There, in the Mosque, as I stood in the back and watched, I saw something which I never saw in any church. As people came in, I saw people of different ethnicity and social and financial status, they lined up next to each other filling the line.

I remember saying to myself “that’s something you don’t see everyday”.

After the prayer, a Muslim came up to me and asked me if I was a Muslim. I said “No”, and he started to give me da’wah. He was a very nice person, but unfortunately his da’wah did not reach me at that time (but eventually I would benefit from his da’wah).

By this time, A.C. and two other Muslims had approached me, and one of them invited us for breakfast. So we ended up at a house eating breakfast, and the brothers started giving me da’wah. We watched a film about three youths who converted (reverted, I should say) to Islam, the host and another brother who was with us were two of the three youths in the film. It was all very convincing, but something was holding me back. I was not ready to accept the Truth yet.

A.C. and I thanked the host for the breakfast, and were getting ready to leave when the host gave me a copy of the Quran (English translation) as a gift. I thanked him and we parted. He had made me promise him that I would read the Quran (English translation), and with that we parted and I went back to my college.

It was not long before I settled back into my usual college life again. A.C. called every now and then to see what was going on with me. He would ask me if I had read the Quran (English Translation), and my answer would be “Not yet, but I am going to”. And the Quran was sitting on my bookshelf, collecting dust all the while. One night, when all my friends have gone out, I decided to stay in and do some school work.

Reading the Quran At Last

I finished studying early and was left to ponder what to do next. Then I saw the Quran sitting on my bookshelf, and I said to myself “Why not, what could it hurt”. So I picked up the Quran and started to read. Never in my life have I heard a truer speech than the Quran.

{This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt; to those who fear Allah.} (Quran: 2:2)

What a bold statement! I said to myself, “Either this book is a lie or it is the Truth”. But as I read, it became very clear to me that there is no falsehood in it. I was not able to put it down, I read and read through the whole night. I was shocked and amazed, I said to myself: “This is simply the Truth”.

A whole lot of things started to swirl in my head, my parents, my family, my friends, the worldly life that I was so indulged in. But everything became insignificant before the Truth, except for my family, thoughts were coming into my head: “What are my parents going to say? What are my brothers going to say? What if my family disowns me? What if they cut me off (both kinship and financially)?

But Allah is the best of planners!

Around 6 a.m., I was still reading the Quran when the phone rang. I picked up the phone and it was brother A.C., he started with the usual “How are you doing? How is your school? How is your …”. The whole time, I kept quiet and said little, brother A.C. sensing something unusual asked me: “What is Wrong?”

How can I deny myself the Truth after finding out about it? “What is wrong?” asked brother A.C., “How do you become a Muslim?” I asked. Brother A.C. was surprised (in a good way I am sure). A.C. told me to repeat after him:

“I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammad (peace be upon him ) is His messenger … Ashadu ala ilaha ilallah, wa ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasululah.”

May Allah reward (better than the worldly life and all that is in it) brother A.C. for his patience and efforts, and guide him to the straight path, Amen.

May Allah reward (better than the worldly life and all that is in it) all the brothers who helped me find the Truth, and guide them to the straight path, Amen.

May Allah guide us all to the straight path and save us from the Hell fire, Amen.

All praise and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds.