Do You Really Think In Two Years She's Going to Still Be Muslim? Yah Right!

On May 27, 2011 I took my shahada. I remember overhearing someone who was skeptical about my faith say something on that day that really broke my heart.

This person said, "I guarantee you in two years she will completely forget about Islam and go back to her old life. You know how these converts are."

Well, today is May 27, 2013, and look at me.

I am far from a perfect Muslim.  I make so many mistakes.  But, I will never forget Islam.

Two years ago today, I was blessed that Allah (swt) chose me to say:

لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله

There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.

And this was the best day of my life.

Today is better to me than my birthday, because on my birthday I didn't do anything except be born.

On this anniversary, this marks another year of dedication to my religion and my God.

So, I will be happy to send you my P.O. Box to forward gifts to ;)

Sincerely, in the past two years I have tried to be a better person and a better Muslim every day - although on many days I'm a failure that is lucky only by the grace of God. This day really was an immense blessing.  The best one that Allah (swt) has ever bestowed on me.

Today, two years after I took my shahada, I pray that everyone in the world is able to taste these words on their lips before they die. I can only wish you experience one millionth of the appreciation I have for my religion. It really is such an honor to be Muslim.

To the person who doubted me:

It's the 2 year Muslim mark, what have you done in the past two years?

I can only speak for what Allah (swt) has decreed that I do for His sake, and I am not trying to brag, but I've helped three people to come to Islam. I've helped change the hearts of hundreds of people to see how beautiful our religion is.  I started this blog on Islam.  I have spent hours studying.  I have fasted two Ramadans.  I have recently started to do dawah on a weekly basis. I have taught classes at the masjid.  I have answered countless ridiculous questions about my religion with patience and tact.  I have chosen to wear hijab.  I've memorized several surahs.  And, I have forgiven you for this hurtful comment.

I'm not saying I'm a better Muslim than you because I swear I don't think I'm God's gift to Islam, but I would like you to know:

Every day that passes I only love Allah (swt) more than all the previous days combined.  

From the bottom of my heart, however, thank you so much.  Your comment has continued to push me to want to strive in the way of Allah more and more. You have helped me to question the things I do and want to do better to prove you wrong.  And, you have taught me a wonderful example of how not to treat new Muslims.  I only pray that you will see how far I've come in 20 years. I don't know where I'll live, if I will have a family, who I will spend my life with, but I put my trust in Allah (swt) that He will choose what is best for me as he has in the past two years.

To all my readers:

Please make du'aa for this person that they are able to benefit Islam.  Make du'aa for me as well inshaAllah.

May Allah (swt) reward all of the people who helped me convert with Jannah and may He bless me to continue to assist others in converting as well. May the day I took my shahada be one that pleases God and may it be the best memory in my heart for the rest of my life.

For Allah (swt) found me an orphan and He gave me refuge.

He found me ignorant and He guided me.

He found me poor and He gave me the gift of riches in Islam...Alhamdulilah.

What Did You Have To Do To Join This Cult Anyways?

"And when they finally ended the secret African chant, I came into a room with three shadowy figures dressed in nothing but sunglasses and covered in feathers.  Then, I gave the pledge.  They put me in a plastic bag and I sat in the closet for 45 minutes listening to Linkin Park's Greatest Hits.  They lit a candle of solitude and I took 4 passes around the table of knowledge - counterclockwise - while drinking 7.2 ounces of lamb's blood".......

NOTTTTT!

Becoming Muslim is not entering a fraternity in college.  It's not a cult.  I didn't have to do a naked run or chug 49320490 beers.  It was simple.

When I decided that I felt like I was just about ready to convert, I actually found some girl on Facebook that I had seen around quite a lot at school.  I felt like every where I went, this one hijabi kept popping up on campus. She was my hijabi soulmate.

So, one day, I randomly stumbled onto her Facebook and sent her a message saying that I was interested in converting and that I would like to talk more with her.

I met with her and she was amazing.  She's still one of my dearest friends now - (love you Foof).  She talked to me about a lot of things, she introduced me to another convert - another dear friend of mine (love you too Michelle LoL) - that she felt would understand me well.  She took me to the masjid for halaqa (our version of Bible study), she took me to a woman's house for lessons in the meaning of Qur'an. She introduced me to her friends. She was so helpful.

And, she introduced me to the sweetest woman, Fadia, who held a weekly halaqa for converts.  I contacted Fadia, who was a local doctor, and spoke with her about how I was interested in converting.  She said she wanted to meet with me. She was like the gatekeeper for converts.  She helped to organize people taking their "shahada" or declaration of faith in Islam.

So, I met her at a Wendy's one afternoon and we talked.  I thought there would be steps to converting.  I thought she would want me to go very slowly. And she did.  We started talking and she asked me what I knew about Islam.

Now, I had been reading Quran and studying and going to halaqa from November to May for 3 or 4 hours a day.  I didn't just wake up one morning and say "I'd like an omelette, and I'd like to be Muslim!" 

So, I started talking about everything I knew. At first, she asked if I knew the pillars of the faith, and I listed them off.  She asked about certain things that Muslims would know, and I knew them.  Then, we went deeper.  I talked about differences in Shia and Sunni, I talked about hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (saws) - AND, I said "sallah Allahu alayhi wa salaam" after I talked about him. She could see that I REALLY know what I'm talking about.

Then we talked about WHY I want to convert.  How I felt like I was always Muslim.  How my mother passed away and what that taught me from a young age about life and religion, and all of the faith I had that I was making the right decision - and a decision that would be permanent.  We both cried.  Like babies.  In Wendy's.  Eating Frosties.  

At the start of the conversation, she was putting me on a plan to convert maybe in a month or two.

By the end of the conversation, she wanted me to convert that week.

She knew I knew what I was talking about.  I don't make brash decisions.

When I knew, I knew.

That's it.

So, I met her on that next Friday, May 27th, 2011, outside the masjid.  In a white hijab and white tunic. And we talked.  I got her a little gift, and all of my Muslim friends came. She asked if I was sure.  And I was.

People I knew from before I was Muslim even that wouldn't typically come to the masjid for Friday prayer, they came to see me. 

IT WAS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE, (and I sat front row of a Spice Girls concert when I was 7, so that's really saying something!).

And I sat there next to all the girls I knew from the mosque, nervous that I would have to speak in front of all of these people.

I've further described the day I took my shahada in another post, and the details of the day. Even the khutba (Muslim version of "sermon") applied to my life.

So, the Imam announced my intent to convert.  And, I went to the side of the masullah ("prayer hall") and took my shahada in front of the crowded masjid.

I didn't have to do some crazy ritual.  I didn't have to be baptized.  I didn't have to go through a 6 week training course, like when you convert to Judaism.  I just said, in Arabic and English, "There is no god but God and Muhammad is His Messenger." And that's it. That's all you have to do.

Yep, that's all.

The women were crying, people brought me gifts, and they really treated me amazing.  I was very thankful - and I still am thankful.  I'll never forget that treatment.  Whenever I hear of someone else taking their shahada I go out of my way to congratulate them.

In Islam, when you take your shahada, you are wiped clean of all your sins.  All of the things I did before that day vanished.  And, I started with a blank slate.  Alhamdulilah, what a blessing. 

I got a Get Out of Jail Free card! Jealous, much?

After taking your shahada, you go home, take a shower, and you're done. (By the way, this shower feels amazing.  Imagine a shower after you roll around in the mud and you're getting all the dirt off, this one actually felt like all my sins were washing off.  I know that's so damn cheesy, but I swear to you).

That's all the steps.  Shampoo, rinse, repeat.

Literally, all you have to do to becoming Muslim is this:

- Have a true intention in your heart

- Say (in ANY gathering of more than 2 people - doesn't even have to be the mosque): "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His Messenger" 

- Shower

TA DAAAAA.

I've made casseroles that took longer.

One request I have of you - whoever you are: Please pray (make du'aa) for the three women who helped me most in taking my shahada: Afaf, Michelle, and Fadia.  May Allah protect them and reward them all with Jannah for being such a wonderful help, guidance, and role models for me (and in Fadia's case, a LARGE quantity of other women).

May Allah (swt) guide us all to His truth, May He reward all of the people who helped me in my conversion or were part of the process in ANY capacity, and may He make conversion easy on all of us as it is intended to be. Ameen.

What Are Some Moments That Drew You Nearer to Islam? One of The Life Changers

I've had a lot of amazing moments in time that drew me closer to Islam and that helped to build my love for it... reading Surah Ad Duha, the first time I read a full sentence in Arabic, praying Taraweeh every night in Ramadan, listening to the sheiyk's recitation at my "home" masjid, there are hundreds of amazing moments that shaped my faith. They are the kind of moments that when I look back on my conversion, I find the most peace in. They put this feeling in my heart that I can't describe. I can recollect them with so much detail, but one moment really melted my heart.

Everyone who has ever met me knows that I cannot wait to be a mother - more than anything else in this entire world. I've always loved children.

The day I went to take my shahada I was anxious, nervous, thankful, excited, a million emotions going on at one second. But, I got to the masjid, met the women that had helped me to make the "shahada appointment," and went to pray jumaa in the masullah - or the prayer room.

Once I got inside, I sat towards the back.  It was before I knew the sunnah of praying two rakat when you arrive at the masjid.  So I sat while everyone else did their thing.

I was so confused! Why are these people praying now? I thought we all do it together? I thought the sheiyk led it...  I get it now, but was just confused at the time.

While I waited for everyone to finish their two rakat, secretly freaking out in my head that I had no idea why these people were praying right now, I looked around.

Our masjid at home is set up so that the women sit behind the men without any partition except for a significant area of carpet that the men leave between them and us.

While I was sitting there, an old Indian man in his eighties came and took a spot in the the men's section with his two-year-old grandson.

I was already in love with this little boy's outfit.

He was wearing a SWEATERVEST, people! A SWEATERVEST.  What in this entire world is cuter than a little Indian boy in a sweatervest? I will tell you, absolutely NOTHING.

His grandfather started to pray and the little boy mimicked every single movement that his grandfather was doing with such excitement and passion.  He obviously wasn't required to pray at age 2, and I would have expected that he would be all over the place running around, jumping, screaming.

No, he was as standing there, completely still, with his hands folded, his giant eyes (mashaAllah) checking to make sure that he was doing the same thing as his grandfather every few seconds.

And he prayed.  He put his forehead to the ground and prayed. Just like every other grown man at that masjid.

The difference was, however, he was so extremely excited to do it.  He couldn't wait to learn. He couldn't wait to pray.

Yes, I may have had an extra 18 years on this little guy, but he and I were the same on that day. We're both newly Muslim. We were both learning.  We both had that passion and excitement that had dwindled in the hearts of the other people around us.

And at that moment I felt at peace. I knew that this religion was no doubt for me and all the nervousness went away.

When I watch the children at the masjid, the little three year olds with their hijabs and their bangs out, the little boys in kufis and thobe, I love that passion.  I love that sincere love for Islam.

And, I think we need to bottle that and sell it as a fundraiser ;) I don't care about your baklawa, I want this excitement!

That little boy will never know how much he impacted me, but I honestly believe that Allah (swt) put him there as a reminder for me. May he be rewarded for this tremendous gift Allah gave me through him with that memory, and may he continue to have this passion for his entire life.

Next time you're at the masjid - whichever one you go to- come a little early and just look around. Watch the little kids, and find that passion in yourself all over again. May Allah (swt) grant you, myself, and all Muslims that love for Him and Islam that the little boy showed me every single time you pray.