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A bit different for me.
I grew up Catholic, and the first time I learned there was another religion was when I was about 7. I asked my mother why my best friend at the time didn't go to church with us. Turned out he was Protestant.
I grew up Catholic, and the first time I learned there was another religion was when I was about 7. I asked my mother why my best friend at the time didn't go to church with us. Turned out he was Protestant.
The first time I heard about Islam was maybe a few years later. I asked what the difference was, and was told something along the lines of, "They believe another prophet came after Jesus (as)." I remember thinking, "So why don't we follow that?"
The first thing I knew of Muslims was the Mujahideen in Afghanistan fighting the Soviets. As a very patriotic kid, taught to hate communism (a lesson that stuck), I equated Muslims with the good guys. Especially since they fought in the name of God (swt).
Later I decided at 14 to not be confirmed a Catholic, due to their poor understanding of God (swt). After a few years of wandering in my own thoughts, I noticed the things I imagined life was, and what came after were based solely on my hopes, and truth was often something else.
Truth of course is absolute. It's unyielding, unconcerned with opinions, and inevitable. So I had to figure it out. If my existing had a purpose, and my state of existence after death relied on my actions in this life, than knowing the truth of existence was my primary concern.
After coming to some conclusions that rattled me, I decided to go to the public library's religion/philosophy section to see if anything clicked. When I read about Islam there were things I agreed with, in particular the understanding of God (swt).
Yet at that point I had a hard time believing in prophethood. A difficulty I'd have for many years later. I believed God (swt) gave us signs only through His (swt) creation. Which lead me to Buddhism, as the historical Buddha came to his understanding through observations.
I won't go into it deeply, but Buddhism has truths in it, as many things do, but today I know it falls short of the full truth, due largely to the lack of revelation. There's only so far we can get in understanding by our own perception.
While I spent many years as a Buddhist, there was always a particular ayah of the Qur'an which stuck with me, and made me wonder what wisdom/insights Islam might hold.
The interpretation was -
﷽
Say, "He is Allah, who is One,
Allah, the Eternal Refuge.
He begeteth not, nor is He begotten,
And there is none like unto Him.
- Surah Al-Ikhlas
﷽
Say, "He is Allah, who is One,
Allah, the Eternal Refuge.
He begeteth not, nor is He begotten,
And there is none like unto Him.
- Surah Al-Ikhlas
So skipping ahead -
In 2018 I was looking around at a world clearly gone insane. Through Facebook I could even see people I'd known for many years, who'd never had an opinion of philosophical thought started having opinions of life, and of course politics. And they were batty.
In 2018 I was looking around at a world clearly gone insane. Through Facebook I could even see people I'd known for many years, who'd never had an opinion of philosophical thought started having opinions of life, and of course politics. And they were batty.
So I hopped on Twitter. Unlike Facebook where you had to be accepted to follow, and the custom was to only make those requests with people you knew in person, I could widen my associations on this app.
After awhile the thought occurred to me that I could find Muslims on here. And maybe they had remained sane in this changing world. From what I knew of Islam the 2 types of Muslims I was shown by media seemed very wrong. Generally either as terrorists, or progressive liberals.
Lo, and behold I found some Muslims, and began interacting. Both in what I already agreed with Islam about, and of course politics. I was gently encouraged to look more into Islam, and already liked much of what I read on here of Ahadith. Which i didn't know existed until then.
So I started reading the Qur'an again for the first time in nearly 20 years. There were 3 things which moved me. The aforementioned Ahadith, the 99 beautiful names of Allah (swt), and the Qur'an.
The perfection of understanding of God (swt), as I've understood Him (swt) since I was very young, and the understanding in this life, as expressed by His Messenger (ﷺ), was increasingly difficult to deny. So my apprehension about prophethood began wearing down.
As I continued to read the Qur'an I noticed an increasing discomfort whenever the disbelievers, and their fate were mentioned. Eventually my stomach would go in knots. It was my growing fear. I was no longer reading it as an idea. I was reading what my fate would be.
I was reading the words of my Creator (swt). Words that I hadn't believed existed. From my Lord (swt), who I had spoken to countless times, and protected me all my life.
And I read about the fate of the believers -
['For them will be the Home of Peace with their Lord. And He will be their protecting friend because of what they used to do.'
- Surah Al-An'am, Ayah 127]
['For them will be the Home of Peace with their Lord. And He will be their protecting friend because of what they used to do.'
- Surah Al-An'am, Ayah 127]
What was said of the fate of the believers was what I sought all my life. I found my heart would jump when I read about it.
So that most cynical part of my mind finally surrendered, after realizing it had already been soundly defeated.
Alhamdulilah
Alhamdulilah
Alhamdulilah
So that most cynical part of my mind finally surrendered, after realizing it had already been soundly defeated.
Alhamdulilah
Alhamdulilah
Alhamdulilah
May Allah (ﷻ) bless, and protect you all.
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