The Second Coming

Bismillah hir-Rahman nir-Raheem (In the name of God)

As-Salaamu Alaikum, (Peace be upon y'all)

Insha Allahu ta'la you are well, (God Willing, you are well)

So you had asked me: "How did you become Muslim?"

-- Here is an email I sent to a person I met on a video game called World of Warcraft...lol, I told a Shaykh (Scholar) about the Daw'wa story... it was very funny, when I was done he paused and said: "Video games.... the new frontier of Daw'wa" LOL! --

Yea I stopped playing that video game... Waste of time.

Well here's a little background about me, I always find it helps when I explain why I choose Islam as my Religion. It is a long email, but it deserves it, for it is my story of how I came to Islam. =)

I knew in my Heart and just by sitting down and thinking deeply, that there Must be something more then this material life... I have to eat, drink, sleep and even go to the washroom to stay Alive. Also my knowledge is limited to that which I have learned, and have been able to retain in memory. Therefor, I did not create myself.

And though my parents gave birth to me, and their parents to them, etc... Who created them? Who created the first one? And I'm sorry, but telling me that it was just a random mix of chemicals, and then we evolved into apes, just doesn't cut it in my books .

Also since Religion is all around us, (Christianity, Judaism, etc...) no matter where you are in the world, and there is this internal feeling within practically every human being (the Fitrah) -however deep and distant it may seem- that there is something greater out there, a "Higher Being" if you will. I came to the conclusion that there Must be a God/Creator of some kind. So ever since realizing this at a very young age, I made it my mission to sift through all the conjectures and hints of the answers to these three main big Questions:

- "What is my Purpose in Life?

- "What is Death, and what will happen then?"

- "What is the Truth about God? (where can I find non-corrupted clear proof of His Existence, let alone details about Him?)

-> And as I was getting older (around age 13 - 15), it seemed to me that there wasn't any clear proof, and I was starting to loose Hope. Starting to give up.

I thank God for my parents who raised me up, teaching that such things as alcohol, drugs, smoking, swearing, etc... are all bad for you physically and mentally. I was Confused in my later years (early teens) however since they slowly started to do these things around me (except for drugs and smoking, Alhamdulillah), even if it was 'moderated' as they like to call it... That didn't matter, to me it was plain hypocrisy and truly hurt me deep down.

All this to say: I have always, and forever will, disagree with and hate in my heart all of the things that I have mentioned above. Why would I put poison into my body, damaging not only my health but also my heart and mind? I did however try alcohol a few times, never got drunk, and after one bad experience with two of my closest friends getting drunk and me not even drinking a sip... , Where they could have died... That was it. I was done with alcohol.

Hence, I have always felt somewhat out of place, not only in my family, but much more so at school. I felt that I didn't belong there with those people... that I was supposed to be with others... and I wanted to find them. I was determined to find them. Yet I did so in a patient, calm, but relentless search.

I was a master at making friends. You know how schools always have those separate groups of people who only hang out with each other and rarely with someone from other groups? On top of that some groups -or 'clicks' if you will- even fight one another as if the hallways were trenches, and everywhere but the class room was an open battlefield for War.

I was a lone wolf, but I could go around to each group and greet them with at least a mutual respect from everyone. (Even all the "Cool" kids who used to make fun of me in elementary school). I made closer friends as well... but as I said, I was a lone wolf, and I always kept a certain distance no matter who it was, because there were small things about them that my heart just couldn't agree with. I was still searching for the place where I belonged.

Warning, Discloser: the following paragraph is only what was going through my mind at that time, though I still hold some of my opinions mentioned below. But I would just like to ask your forgiveness if I offend you in any way shape or form within the next paragraph or so. Also I now consider Christians/Jews to my cousins in faith.

My family is not religious, and as far as I know only my grandparents -not even all of them-, as well as one of my cousins believe in God. My Mom was somewhat religious... she is sort of a Buddhist, but it's hard to tell as she follows her own ideas of it for the most part.

My Mom, has always been very relaxed as a parent, letting me do whatever I like, warning me openly if she is worried about something, giving me all the information and then letting me experience and decide for myself. I Truly Thank God for such an Awesome Mom.

Therefore, since I had those big questions (mentioned above), among others always nagging at my heart, I set out on a Spiritual Journey, looking for answers to all my problems and all the many many problems I saw in general society around me.

I tried -for lack of a better word- Christianity and Buddhism, as well as looked into Judaism, Hinduism, etc... etc...

Yet with each one, I always found them contradicting there own selves in some way or another. Christianity and Judaism seemed the most proper, yet they each have roughly 70+ different versions of the Bible/Torah... confusing? Yes. Not to mention according to some sects of Christianity, Prophet Jesus (Peace be upon him) is supposedly the 'Son of God' AND is 'apart' of God who is three... Which to me makes Absolutely No sense. If Jesus (Peace be upon him) is the Son of God, then how come he has to eat, sleep, get tired, use the washroom, etc... like the rest of humans?? How then does he die on the cross? And if he is 'part of God' then are you telling me 'part of God' was tortured and killed by humans?

Does not compute with me.

As for Judaism, I could hardly even find any information on them, and heard you had to be born Jewish to be Jewish... that trail became cold pretty fast. And as for Buddhism and Hinduism, they didn't or hardly had any clear or even textual evidence to support their theories, and yes I call them theories because there is no real proof to back them up... On top of that, people made the idols and all that with their bare hands, and I can DESTROY them with my bare hands. Why would I worship something that can neither hear me, answer me nor help me in any way?

Back onto the topic of school:

I had about 3-5 girlfriends in High school, and like any typical High school relationship, they barely lasted a week, if that, before they dumped me for fun, or whatever their reasons were... The stupidity of it all still astonishes me to this day. I was fed up with 'girlfriends', and never wanted one again. The only reason I would ever even have another one again -I told myself- would be to lead to a more serious and stable relationship... I was only using the boyfriend girlfriend method because everyone else around me seemed to do it that way.
As you may have been able to tell, I am a serious guy, and I like things that are stable, comfortable, easy and make sense - even at that young age. I wanted a SERIOUS relationship with a Mature girl. Not something that is treated lightly and thrown out as if it were nothing.

Anyways,

About halfway through grade 10, a new girl came to my school and was in two of my classes: Math and English. She wore a Hijab (covered herself with loose clothing, including her hair and neck, everywhere except for her face and hands). Though at the time I thought it was just a cultural thing... and had no idea about it's significance to Islam. Nor did I know anything about Islam. Of courseI heard on the news about 9/11 and all that stuff... Yet I have NEVER trusted the news or people whenever they tell me abut someone/something else without them being present. (What they say about others, especially when it comes to facts/truth... aside from the weather on the News, and even that they get wrong sometimes, lol!)

The reason I do not trust the news or people when it comes to such things, is because the always take facts out of context, and then mix them with lies and or their own idea's and opinions.

If I want to learn about someone or something, I'll go straight to the source and hear it from their own mouths, without any premeditated opinions or stereo-types in my mind.

The first time I saw/met the new girl was in Math class, she seemed upset, so I decided to go and see what was up, and to make yet another friend, she was new to the school, and as I mentioned, it was my prerogative to be friends with everyone. So I said hi and commented on her seeming upset, asking what what was wrong. She replied that she was just having trouble with the math questions. Seeing as she joined halfway through the year, it was understandable. So I helped her. (I was good at Math =P).

We became friends/good acquaintances quickly, and that was all I wanted. Then one day, a few weeks later, we crossed paths on the way back to our homes after school and found out that we lived like literally 4 blocks from one another! I felt something in my heart and started to like her, so being the honest and open guy I was, I told her my feelings, and asked what she thought.

Subhanallah, the very first words out of her mouth, after being a little shocked and thinking for a moment, she replied openly and plainly: "Ok... but in Islam, it's either Marriage. Or Nothing." I was like "..." , "What?", lol. I was so surprised because I had never heard anything like that with such confidence before. And I was very intrigued because my Heart screamed out "Thats EXACTLY what I was looking for. Islam seemed to support the exact sort of relationship which I had been looking for for a very long time. (I mean Christianity said that they did that, but I'd never seen such commitment or anything to back that up form their actions).

And yes, the thought did cross my mind "Should I become Muslim to marry her?", And the split second that crossed my mind, I KNEW it was wrong. My Heart said. NO. If I'm going to do this, it's going to be for myself.

I had to learn more, so we talked about Islam for a few months, and she gave me the an English version of the (meanings of the) Qur'an. She also introduced me to her oldest brother, and he took it from there =)

The very first thing that really pulled my heart to Islam were the etiquette's and morals which it called to. The beautiful manners it instilled in Muslims. And ALL of it had clear textual evidence to back it up! As well as common sense. Not to mention there is only ONE Qur'an! No other versions! I was very excited, and still am.

I started reading the Qur'an, making it my mission to find bad things or things that were wrong and made no sense. I was so taken aback by it... everything was so True, and like a slap in the face, and a Shiver in the Heart... it is Amazing. I couldn't find anything wrong, and even when I thought I did, I was like: I found it! And went to a Muslim and told them "Ha! See! That's wrong!", and they said "No no, you see what that actually means is this... etc...", and it made complete sense so I was like "oh..." now I get it.

I didn't even get halfway through the Qur'an before I took my Shahada (proclamation of faith), "Ashadu Al Laa illaha ill Allah, wa ashadu anna Muhammadar-Rasool Allah." ["I bear witness that there is no god worthy of Worship Except Allah, and I bear witness the Muhammad is his slave and Final Messanger (from among many)."] establishing that I had entered Islam. Allahu Akbar!

(One of the verses that really helped, can be found in the videos below of another converts story).

SubhanAllah, you want to know whats really really special? Something that is utterly Amazing. All I had wanted was to find something to fix my relationship dilemma. Yet Islam not only fixed that in the best possible way, It fixed ALL of my other problems that I had in Life. EVERYTHING. Even things that I considered small, but still always bugged me in the back of my mind. Al.Hamdu.Lillah.

And thats pretty much my story, I started taking AlMaghrib courses soon after becoming Muslim, and I've been taking them ever since, increasing my knowledge of Islamic sciences, etc...

As well as Halaqa's and other smaller classes.

Basically: I chose Islam because of the manners of Islam, and the Qur'an. (It was the Qur'an that sealed the deal. For people can have good manners, but the Words of God are special and Unique only to Him).

To clear up some questions you may have:

- The top number one question that everyone always asks me after reading my story: "So, did you marry that sister?"

Answer:

Nope. We decided we weren't right for one another. She is now married to an Awesome brother Masha Allah, may Allah SWT place Love and Mercy between them and their family, and give them Ilhm Nafi'an, wa Rizkan Tay'yban, wa Amaalan Mutakabalan, Ameen. And make their Best deeds, their last deeds, and grant them Khair Akhirah wa Khair dunnya, Ameen.

All the other questions anyone ever asks me is usualy just Baqwas,

Yet, if you have any, please feel free to Post Away! =)

I'd be gald to answer any questions you may have.

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Here are some videos: it's a funny and Amazing story about how someone else came to Islam. LOVE his story, it's Awesome!

part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pthRGKkMMHM

part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_L7sxluaNs&feature=related