A Closer Examination
When we finished the prayer, I started asking questions, and I continued that for the next two or three days, and I soon realized that I was facing something here that I couldn’t deny.
The three European Muslims told me that the only thing required for a man to call himself a Muslim is that one can declare one’s belief that God is one and absolutely only one without a partner or equal, and that you further declare your belief that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the Prophet of God.
As I had no filter to pour prophets through, I couldn’t see how I could leave one of God’s prophets out and approve the others (as Christians do in relation to Muhammad), and when they also told me that a Muslim should not believe in Muhammad alone as a prophet, but in all the prophets of God from Adam through Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus to Muhammad plus so many more (may the endless and choicest blessings of Allah and peace be upon them all) I had to acknowledge that this was what I believed.
When they eventually also let me understand that the Quran is word-for-word the revelations that Muhammad received — that is, God’s own revealed word — I was no longer at all in doubt.
Coming Home
For now, I suddenly stood in front of the fountain, able to drink. I had found the original source, that I had spent years looking for. The door of the ultimate truth.
The only thing I needed to drink freely would be to learn Arabic. So that is why I declared without hesitation that I was a Muslim.
The ruling power that I had recognized so many years ago was now given its name – Allah; my worship was structured, which I greatly needed, and I knew I had finally come home.
The long journey, which had begun approximately 12 years earlier had finally ended and a new one could begin.
My initial quest was complete and now there was the big challenge in starting the walk on the way towards closeness to Allah. To become a sincere follower. To clean up my act and turn the gaze inwardly and protect myself outwardly by following the rules.
At no point did I ever doubt that this was the right thing to do when I declared myself a Muslim. It was a leap from darkness to light, from quest to safety, from wavering and hesitation to firmness and form. Allahu Akbar!
And honestly, I had no choice. As I stood with the door on the handle of Islam, my only other option was to continue my life on a lie, to pretend that I had not seen what I saw, and that never was an option. I thank and praise Allah for directing me to the right path, and I consider it a great privilege to be allowed to pray daily and pray many times a day to be kept on the right path.
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