Becoming Muslim
I met some Muslim families and some of them were very friendly. Others, I suppose due to language barriers, were a bit more reserved. However, they did try very hard to communicate and eventually we got more comfortable with each other. Their shyness of inability to communicate was replaced by heart-to-heart communication.
Since not every Muslim in our community was able to attend the Jumu’ah prayers at the university, there was a weekly lesson and dinner held every Friday evening in the masjid and community Islamic center. This weekly gathering was from Maghrib until after Isha for a “khutbah” (Friday Sermon) and provided a social event which brought the Muslims together no matter what their nationality and put life into the local Islamic community. May Allah reward those who were active in establishing this tradition which is ongoing until this present time, Alhamdulillah.
When I first started learning about Islam, I went to the masjid a few times and and met some Muslim women and families. However, Shaytan is ever present! Iblees is never going to leave alone those who are close to escaping the fire. He had me questioning if I was sure I wanted to join a community of standoffish, smug, arrogant and proud people. Shaytan knows exactly which aspects to attack us with, and I did not like people who were arrogant and smug.
When beginning to learn about Islam in those first days it seemed everything was under scrutiny. And Shaytan was right there to put doubt into every single aspect of Islamic life. These people dress like “bag ladies”, how are you going to get a job and support yourself dressed like this? Look how they look at you–they won’t ever accept you as “one of them”. These men think they know everything–telling you how to dress, speak, walk…why don’t they worry about themselves? This is a religion full of “know-it-alls” who think they are better than everyone else. All they do is tell everyone what they should be doing. Every single characteristic that I found unattractive in a person seem accentuated in those at the Masjid even though it was unjustified.
Then one day, the imam of the masjid asked to see me. He wanted to talk to me about WHY I wanted to announce my Islam and to make sure I wasn’t just saying it due to a temporary circumstance or reason. He could not accept Shahada from a person who was not wholeheartedly accepting Islam. So I went to the masjid, and through the door separating the men’s recreation area from the sisters’ recreation area, I told him, “I don’t need to wait for you to accept my Shahada. I’ve already said it for Allah and He is The One to accept it, not you.” They scheduled the public announcement of my Shahada for the next Friday.
In the next couple of days until Friday I had severe reconsideration. I was constantly asking myself if I was sure this was what I wanted to do. I had already started to pray in English as I had borrowed a book on Islamic prayer from the library. No one knew I was praying yet. So I prayed. When I prayed, my worries were subsided and I knew that I was doing the right thing. I learned my first important lesson about prayer–constant prayer fortifies the Muslim against Shaytaan and keeps him away from the heart. I began to pray regularly on my own and even offered extra ones to make sure that I had strength against evil whisperings.
Alhamdulillah, I made my Shahada. All the sisters welcomed me to faith. The imam’s wife handmade a hijab for me and it fit perfectly. It was one of the blessings of a person doing something for Allah’s sake. I had come into a family of sisters in faith and my education in Islam began. Alhamdulillah.
