“ALLAH The Best of Planners, The Architect of Our Lives”

We begin our every new day, new month and new year with a myriad of goals and plans. Goals and plans regarding every sphere of our lives: personal and professional. Many times though, things don’t happen according to our plans. But everytime, all the time, they transpire according to the Greatest Architect’s Plans, ALLAH Subhanawata’ala.

In this month’s series In The Embrace of Islam, we find ourselves inspired by Sister Sharrifa Carlo’s intriguing tale of reversion. Currently residing and working in the city of Kuwait, she shares her journey through and to Islam and how, while she planned, ALLAH had better plans. For even though she was recruited to ‘free’ Muslim women from oppression, she ended up accepting Islam, SubhanALLAH!

Enlightening us as to how she came to actually accepting Islam, proved compelling. She shared her riveting tale, “Prior to Islam and during my childhood, I was your typical American girl. I was what you would call, ‘an Army brat’, travelling around the world with my family, from military base to military base.

The story of how I reverted to al Islam is a story of plans. I made plans; the group I was with made plans, and ALLAH made plans. And ALLAH is the Best of Planners. When I was a teenager, I came to the attention of a group of people with a very sinister agenda. They were, and probably still are, a loose association of individuals who work in government positions but have a special agenda to destroy Islam. It is not a governmental group that I am aware of, they simply use their positions in the US government to advance their cause. One member of this group approached me because he saw that I was articulate, motivated and very much the women’s rights advocate. He told me that if I studied International Relations with an emphasis in the Middle East, he would guarantee me a job at the American Embassy in Egypt. He wanted me to eventually go there to use my position in the country to talk to Muslim women and encourage the fledgling women’s rights movement. I thought this was a great idea. I had seen the Muslim women on TV; I knew they were a poor oppressed group, and I wanted to lead them to the light of 20th century freedom.

With this intention, I went to college and began my education. I studied Quran, Hadith and Islamic history. I also studied the ways I could use this information. I learned how to twist the words to say what I wanted them to say. It was a valuable tool. Once I started learning, however, I began to be intrigued by this message. It made sense. That, for me, was very scary. Therefore, in order to counteract this effect, I began to take classes in Christianity. I chose to take classes with a certain professor on campus because he had a good reputation and as well as a Ph.D. in Theology from Harvard University. I felt I was in good hands.
In reality I was in good hands, but not for the reasons I thought. It turned out that this professor was a Unitarian Christian. He did not believe in the trinity or the divinity of Jesus. In actuality, he believed that Jesus was just a prophet.

He proceeded to prove this by taking the Bible from its sources in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, conveying where they had been changed. In doing this, he showed the historical events which shaped and followed these changes. By the time I finished this class, my deen [religion of Christianity] had been destroyed, but I was still not ready to accept Islam. As time went on, I continued to study, for myself and for my future career. This took about three years. In this time, I would question Muslims about their beliefs. One of the individuals I questioned was a Muslim brother with the MSA [Muslim Students’ Association]. Alhamdulllah, he saw my interest in the deen, and made it a personal effort to educate me about Islam. May Allah increase his reward. He would give me dawaa [i.e. tell me about Islam] at every opportunity which presented itself.

One day, he contacted and informed me about a group of Muslims who were visiting in town. He wanted me to meet with them and I agreed. It was after the Ishaa [night] prayer that I made my way to where they were residing. I was led to a room with about twenty men in it. They all made space for me to sit, and I was placed face to face with an elderly Pakistani gentleman. Mashallah, this brother was a very knowledgeable man in matters of Christianity. He and I discussed and argued the varying parts of the Bible and the Quran until the fajr [dawn prayer].

At this point, after having listened to this wise man tell me what I already knew, based on the class I had taken in Christianity, he did what no other individual had ever done. He invited me to become a Muslim. In the three years that I had been searching and researching, no one had ever invited me to Islam. I had been taught, argued with and even insulted, but never invited. May Allah guide us all. So when he invited me, it clicked. I realized this was the time. I knew it was the truth, and I had to make a decision. Alhamdulillah [All praise be to Allah], Allah opened my heart, and I said, “Yes. I want to be a Muslim.”

With that, the man led me in the shahadah [the testimony of faith] – in English and in Arabic. I swear by Allah that when I took the shahadah, I felt the strangest sensation. I felt as if a huge, physical weight had just been lifted off my chest; I gasped for breath as if I were breathing for the first time in my life. Alhamdulillah, Allah had given me a new life; a clean slate; a chance for Jannah [Paradise]; and I pray that I live the rest of my days as a Muslim and that I die as a Muslim, ameen.”

Highlighting us as to her current projects and endeavours, as a Muslimah, Sister Shariffa said, “I work in Kuwait and have travelled around the world teaching people about the beauty of Islam. I talk about the duties of Muslims; the beauty of this religion and also about Christianity versus Islam. I also manage two twitter accounts for the purpose of giving dawah to Islam, @SAndalusia and @MuslimTweeting

Regarding the pivotal moment and point that lead her to accepting Islam, she stated, “When I realized that I couldn’t run from the truth. I knew from all that I had read and learned that it was the truth but I kept denying it because my heart was still so attached to the dunya. But Allah opened my heart and I finally realized that I had to submit to Allah, ‎​Alhamdulillah.”
 
For many reverts to Islam, there exists many hurdles and challenges. Perhaps mostly with regards to their relationships with family and close friends. Concerning the reactions of her close family, relatives and friends, Sister Shariffa responded, “My father disowned me and I lost many friends. But in return I inherited millions of brothers and sisters feesabeelillAllah (in the path of ALLAH).
Mostly, it has been a wonderful experience. My life has changed for the better and undoubtedly my perspective on life has changed. I realized that how I look at the world now is better and more positive because I now have a better understanding that whatever comes along is good for me, for it is a part of my destiny, ALLAH’s decree.”

Simply and profounding put, she shared that her favourite aspects of Islam is,”Knowing Allah.”

Her message to Muslims and non Muslims was, “Read! Read! And then read more. Know your deen and put everything you know into practice regardless of what others around you say or do. Learn about Islam from the Quran and the authentic teachings of the Prophet SAW so you will discover ad know the truth. Also, ask God to open your heart to this truth.”

Conveying to us her final and concluding sentiments, Sister Sharrifa beautifully articulated, “Islam isn’t something from our fathers or forefathers. It is a religion sent by our Creator and its truth is easy and clear to find and follow. All we have to do is read and understand the Quran and the sunnah. If we take Islam from its sources we will never go wrong.”

“Why Islam? Because every soul craves contentment, peace, truth, guidance, love, enlightenment and home and all of these are only found with Allah.
Why pray? Because gratitude, humility and forgiveness are the keys to Paradise.
Why Quran? Because a Merciful Creator would never leave His slaves without Guidance.
Why hijab? Because that which is valuable must be shielded and protected and nothing is more valuable than an honorable woman.” @SAndalusia

Extracted from the column in the series In The Embrace of Islam
With intent on aspiring and inspiring towards the ‎​L♥√ع and Pleasure of ALLAH subhanawa’ta’ala,
Rehana Shah-Bulbulia, the author of ‘Falling In Love With Muhammad SAW’, blogs at
https://muslimahatpeace.wordpress.com
And tweets as @muslimahatpeace