A Converts Story

Posted by: Guests December 6, 2013in Convert Series, Featured, Inspiration and Spiritua ity, Is am10 Comments

By: Hina Khan The conversion ceremony was a very frigid one. I was looking for acce tance! they were looking for s"#mission. In a room f"ll of s"s icio"s women$ I was alone with a fear that n"m#ed my senses. The im%m ste ed into the foyer where I was seated as tho"gh it was a demonstration for "#lic viewing. At least that was how I felt. I was asked to re eat after the im%m. Taking the shahadah was heavy$ #"t when I recited La Ilaha Illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah that evening$ a strange eace covered my heart and none of the whis erings were a"di#le to me anymore. I don&t know if it was the silence of a cha ter closing$ or the tran'"ility of a #lessed decision$ #"t I had made a connection with a s" erior #eing and I was now "nder His care. I did not "nderstand the tr"e essence of Islam way #ack then. I co"ld not deci her the assion ("slims e)hi#ited for their religion and towards their *ro hets. I co"ld not relate to the claims that I was entering a + erfect, religion. I was converting #eca"se I was told that I needed to #ecome a ("slim in order to have a valid marriage with my h"s#and to-#e. B"t that day when I took the shahadah$ a new me was #orn$ and I made the decision to "nderstand my new life. It all starts with the cleansing of the heart: a fairly sim le rocess that re'"ires shedding of the ego and letting go of the years of ignorance so yo"&re like a clean canvas that can a#sor# the colors of Islam and ca t"re its #ea"ty. It takes some co"rage and time$ #"t it is doa#le. I wasn&t like the c"rio"s erson who was in search for the tr"th$ or a risoner who was looking for redem tion and finds himself in the comfort of Islam. I was "t in that sit"ation$ not against my will$ #"t #ereft of enth"siasm. B"t having taken the shahadah where I #ore witness that there is no God but Allh and that Muammad is his messenger instilled an immediate sense of res onsi#ility in me. I had no do"#t a#o"t the resence of All%h and so not softening my heart to learn more a#o"t His *ro het wo"ld #e ina ro riate and disres ectf"l of me. How co"ld I #e a ("slim and not know how to earn the #lessings of All%h in my life. That wo"ld #e very "nfort"nate. /hat wo"ld I tell my children if I didn&t know where to start. 0es ite #eing raised in a Hind" family$ I was never involved in rit"als. There were no idols in my home and we hardly ever went to tem les. (y arents wo"ld always tell "s that 1od is everywhere. I was raised with tolerance for every religion and most im ortantly$ res ect. However$ I was always attracted to ("slims and their "nited way of worshi ing. The conce t of rayer in congregation was not only #ea"tif"l #"t also so organi2ed that one cannot hel #"t #e drawn to the eace aro"nd it. The recitation of the 3"r&an #y a little child can con'"er any restless mind and aro"se an emotion so intense that the miracle that we know it to #e is not 4"st evident$ #"t ins iring. And so I decided I was going to learn and "nderstand what #eing a ("slim was all a#o"t. It is in the rocess of attaining knowledge that one develo s love and com assion. And it is this love and com assion that leads to steadfastness and acco"nta#ility in o"r ractice. It is a contin"o"s rocess that can never end. Seventeen years later$ I have a small message for new converts. Islam is a very sim le religion. If we have a #owl with #ig rocks in it$ we can o"r sand aro"nd it that fills the s aces aro"nd the rocks. The rocks are the fo"ndational rinci les in Islam$ and the sand is o"r lives. Also$ we m"st resist in condemning o"r non-("slim families and calling them kuffar. If we ed"cate o"rselves we will find that o"r non-("slim arents have the same rights as ("slim arents do. /e are to only diso#ey them in matters of religio"s conflicts. /e do not ass"me religio"s s" eriority " on o"r conversions$ #"t h"m#le o"rselves so we can attract them #y o"r love and actions. (y da"ghters often ask me what I gave " when I converted. I don&t have to think m"ch #eca"se I didn&t give " anything. I 4"st rero"ted my 4o"rney in this world "sing a more advanced o erating system that doesn&t get #othered #y small conflicts and doesn&t crash. It is designed to give me the desired res"lts if I choose to "se the recommended rogramming lang"age$ and in that rocess override any attem ts made #y malware to corr" t my networks as long as I am consistent and ersistent.