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My Journey to Islam

It took three full years of my searching and studying Quran before I was ready to proclaim that I wanted to be a Muslim.  Of course I feared the changes in clothing and habits, such as dating and drinking to which I had become accustomed.  Music and dancing were a big part of my life, and bikinis and mini skirts were my claim to fame.  All the while I had no chance to encounter any Muslims, as there were none in my area except a few immigrants who could barely speak English an hour’s drive away at the only mosque in the state at that time.  When I would go to Friday Prayer to try and check out what I was considering, I would receive furtive glances as I was perhaps suspected of being a spy as was the case, and still is, in most Islamic gatherings.  There was not a single Muslim American available to help me and, as I said, all the immigrant population were rather chilly to say the least.

In the midst of this phase of my life, my dad died of cancer.  I was at his bedside and literally witnessed the angel of death remove his soul.  He was gripped by fear as tears rolled down his cheeks.  A life of luxury, yachts, country clubs, expensive cars … for both him and mom, all a result of interest income, and now it’s all over.

I felt a sudden desire to enter Islam quickly, while there was still time, and to change my ways and not to continue blindly seeking what I had been raised to believe to be the good life.  Shortly thereafter I came to Egypt, and involved a long slow journey through the miracle of the Arabic language and the discovery of the clear truth – God is One, the Everlasting Eternal; Who never was born or gave birth and there is nothing at all like Him.

It is also the resulting equality between humans that attracted me most to that religion.  The Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, said that people are like teeth of a comb – all equal, the best being the most pious.  In the Quran, we are told that the best are the pious ones.  Piety involves love of and fear of God alone.  Yet before you can really be pious, you must learn who God is.  And to know Him is to love Him.  I started learning Arabic to read the word of Allah in Arabic as it was revealed.

Learning the Quran has changed every facet of my life.  I no longer wish to have any earthly luxuries; neither cars nor clothes nor trips can lure me into that web of vain desires which I was so caught up in before.  I do enjoy a fairly good life of a believer; but as they say… it is no longer embedded in the heart...only at hand.  I don’t fear the loss of my former friends or relatives – if God chooses to bring them close, then so be it, but I know that God gives me exactly what I need, no more – no less.  I don’t feel anxious or sad anymore, nor do I feel regret at what has passed me by, because I’m safe in the care of God - THE ONE AND ONLY whom I always knew but didn’t know His name.

A Prayer For America

I pray to Almighty God to allow each and every American the opportunity to receive the message of the Oneness of God in a simple, straightforward fashion…  Americans are, for the most part, grossly uninformed in regards to correct Islamic theology.  The stress is almost always on politics, which focuses on the deeds of men.  It’s high time we concentrated on the deeds of the prophets who all came to lead us out of the darkness and into the light.  There is no doubt that darkness is prevailing in the malaise affecting America now.  The light of truth will serve us all, and whether or not one chooses to follow the Islamic path, there is no doubt that the blocking of it or the hindering of others from following it will surely lead to further misery.  I care very much for the healthy future of my country, and I’m quite certain that learning more about Islam will enhance the chances of my hopes being fulfilled.

Source: www.islamreligion.com

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The Others

It was in my preparation for my master’s degree that I first heard of the Quran.  Up until then, as most Americans, I knew only of “the Arabs” as mysterious, dark predators out to plunder our civilization.  Islam was never mentioned – only the surly, dirty Arabs, camels and tents in the desert.  As a child in religion class, I often wondered who were the other people?  Jesus walked in Caana and Galilee and Nazareth, but he had blue eyes — who were the other people?  I had a sense that there was a missing link somewhere.  In 1967 during the Arab-Israeli war, we all got our first glimpse of the other people, and they were clearly viewed by most as the enemy.  But for me, I liked them, and for no apparent reason.  I cannot to this day explain it, except to now realize that they were my Muslim brothers.

I was about 35 when I read my first page of Quran.  I opened it with the intention of a casual browse to get acquainted with the religion of the inhabitants of the region I was majoring in for my Master’s Degree.  God caused the book to fall open to Surat al-Mu’minun (The Believers) verses 52-54:

“Verily, this your nation is one nation and I am your Lord so keep your duty to Me.  But they broke up their command into sects, each one rejoicing in its belief.  So leave them in their error until a time.” (Quran 23:52-54)

From the first reading, I knew that this was certain truth- clear and forceful, revealing the essence of all humanity and verifying all I had studied as a History major.  Humanity’s pathetic rejection of the truth, their unceasing vain competition to be special and their neglectfulness of the purpose for their very existence all set forward in a few words.  Nation states, nationalities, cultures, languages – all feeling superior, when in fact, all these identities mask the only reality which we ought to rejoice in sharing- that is to serve one master, THE ONE Who created everything and Who owns everything.

I Still Love Jesus and Mary

As a child I used to say the phrase “Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen,” found in the prayer “Hail Mary”.  I now see how much Mary has been maligned by the misrepresentation of her as the mother of the godhead.  It is quite enough to view her as chosen above all women to bear the great prophet Jesus by the Virgin Birth.  My mom would often defend her constant pleas for Mary’s help by explaining that she too was a mother and understood a mother’s sorrows.  It would be far more useful for my mom and all others to contemplate how the most pure Mary was slandered by the Jews of her time and accused of a most despicable sin, that of fornication.  Mary bore all of this, knowing that she would be vindicated by the Almighty, and that she would be given the strength to bear all of their calumnies.

This recognition of Mary’s faith and trust in God’s mercy will allow one to recognize her most exalted position among women, and at the same time remove the slander of calling her the mother of God, which is an even worse accusation than that of the Jews of her time.  As a Muslim you may love Mary and Jesus, but to love God more will gain you the Paradise, as He is the One whose rules you must obey.  He will judge you on a day when no one else can help you.  He created you, and Jesus, and his blessed mother Mary, as He created Muhammad.  All died or will die – God never dies.

Jesus (`Isa in Arabic) never once claimed to be the godhead.  Rather, he repeatedly referred to himself as being sent.  As I look back on the confusion I experienced in my youth, its root lay in the church’s claim that Jesus was more than he himself admitted.  The church fathers formulated a doctrine to invent the concept of Trinity.  It is this confused rendering of the original Torah and Injil [Gospel] (scriptures given to Moses and Jesus) which is at the core of the issue of Trinity.

In honest fact, it is enough to simply state that Jesus was a prophet, yes, a messenger who came with the word of the One Who sent him.  If we view Jesus, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, in this correct light, it’s easy to then accept Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, as his younger brother who came with the very same mission – to call all to the worship of the Almighty ONE, Who created everything and to whom we shall all return.  It is of no consequence whatsoever to debate their physical features.  Arab, Jew, Caucausian, blue or brown eyes, long or short hair – all totally irrelevant as to their importance as bearers of the message.  Whenever I think of Jesus now, after knowing about Islam, I feel that connectedness which one feels in a happy family – a family of believers.  You see Jesus was a “Muslim”, one who submits to his Lord above.

The first of the “Ten Commandments” state:

1.    I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have false gods before me.

2.    Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy god in vain.

Anyone who knows the correct meaning of “la ilaha ill-Allah” (there is no god but God) will immediately recognize the similarity in this testimony.  Then we can really start to bring together the real story of all the prophets and put an end to the distortions.

“And they said the Most Merciful has taken a son.  Indeed you have brought forth a terrible evil thing.  Whereby the heavens are almost torn, and the earth split asunder, and the mountains fall in ruins.” (Quran 19:88-90)

Source: www.islamreligion.com

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When I am asked how I became a Muslim I always reply that I always felt myself to be a believer in the ONE AND ONLY, yet I first realized what that meant when I heard about a religion called Islam, and a book called Quran.

But let me first start with a brief synopsis of my American overwhelmingly traditional Irish Catholic background.

Catholic I was Indeed

My dad left the seminary after a three-year stint to train as a missionary.  He was the oldest of thirteen children, all born and raised in the Boston area.  Two of his sisters became nuns, as was his aunt on his mother’s side.  My dad’s younger brother was also in the seminary and quit after 9 years, just before taking his final vows.  My grandmother would wake at dawn to dress and climb the hill to the local church for early morning mass while the rest of the house was sleeping.  I remember her as being a very stern, kind, fair, and strong woman, and rather deep - unusual for those days.  I’m certain she never heard mention of Islam, and may God judge her as to the beliefs she held in her heart.  Many who never heard of Islam pray to the One by instinct, although they have inherited labels of various denominations from their ancestors.

I was enrolled in a Catholic nursery school at the age of four and spent the next 12 years of my life surrounded by heavy doses of trinity indoctrination.  Crosses were everywhere, all day long - on the nuns themselves, on the walls of the classroom, in church which we attended almost daily, and in almost every room of my house.  Not to mention the statues and holy pictures - everywhere you looked there was baby Jesus and his mother Mary - sometimes happy, sometimes sad, yet always classically white and Anglo featured.  Various and sundry angels and saints pictures would make their appearances, depending on the holyday approaching.

I have vivid memories picking lilacs and lilies of the valley from our yard to make bouquets which I placed in the vase at the base of the largest Mother Mary statue in the upstairs hallway next to my bedroom.  There I would kneel and pray, enjoying the pleasant scent of the freshly picked flowers and serenely contemplating on how lovely was Mary’s long flowing chestnut hair.  I can unequivocally state that I never once prayed TO HER or felt that she had any powers to help me.  The same was true when I would hold my rosary beads at night in bed.  I repeated the ritual supplications of the Our Father and the Hail Mary and the Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, all the while looking upward and saying with my true heart—I know its only You, one almighty You-I’m just saying this stuff because it’s all I ever learned.

On my twelfth birthday, my mom gave me a Bible.  As Catholics we were not encouraged to read anything except our Baltimore Catechism, sanctioned by the Vatican.  Any comparative introspection was denied and disparaged.  Yet I fervently read, seeking to know what I hoped would be a story from and about my creator.  I got even more confused.  This book was obviously the work of men, convoluted and difficult to grasp.  Yet, once again, that’s all that was available.

My prior faithful church attendance dropped off in my mid teens, as was the norm for my generation, and by the time I reached my twenties, I had basically no formal religion.  I read a lot on Buddhism, Hinduism and even tried out the local Baptist church for a few months.  They were not enough to hold my attention, the former too exotic and the latter too provincial.  Yet all through the years of not formally practicing, a day never passed when I didn’t “talk to god” especially as I fell asleep I would always say thanks for all my blessings and seek help for any problems I was experiencing.  It was always the same certain ONE AND ONLY whom I was addressing, sure He was listening and confident of His love and care.  No one ever taught me anything about this; it was pure instinct.

Source: www.islamreligion.com

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by Sister Nûr

This article was written by the author a few years ago, when she was in her second year at the University of Essex

I came from a purely Hindu family where we were always taught to regard ourselves (i.e. women) as beings who were eventually to be married off and have children and serve the husband-- whether he was kind or not. Other than this I found that there were a lot of things which really oppressed women, such as:

If a woman was widowed, she would always have to wear a white sari (costume), eat vegetarian meals, cut her hair short, and never re-marry.

1. The bride always had to pay the dowry (bridal money) to the husband's family.
2. And the husband could ask for anything, irrespective of whether the bride would have difficulty giving it.

Not only that, if after marriage she was not able to pay the full dowry she would be both emotionally and physically tortured, and could end up being a victim of "kitchen death" where the husband, or both the mother-in-law and the husband try to set fire to the wife while she is cooking or is in the kitchen, and try to make it look like an accidental death. More and more of these instances are taking place. The daughter of a friend of my own father's had the same fate last year!

In addition to all this, men in Hinduism are treated literally as among the gods. In one of the religious Hindu celebration, unmarried girls pray for and worship an idol representing a particular god (Shira) so that they may have husbands like him. Even my own mother had asked me to do this. This made me see that the Hindu religion which is based on superstitions and things that have no manifest proof [1], but were merely traditions which oppressed women could not be right.

Subsequently, when I came to England to study, I thought that at least this is a country which gives equal rights to men and women, and does not oppress them. We all have the freedom to do as we like, I thought. Well, as I started to meet people and make new friends, learn about this new society, and go to all the places my friends went to in order to "socialise" (bars, dance halls, ...etc.), I realised that this "equality" was not so true in practice as it was in theory.

Outwardly, women were seen to be given equal rights in education, work, and so forth, but in reality women were still oppressed in a different, more subtle way. When I went with my friends to those places they hung out at, I found everybody interested to talk to me and I thought that was normal. But it was only later that I realised how naive I was, and recognised what these people were really looking for. I soon began to feel uncomfortable, as if I was not myself: I had to dress in a certain way so that people would like me, and had to talk in a certain way to please them. I soon found that I was feeling more and more uncomfortable, less and less myself, yet I could not get out. Everybody was saying they were enjoying themselves, but I don't call this enjoying.

I think women in this way of life are oppressed; they have to dress in a certain way in order to please and appear more appealing, and also talk in a certain way so people like them. During this time I had not thought about Islam, even though I had some Muslim acquaintances. But I felt I really had to do something, to find something that I would be happy and secure with, and would feel respected with. Something to believe in that is the right belief, because everybody has a belief that they live according to. If having fun by getting off with other people is someone's belief, they do this. If making money is someone's belief, they do everything to achieve this. If they believe drinking is one way to enjoy life then they do it. But I feel all this leads to nowhere; no one is truly satisfied, and the respect women are looking for is diminishing in this way.

In these days of so called "society of equal rights", you are expected to have a boyfriend (or you're weird!) and to not be a virgin. So this is a form of oppression even though some women do not realise it. [2]When I came to Islam, it was obvious that I had finally found permanent security. A religion, a belief that was so complete and clear in every aspect of life. Many people have a misconception that Islam is an oppressive religion, where women are covered from head to toe, and are not allowed any freedom or rights. In fact, women in Islam are given more rights, and have been for the past 1400 years, compared to the only-recently rights given to non-Muslim women in some western and some other societies. But there are, even now, societies where women are still oppressed, as I mentioned earlier in relation to Hindu women.

Muslim women have the right to inheritance. They have the right to run their own trade and business. They have the full right to ownership, property, disposal over their wealth to which the husband has no right. They have the right to education, a right to refuse marriage as long as this refusal is according to reasonable and justifiable grounds. The Quran itself, which is the word of Allah, contains many verses commanding men to be kind to their wives and stressing the rights of women. Islam gives the right set of rules, because they are NOT made by men, but made by Allah; hence it is a perfect religion.

Quite often Muslim women are asked why they are covered from head to toe, and are told that this is oppression--it is not. In Islam, marriage is an important part of life, the making of the society. Therefore, a woman should not go around showing herself to everybody, only for her husband. Even the man is not allowed to show certain parts of his body to none but his wife. In addition, Allah has commanded Muslim women to cover themselves for their modesty:

O prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) over their bodies (when outdoors). That is most convenient that they could be known as such (i.e. decent and chaste) and not molested."(Quran 33:59)

If we look around at any other society, we find that in the majority of cases women are attacked and molested because of how they are dressed. Another point I'd like to comment on is that the rules and regulation laid down in Islam by Allah (God) do not apply just to women but to men also. There is no intermingling and free-running between men and women for the benefit of both. Whatever Allah commands is right, wholesome, pure and beneficial to mankind; there is no doubt about that. A verse in the Quran explains this concept clearly:

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and protect their private parts (i.e. from indecency, illegal sexual acts); that will make for greater purity for them. And Allah is well aware of what they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and protect their privaate parts (from indecency, illegal sexual intercourse); and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments...." (Quran, surah "Al-Nur" 24:31)

When I put on my hijaab (veil), I was really happy to do it. In fact, I really want to do it. When I put on the hijaab, I felt a great sense of satisfaction and happiness. Satisfied that I had obeyed Allah’s command. And happy with the good and blessings that come with it. I have felt secure and protected. In fact people respect me more for it. I could really see the difference in behaviour towards me.

Finally, I'd like to say that I had accepted Islam not blindly, or under any compulsion. In the Quran itself there is a verse which says "there is no compulsion in religion"[3]. I accepted Islam with conviction. I have seen, been there, done that, and seen both sides of the story. I know and have experienced what the other side is like, and I know that I have done the right thing. Islam does not oppress women, but rather Islam liberates them and gives them the respect they deserve. Islam is the religion Allah has chosen for the whole of mankind. Those who accept it are truly liberated from the chains and shackles of mankind whose ruling and legislating necessitates nothing but the oppression of one group by another and the exploitation and oppression of one sex by the other. This is not the case of Islam which truly liberated women and gave them an individuality not given by any other authority.

Sister Noor has been a muslim for over a year and a half and is currently in her second year of undergraduate study in the Department of Biology

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Notes

(1) In Islaam, strong emphasis is placed on proof and evidence. Superstition, conjecture and following the ways of ones ancestors is heavily censured. Allaah says:
{Say : Bring your proof if indeed you are truthful} {Baqarah 2:111} {Inform me with knowledge if indeed you are truthful} [An’aam 6:143] {And they do not possess any knowledge regarding it. They do nothing but follow conjecture and conjecture avails nothing against the Truth} [Najm 53:28] {And when it is said to them: ‘Follow that which Allaah has sent down’, they say: ‘Nay! We shall follow that which we found our fathers following} [Baqarah 2:170]

If the scientists among the non-muslims were to follow this advice and research objectively many of the rulings regarding women in Islam they would find that they are in perfect harmony with the biological/psychological knowledge they have arrived at regarding the nature of women. It is the reaction of the feminist movement to western hypocrisy that has led to the debasement of ‘perceived’ female roles in Islam. That is why most of what is portrayed regarding women in Islaam is pure conjecture and distortion, not fact and truth.

(2) This is where muslims consider the fallacy of the freedom and non-oppression of women lies. Under the name of ‘freedom’ women are told that they have complete automonomy to do as they wish. However, ‘do as they wish’ means that they are encouraged to conform to the trends and fashions that are set for them and imposed upon them by means of the media machine and by means of the multi-billion dollar film industry which makes, fashions, and nurtures the ideas of people and their principles, morals and conduct. As a result they are made the objects of the fantasies of menwho harass them, oppress them and reduce them to nothing but a source of temporary joy and pleasure. Men themselves have been made to let loose the reins of their desires due to the high exposure to naked women they receive, day in day out. This results in provocation, frustration and eventually - a deserving punishment - desensitization. Impotence is a widespread ‘disease’ in the West! This is the position of women in the west. The mere mention of the words sexual harrasment, date-rape - which includes men deliberately getting women tipsy or drunk so that they can have their way with them - and slogans such as NO MEANS NO are sufficient as proof for this reality of the oppression of women in the west. These problems are unknown to the muslim world and are not issues in Islaam.

(3) {There is no complulsion in religion. The truth has been made clear from error} [Baqarah 2:256]

Source: www.sisters.islamway.com

A business student of Kingdom of Lesotho

Early Education

Timothy comes from the Kingdom of Lesotho. This small country lies just north of South Africa. He described his story as follows:

I was born in 1972 in a village about twelve kilometers away from the capital called Maseru. I received my elementary and secondary education in a Catholic school near my village. While in school I was supposed to attend a Catholic church every Sunday but I often dodged. I, however, occasionally went to a Protestant church with my grand mother.

For higher secondary education I got admission in a boarding school about eighty kilometers away from my home town. This school was run by Lesotho Evangelical church. This church was originated in France and was known as Parish Evangelical Missionary Society or P.E.M.S. There was a young priest who used to give us Christian education very diligently. He said to his students, “If the church did not spend money on my education I would become a Muslim because it was the only religion in the way of Christianity.” Until then I did not know anything about Islam. The Principal of this school was a good man since he encouraged us to take part in debates on topics like celibacy is better than matrimony. I used to take part in these debates very enthusiastically.

College Education

I received a scholarship from my government to attend a technical college for two years. This college was situated near Johannesburg in South Africa. I received a diploma in Marketing Management from this college. Many interesting things happened during my college education.

P.E.M.S churches had special building style. I found one P.E.M.S church near my accommodation. I joined this church and started teaching youth group what I had learnt in my previous church. I was not good at singing. Hence I proposed that some debates should be held in the church. They sought permission from the local priest. He agreed and was very excited to promote this activity.

 Debates

Eight teams were formed. Each team had four members, two boys and two girls. The priest chose the topics. The debates were held every Sunday in the presence of the congregation. The winners were given prizes like Bible translation in Lesotho language.

A neighboring P.E.M.S church also formed four debating teams. They used to have competitions with the winners of our church. I took part in these debates. The topic of first debate was ‘Trinity.’ My team was to prove that Trinity was a wrong concept.

By chance I met a young man at a friend’s home. His name was Ndavu. He gave me exact quotations from Bible to support our point of view. It was amazing that Ndavu knew these verses by heart. I had read King James Version of Bible from Genesis to Revelations. After reading these quotations I realized that I did not understand Bible. I gave some verses to my team mates. They were quite happy. My team won the debate.

The topic of the second debate was ‘Jesus-is he son of God?’ My team opposed the above proposition. I again met  Ndavu and he gave me exact quotations the next day. We won this debate too.

The topic of the third debate was ‘Authenticity of Bible’. My team was to prove that it was not authentic since there were many contradictions in it. Ndavu helped me again and we won the third debate as well. The congregation took the debates casually or considered them as just an intellectual exercise.

I became aware of many contradictions in King James Version of Bible. There were also many contradictions between English Bible and the translation of Bible in Lesotho language. This shook my faith.

I asked Ndavu, “What church you go to?” He said, “I do not go to any church since the Priest do not teach truth and they do not quote some verses.” He asked me, “What is your belief in godship?” I told him, “I believe in godship as mentioned in the first commandment of Moses. For example in Mark 12:28-30 says ‘The first commandment reads: Hear O Israel, the Lord of thy God is One Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord, thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.’”

When he understood my point of view about godship he talked to some of his friends about me.

A Strange Visitor

One Saturday in March 1996 a young man came to my relative’s home. He was wearing white clothes and white cap. I saw an African for the first time dressed like some Indians. The young man said, “I have come to see you, my Muslim brother.” I said, “I am not a Muslim because I know nothing about Islam except that Islam is the religion of Indians.” He insisted, “I am informed that you are a Muslim.” I offered him a chair to sit so that we could relax and chat. It was easy to talk to him since he spoke my local language. I sent my niece to buy him soft drink. He refused to use the glass which we were using. He preferred to drink from the bottle directly. I asked him, “Why did you refuse to use our glass?” He said, “I suspected that the glass might have been used for drinking alcohol.” He was right. I sent my niece to buy new glasses since I also hated alcohol, which I quitted in 1988.

He asked me, “How do I believe in God?” I said, “I believe in God as a Creator, as the only one to be worshiped, as one who does not have wife and does not need food or drinks for His survival. He does not have parents. All this is given in Bible.”

He asked me about Trinity. I told him, “Among the things which my father taught me were God is one and He is not to be compared to any one. I believe my father more than anybody else. I think Father, Son and Holy Ghost in Trinity are contradicting each other.” This young man said, “This is Islam.” I was shocked since my concept of Islam was that it was the religion of Indians only.

The young man added, “If we check in the Bible, the teaching of Christ are Islamic. The contradictions in the teaching of the church and the teaching of Christ are due to Paul who gave many rules and laws in his epistles (or letters).” I believed the young man. He asked me, “Do you want to be a Muslim or learn about Islam?” I said, “Yes, indeed.” He said, “I have a friend who is his teacher and he knows better about Islam.” I said, “I would like to meet him.” We both proceeded to visit his friend since it was just thirty minutes walk from my house.

Islamic Pledge

I saw this man teaching to a group of students in English. I listened to his lecture with great interest. They stopped after about one hour and then prayed. I sat there and watched them. After prayer the students went to their homes. I, the teacher and my visitor were left alone. We introduced ourselves. Teacher’s name was Abdur Rahman. My visitor’s name was Haroon. Sheikh Abdur Rhaman explained to me the meaning of Shahada. When I learnt the meaning of Shahada in English I started believing in it from my heart. Sheikh said to me, “You can go home and think about it. You may attend the lectures as and when you like.” I told him, “I now understand Shahada and hence I want to become a Muslim.” He told me, “Do not take a hasty decision.” I said to him, “What you and Haroon have told me about Islam is the same what my father told me about true Christianity. Hence I want to take the Islamic pledge.” At this time I recited Shahada and thanks God, became a Muslim. Sheikh taught me how to do wadhu or ablution. He advised me to go home, take a bath and return here at 4 P.M. to make Islamic pledge in front of the congregation. I chose my Islamic name Abdullah Sesinyi.

Sheikh taught me daily from Asr to Maghreb for two weeks. After this he left for overseas for his advanced education. I only learnt Surah Fatiha in English, which I continued reciting in my prayers for about one year. It was very hard to find a teacher in this area.

One day I was window shopping and I came across an Indian young man who ran a ready-made garments shop there. I asked him, “Are you a Muslim?” He proudly said, “Yes.” I told him, “I am a Muslim too.” I wanted some information from him about Islam. He said, “I have very poor knowledge of Islam.” I asked him, “Is there any mosque in this area?” He said, “There was one but you can offer Dhuhar salat with me in my shop.” He also invited me to ride with him for Jumah salat every week. I followed this routine for a year.

My First Eid

So far I did not know anything about fasting and Eid. One day Haroon called me and informed me about Eid Salat next morning. I attended the Eid Salat and Eid festival. I met many African Muslims and Muslims from my tribe. I also met Ndavu there and first time learnt that he had embraced Islam too. His Muslim name was Bilal. I asked Bilal, “How did you learn those quotations from Bible to help me in my debates.” He said, “Those quotations are written in the two books of Sheikh Ahmed Deedat.” He presented me these two books and an English translation of Holy Quran by Abdullah Yousuf Ali. This was my first Islamic social event. I found every body extremely happy and they were very nice to me. After Dhuhar Salat, we went back to our residences. I finished college in July 1997 and went back to Lesotho.

Elementary Islamic Education

I knew that my neighbor in my village used to write Arabic. I asked him, “Are you a Muslim?” He said, “Yes”. He added, “Unfortunately I am not practicing Islam.” He informed me about Thabong Mosque in the capital. One morning we both walked twenty kilometers to visit this mosque for Islamic education. The mosque had weekend Islamic school. I and my neighbor, Basheer, attended this school since the mosque arranged for our transportation. With the guidance and recommendation of my teacher, Mr.Mahmood, I was accepted in a full time residential school called Assalam Educational Institute in Braemar, which is about 150 kilometers from Durban. I attended this institute for eight months and then returned home. The Deputy Principal gave me a copy of the Noble Quran, an English translation by Dr. Mohsin Ali.

Propagation of Islam

I started selling clothes for my living and preached Islam in cooperation with my neighbor, Basheer. By the Grace of Allah in one year twelve families embraced Islam through our humble efforts.

I and Basheer requested our radio station to allocate some time to us for the introduction of Islam. The government radio permitted representatives of Muslim, Christian and Bahai faiths to make a brief presentation on radio. It was followed by telephonic calls from the listeners and all the three religions could defend their points of view.

Lesotho T.V invited me and Basheer to give a presentation to people about Eid-ul-Fitr. It was well accepted by all the Muslims and many Christians became anxious to know more about Islam. Meanwhile, Abdul Karim, a Tunisian brother, bought time in one private radio station, called Joy F.M. Voice of America, in our capital. He invited me and another brother, Rafiq, to offer weekly program in it about Islam. We ran this program for about one year.

A Saudi delegation visited our capital. With the guidance and help of brothers Mahmood and Abdul Karim, I applied for the admission to Islamic University Madina Munawwara in 1999. Nothing was heard for a year and a half. I started working for a road construction company away from my home. My supervisor made life miserable for me due to my Islamic thinking. Abdul Karim advised me to fast and recite more Quran so that Allah may remove my difficulties. I started fasting Mondays and Thursdays and recited more and more Quran.

I also started a class for about one hundred prisoners every Sunday afternoon with the permission of the officials. The prisoners managed to expel their priest from the Assembly of God since he did not permit them to ask any questions. I taught there for three months and then I had to move away from that area.

I was excited to find an acceptance letter  from Islamic University of Madina Munawwara in July 2001. Thanks God, I joined this university in September 2001. Here I am supposed to learn Arabic for two years before proceeding to my formal Islamic education in this university.

I am very happy in Madina Munawwara . A few of my relatives have embraced Islam through my preaching. May Allah accept these humble efforts of mine  and strengthen my faith and practice.

My Appeal

 As I review the events of my life I conclude that the facilities for the Islamic education in African countries are very minimal. The quality of education is also very poor. Hence the rate of progress in preaching is awfully slow. It disheartens many new Muslims. It is very hard to find qualified and sincere teachers of Islam.

Therefore I appeal to parents to make at least one of their bright children a teacher. Only teachers can change the fate of a nation. I also appeal to the affluent Muslims to establish more Islamic Institutions wherever they can, and run them professionally. This is, indeed, the best investment and the reward is tremendous. May Allah (swt) guide us to His straight path. Ameen

Source: http://www.imtiazahmad.com