The Story of Sarah

This is a story that started with an email to the Da'iya Amr Khaled. The email was from a girl named Sarah, living in Australia and she said: ‘ I am a girl living in Australia, my father is a Muslim while my mother is a Christian. They are originally from Lebanon. We lived in Lebanon for the first 10 years of my life, but then my parents immigrated to Australia. With this immigration my relation with religion was terminated, all what I know is that I am supposed to be a Muslim, I don’t even know what the Quran looks like, I don’t know how to pray and religion had no weight or importance in my life. My father and mother got divorced and they both left Australia. They left me alone to study in the university. I have no family, no brothers and I know nothing about my grandparents in Lebanon.

I lived alone and I had to work to spend on myself. So I used to study in the morning and work in a bar at night. I have a boy friend with all the western implications of this word. I left nothing from the haram except that I did it, with no shame or pain. I went for a beauty contest in New Zealand and I won the title. I became a model for many fashion magazines.

While I am involved in all this, I went to visit a family from Lebanese origin. They had a satellite dish and I watched a program about modesty and women in Islam. I was deeply affected and I was in a state of a breakdown. I felt that this program is talking directly to me. I took the email and the web site from this program and I am writing to you to ask, can Allah still accept me? Can I return to Allah?’

So the sheikh replied to her informing her that Allah’s love is very special for those who turn back and repent. He guided her to the conditions of a sincere repentance. After two days, she said, ‘I made repentance and left my boy friend and will never see him again’. Then after two days she asked, ‘I want learn how to pray’ then a day later she said, ‘I want to get Quran tapes’ So the sheikh sent her tapes of the entire Quran using DHL.

She sent back saying, ‘I gave up the beauty contest and title I had’. After 4 days she said, ‘ I am now wearing Hijab’, but the story didn’t finish yet!

Scan Two days after she decided to wear the Hijab, she felt a severe pain in the head. When she went to the doctor he informed her that she has a serious brain tumor and that her days are numbered! Sarah was then scheduled for an operation with a success rate of 20%. This was what the doctor said.

As for her, she sent to the sheikh an email saying, ‘I am so happy to meet Allah. I am extremely happy that I repented before knowing that I was sick. I don’t know if my parents will know what happened to me or not. They rarely call me. I repented to Allah 3 weeks ago and disobeyed him for 22 years! I ask Allah to write me down from the people of Jannah, and If I live I want to work for Islam through your website, which is my window to the Islam and Muslims’

Sarah died on Friday September 19th, 2003. The last email from her was: ‘ I lived 22 years away from Allah but I repented 3 weeks ago, I want you to witness that I repented to Allah, left my boyfriend, my job, my beauty contest and title. I wore the Hijab and prayed regularly, I want you to witness that I did this only for Allah. I know no Muslims other than you and your web site. Please I ask you to make du’a asking Allah to forgive me and shower me with his mercy. Please ask Allah to guide my parents who know nothing about me.'

Source: http://forums.dubai-muslims.com/