Salam

It was a righteous girl in college that led me to my Lord.

Women !!

A woman is a miraculous Creation of God.

Nothing else even comes close to this Divine Act of God.

Omrow

I was practising first, then the late teenage years came and things can sometimes change, you take your eye off the ball.

All of a sudden it can become me me me. I want this, I want that. All of a sudden you're the man. Getting constantly bombarded by the media's anti-Islam messages. Turn on the radio and there are atheists pushing their views.

All of a sudden I begin to wonder and think. I do have an open mind. But I thought this was something that wasn't negotiable. It was clear cut, right? RIGHT?

Hold on, we get older and maybe religion is just for the younger kids to keep them away from harm till we are adults. That must be it. No, yearning for some inner peace.

Result? Mature now, can see the world for what it is. Both sides of the coin. The good and the bad. Can see life for what it really is. Can see that Islam is the only true path. The righteous way.

Alhamdulillah, now I have the strongest Imaan I have ever had in my life. Proud to be a Muslim. Now it all makes sense. Praise be to Allah(swt), the Lord of the worlds! Blessed is he!

It took the loss of a loved one for me to see the light.

everyone who has been blessed with the light are likely to do so in diff ways, shape and form.

for many of us including me, indeed around the world, it was through the blessed suhba of Shaykh Ul Islam. Were it not for him, i would most likely still be lingering along in the dunya world, altho i wouldnt say i was a bad person, probs jus not a gud one either. alhamdulillah im a diff person since my several experiences and encounters with Shaykh Ul Islam

one thing is true, not everyone is blessed to see the truth, and some people never will be despite all our dawah efforts.

its a matter of naseeb, and for this we have to be thankful to our Beloved Prophet (SAW) and our creator Allah SWT

In the Name of Allah, The Most Compassionate, The Most Merciful

Alhamdulila it’s coming up to 3 Years where I began practising. In these 3 years I learnt a lot, failed and passed my trials insh’Allah. The mistakes I had made taught me valuable lessons also.
I’d call it a day and night difference if I compare myself now to three years ago, I’d call Islam my cure more than anything. It brought out the best in me, which I thought I could never achieve. With all praise and thanks due to God.

Here’s how it went…

At a young age I was kind of aware of my Deen, obviously through parents etc, and it was fear I had more than anything. The strange thing was I never thought about God, all I remembered was Qiyamah, that’s all that used to scare me.

Islam was perceived within my family more of just a ‘religion’ than a way of life, cultural values had the upper hand.
I came into adolescence, I did my basics, such as reading Qur’an, praying here and then, on and only on special nights.
The thought had never occurred to me, that The Qur’an was God’s words, and the desire for me to read it or understand what God commands us never had crossed my mind.
I’d think low esteem is a major cause of rebellion.
Something which I only now understand, to have been one of my main causes of my bad actions.

I started college and the attention of the opposite sex, fed that low esteem not in the way that it should have. Pleasing people doesn’t get you very far, people change.
I wasn’t trustable by friends, only smiled when I had to, and didn’t really have a favourable character. Fashion was one of my biggest interests, and also thought about pursuing in a career of modelling or dancing.

I can remember waking up every morning feeling lost, and I couldn’t work put why. I just didn’t feel motivated to do anything.
Parents were worried about me and I used to get into a lot of trouble at home, used to just sit in my bedroom listening to music, or some nonsense. I hardly interacted well with my family.
I knew every song in the charts, and would take any chance to listen to music. I don’t think I could blame my peers for playing a part in my influence, I’d say I was the worst out of all of us, whatever I wanted to do, I’d do it!
That year I left college as I never used to attend the classes, or do the assignments, so I took a gap year, and returned to college the following year. I was quite motivated that year to do well in my studies.
A week or so after I was already named Barbie Doll, due to being such a fashion victim.

I remember i used to think to myself, why do always make the wrong decisions, and keep doing things wrong, why can't there be something some sort of guide i can live by to help me in my everyday life?

I met some girls there, whom were quite religiously orientated. One particular one spoke about Islam quite a lot, and what caught my attention is her speaking about her relationship with God and her commitment with Islam.

It got me thinking.

I never used to notice women who wear the veil, or practise the Hijab / Jilbab.
A certain zeal grew within me to just talk about Islam.
I would sit up at night and cry feeling there’s something missing, felt dead and empty inside.
I started reading a few books and when I came across Hadiths about Allah or His Mercy, it would put me to tears. When my friend would speak about blessed dreams she used to have, I used think I’m just totally worthless.

A certain yearning for God began to grow, and closeness to Him.
I began to notice women in Niqaab, and they used to make me smile and I used to think they must be close to Allah and so happy.

I thought about God and His Attributes and became in awe of them.
I tried the Hijab on a couple of times, and finally gave myself a date where I would start my path, it was a Monday. I had mentioned it to a couple of friends, and they supported me and encouraged me.
Slowly I started cutting contact with all the males that I wasn’t allowed to speak to, and with all praise due to God, I didn’t think twice about how hard it would be, all I had in my mind was God.

The make up reduced to zilch and when I first wore my Hijab, those friends I didn’t mention it to, doubted that I would last, and said I would take it off.
There was no reaction from my family; they may have thought I was going through some phase. I started having beautiful dreams and was told that it meant God was calling me.
I wore my Jilbab the week after, and again people at college it was just a temporary phase. I didn’t think twice about the enjoyments (if that’s what you want to call it) I left behind, I found my purpose in life and my pure happiness – becoming close to God.

Music also came to zilch and now I can’t really put up with it! It makes my soul feel uneasy.
Some people I found a little hard to let go, but God made it easy soon after, and the sacrifice itself made me happier.
I started reading about The Prophet and his character and I just simply fell in love and found my role model.
I brought out the best within me, I would smile and be caring to anyone, and my character totally changed, some asked ‘what made you change so much and so quick?!’

I couldn’t really explain it, I felt i was in some sort of trance, only had my eyes and heart on Allah.

I found my peace and my happiness. I wouldn’t trade my religion for the world.. Insh’Allah.
My younger brothers and sisters call me the kindest sister in the world.. all these characteristics Islam brought out of me.
Those which didn’t know me when I wasn’t practising, I tell them how I changed and how I was and say they cant imagine me like that, I say I hardly used to smile, and they say ‘now you’re always smiling!’.

My parents now say, something just got into her and she totally changed.

I self esteem and confidence increased immensely, and can say the most important thing is never compromise your religion for anyone, put God before your actions and you will see the beauty in them.

Tests will come in various forms, but always stick to your guns!

I could have all the treasures in the world, but realise that if i dont have my deen i have nothing, but if i have nothing but have my deen, i have everything.

This is the best thing that ever and will happen to me, I'd call Islam a gift given to me.

My heart finally smiled.

~~~~~
"Verily in the Remembrance of Allah do hearts find peace"
~~~~~

mashallah mubarak.../on your 1st post too

JazakAllah

"umm_firdous" wrote:

JazakAllah

That was a lovely story sis

"Allahuakbar" wrote:

I was practising first, then the late teenage years came and things can sometimes change, you take your eye off the ball.

I kept going through phases as well, before i fully had the confidence to not let anything get in the way

At home and with family I felt comfortable praying, and talking about deen etc

At school and with friends at the time, it was another thing. The company I kept played a huge part.

It was only when I got to sixth form/college and left the company I used to keep I felt a change. But if I didn’t have those dark days or the friends i had I wouldn’t appreciate things the way I do now.

My story is a little different from everyone else's, cos I started out as a [b]proper[/b] kafir-scum. I wasn't religious in any way, in fact I was kinda against 'religion' as a concept, because it can make people do bad things, while thinking they are 'on a mission' or 'carrying out God's work' etc. Having said that, I wasn't ever Islamophobic at all, because at my school I was friends with Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews et al and so I realised that we're all [b]human[/b]; we have the same thoughts, feelings, desires etc.

Anyway, [b]my[/b] journey 'from Darkness to Light' started during year 13, I had been studying Philosophy A-Level and was very interested, especially, in Moral Philosophy. That is questions like 'what is meant by 'Good' and 'Evil'?' or 'what makes an action Right or Wrong?'.

Basically, after much contemplation/discussion (of which I won't go into detail) I started to feel that humans, on their own, had absolutely no way of explaining Morality. This is when I first started looking at different religions - not in search of 'becoming religious' myself, but just for more knowledge. I'd noticed that all my friends who were religious were more content, or happier, than my non-religious friends. They were also less likely to go out on the weekend (or week-nights for that matter) to get smashed, to do drugs or to 'link gal'.

When I started learning about Islam, what struck me was that it was so [b]reasonable[/b]. Everything made sense. Everything. There wasn't one bit that left me unsatisfied. It didn't have any weird superstitions (although there are some superstitious Muslims) or illogical practices. Science can answer many questions as to 'how' things happen, but Islam has the only satisfying answers as to 'why'. Slowly, but surely, I began to see the signs of God all around me; it was springtime so the World was coming back to life; the birds, the flowers, the smile on a new-born baby's face (all the usual crap).

One evening I was reading a book which was talking about superstitions being haram, e.g. 'don't open your umbrella indoors' or 'don't walk under ladders'. The [b]very [/b]next day, when I was on my way to work, there was a ladder in the street in front of me. I saw the situation as Allah (swt) asking "are you going to be superstitious, knowing what you know now?" So I walked under it, with my heart beating a little bit faster, because I'd done something (albeit something small) which was fisaBillah for about the first time in my life!

One of the things I liked the best was that there were no [b]intermediaries[/b] between us and Allah (swt). You didn't have to go to a preacher/religious-man to sort out your problems, you merely ask Allah (swt) directly. In fact its a sin to rely on someone other than Allah (swt). This is amazing for me, because you [b]can't[/b] have blind faith, unlike in almost all other religions. You can't follow someone without asking questions (although I've come across many Muslims who do this), because it is [b]you[/b] who is responsible for your actions on the Day of Judgement.

Anyway, I tried giving up weed (easy), alcohol (easier), pork (easiest) and non-halal food (not so easy cos I was getting sick of fish and was still living with my parents). I even tried fasting Ramadan (didn't manage more than a couple of days). But I still hadn't gone about converting or anything. What would my family say? How would my friends react to me? What if Muslims treat me as an outsider? I felt very lonely, because it was difficult to explain all these feelings to anyone and, even if I did, what advice could someone give me that would help? The one who was asking these questions was [b]Shaitan[/b], and he had me wrapped around his little finger for months. From about May 2005 til the end of that year, I was stuck on the fence - not exactly being a kafir-scum any more, but certainly not being Muslim yet either.

Finally, two years ago (almost to the day!) something finally clicked inside me. I can't quite remember the situation, it was something minor and dunya-related, but I walked to my house through the rain, even though it would have been quicker to take the bus. My resolve had changed: I'm not going to waste any more of my life; I could die at any minute; the only thing to fear is the fear itself (I've watched a lot of bad Hollywood movies).

I got home and took a bath in which I scrubbed my skin raw. Then I took my book on 'How to Pray' from the shelf on which it had been resting patiently, and wiped off the thin layer of dust that had settled. I stood with the book on the table, constantly peering at it and trying to pronounce the Arabic words using the transliteration. After I had finished (almost an hour later), I felt much better. Lighter. It was as if I'd loosened the buckle on my belt and now I could breath more easily. During the week I managed to find a place to pray at work and slowly started to learn al-Fatihah off-by-heart.

On the Saturday I attended the Islamic Circle at Regents Park Mosque, which I had been told is a good starting point for new Muslims. After the talk (which had been excellent although I can't remember anything about it), the chairman of the talk spoke to me, and introduced me to a couple of brothers who were sitting by the side drinking tea. This was a very wise move on his point. This was my introduction to the group of friends who have become a very big part of my life. They (we) meet every 2 weeks to read Quran together and to discuss a different aspect of being Muslim (brotherhood, charity, how to prepare for Ramadan etc). But as a group, we are [b]much[/b] more than that. We try to meet up during the week and we support each other through absolutely everything. There are about 40 of us all together and I love every single one of them like they are my own blood. I have travelled to Egypt, Syria, Spain and to Umrah with different members of them, and I have lived with a number of them on different occasions. We originate from all over the world; from Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Belgium, Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Columbia, Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt, Djibuti, Syria, Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and many other places I can't remember. We truly are a (dysfunctional) family and they have taught my what the words 'wali' and 'friend' really mean.

Allah (swt) has made everything easy for me so when, a few months after I had converted, my dad became ill and died of cancer, I didn't go through the same suffering that I think i would have done before I had become a Muslim. I think that I would have found it much more difficult to cope with, but Alhamdullilah I was able to try to be strong for my mum and my sister. I know that everything happens for a reason, that this life is merely a test and that we should seek reward in the Hereafter in everything we do. I make du'aa that Allah (swt) guide me and guide us all to the strait path, and admits us all into Jannah so we can have silly conversations there too. [b]Ameen![/b]

Great story bro

Subhanallah usually i dont read long posts but that one was worth it!
Erm i dont want upset you but you wrote ameem instead of ameen

Yeah I saw the typo at the end as well.... but so what lol, nice post brother Yaqub!

But, kafir SCUM? Lol.

Yaqub ever thought of writing a book lol?

A lovely story Ya'qub,

Mine's very simple , through the barakah of my Shaykh, Shaykh -ul-Islam did I only then came to practise my faith.

mashallah, one of them accounts that make you feel lucky we were born muslim....god forbid if we were never to see the truth :shock:

and again, highlights why i vote him....dude brings a lot to the forum mashallah

"Ya'qub" wrote:

The [b]very [/b]next day, when I was on my way to work, there was a ladder in the street in front of me. I saw the situation as Allah (swt) asking "are you going to be superstitious, knowing what you know now?" So I walked under it, with my heart beating a little bit faster, because I'd done something (albeit something small) which was fisaBillah for about the first time in my life!

I avoid walking under such things and consider it commonsense not to. Not out of superstition, but because you never know what someone will drop!

(yes, I have trust issues.)

well Allah (swt) knows your intention, so I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

But the umbrella things is just silly.

I sometimes make a point of doing it at work just to see people's reaction. Everyone (and I mean everyone) always screams and shouts and tells me to STOP! One guy is a VERY strong Christian and I asked him why he believed in good luck/bad luck and he just shrugged - but didn't go back on his assessment that I would more than likely be struck down with lightening because I'd opened the umbrella indoors...

The other one was Christmas decorations. Can anyone actually BELIEVE that they will have a [b]whole year[/b] of bad luck for leaving them up for a few days after the 7th of January??

Most Pakistani mosques I go to have Christmas lights up all year and they seem fine!

Doesnt the pakistani word kismaat mean luck?

"Irfan.khan" wrote:

Doesnt the pakistani word kismaat mean luck?

Like when they say "it was written for you , this was going to happen" they say it was in your kismat,

ooh so it means destiny?

"Irfan.khan" wrote:

ooh so it means destiny?

you could say that .

Okay so who did you vote for?

now that would be telling,

naaa I voted for noor, but if i could vote again I properly vote for u, simply for being so annoying!

Lol thanks!

"Irfan.khan" wrote:

Lol thanks!

Its orite my dear,

who did you vote for ?

Well think about it i am a bit full of myself so who do you think?

"Irfan.khan" wrote:

Well think about it i am a bit full of myself so who do you think?

It must have been "You"