether there was anybody, who, after
embracing his religion, became displeased and discarded his
religion.Youreplywasinthenegative,and,infactthisis(thesign
of) true faith, when its delight enters the hearts and mixes with
themcompletely.Iaskedyouwhetherhehadeverbetrayed.You
repliedinthenegative,andlikewisetheMessengersneverbetray.
ThenIaskedyouwhatheorderedyoutodo.Yourepliedthathe
orderedyoutoworshipAllah and Allah alone and not to worship
anything along with Him, and forbade you to worship idols, and
orderedyoutopray,tospeakthetruth and to be chaste. If what
you have said is true, he will very soon occupy this place
underneathmyfeetandIknewit(fromthescriptures)thathewas
goingtoappearbutIdidnotknowthathewouldbefromyou,and
ifIcouldreachhimdefinitely,Iwouldgoimmediatelytomeethim
andifIwerewithhim,Iwouldcertainlywashhisfeet."
Heraclius then asked for the letter addressed by Allah's
MessengerwhichhadbeendeliveredbyDihyatotheGovernorof
Busra,whoforwardedittoHeracliustoread.Thecontentsofthe
letter were as follows: "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the
Merciful. (This letter is) from Muhammad, the slave of Allah and
HisMessengertoHeracliustherulerofByzantine.Peacebeupon
himwhofollowstherightpath.Furthermore,IinviteyoutoIslam,
andifyoubecomeaMuslimyouwillbesafe,andAllahwilldouble
your reward, and if you reject this invitation of Islam, you will be
committingasinbymisguidingyoursubjects.
And I recite to you Allah's Statement: Say (O Muhammad): 'O
PeopleoftheScripture(Jews&Christians):Cometoaword
that is just between us and you, that we worship none but
Allah, and that we associate no partners with Him and that
noneofusshalltakeothersaslordsbesidesAllah.'Then,if
they turn away, say: 'Bear witness that we are Muslims.' "
(AaleImraan3:64)
AbuSufyanthenadded:WhenHeracliushadfinishedhisspeech
andhadreadtheletter,therewasagreathueandcryintheRoyal
Court. So we turned out of the court. I told my companions that
the question of IbnAbiKabsha (the Prophet Muhammad) had
become so prominent that even the King of Bani AlAsfar
(Byzantine)wasafraidofhim.ThenIstartedtobecomesurethat
he (the Prophet) would be the conqueror in the near future till I
embracedIslam(Allahguidedmetoit).
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The sub narrator added that Ibn AnNatur was the Governor of
Ilya(Jerusalem)and Heraclius was the head of the Christians of
Sham. Ibn AnNatur narrated that once while Heraclius was
visiting Ilya (Jerusalem), he got up in the morning with a sad
mood. Some of his priests asked him why he is in that mood.
Hreacliuswasaforetellerandanastrologer.Hereplied:"Atnight
when I looked at the stars, I saw that the leader of those who
practicecircumcisionhadappeared(becometheconqueror).Who
aretheywhopracticecircumcision?"Thepeoplereplied:"Except
the Jews, nobody practices circumcision, so you should not be
afraidofthem(Jews).JustIssueorderstokilleveryJewpresent
inthecountry.'
While they were discussing it, a messenger sent by the king of
Ghassan to convey the news of Allah's Messenger to Heraclius
was brought in. Having heard the news, he (Heraclius) ordered
thepeopletogoandseewhetherthemessengerofGhassanwas
circumcised. The people, after seeing him, told Heraclius that he
wascircumcised.HeracliusthenaskedhimabouttheArabs.The
messengerreplied:"Arabsalsopracticecircumcision."
After hearing that Heraclius remarked that sovereignty of the
Arabshadappeared.Heracliusthenwrotealettertohisfriendin
Rome who was as good as Heraclius in knowledge. Heraclius
then left for Homs (a town in Syria) and stayed there till he
receivedthereplyofhisletterfromhisfriend,whoagreedwithhim
in his opinion about the emergence of the Prophet and the fact
thathewasaProphet.Onthat,Heracliusinvitedalltheheadsof
the Byzantines to assemble in his palace at Homs. When they
assembled,heorderedthatallthedoorsofhispalacebeclosed.
Then he came out and said: "O Byzantines! If success is your
desire and if you seek right guidance and want your empire to
remain,thengiveapledgeofallegiancetothisProphet(embrace
Islam)."
(on hearing the views of Heraclius) the people ran towards the
gates of the palace like onagers but found the doors closed.
HeracliusrealizedtheirhatredtowardsIslamandwhenhelostthe
hope of their embracing Islam, he ordered that they should be
broughtbackinaudience.
(Whentheyreturned)hesaid:"Whatwasalreadysaidwasjustto
testthestrengthofyourconvictionandIhaveseenit."Thepeople
prostratedbeforehimandbecamepleasedwithhim,andthiswas
the end of Heraclius's story (in connection with his faith). (Sahih
AlBukhari)
TOP
16.STORYOFABDULMALIKLEBLANC
(THEBIBLELEDMETOISLAM)
(TakenfromInternationalEditionVoiceofIslam
November1998,Page25)
DuringmyChristiandaysthereweremanyversesintheBiblethatmade
me question the religion I was following (Christianity). There was one
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particular verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 which says "pray without

ceasing," that lingered heavily in my mind. I often wondered how a
person (Christian) was supposed to pray (be in a state of worship)
withoutceasing?Withoutanybiblicalordivineguidance,theonlywayI
thought this to be possible was to always do good deeds and keep the
remembranceofGodonmytongueandinmyheart.
However,Ifoundthistobeimpossibletodoasahumanbeing.Butwhen
I was introduced to Islam in 1987, and began to read and learn more
aboutthiswayoflife,IfoundthatIslamprovideddivineguidanceboth
from God (Allah) and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) by which a person
couldpray(beinastateofworship)withoutceasing,ifitwastheWillof
God.
Whether waking up, eating, sleeping, putting on clothes, being in the
presenceofawoman,lookingatawoman,goingshopping,goingtothe
bathroom,lookinginthemirror, traveling, visiting the sick, sitting in a
nonreligious meeting, taking a bath, having sexual intercourse with
ones wife, yawning, cutting you nails, sneezing, greeting people,
talking, hosting guests at home, walking, exercising, fighting, entering
oneshouse,prayingandmanyotheracts,Islamandtheguidancetherein
of the Quran, and the acts and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (SAW),
provided ways in which I could observe 1 Thessalonians 5:17. In
addition,itallowedmetobeatpeacewithmyselfandinsubmissionto
theoneTrueGodAllah(SWT).
This divine guidance of Islam taught me greatly about my duties,
responsibilitiesandbirthrighttomyCreator(Allah),andmoreaboutthe
religionofChristianityasaMuslim,I[BytheWillofAllah(SWT)]felt
itnecessarytosharewithyouhowtheBibleledmetoIslam.
Christianity
GiventhefactthattherehasneverbeeninthehistoryoftheTorah(Old
Testament) the religion of God to be named after a Prophet (i.e.
Adaminity,Abrahamity,Mosanity,etc.),IhopetoexplainthatJesusdid
notpreachthereligionofChristianity,butareligionthatgivesallPraise
andWorshiptoTheOneGod.
OneofthequestionsIaskedmyselfasItookanobjective(second)look
atChristianitywaswheredidthewordChristianitycomefromandwas
the word ever mentioned to Jesus? Well, I did not find the word
Christianity in the Bible, not even in a Bible dictionary. Specifically, I
didnotfindintheBiblewhereJesuscalledhimselfaChristian.
ThewordChristianwasfirstmentionedbyapagantodescribethosewho
followedJesus.ItismentionedoneofthreetimesintheNewTestament
by a pagan and Jew in Antioch about 43 AD, (Acts 11:26, Acts 26:38
and1Peter4:16)longafterJesusleftthisearth.Toacceptthewordsof
pagansashavinganyvalueorassociationwithdivinity,JesusorGodis
contrarytotheteachingsofallProphets.
Jesusprophesiedthatpeoplewouldworshiphimuselesslyandbelievein
doctrinesmadebymen(Matthew15:9).
"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men." This verse, Matthew 15:9, is further
supportedbythesewordsoftheQuran:
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"And (remember) when Allah will say (on the Day of

Resurrection):"OJesus,sonofMary!Didyousayuntomen:
"WorshipmeandmymotherastwogodsbesidesAllah?"He
willsay:"GlorybetoYou!ItwasnotformetosaywhatIhad
no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, You would surely
haveknownit.YouknowwhatisinmyinnerselfthoughIdo
not know what is in Yours, truly, You, only You, are the All
Knowerofallthatishiddenandunseen.(116)NeverdidIsay
to them aught except what You (Allah) did command me to
say: Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. And I was a
witnessoverthemwhileIdweltamongstthem,butwhenYou
took me up, You were a Witness to all things (AlMaidah
5:116117)
(This is a great admonition and warning to the Christians of the whole
world).
I found that Biblical verses like John 5:30, John 12:49, John 14:28,
Isaiah 42:8 and Acts 2:22 support the above mentioned verses of the
Quran.
Before leaving the subject of Christianity, I should mention one small
point of observation. If Christians are Christlike, why are they not
greeting each other with the words Peace be with you (Salamu
Alaikum),asJesusdidinLuke24:36.Asyoumaybeaware,thegreeting
fromoneMuslimtoanotherMuslimisAssalamuAlaikumaChristlike
saying.
VariousHolyBibles
It is worth mentioning that the Bible references cited might not be
exactly as the Bible you are using. There are MANY Bibles on the
marketthatareusedbydifferentChristiansectsandallofthesesectssay
that their book, though different, is the word of God. Such Bibles are:
The Revised Standard Version 1952 & 1971, New American Standard
Bible, The Holy Bible New International Version, the Living Bible,
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures used by Jehovah
Witnesses, Roman Catholic Version and the King James Version. A
special note: I have not found in any of these Bibles where the "New
Testament"callsitselfthe"NewTestament,"andnowheredoesthe"Old
Testament" call itself the "Old? Testament." Also, the word "Bible" is
unknownwithinthepagesoftheBible.
In addition to the many different Christian sects and Bibles, I have
learned that there are also different men, not Prophets, who founded
thesesectsandareusingvariousinterpretationsoftheBibleand/orman
madedoctrinesastheircreed.
Iwouldliketosharewithyousomethoughtsthatyoumaynothaveread
orknownabouttheBiblebeingthewordofGod.Briefly,letmemention
that on September 8, 1957, the Jehovahs witnesses in their "Awake"
magazine carried this startling headline 50,000 Errors in the Bible. If
youaskaJehovahswitnessaboutthisheadline,itmaybesaidthattoday
most of those errors have been eliminated. How many have been
eliminated,5,000?Evenif50remain,wouldoneattributethoseerrorsto
God?
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Let me pose another question: if a "Holy" book contained conflicting

verseswouldyoustillconsiderittobeHoly?Mostlikelyyouwillsayof
course not. Let me share with you some conflicting verses both in the
OldandNewTestaments:
IISamuel8:4(vs) IISamuel8:910 IIKings8:26
IISamuel6:23
Genesis6:3
John5:37
John5:31
IChronicles18:4 IChronicles18:910
IIChronicles22:2 IISamuel21:8
Genesis9:29
John14:9
John8:14
OnlytwocontradictionsoftheNewTestamenthavebeenmentioned,but
others will be referenced when the Trinity, Divinity of Jesus Christ,
DivineSonshipofJesus,OriginalSinandAtonementarereviewed.
How could the "inspired words" of God get the genealogy of Jesus
incorrect (See Matthew 1:616 where it states 26 forefathers up to
ProphetDavid,andLuke3:2331says41innumber).Orforthatmatter,
giveagenealogytoJesuswhohadNOfather?SeeIIKings19:137,now
readIsaiah37:138.Whyisitthatthewordsoftheseverseareidentical?
Yettheyhavebeenattributedtotwodifferentauthors,oneunknownand
theotherisIsaiah,whoarecenturiesapartandyet,theChristianshave
claimedthesebookstobeinspiredbyGod.
IlookedupthewordEasterin the Nelson Bible dictionary and learned
thattheword"Easter"(asmentionedinActs12:4)isamistranslationof
"pascha," the ordinary Greek word for "Passover." As, you know
Passoverisa Jewishcelebrationnot a Christian holiday. I think human
hands,alltohuman,hadplayedhavocwiththeBible.
Fromthebriefpointsmentionedabove,andthefactthatBiblicalscholars
themselveshaverecognizedthehumannatureandhumancompositionof
the Bible (Curt Kuhl, The Old Testament: Its Origin and Composition,
PP 47, 51, 52), there should exist in the Christians mind some
acceptancetothefactthatmaybeeverywordoftheBibleisnotGods
word.
As a side note to this subject, let me mention that some Christians
believethatthe Bible wasdictated to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) by a
Christianmonk,andthatiswhysomeofthebiblicalaccountsareinthe
Quran. After some research, I found that this could not have happened
becausetherewerenoArabicBibleinexistenceinthe6thcenturyofthe
Christian era when Muhammad (SAW) lived and preached. Therefore,
no Arab, not even Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who was absolutely
unletteredandunlearned,wouldhavehadtheopportunitytoexaminethe
writtentextoftheBibleinhisownlanguage.
TheGospels
IfyoureadLuke1:23,youwilllearn,asIdid,thatLuke(whowasnot
oneofthe12disciplesandnevermetJesus)saidthathehimselfwasnot
an eyewitness, and the knowledge he gathered was from eyewitnesses,
andnotaswordsinspiredbyGod.Incidentally,whydoesevery"Gospel"
begin with the introduction According to. Why "according to?" the
reason for this is because not a single one of the gospels carries its
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originalauthorsautograph! Even the internal evidence of Matthew 9:9

provesthatMatthewwasnottheauthorofthefirstGospelwhichbears
hisname:
"And as Jesus passed forth thence, He (Jesus) saw a man, named
Matthew,sittingatthereceiptofcustom:andHe(Jesus)saithuntoHim
(Matthew), follow me (Jesus). And he (Matthew) arose, and followed
Him(Jesus)."
Withoutanystretchoftheimagination,onecanseethattheHesandthe
Hims of the above narration do not refer to Jesus or Matthew as its
author, but a third person writing what he saw or heard a hearsay
accountandnotwordsinspiredbyGod.
Itisworth noting,andwell known throughout the religious world, that
thechoiceofthepresentfour"gospels"oftheNewTestament(Matthew,
Mark,LukeandJohn)wereimposedintheCouncilofNicea325CEfor
politicalpurposesundertheauspicesofthepaganEmperorConstantine,
andnotbyJesus.Constantinesmindhadnotbeenenlightenedeitherby
study or by inspiration. He was a pagan, a tyrant and criminal who
murderedhisson,hiswifeandthousandsofinnocentindividualsbecause
ofhislustforpoliticalpower.Constantineratifiedotherdecisionsinthe
NiceneCreed such as the decision to call Christ "the Son of God, only
begottenofthefather."
Literally, hundreds of gospels and religious writings were hidden from
thepeople.SomeofthosewritingswerewrittenbyJesusdisciples,and
many of them were eyewitness accounts of Jesus actions. The Nicea
CouncildecidedtodestroyallgospelswritteninHebrew,whichresulted
in the burning of nearly three hundred accounts. If these writings were
not more authentic than the four present gospels, they were of equal
authenticity. Some of them are still available such as the Gospel of
BarnabasandtheShepherdofHermaswhichagreewiththeQuran.The
GospelofBarnabas,untilnow,istheonlyeyewitnessaccountofthelife
and mission of Jesus. Even today, the whole of the Protestant word,
Jehovahs Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists and other sects and
denominations condemn the Roman Catholic version of the Bible
because it contains seven "extra" books. The Protestant have bravely
expunged seven whole books from their word of God. A few of the
outcastsaretheBooksofJudith,Tobnias,BaruchandEsther.
Concerning Jesus teachings of the Gospel (Injeel), the Gospel writers
frequently mentioned Jesus preaching the Gospel: Matthew 9:35, Mark
8:35,andLuke20:1.Theword"gospel"isrecurrentlyusedintheBible.
However, in the New Testament Greek edition the word Evangeline is
usedinplaceofthewordgospel,whichistranslatedtomeangoodnews.
Myquestionwas:whatGospeldidJesuspreach?Ofthe27booksofthe
New Testament, only a small fraction can be accepted as the words of
Jesus,andonlyofthe27booksareknowntobeattributedastheGospel
ofJesus.Theremaining23weresupposedlywrittenbyPaul.Muslimsdo
believethatJesuswasgivenGods"GoodNews."However,theydonot
recognizedthepresentfourGospelsastheutterancesofJesus.
TheearliestGospelisthatofMarkswhichwaswrittenabout6075AD.
Mark was the son of Barnabass sister. Matthew was a tax collector, a
minorofficialwhodidnottravelaroundwithJesus.LukesGospelwas
writtenmuchlater,andinfact,drawnfromthesamesourcesasMarks
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and Matthews. Luke was Pauls physician, and like Paul, never met
Jesus.Bytheway,didyouknowthatthenamesMarksandLukewere
not included in the 12 appointed disciples of Jesus as mentioned in
Matthew10:24?
Nowthenamesofthetwelveapostlesarethesethefirst,Simon,whois
called Peter, and Andrew his brother James the son of Zebedee, and
John his brother Philip, and Bartholomew Thomas, and Matthew the
publicanJamesthesonofAlphaeus,andLebbaeus,whosesurnamewas
ThaddaeusSimontheCanaanite,andJudasIscariot,whoalsobetrayed
him.
Johns Gospel isfrom adifferent source, and was written in about 100
AD.He(John)shouldnotbeconfusedwithJohn,thedisciple,whowas
beheaded by Agrippa I in the year 44 CE long before this gospel was
written.Itshouldbeaccepted as a reliable account of the life of Jesus,
andwhetheritshouldbeincludedinthescriptures.
Christians,asIoncedid,boastabouttheGospelsaccordingtoMatthew,
accordingtoMark,accordingtoLukeandaccordingtoJohn.However,
if we think about it, there is not a single Gospel according to Jesus
himself.AccordingtotheprefaceoftheKJV(KingJamesVersion)new
open Bible study edition, the word "Gospel" was added (see below) to
theoriginaltitles,"AccordingtoJohn,accordingtoMatthew,according
toLukeandaccordingtoMark."
Thepermissiontocall"Accordingto"writingstheGospelwasnotgiven
by Jesus nor by any other divine guidance. These writings Matthew,
Luke,MarkandJohn,wereneveroriginallytobetheGospel.Therefore,
Mark 1:1 can not be a true statement that his writing is the gospel of
Jesus.
ItshouldbementionedthatMuslimsmustbelieveinallDivinescriptures
intheiroriginalform,theirProphetsandmakingnodistinctionbetween
them:TheSuhuf(Abraham) Torah (Moses) Psalms (David) Gospel
ortheInjeel(Jesus)andtheQuran(Muhammad).Itisclearlystatedin
theQuran3:3thatAllahsentdowntheTorahandtheGospel.However,
none of these scriptures remains in its original form now, except the
Quran,whichwassentforallmankindeverywhereandforalltimes.
In addition to other reasons why the Quran was sent to mankind, as
mentioned in 18:45 it was sent to warn the Christians of a terrible
punishmentfromGodiftheyceasenotinsaying:"Allahhasbegottena
son."
Muslims sincerely believe that everything Jesus (May the peace and
blessing of Allah be upon him) preached was from God the Gospel
(Injeel): The "good news" and the guidance of God for the Children of
Israel.ThereisnoplacementionedinthepresentfourGospelsthatJesus
wrote a single word of his Gospel, nor is it mentioned that Jesus
instructedanyonetodoso.Whatpassesoff,asthe"Gospels"todayare
the works of third party human hands. The Quran (AlBaqarah 2:79)
says:"Andwoetothosewhowritethebookwiththeirownhandsand
theysay:"ThisisfromAllah(God)".Totrafficwithitforamiserable
price!Sowoetothemforwhattheirhandsdowrite,andwoetothem
forwhattheyearnthereby!"
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JesusAstheSonofGod
Is Jesus the Son of God? Matthew 3:17 could be used by some
ChristianstosupportthedivineSonshipofJesus.IfMatthew3:17,"And
Loavoiceforheaven,saying,thisismybelovedsoninwhomIamwell
pleased,"isusedtosupportdivineSonship,thenthereshouldbenoother
versethatcontradictsorgivesequaldivineSonshiptoanotherpersonor
persons in the Old or New Testament. However, many references were
found in the Old and New Testaments that mentioned someone other
thanJesusashavingadivineSonshiptoGod.SeeExodus4:22:
"Israelismyson,evenmyfirstborn."IISamuel7:14andIChronicles
22:10: "...and he shall be my son (Solomon)." Jeremiah 31:9: "...and
Ephraimismyfirstborn."Also,Psalm2:7.
The word "Son" must not be accepted literally because God addresses
manyofhischosenservantsassonandsons.TheJewshavealsoclaimed
Ezra to be the Son of God. The New Testament Greek words used for
"son"(piasandpaida,whichmeanservantorsoninthesenseofservant)
aretranslatedassoninreferencetoJesusandasservantinreferenceto
othersinsometranslationsoftheBible.
Further,theterm"Father"asusedbyJesuscorrespondsmorecloselyto
the term Rabb, i.e. One who nourishes and sustains, so that in Jesus
doctrine, God is "Father" Nourisher and Sustainer of all men. The
NewTestamentalsointerprets"sonofGod"tobemystical:"Forasmany
asareledbytheSpiritofGod,theyarethesonsofGod."(Romans8:14).
ThismysticalsuggestionisfurthersupportedwithJesusbeingcalledthe
onlybegottenSonofGod.
InPsalm2:7,theLordsaidtoDavid:
"...Thouartmyson:thisdayhaveIbegottenthee."
DoesthismeanthatGodhadtwo sons? Jesus also said that God is not
onlyhisFatherbutalsoyourFather(Matthew5:45,48).Luke3:38says:
"...Seth,whichwasthesonofAdam,whichwastheSonofGod."
Who is mentioned in Hebrews 7:3 as like unto the Son of God? It is
Melchisedec, King of Salem, as mentioned in Hebrews 7:1. He
(Melchisedec) is more unique than Jesus or Adam. Why is he not
preferredtobetheSonofGod?Moreover,Adamdidnothaveamother
or father, but was the first human being created by God and in the
likeness of God to exist in the Garden of Eden and on earth. Wouldnt
this give more rights to Adam to be called the Son of God in its truest
meaning?
I would like to share with you an obvious contradiction between John
3:16,Luke10:2528andMatthew19:1617.John3:16reads:
"ForGodsolovedtheworld,thathegavehisonlybegotten,Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlastinglife."
NowletsreadLuke10:2528:
And,behold,acertainlawyerstoodup,andtemptedhim,saying,
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Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him,

whatiswritteninthelaw?HowreadestThou?Andheanswering
said,ThoushaltlovetheLordthyGodwithallthyheart,andwith
allthysoul,andwithallthystrength,andwithallthymindandthy
neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered
right:thisdo,andThoushaltlive.
Theseversestellusthattheinheritanceofeternallifeisforanyonewho
believesandworshipsnootherGod,buttheOneTrueGod.Luke10:25
28agreeswithMatthew19:1617whichsays
"And behold, one came and said to him (Jesus), Good teacher,
what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life? So he
(Jesus)saidtohim,Whydoyoucallmegood?Nooneisgood
butOnethatis,God.Butifyouwanttoenterintoeternallife,keep
thecommandments."
ThereisnocommandmentthatsaystoworshipJesus,buttherethattells
ustoworshipGodalone.
InLuke4:41,JesusrefusedtobecalledtheSonofGodbydemons.Do
you think that Jesus would rebuke the demons, or anyone else for that
matter, for telling the truth? Unquestionably, no! Jesus rebuked the
demonsbecausetheyweresayingsomethingfalsebycallinghimtheSon
ofGod.Also,ifthedemonsknewthatJesuswastheChrist,forJesusto
shut them up because they called him the Christ is a contradiction to
Jesusmission.
InLuke9:20&21,Jesussaiduntohisdisciples:
"ButwhosayyethatIam?Peteransweredsaying,"TheChristof
God,andJesusstraightlychargedthemandcommandedthemto
tellnomanthatthing."
Furthermore,verseslikeJohn3:2,John6:14,John7:40,Matthew21:11,
Luke 7:16 and 24:19 confirm that Jesus accepted the title of teacher,
ProphetandcalledhimselfthesonofmaninMatthew8:20,12:40,17:9
& 12, 26:24, Luke 9:26, 22:48, 22:69, and 24:7. The most conclusive
verse that says Jesus is the son (servant) of man is Mark 14:26 where
Jesus is mentioning the Day of Reckoning. Jesus specifically said we
wouldseethesonofman,nottheSonofGod,sittingintherighthandof
power,andcominginthecloudsofheaven.
The act of begetting is a physical act and such act is against Gods
nature.TheQuran19:35says:
"It is not befitting to (the majesty of) Allah that He should
begeta son. Glory beto Him! When He determines a matter
Heonlysaystoit"Be,"anditis."(Maryam19:35)
TheteachingsofJesusastheSonofGodwerenotpreachedbyJesusnor
acceptedbyJesus,butweretaughtbyPaulassupportedinActs9:20:
"AndstraightwayhepreachedChristinthesynagogues,thatheis
theSonofGod."
DidJesuseverclaimtobeGodorsay,"HereamI,yourGod,worship
me"?Theanswerisno.Forthereisnosingle,unequivocalstatementin
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theBiblewherebyJesushimselfdeclares,"IamGod,thereforeworship
me."Virtuallyallofthemorethantwothousandversesoftheepistlesof
PaularehisownfabricationstoincludeRomans9:5thatsays,depending
uponwhichBibleyouread:
"...Christcame,whoisoverall,theeternallyblessedGod."
ChristiansshouldknowthatPaul himself mentions his own gospel, not
Jesus,inhisepistletotheRomanswhenhesaysinRomans2:16:
"In the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus
Christ,accordingtomygospel."
In face, the Pauline epistle to the Romans serves as the foundation of
todays Christianity. Thus, it is the Christians whose efforts will be
wastedinthislifeastheythinktheywereacquiringgoodbytheirworks
whentheyattributepartnerstoGod,asstatedinChapter18:103106of
theQuran:
Say:"Shallwetellyouofthosewholosemostinrespectof
theirdeeds?(103)Those whose efforts have been wasted in
thislife,whiletheythoughtthattheywereacquiringgoodby
their works?" (104) They are those who deny the Signs of
their Lord and the fact of their having to meet Him (in the
Hereafter):vainwillbetheirworks,norshallWe,ontheDay
ofJudgment,givethemanyweight(105)Thatistheirreward,
Hell,becausetheyrejectedFaith,andtookMySignsandMy
Messengersbywayofjest(AlKahf18:103106)
Indeed,itissostrangeandironic,knowingthatnoneofPaulsepistleto
theRomans,morethan430verses,wereeverformulatedbyJesus.Paul
should have made direct reference to the pristine teachings of Jesus, if
only the former claim for apostleship by divine inspiration was indeed
true. Instead, large parts of his epistles Biblical quotations (notably
thoseintheEpistletotheRomans)weretakenfromtheOldTestament
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, Psalms,
Proverbs,Isaiah,EzekielandHosea.Hisepistleswere,indeedaproduct
oftediousefforts,butthatdoesnotmakePaulfarbetterthananyofthe
othermenwhoauthoredtheBible,nordoesitmakehimaProphet.
OtherpracticesthatwereadoptedunderPaulincludedthefollowing:the
RomansundayastheChristian Sabbath the traditional birthday of the
SungodasthebirthdayofJesustheemblemofthesungod(thecrossof
light) to be the emblem of Christians and, the incorporation of all the
ceremonies which were performed at the Sungods birthday
celebrations.
As I come to a close concerning the position of Christ, I would like to
ask my Christian reader bow down and pray earnestly to God and ask
Him to invoke His curse on you, your wife, your sons, and your
daughtersifwhatyoubelieveaboutChrist(ChristisGod,SonofGodor
part of a trinity of God) are false. Likewise, I have learned that if you
askedaMuslimtoearnestlypraytoGodtoinvokeHiscurseonhim,his
wife, his sons, and his daughters if what he is saying about Christ
(Prophet,MessengerofGod,AWordfromGod)arefalse,theMuslims
arefirmintheirfaithknowingthatChristisnotGod,northeSonofGod
andnorpartofatrinityofGod.ThisexerciseofaskingGodtoinvoke
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His curse on you and your family may sound a bit cruel, but it would
provetwopoints:
(1)Youwouldknowthatyouareonthewrongpathand,
(2)Itwouldputyouontherightpath.
TheCrucifixionandAtonement
A very significant event in the Christian doctrine is the Crucifixion of
Jesus. Before talking about the many controversies surrounding the
Crucifixion,itshouldbementionedthatitwasagospelofPaulswhich
professedtheCrucifixion/ResurrectionofJesus(IITimothy2:8):
"Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised
fromthedeadaccordingtomygospel."
Inaddition,the gospel ofthe resurrection in Mark 16:920 was already
removed from the text by gospel writers in the 1952 edition of the
Revised Standard Version and then, for some reasons, restored in the
1971edition.InmanyBibles,ifnotremoved,itisprintedinsmallprint
or between two brackets and with commentary (See the Revised
StandardVersion, New American Bibleand New World Translation of
theHolyScriptures).
The traditional biblical account of Jesus Crucifixion is that he was
arrested and crucified by the orders and plans of the chief priest and
Jewish elders. This account was denied in the 1960s by the highest
CatholicChristianauthority,thePope.Heissuedastatementinwhichhe
saidtheJewshadnothingtodowithJesusCrucifixion.
Did any one of the disciples or the writers of the Gospel see the
CrucifixionortheResurrection?No!InMark14:50,itsaysthedisciples
forsookJesusandfled. Even Peter forsook Jesus after the cock crowed
threetimesasJesusforetold:
(Matthew 26:75) And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said
untohim,Beforethecockcrow,thoushaltdenymethrice.Andhewent
out,andweptbitterly.
The most likely persons whom may have witnessed this moment in
JesuslifewereMaryMagdalene,MarythemotherofJamesandJoses,
themotherofZebedeeschildrenandotherwomen(Matthew27:5556).
However, there is no statement or account in the Gospels from those
womenastowhattheysaworheard.
Thedisciple(s)foundthesepulcher where Jesus was laid down, empty,
and made the conclusion that he was resurrected because the disciples
andotherwitnessessawhimaliveaftertheallegedCrucifixion.Nobody
sawthemomenthewasresurrected.Jesushimselfstatedthathedidnot
die on the cross in Luke 24:3641, as explained in the following
paragraphs.
Early Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene went to the sepulcher, which
wasempty.Shesawsomebodystandingwholookedlikeagardener.She
recognizedhimafteraconversationtobeJesusandwantedtotouchhim.
Jesussaid(John20:17):
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"TouchmenotforIamnotyetascendedtomyFather..."
NowreadLuke24:3641:
"And as they (disciples) thus spoke, Jesus himself stood in the
midstofthemand saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they
wereterrifiedandfrightened,andsupposedthattheyhadseena
spirit.Andhesaiduntothem,Whyareyoutroubled?Andwhyso
thoughtsariseinyourhearts?Beholdmyhandsandmyfeet,that
it is I myself: handle me and see for a spirit hath not flesh and
bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he
showedthemhishandsandhisfeet.Andwhiletheyyetbelieved
not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any
meat? And they gave him a piece of boiled fish and of a
honeycomb.Andhetookit,anddideatbeforethem."
Does a spiritual or dead body have a need to eat food? Jesus eating of
foodwastoprovetothedisciplesthathewasnotaspirit,butrather,he
wasstillaliveandnotdead.
Jesusbeingaliveandnotdeadisfurthersupportedinhisownprophecy
(Matthew12:40):
"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whales
belly so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in
theheartoftheearth."
DidJesusfulfillthismiracle?Christianswouldsay"yes,"becauseJesus
died and rose three days later according to Luke 24:36 and Matthew
20:19,tonameafewverses.However,inlinewiththemiracleofJonah
andaccordingtotheBible, Jesus only spent one day and two nights in
thesepulcher,andnotthreedaysandthreenightsasheprophesied.
JesuswasputinthesepulcherjustbeforesunsetonFriday(GoodFriday)
andwasfoundmissingbeforesunriseonSunday(Easter).Ifwewereto
stretchthetimeframeabit,onemaysaythatJesusspentthreedays
in the earth, but there is no way and I repeat, no way, that Jesus spent
threenightsintheearth.WemustnotforgetthattheGospelsareexplicit
in telling us that it was "before sunrise" on Sunday morning that Mary
MagdalenewenttothetombofJesusandfounditempty.
Consequently, there are some inconsistencies as to whether Jesus
fulfilledhisownprophecy.Whetherhewasactuallycrucified,orifthe
day (Good Friday) of his alleged Crucifixion is wrong. Another
significant point to mention is that Jonah was alive in the belly of the
whale.TheChristianssays,Jesuswasdeadinthebellyoftheearth/tomb,
andthiscontradictsJesusownprophecy.Jesussaid(Luke11:30):
"AsJonahwas...soshalltheSonofmanbe."
IfJonahwasalive,sowasJesus.
OnecriticaleventthattookplacebeforetheallegedCrucifixionwasthe
prayerofJesustoGodforhelp.Luke22:42:
"SayingFatherifthoubewilling,removethiscup(ofdeath)from
me:neverthelessnotmywill,butthinebedone."
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JesusprayernottodieonthecrosswasacceptedbyGodaccordingto
Luke 22:43 and Hebrews 5:7. Therefore, if all of Jesus prayer were
acceptedby God,including notto die on the cross, how could he have
diedonthecross?
InMatthew27:46,itstatesthatwhileJesuswasonthecross,hesaid:
"Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani (My God, my God, why hast thou
forsakenme?).
IfJesussaidthesewords,it represents a blatant declaration of disbelief
according to all theological authorities. This is a great insult as such
words could only come from an unbeliever in God. Further, it is
incrediblethatsuchwordsshouldcomefromaProphetofGod,because
God never breaks His promise and His Prophets never complained
against His promise, especially when the Prophets mission is
understood.Itcouldbesaidthatwhoeverrelatesthatthisstatementwas
saidbyaProphet(Jesus),isadisbeliever.
Muslimsbelieve,astheQuranstates,Jesuswasnotcrucified.Itwasthe
intentionofhisenemiestoputhimtodeathonthecross,butAllahsaved
himfromtheirplot.Quran4:157:
"Thatthey(Jews)saidboasting,"WekilledChristJesus,the
son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah, but they (Jews) killed
himnot,norcrucifiedhim..."(AnNisa4:157)
Excerpted,
with
some
http://www.missionislam.com/
modifications,
from:
TOP
17.MARIANORICARDOCALLE
(ArgentineanMarianoDiscoversIslam)
An Argentinean young man finds Islam through learning Arabic
songs'lyrics.
My name is Mariano Ricardo Calle. I am from Buenos Aires,
Argentina, not from the capital but the province. Before I
embraced Islam, I was a Catholic Apostolic Roman. I was
baptized,enteredcommunionandconfirmation.
Since my childhood, I was connected with religion through my
mom and my grandmother (her mom). I read the Bible since
sevenyearsold.IbeganreadingtheBibleforkidsinSpanish.My
heroeswereDavid,NuhandJob.
WhenIwaseleven,Iprayedeverynight.Sometimes,Icriedwhile
speakingtoGod.Inmyadolescence,Ifellintodrugsuntilacrisis
attwentyoneyearsofage.Ihavealwaysbeensearchingforthe
truth.
AttwentyfouryearsIbegantopraymore,soIwasprayingtwenty
fourtimesaday,oneforOurFather,TwoAveMaria,OneCredo
and One Glory under the water in the shower bowing on my
knees under cold water (that was because there was no warm
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water). This I did for a whole year. But that didn't help me too
much,butGodknowsbetter.
In the beginning of last year, I was studying the Mayan codices,
the Atlantis, the pyramid of Kufu, and at the same time I was
studying the Arabic language just to know what the lyrics of the
Arabicsongsmeant.
IbegantostudytheArabiclanguageonmyown,withthehelpof
abookfrom the internet. In two weeks I could speak something,
sowhenImadea test in college the teacher elevated me to the
second level. I saved four months alhamdulillah, then I got into
universitybutIjusttooktwoclasses.However,Istayedincontact
withmyteacher,throughemails.
Inthebookfair,mymomtooktwolittlebooksforfreeaboutIslam.
Ireadthem,andthesubjectsofsciencementionedintheQuran,
seemedveryinterestingtome.And,IreadaboutMuhammadand
Ifeltthatpersonwasamodelforme.
So,one day I left smoking and drinking. I never was a drunkard,
butIleftcompletelywhateverwasrelatedtoalcohol.Thatwasmy
owndecision,andIneverthoughtofbeingaMuslimuntilthedayI
saidmyShahadah.
IthoughtofbuyingaQurantoreadsomethinginArabicandthat
way,learnfaster.MyteachertoldmethatIcouldgetoneforfree,
inthemosqueofPalermo(BuenosAires).
On the same day, I went to the mosque, just to ask for a Quran
and I wondered how such a great place could be so empty. I
understood that Argentina is not an Islamic country but that this
mosquewasthegreatestinLatinAmerica.
That day in the mosque a man, who would later become my
brotherinIslamIbrahim,gavemealinktotheQuranthatIcould
download from the internet, I later printed it. It was just an hour,
andIhadtheQuran.
IwasreadingthisQuranthatIdownloadedfromtheinternet,andI
printedsomepages.TheQuranIgotwasinArabicandSpanish,
thatwayIcouldreaditinArabicdirectly.
Since my childhood I have read the whole Bible twice, and the
GitafromIndiaalsotwice,andnowIhadtheQurantoread,and
muchbetter,inArabic.MyfirstdesirewastolearnArabic,butmy
soul awakened when I began to read the Quran. Maybe it was
better because I began to read it in Arabic directly, while I was
consultingadictionary.
Alhamdulillah, I could realise that what the Quran says was the
parts that were missing in the Bible. And I remember well, I
understood as well when I read it that all that the Quran says
couldperfectlybethetruthIwaslookingfor.
No one spoke to me about Islam, just the searching of the truth
thatGodputinme,ledmethere.ThethankfulnesstoGodIhave
isverygreat.ThemoreIreadtheQuran,themoreIrealisedthe
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bookwasarevelationfromGodliketheBible.
Sincethen,IbegantogotothemosqueandintwoweeksIsaid
the Shahadah, on the 14th of July. Because, I was sure that
MuhammadwasamessengerofGod,likeJesusorMoses.
So,IbegantoreadeverythingIfoundaboutIslamandbeganto
studyArabicinthemosque.Ireadaboutaqeedah(creed),tawhid
(Oneness of Allah), and I finished the Quran but in Spanish,
becauseIwantedtoreadeverythingasfastasIcould.
Inthe two weeks before I said the Shahadah, I was going to the
mosque to learn, and I felt that the place was full of peace. I
prayed with the Muslims there while I wasnt a Muslim yet, but I
wantedtoknowhowitfeelstoprostrateinfrontofGod,becauseI
knewthatintentionwasimportantforGod.
So, in two weeks, I learned the whole salah (Prayer). I knew
specialpeoplethere,thepeoplethatworkthere.
I love the Arabic language and I ask God to help me learning it
faster.Isaid the Shahadah with sheikh Nasir from Saudi Arabia
hewasthereinplaceofsheikhHamid.
IcontinuedgoingtothemosqueandthencameRamadan,which
was a beautiful experience. I got to know beautiful people and I
think that 2007 was my best year. Since I said the Shahadah, I
haven'tmissedasalah.
What was difficult to me was to leave girls, because I had a
girlfriend,butIknewthatitwouldn'thaveworked.So,Ileftherand
askedGodtograntmeagoodwife.
Iremember that was the first thing I asked God for. And I got to
knowawoman, the same week I said the Shahadah! She never
hadanyboyfriend,andshewasbeautifultoo.So,IseewhatGod
cando.Ialwayshavebeenanobstinatebeliever,butnow,Ihave
nodoubts.
ItoldmymotherandfatherthatInowwasaMuslim.Mymother
was a little afraid, but I began to treat my parents better. My
brothersdidn'tsayanything,just,afewjokesbutIammoreofa
jokerthanthem,sothatwasnothing.
IgotajobandinmyfirstdayIaskedmybossforaplacetopray,
whichwasnotaproblemalhamdulillah.So,mylifechangedtothe
better, because I began to smile more, and try to act good with
everybody.
IcontinuedgoingtothemosquewheneverIcould,butsinceItook
collegeupagain,andgotabetterjob,Ihardlyfindtimetogo.But,
ItakesomebookstoreadlikeSahihMuslim.
Thereactionofmyfriendswasfunny.Alhamdulillah,Ialwayshad
very good friends, all types of friends because I always like to
learn from everybody. My best friends are Catholic, and practice
theirreligion.TheygotomasseverySundayandevenmoresince
IbecameMuslim.
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I answered all the questions that they asked. Until this day they
havealotofquestions,especiallymybestfriendandhiswife,she
is from Brazil, and they are Adventist. Also, my other friend who
hasstrongfaithheandhiswifeareCatholic.
IaskGodtohelpmebeaninstrumentofhisreligion,toguidemy
parents and friends but I must not be sad for them, it's fate.
Moreover,myyoungestbrother(Iamthebigbrother)isagnostic.
HethinksthatIamverybad.Iprayformyfamily.Mymomcooks
tomewithoutham.ButIhavetosaythatIopposesomethingsin
myfamily,butwhatcanIdo?
IloveGodthisloveisstrongerthantheloveformyfamily.Ilove
Prophet Muhammad, and I have to love him more than anybody
onthisearthtobeatruebeliever.AndIlovethisreligion,thisdin,
becausethebestIcandoistoadoreGod.
Actually,IgoteverythingIcouldeverdreamof:Igotthebestjob
that I could have, and I am studying again, and preparing my
marriagewiththatgirlthatGodbroughtintomylife.
Mariano Ricardo Calle works with Mostafa Mohye, Manager of
New Muslims Projects in Spain and Latin America, at conveying
IslamicMessageSocietyinEgypt
TOP
18.WILLIAM
(A"Typical"AmericanDiscoversIslam)
ThroughtheExampleofaFriend
Image
Asapolicesupervisor,Iwasconstantlyreceivingwarningsabout
perceivedIslamicthreats.
My name is William, and I live in a large Midwestern city in the
United States. I am a typical American in many ways that are
reflected in both my professional and personal lives.
Professionally,Iamasupervisorwithamajorpolicedepartment,
and I have been in the military, both active duty and in the
reserves for the majority of my adult life. Personally, I live in the
suburbs with my wife and child, drive a pickup truck and
occasionally wear cowboy boots. I pay my bills, treat my
neighbors well, and prior to my reversion/conversion to Islam, I
followedmyreligioninthemannerinwhichIhadbeeninstructed.
As I said, my life was that of a typical American, with my main
concerns being the little details of everyday life that everyone
worriesabout.LittledidIknowthatmyreligiousbeliefswouldtake
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meoutofthetypicallifethatIlead,andthattheywouldinstead
become a major factor in my life, providing me with a sense of
peace and completion that only a short time before I would not
havethoughtpossible.
I am still a rednecklooking, pickup truckdriving, typical
American.
My journey to Islam began with my association, and later
friendship,withamannamedNasir.ImetNasirthroughworkin
the late 1980s, and was impressed with his manners and the
waythathetreatedme.IhadmetveryfewMuslims,andIwas
always a little uneasy around them as I was not sure how they
would accept me. Besides having the appearance of a pickup
drivingshotguntotingredneck, I was also a Jew, and the
combination often seemed to unsettle people. Nasir, however,
took everything in stride, and as a result a friendship slowly
bloomed.Through Nasir, I really formed my first impressions of
Islamanditsadherents.
Over the years I watched how Nasir dealt with different
situations, and was constantly impressed with the wisdom and
patience that he displayed when he was dealing with difficult
peopleorsituations.Healwaystookthehighroad,evenattimes
when I, if I had been in the same situation, would have been
temptedtotreatthepersonsdifferently.IfIaskedhimwhyhedid
certainthings,hewouldtellmeabitofwisdomwhichguidedhis
actions. Most of these, (I realized later), were direct or indirect
quotesfromtheQuran,whichhetoldmenotinaproselytizing
way, but in a gentle manner as if he were teaching a child the
properwaytoconductitselfintheworld.
Infact,priortoreadingtheQuran,Ioftenmarveledathowone
person could be so wise and knowledgeable! Little did I know
that those guiding principles were written down where I or
anyone else could read them. I realize now how blessed I am
thatIwasexposedtoIslamandMuslimsinsuchapositiveway.
Aroundthewinterof2000,Ibegantohaveaseriousinterestin
Islam.IreadtheQuran,butcouldnotseemtofullyunderstand
it. Despite this difficulty, I continued to have a nagging feeling
thatIshouldcontinue,andsoIstudiedotherbooksaboutIslam.
Ilearnedagreatdeal,butinanacademicandnotinaspiritual
way.AgainIattemptedtoreadandunderstandtheQuran,and
againIhaddifficulties.IfinallyresolvedtoaskNasirforhelp,and
thenthe911incidenthappened.
SuddenlyIhadahostofnewworries,andIputmyquestionson
hold. During this time period, I had a great deal of exposure to
Islam, however very little of it was put to me in a positive
manner. As a police supervisor, I was constantly receiving
warnings about perceived Islamic threats, and as an officer in
the reserves I was around people who perceived Islam as a
direct threat and Muslims as possible enemies. So, to my
shame, I continued to wait and kept my studies on the Islamic
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worldtothoseareasthatdirectlyinfluencedmyprofessionallife.
EverythingthatIhadeverbelievedwassuddenlyturnedupside
down,andIwasatalossforanexplanation.
Then,inthelatesummerof2004,thatnaggingfeelingthathad
persisted suddenly intensified, and I finally asked Nasir for
guidance.Hetoldmeaboutthetenetsofhisfaith,andaboutthe
nature of the Quran. More importantly, he told me how crucial
Islamwastohislife,andhowstronglyhebelievedinit,notonly
asthewordofGod,butasthewayinwhichmanwasmeantto
live. He and his brother Riyadh then providedmewithbooklets
about Islam that had answers to many of the questions that I
had.
Withthisknowledgeinhand,IagainapproachedtheQuran,and
suddenly found that it was not only readable, but that it made
sense! I can only think that either I was not mentally ready
before, or that I simply needed the extra input in order to
properly understand and process the information. Either way, I
readandrereadeverythingthatIhadbeenprovided,andthen
double checked the facts that had been presented to me. The
moreIread,themoreamazedIwas.
I found that the information that was in the Quran would have
beenimpossibleforMohammed(PBUH)tohaveknownhadhe
notbeenaprophet.Notonlywouldithavebeenimpossiblefora
man of his background and geographic location to have known
manyofthesethings,itwouldhavebeenimpossibleforanyone
of his timeperiod to have known them. I double checked the
dates of many of the modern discoveries that had been
addressedintheQuran,andwasastoundedatwhatIfound.
Not only did the Quran contain information that was centuries
aheadofitstime,butitdidsowithdetails,manyofwhichcould
nothavebeenknownuntilthiscentury.Ibecameconvincedthat
Mohammed (PBUH) was indeed a prophet that had been
inspired by Allah through his angel. Despite this, I still faced a
dilemma.AlthoughInowbelievedthatMohammed(PBUH)was
aprophet,Istillwasconfusedaboutwhattodo.EverythingthatI
hadeverbelievedwassuddenlyturnedupsidedown,andIwas
atalossforanexplanation.
That night I prayed for guidance and understanding. I only

believedinonegod,butIwantedtoknowthemannerinwhichI
shouldholdthatbelief.Theprayerwassimple,butheartfelt,and
IwenttosleepfullofhopethatIwouldreceiveanunderstanding
ofthesituation.WhenIawoke,IdidsowiththefeelingthatIhad
experiencedanepiphany.Everythingwassuddenlyclear,andI
understood how all the things that I had practiced before were
simply observances that had been contrived by man in an
attempt to follow religious principles that had changed over the
millennia. I did not receive any new information or beliefs, but
was instead capable of understanding that which I had already
learned.Ifeltexhilarated,happyandatpeace,andthatmorning
Isaidtheshahada.
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ItoldNasir,andhetookmetoanearbymosquefortheFriday
prayers. At the mosque I was lead to the front by Nasir, and I
told the assembled congregation about why I had come there.
Then Nasir and the Imam helped me repeat the profession of
faithinArabic.AlthoughIwasalittlenervous,thejoyIfeltupon
doing this far outweighed any other feelings that I had.
Afterwards,Iwaswelcomedbythemajorityofthemembersina
mannerthatwassowelcomingthatIcanhardlydescribeit.Most
ofthecongregationshookmyhandandwelcomedmetoIslam,
andmanyofthemofferedtohelpmeortoansweranyquestions
that I might have. It was a wonderful experience which I will
neverforget.
Inclosing,letmesaythatthefeelingofpeacethatcameoverme
isstillwith me, and although I am still very early in the learning
stages,IamhappyandconfidentthatImadetherightdecision.I
amstillarednecklooking,pickuptruckdriving,typicalAmerican.
Only now I am a Muslim American, and with the continued
guidanceandassistanceofpeoplelikeNasirandRiyadh,Ihope
to one day set as good an example for others and they have
beenforme.
TOP
19.KHALIL
(TheLightattheEndoftheTunnel)
BismallahiarRahmaniarRahiim.
AsSalaamuAlaikum.MynameisKhalil.IhaverevertedtoIslam,
Al Hamdulillah. I became a Muslim a short time before the 9/11
incidentinNewYork.Thisismystory:
IwasbornintoaChristianfamilyin1961.WhilegrowingupinSan
Diego,California USA, I was known to be a happygolucky type
ofkidbuthadahardlifeinmyrelationwithmysiblingsandwith
someoftheolderkidsintheneighborhoodwhereIgrewup.
Many things in life steered me into different directions, not
allowing me to always take the paths I wanted to take. Strong
influencesfromfamilyandotherskeptmydirectiontoapaththat
wassetbymyparents.
Sometimes,IfeltlikealoanerbutinsideIwasn't.Thereweregood
things and there were bad things in life. Mostly, I was a very
forgivingperson.AllthroughmychildhoodIwasverytrustingand
did not keep grudges or bad feelings toward others. My mother
alwayssaidIwassuchagoodkidandthatIneverdidbadthings
whenIwasyoung.
IwassenttoSundayschoolformyearlyyearsbymyparentsand
alsousedtotagalongwithneighborsandmybrotherandsisterto
churchfunctionstohavefun.
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NeverdidIfeelthattheclergyweregreatpeoplebecausetheway
thedeliveryofthesermonwasgivenwassostrong,thatitputfear
inpeoplebythetoneoftheman'svoiceandbythedeliveryofthe
speechinasortofyellingofthescripturetothemass.Thatwas
thewayIsawitinmyearlyyears.
Of course, the Sunday school thing being geared to fun type
activities for kids made things a bit more tolerable for me.
Especially reward by praise when you gave good answers and
good work in the childoriented learning tasks that were given.
PraisewasalwayssomethingIstarvedforasayouth.Ifelt,Iwas
notpraisedenoughforgoodthingsasachild.
Pleasebearwiththisnextparagraphasitleadsintoabigchange
inmylifethatcameafterwards.
Inmychildhood,mylegwassetonfirebymybrotherattheage
of 8 years old. My right leg was severely burned. He sprayed
lighterfluidinsidemyjeansthroughaholeinthekneeofmypants
during a childhood mock ceremonial fire dance we were
performingforfun.
It was me, my brother and the neighbor kid, Craig. We were
fantasizingasif we werenative Indians and we justmade up an
idea and were having fun with a little flame on the toe of our
shoes.
Suddenly when I was really into it, my brother had a fit of anger
andsoppedmylegwithsomelighterfluid.Theflameswentupthe
legofmypantsanddowntheholeinmyjeansandspreadinside
asitfloweddowntheskinofmyleg.
Well,Ineverfeltsomuchpainbeforeorafterthisincident.Ihad
aboutayearoftherapytoheal.Scrubbingthescartissuefrommy
woundsdailyandgoingthroughinfectionafterinfection.Wow,the
pains of the fire were bad but imagine scrubbing it daily up to
twice a day to get the scar tissue off and to clean it to prevent
infection.
Itwasahardtimeforme,butitledintoagoodchangeinmylife.
Bothmyparentsusedtowork,soIstayedwithmygrandparents
formostofthetimeasbothparentsworkedandIhadtogotothe
hospitalnearlyeveryday.
Ievenknewallthewordsanddoctorsonafirstnamebasis.Even
some of the patients who came in regularly like me. It was as if
theyallbecameclosefriends.
During my stay with my grandparents, I started to become more
religiousasmygrandmotherwasveryreligiousherself.Iwentto
church more often and I felt closer to God and I wanted to be
closetoHim.
I had previously stayed away from church for some years. Later
on,IevenacceptedtheCatholicfaith,feelingitwassomethingto
bringmeclosertoGod,Ithought.Nevertheless,Istartedtolearn
more about religion. I was interested and I always felt there is a
higher power that governs us and that helps us in our times of
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need.
After some time while healing, my leg was getting better and I
stayed home again full time, still visiting my grandparents for
many of the weekends. In religion, I strayed away little by little
untilIdidnotattendanymore.
NooneinfluencedmeathomeandInowlivedbackathomeand
had new interests. I became distracted with other things in life.
Still I never felt like I ever forgot about God but I did pray more
whentherewerethingsIneededprotectionfrom,successwith,or
justsimplyforthingsIdesiredorfeltIneeded.
During my younger years while growing up I was sometimes
following my own goals but mostly I learned to follow others to
gainacceptance.
WhenIgotintomyearlyteensIcametoapointofrebellion.Itook
hold of my life in my own hands. I thought about and I said to
myselfthatIwasgoingtodothethingsIwantandnotwhatothers
wantedmetodoforthem.
Thisstartedwithplayingasport,icehockey,whichIhadsecretly
gotmyself involved in using my own money that I earned from a
newspaperdeliveryjobItook.
This idea of playing sports did not go over too well at first, but
soon my family became involved in watching my games and I
finallyhadsomethingtobeproudofthatIdidformyself.
IstartedtodoothersportsandIbrokeoutofmyshellandfeltfree
for the first time in life. I took on surfing and found that it was a
greatsport,butthatwasnotsoagreeabletomyfather.Hereally
opposedsurfingbutIstillsurfedasmuchaspossible.Iwashappy
beingwithfriendsandgoingtofunctionsanddoingthingsothers
weredoingforfunandpleasure.
Istoppedplayingicehockeyat18yearsoldduetoanunrelated
accidentinwheremyleftanklewasseverelyinjured.Iwaskicked
outofmyhomeafewtimesbymyfatheratdifferenttimes.Iwas
rebelliousforatimeandIamsurehewasfrustrated.
IstartedtosurfasmuchasIcouldfromtheageof17.Ibecame
veryfluidinthesport.SometimeafterthatIdidhangaroundabad
crowd of people and I started to drink alcohol and hang around
placesIreallydidnotneedtobe.
Iended up with the wrong crowd for a while. That led into some
minor drug abuse and some fist fights as well as other mischief.
Lifewasnotasgood as I thought it was at the time but I was in
denialaboutitatthetimeandwasthinkingIamhavingthetimeof
mylife.HowwrongIwasinmyassessmentsatthattime.
I saw how things were going and I got away from all that
negativity.Itookupkarateseriouslyanddidverywell.Itwasgood
for me and it taught me a lot of things about my body,
responsibilityandtorespectothers.Istraightenedupandgotout
ofmyrut,stillnotleavingsurfingasitwasagreatpassionofmine
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andwasagreatwaytostayinshapeandagile.
I was getting older now and families in the USA typically let the
kidsmoveoutorgetkickedoutaround18orso.Iwas20andnot
as productive as my father wished so he gave me some
ultimatums.
I wanted to go to college but they said they could not afford it.
ThenifIwaslivingathomeandtheparentsmadeaboveacertain
amount of money, you had to pay for tuition at the community
college.
Withnowayout,IdecidedIneededtogetoutofthereinanyway
IcouldandIjoinedtheU.S.AirForcetogetaneducation.Nothing
really panned out there as my duties were more important to my
superiorsthanwasmyeducation.Iwasalwaysagoodperformer
inanyworkIdid.IhadmyownjetearlyinmycareerandIhada
lotofresponsibilities.
Iwas soon married for the first time and had my first son on the
way.Twoyearslater,mywifeatthattimewhilewerelocatedand
were living in Germany, was cheating on me with another man
whogotherpregnant.
We divorced soon after the second baby was born as that was
whenIfoundoutandIcouldnotbearthethoughtofbeingwithher
after that. I was now on my way to getting a divorce
SubhanAllah!
Allthismisguidanceandhardshipsledtoagoodthing,however
During the hard times that ensued after finding my wife cheated
onme,IstartedreadingtheBibletogainknowledgestraightfrom
thesource.BeingthatIwasraisedasaChristianthiswaswhatI
thoughttobethebestsourceforthisknowledgeIwantedtolearn
about.
For Christians, it seems that most of the knowledge is given by
sermonbythepastorinthechurchfortheirindividualmeaningsor
someadaptationofknowledgebehindwhattheyspokeof.
Anyways,IdidnotsetouttobeascholarbyreadingtheBiblebut
IwantedtolearnaboutGod'swordandHismessagetohumanity
andIwantedtotrytoapplyittomylifeandseekforgivenessand
acceptanceasIfeltmylifewasnotgoinganywherewithoutGod.I
also did not want to learn other interpretations so I just read the
BibleonmyownuntilIfinishedmostofit.
God answered my prayers in life, gave me protection and gave
me things that I asked for on many occasions when I was very
much inneed. Now,Iwanted to do right by God and to do what
wasmyduty:TopleaseGod.ToacceptGoddeeply.Torepentfor
mysinsandformywrongdoings.
I read in many of my off times and gained a lot of ideology and
knowledge from the Bible. Many things I read ended up that I
would try to apply to my lifestyle and I made a lot of abrupt
changesasIgainedknowledge.
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As time went on and as I read further, I was surprised and

confused as some verses seemed to contradict knowledge I
previouslyacquired.Iwasgettingconfusedevenmore.SowhenI
got into the New Testament, it was butchering up all the good
thingsIhadlearnedaboutintheOldTestament.
I became discouraged and did not read much more and lost my
vigorforreadingtheBible.IstillfeltstronglyaboutGodandabout
leadinganhonestlifeandtotrytodogoodthingsinGod'seyes.I
justdidnotunderstandtheNewTestament.
Manyyearsanddiscussionswithfolksandevenwithmyselfover
thenextyears came about, but I did not submit to any particular
denomination.Everyonetooksomethingbutnotnearlyenough.
Itwas if religion was something that was for sale and new faiths
hadchangedthingstomakeitmoreappealingtoits'customers.It
seems the church really became a business and used tactics to
make one feel guilty if you did not overextend yourself to give
loadsofmoneyfrequently.
Givingseemedtobepublicandyoumayfeelembarrassedifyou
only had a few dollars to give when others around you may be
givingasmallstackof5's,10'soreven20's.
Gosh,allthedressingupandtheboastingtowardshowmuchyou
canputintothemoneybaskets.Thatallreallymadeitseemlike
goingtochurchwasmadeforsocializingandtryingtoportrayan
imagepeoplewerereallynot.NotwhatIbelievedinthatitshould
beforpraisingGodandmakingrepentance.
Me, knowing some folks in how they will act all week long and
thenseemtobesorighteousonaSunday,Icouldn'tfigureitout
and then back to the same bad things all the next week till the
nextSundayandsoonHowcanthatbe?
IguessiftheBibleisnotreallyevenlearned,thatpeopleseemto
shop for the sect of faith that best fits their lifestyle and way of
thinking.Itistaughtthateventhemostheinouscrimescaneven
be forgiven on your last dying breath. I however wondered how
thatcanbe.
Some years later, I was working in the city school system and
whileworkingataparticularhighschoolIfoundsomeofthekids
seemeddifferentthantheotherkidsinsomerespectstowardtheir
behaviorsandhowtheycarriedthemselves.
Some even wore religious clothing styles to school. Many of the
girlsworeheadscarves(hijab).Thesightofthisbroughtmeback
tomychildhoodwhenIrememberedhowmanyChristianwomen
cametochurchwearingheadcoveringsandsuchbackinthe60's
and up to the early 70's. That trend seemed to shift away from
mainstreamsince.
Wow, I wondered who these people were, and what was behind
allthis?Iwasdeterminedtoseewhatthiswasallabout.Iasked
somequestionsthatwerenottoodirecttootherstaffandIfound
outitwasIslam.But,thecommentsIheardwerenotgoodones
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soIjustkeptmyindividualthoughtstomyselfanddecidedtofind
outmore.
AboutthistimeImetsomeoneonlineandtheysentmeaQuran
Translationinthemail.IwastoldtomakesureIkeepitcleanand
tonotputitdownlow,orunderthingsorontheground,totreatit
withrespectandtoguarditfrombeingsoiledorabused.
IreadithereandthereandIfoundthatthemoreIread,themore
it became interesting and I found that I would sit reading the
Quranforlongerdurationsoftime.Ialsofoundthatmyfrequency
toreaditwasalsoincreasing.
After about 8 months of reading the Quran, many talks with
individuals and a lot of soul searching, I went to a masjid
(mosque)thatwasintheareawhereIlived.Aftergoingin,Iwas
greeted by a brother who told me to come back another time as
the imam was gone and would return later that day or the next
day.
Justafterthatsomeonecameoutofanotherroomandsaidsome
wordsinaforeignlanguagetothisindividual.ItwasArabic.Iwas
thengreetedbyathirdindividualandaskedifIwouldliketocome
upstairsandtositandtalk.
IagreedandIwasthereforafewhoursandmademyShahadah
that Maghrib. Al Hamdulillah I took Shahadah. That was Friday
Oct.24,2000orthe28thofShaban1421A.H.Iwas39yearsold.
AllahuAkbar!
From there a lot of changes occurred in my life. September 11
happenedandmymarriageendedasafirmrequestfrommysoon
tobeexwifeatthattime.Shesaidshewasnotcomfortablewith
Islam and felt it was a shame to her family and did not wish to
associatewithmeasahusband.
IfeltsingledoutinworkandfoundopportunitiesIoncehadbefore
me were disappearing. I quit my job after some time as I felt
harassed.
FivejobslaterIfeelsecureandIamdoingwellAlHamdulillah. I
am better off and sometimes things that look bad for you are
actually good. Al Hamdulillah. Sometimes it is the other way
aroundaswell.
Lifegivesusopportunityanditisuptoustotakethemessages
andgowiththatandmakegoodoutofit.IdidandIfollowedmy
heart.WeallhaveagiftfromAllah(God)thatletsusknowwhatis
goodandwhatisbad.
Sometimes we listen, sometimes we do not listen. I know that
when I do not listen to those feelings and thoughts, I get myself
intotrouble.IknowthatwhenIlisten,ithasevensavedmylifeon
severaloccasionsinmylife.
Evenwhenyouhavenoonetoturnto,yourmindletsyouknow
thingsthatarenotobvious.Maybethisisamessagetoyoufrom
AllahthroughMalaika(Angels).AllahuAlim(Godknowsall).
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All I know is that I even felt this message when I became a

Muslim. Al Hamdulillah, I feel life guided me. My pursuit of
guidancebroughtmetoIslam.
Insha'Allah(Godwilling)individualswhoarereadingmystoryfeel
confirmation from it and that it may help them to know that they
toomadetherightdecisiontoreverttoIslamandalsothatothers
who read this who have not yet accepted Islam, that they are
makingtherightdecisiontobecomeMuslimstoo.
May Allah guide you to the right choice and to make you strong
and to never turn away from the truths that you will find in the
QuranandtheSunnah.Amen.
Thank you for reading my story. I hope this will show that no
matterwhereyoucomefrom,youcandogoodthings.Youcanbe
misguidedandcomebacktothebetter.
Listentoyourheartandyouwilldotherightthing.Deepdown,we
are all programmed to do good. If we loose that, the Shaitan
(Devil)hasus.
IhopetoseeyouinJannah(Heaven)whenwecanlookbackon
thislifeandseethatthepurposeherewastoworkfortheafterlife.
Nothingelseheremattersasyouwillultimatelyleaveallyouhave
behindexceptyourdeeds.
TOP
20.RAFAEL(SULEYMAN)CASTRO
(ItalianCatholicFindsMeaninginIslam)
I was raised in a nondevout Italian Catholic family. I was
baptized, attended Sunday school, and took first Communion. I
had a happy childhood the wonderful world of saints and
Trinitarian dogmas protected me from harm, so I believed, and
sparked my imagination. But this beautiful reality was shaken at
the age of 12 when my mother stopped bringing me to Sunday
Mass.SheletmeknowofficiallythatshedidntbelieveinSunday
servicesandthatIwasoldenoughtomakemyownchoicesabout
religion. Thus, I was free to go alone to church, as she had
discharged her duty as a Catholic mother to teach me
Catholicism.
These words left me hurt and disappointed not only with my
motherbutalsowithGod.HowcouldGodhavegivenmeafamily
thathadtaughtmereligionoutofasenseoftraditionratherthan
inspiredbysincerefaith?IstoppedgoingtochurchandIwasso
disappointedwithreligionthatbytheageof14Istartedtoforget
Him.
BythetimeIreachedhighschool,existentialquestionsbeganto
harassme.Afterall,whoisabletolivewithoutGodforlong?AsI
grewupandmaturedIrealizedthatlifeisonlyworthlivingifitis
more than the sum of its parts. I believe that God inspires this
realizationinmany.
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But where to look for God? I had a wonderful Indonesian friend

wholentmeacopyoftheQuran.However,inhighschoolIwas
too immature and too brainwashed by Hollywood movies to
appreciate its beauties. I only looked out for sentences that I
interpretedashostiletowardsnonMuslimsinordertosatisfyand
confirmmyprejudices.Iwasblind,biased,andfoolish.
At the age of 18, I went to college and became seriously
interestedinJudaism.Ilikeditbecauseitwastrulymonotheistic,
unliketheChristianity in which I had lost faith. I studied Judaism
for over seven years, and went as far as entering yeshiva.
Yeshivas are the rabbinical schools where students wear the
traditional black suit, black hat, and study long hours. I
appreciatedtherigorouslearningandbrilliantrabbinicalpolemics
yettodayIembraceIslam.Why?
To begin, I saw several Iranian movies that dispelled the
stereotypesIhadaboutMuslimcultureasbackwardsandviolent.
I realized that Muslim countries may not shine today in terms of
military powers or on economic rankings, but that Islam offers a
worldviewthatisfarmorerespectfulofhumandignityandhuman
selfsacrifice than any other (I highly recommend The Colors of
ParadisetoreaderswhoreallywishtounderstandwhatImean).
Secondly,IunderstoodthatJudaismteachescompassionforthe
Jewish people, whereas Islam sees in every human being a
person who deserves to be a Muslim regardless of ancestry or
brilliance in legalistic discussions. This is especially apparent in
thewarmthandhospitalitythatoneexperiencesinmostmosques,
whetheroneisMuslimornot.
Last and most importantly, the beauty and nobility of Surah Al
BaqaramovedmetobearwitnesstoIslam.Ithinkthatanyhonest
readerofthosepageswouldadmitthatonlyanangelcouldinspire
such a beautiful proclamation of Gods wisdom. And that those
who are too materialist to admit Gods existence should read
throughthehundredsofPropheticTraditionsandaskthemselves:
Howcouldnature/destiny/chanceconcentratesomuchwisdomin
onemanwithoutthegiftofprophecy?
Thanks to Islam my life has changed. Before Islam I used to
lethargicallysleepuntillatemorningateverypossibleopportunity.
Nowadays I wake up for morning prayers before six and live my
daysfarmoreproductively.IbelieveIslamhasrenewedmywillto
live, has given me selfrespect, and made me a more generous
person. These are three virtues that are hard to find elsewhere.
Islamisnotwithdrawalfrom the world, nor a worldly conquest in
thenameofGod.InmytwomonthsasaMuslim,Iambeginning
to understand that Islam is a reconquest of ones life by
surrenderingoneswilltoGodratherthantoworldlypursuits.And
thatistruefreedom.
It goes without saying that my conversion cost me some friends
and worried my family for some time. Nevertheless, my family
eventuallygrewmorecomfortablewithmydecision,andIamglad
tosaythatthenewfriendshipsthatImadeamongsttheMuslims
haveproveninvaluableduringthisperiodoftransition.Thisalong
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with the new outlook on life that Islam has given me have made
myreversiontoIslamarewardingexperience.
TOP
21.MICHAELDAVIDSHAPIRO
(FromJudaismtoIslam)
MichaelDavidShapirowentfromJudaismtoIslam.
I am ethnically a Russian Jew. My quest began when I was 19
years old. I was recovering from my stint with Scientology (yes I
wasbrainwashedintoit).
MybeliefinGodwasuncertain.Mygoalsinlifeweretobearock
star. I was living in my Pasadena apartment and working as a
secretary.Funny,Iknow.
One night I was walking to the kitchen, and encountered a dark
fellow. I remembered asking him: "Can I keep this vodka in the
fridge tonight?" We shook hands and went to sleep. After that
point,mylifechangeddrastically
This dark fellow, a Muslim, was the first Muslim I had ever met.
Extremely curious, I conversed with him about his faith. What's
this stuff I hear about praying 5 times a day? And about Holy
War?WhoisthisMohammedguy?
Our talks were accompanied by our Christian roommate, Wade.
Together,wecreated"TheJewish,Christian,andMuslimdialogue
sessions". In it, we discovered many differences, and many
commonalities.
My interest had then shifted from sex, drugs, and parties, to a
massive search for the truth. A search that I had to complete. A
searchforGod.Andasearchforhowtofollowhim.
In my quest for the truth, I asked myself: "Ok lets start simple,
how many God's do I think are out there?" I figured only one
knowingthatadividedGodisweakerthanOneGodfiguringthat
ifoneGoddidn'tagree with the other, there might be arguments
andfeuds.OneGodwasmychoice.
Once I opened up my mind to the possibility of the existence of
God, I analyzed both atheist and theist beliefs. The thing that
directed me to the latter was the quote "Every design has a
designer". With that in mind, eventually I woke up with certainty
thatGodexists.Ican'texplainwhy,Ijustfeltitsomehow.
This newfound excitement was accompanied by a sense of
responsibility to follow the Creator. The world of religion was my
nextfrontier.
Then I asked myself, "Where do I start?" There are literally
thousandsofthem.Ineedawaytonarrowthemdowntoajusta
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few. How do I accomplish such a task? "Find the ones that are
monotheistic" entered my mind. "Hey that makes sense, since I
believeinonlyOneGod."
Ok, then. This ruled out Buddhism and Hinduism, both being
polytheisticfaiths.ThemajorreligionsIencounteredthatfellunder
thetitleofMonotheistic,areJudaism,Christianity,andIslam.Well
sinceI'maJew,IstartedwithJudaism.OneGod,someprophets,
10 commandments, Torah, Jewish soulsuh, what: "Jewish
souls?"
While doing research this idea was brought to my attention. The story
goes,"ifapersonisbornJewish,thentheyhaveaJewishsoul,andthey
must follow Judaism." Hold on a secthat's discrimination, isn't it?
That'snotuniversal.
So God makes Jewish souls, and Christian souls, and Muslim
souls,andHindusouls?Ithoughtallmenarecreatedequal?So,
because one is born into a religion that means by the decree of
God he must remain in it even if the person believes it to be
false?HmmIdon'tagreewiththat.
Anotherthingreallybotheredmethereisnostrictconceptofhell
inJudaismthenwhybegood?Whynotsin?IfIdon'thavefear
ofstrictpunishment,thenwhyshouldIbemoral?
Movingon,IdiscoveredChristianity.Ok,oneGod,afather,ason,
andaholyghostonemoretime:oneGod,afather,ason,anda
holyghost.Uhhh,pleaseexplain.Howcanallthosethingsbeone
God?1+1+1=3right?Sohowcanyousayyoubelieveinonly
oneGod?
Explanationafterexplanation,equationafterequation,comparison
after comparison, analogy after analogy, I couldn't grasp this
concept.Oklet'skeeplookinghere.
Ok, next major doctrine: Jesus died for our sins and he did this
becauseweallare polluted with "Original Sin". So, Jesus Christ,
the"sonofGod",hadtobemurderedtosaveeveryonefromHell
andcureusofoursin"given"tousbyAdam.
Okthen,soareyousayingthatweareallbornassinners?Andto
sinistodosomethingwrong,right?Thenyou'retellingmethata
oneyear old baby is guilty of sin or doing something wrong? Ok
that'sstrange,sobasedontheactionsofoneman,allofmankind
must suffer? What's the moral of that story? Punish the whole
groupifonedeviates?WhywouldGodcreatesucharule?That's
justnotinagreementwithmylogic.
SoJesusdiedbecausehe"lovesmankind".Holdon,itsaysinthe
Bible that Jesus said "father, why have you forsaken me?" So,
apparently, Jesus didn't understand why he was being brutally
murdered. But you just said he "volunteered" to be sacrificed.
Anyway,Icouldn'tacceptthisbelief.Ok,what'sthenextreligion?
Islam. Islam means submission. The main beliefs are as follows:
OneGod,worshipGodfivetimesaday,give2.5%annualcharity,
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fast during Ramadan (to be closer to God and appreciate life

amongotherreasons)andfinallyjourneytoMeccaforHajjifyou
areablefinancially.Ok,nothinghardtounderstandsofar.
There'snothing that conflicts withmylogichere. TheQur'anisa
book with all of these interesting miracles and timeless wisdom.
Many scientific facts only discovered recently were proclaimed
1400yearsagointhisbook.
Ok, Islam had passed my initial religious prerequisites. But I
wanted to ask some deep questions about it. Is this religion
universal? Yes, anyone can understand these basic beliefsno
analogyorequationareneeded.Doesitagreewithscience?Yes,
dozens of verses in the Qur'an agree with modern science and
technology.
As I sifted through the countless logical facts that I read through
and researched, one thing took my attention the most. "Islam".
Thenameofthisreligion.Inoticeditiswrittenmanytimesinthis
Qur'an.
However, recalling my prior studies, I didn't remember once
seeing the word "Judaism" in the Old Testament or "Christianity"
intheNewTestament.ThiswasBIG.Whycouldn'tIfindthevery
name of the religions in those two books? Because, there is no
nameinthesebooks!ThinkingInoticedthat"Judaism"couldbe
broken down to "Juda ism" and "Christianity" could be
respectively"Christianity".
SowhoisJuda?OrJudah,rather.Hewasthetribeleaderofthe
Hebrews when God revealed his message to mankind. So this
religionwasnamedafteraperson.OkletslookatwhoChristis.
He was the person who delivered the message of God to the
Jews.Sothisreligionwasnamedafteraperson.
Soinrecollection,wecandeductthatthenamesofthesereligions
are people's proper names attached to "ism" and "ianity".
Regardlessofthatfact,theverynamesofthosereligionsarenot
mentionedintheirscriptures.Ithoughtthatwasveryodd.
IfIwentdoortodoorsellingaproduct,andIsaid"Wouldyoulike
to buy this _______"? Wouldn't the logical question be: "What is
this _____ called?" I would make no money off of a product
withoutaname.
Namingistheverybasiswhichhumansidentifywithobjects,both
physicalandnonphysical. If religion is supposed to be practiced
andspreadtoeverypersononearth,shouldn'ttherebeaNAME
forit?
Moreover,shouldn'tthenamebegiventousfromGodAlmighty?
YES, my point exactly. The names "Christianity" and "Judaism"
werenotwrittenintheHolyScriptures.Humansnamedthem,not
God. The notion that God would ordain a religion for mankind to
followwithoutanameisimpossibleformymindtoaccept.
Atthatpoint,bothChristianityandJudaismlosttheircredibilityas
pure,logical,andcompletereligions,atleastfrommyperspective.
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Islam is the ONLY of these religions to include the NAME of the

religioninitsscriptures.Thisissohugeforme.
I realized I would follow Islam at that point. I then became a
Muslim.Iknewthetruth.Iwasoutofthedarkness.Icameintothe
light
Excerptedfrom:http://www.islamonline.net/
TOP
22.DAVIDPRADARELLI
(FindingtheTruth)
I came to Islam pretty much on my own. I was born and raised
Roman Catholic, but I always had a deep fascination with the
spiritualitiesofothercultures.MyJourneystartedwhenIdesired
to have a relationship with my creator. I wanted to find my
spirituality,andnottheoneIwasbornwith.Ispentsometimein
theCatholicreligiousorderknownastheFranciscans.Ihadmany
friendsandIenjoyedprayertimes,butitjustseemedtorelaxedin
its faith, and there was, in my opinion, too much arrogance and
hypocrisy.
WhenIhadreturnedbackfromtheorderintosecularlivingagain,
IonceagainwassearchingformywaytoreachGod(Allah).One
night I was watching the news on television, and of course they
were continuing their onesided halftruth reports on Muslims
(alwaysinanegativelightinsteadofbalancingitbyshowingthe
positive side as well) with images of violence and terrorism. I
decidedlongagothatthenewsmediahasnomoralswhatsoever
and will trash anyone for that "juicy story", and I pretty much
refusedtobelieveanythingtheysaid.IdecidedtoresearchIslam
formyselfanddrawmyownconclusions.
WhatIfoundpaledallthenegativeimagesthatthesatanicmedia
spewed forth. I found a religion deep in love and spiritual truth,
and constant Godmindfulness. What may be fanaticism to one
personmaybedevotiontoanother.Ipickedupasmallpaperback
Qur'an and began devouring everything I could. It opened my
eyes to the wonder and mercy of ALLAH, and I found the
fascination growing every day...it was all I could think about. No
other religion including Catholicism impacted me in such a
powerfulway...IactuallyfoundmyselfinGodawareness24hours
aday7daysaweek...eachtimeIwenttomyfivedailyprayers,I
wentwithanticipation...finally!WhatIhavebeensearchingforall
ofmylife.
I finally got enough courage to go to a mosque and profess the
Shahadah before my Muslim brothers and sisters. I now am a
practicingMuslimandIthankALLAHforleadingmetothisplace:
Ashhahdu anna la ilaha ilallah wa Muhammadur rasul ALLAH!
Thismeans:"IbelieveintheonenessandtotalnessofALLAHand
thatMuhammad(peaceandblessingsbeuponhim)isthechosen
prophetofALLAH."
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InowalsoacceptJesusasnolongerequalwithALLAH,butsent
asMuhammadwassent...tobringallofmankindtosubmissionto
the will of ALLAH! May all of mankind find the light and truth of
ALLAH.
Excerptedfrom:http://www.islamonline.net/
TOP
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10/17/2015

my father had kept me in his house. When I passed by and

described to me. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and

Narrated by Ahmad in alMusnad (5/441). The scholars of

`Umar! We are beaten only because we have become Muslims.

biggest marketing blitz known to the computer industry. Part of

My name is Malik Mohammed Hassan and I have recently

this other classmate, James, was suggesting. So I got talking

available never really mattered. I couldn't find a proper job. My

correspondence with Muslims world wide in the hope that I may

high accomplishment. I started meditating and even became a

of my body weight. Facing my mortality and alone in my agony I

changed. I was amazed at the scientific knowledge in the

lie they (my companions) should contradict me. By Allah! Had I

particular verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 which says "pray without

"And (remember) when Allah will say (on the Day of

Let me pose another question: if a "Holy" book contained conflicting

originalauthorsautograph! Even the internal evidence of Matthew 9:9

Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him,

That night I prayed for guidance and understanding. I only

As time went on and as I read further, I was surprised and

All I know is that I even felt this message when I became a

But where to look for God? I had a wonderful Indonesian friend

fast during Ramadan (to be closer to God and appreciate life

Islam is the ONLY of these religions to include the NAME of the

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