In the Embrace of Islam…’No ALLAH, No Peace…Know ALLAH, Know Peace”

Described as a fragrance that permeates every single pore; a light that traverses from the chambers of the heart, illuminating not only the heart but the mind and soul too; a feeling that enshrouds one in the velvety warmth of tranquililty and hope…this is the reality and embodiment of peace. Those who have discovered its reality can quite vividly recall that very first moment when it gracefully entered their lives. For once its presence is felt, there is nothing else that can compare. Yet many, if not all who have discovered the essence of peace, will undoubtedly attest that to know ALLAH is to know peace, SubhanALLAH.

Journey with me to Ohio, in the United States of America and encounter another truly inspirational tale of reversion. A story of a young woman’s desire to know her Creator; to feel His Presence in her life and to discover the most coveted prized possession called peace. This is the story of the young and vivacious Lauren Kate Ward, an Equine Pre-Vet student…

“Assalaamualaikum. Well, I was raised in an extremely religious Christian household. From preschool to seventh grade I attended a private Christian school, where we were taught daily Bible lessons and Chapel lessons on Fridays. My family went to Bible school and Church every Sunday without fail. So, as you can imagine everyone in my family was very religious. Around the time I entered high school, I realised that I was experiencing some trouble with my faith. While everybody around me kept talking about feeling God; the spirit of God around them; His work in their lives, and the peace they gained from it, no matter what I did, I just never felt this way. I put my questions forward to my family, but they didn’t or couldn’t answer them. I even recall asking my pastor, but he too couldn’t really answer them. I just had this nagging feeling that something wasn’t right. However, I still went to church and by this time I was leading the Bible study group in my high school. So I simply pretended to feel what the others were feeling because I didn’t want to be in a position where people would find out that I was not as strong in my faith as I appeared to be.

In my sophomore year of high school, I took a world history class. Part of our syllabus was concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and in our lessons our teacher traced the history all the way back to Isaac and Ishmael. Along with that, he also taught us the basics of Islam: the five pillars, the basic tenets of faith and things of this nature. I had always been quite interested in everything about the Middle East, but it had never dawned on me to learn about the faith. It was then that I began to do a little more research on my own and began learning the basics. What I found was that it answered many of the questions that had been plaguing me as a Christian. However, when my mother found out, she became very upset with me for “turning my back on God” and forbade me to read any books or learn anything more about Islam as long as I lived with my family. 

So, fast forward a few years to my second year in college. While in my first year, I once again tried to go to Church and attempted to get involved in the Christian campus groups and Bible Studies, as I attend a Christian University, I just wasn’t feeling any impact of my faith in my heart.
Around Christmas time, just on a whim, I began to look for mosques in my area. I discovered that where my school was situated in Ohio was a large Somalian population. Astonishingly, my search came back with plenty of Mosques! I found one that had special classes about the basics of Islam and decided to attend one of these sessions… Just to see what it was all about. As soon as I walked in to the Mosque, Alhamdulillah, I felt the Presence of Allah. I felt in my heart what I had heard about and yearned for all these years! I actually broke down and cried, because the feeling was indescribably beautiful and beyond my expectations. I finally felt as if I belonged; something akin to coming home. I knew and realised that I had discovered what I had been searching for!
And so began and continued my study of Islam. However, the more I learnt, the more I fell in love with the religion.” 

The challenges that we all face on a daily basis may seem insurmountable, yet when learning of the challenges of others, it grants us the courage to perservere through ours. Reverting to Islam comes with its fair share of dunya trials and challenges and Sister Lauren openly shared hers with us, “Well, with my family being such strong Christians, the reaction really wasn’t positive at all. When my mother found out, she didn’t talk to me for about a month. My father was a little better with dealing with it. He noticed how it changed me as a person and how it appeared to have procured for me the peace and love of Allah. My brother and sister, eleven and sixteen, were pretty alright with it, just curious. My mother unfortunately doesn’t see that Allah is just the Arabic word for God, and that it is still the same God. So from her point of view, I have completely turned my back on God, to follow a religion that, unfortunately, has a very bad reputation in America. I pray though, in sha Allah, that she will realise how important this is to me and she will come to accept my decision. My friends have been pretty good about it! They’ve been very curious but have been amazingly supportive as well, Alhamdulillah!”

Touching on her experiences as a new Muslimah, Lauren stated, ” Of course it has really been kind of a life-style change! I had never been used to praying more than once a day, usually before bed! So praying five times a day is something that I still struggle with, a LOT. I experienced my first Ramadaan this summer, and I fasted about half of the days. It was something I have never been exposed to or experienced before! I’d like to try and fast the entire month of Ramadaan this year, in sha Allah. A big thing I have been struggling with is trying to incorporate Islam into who I am. I go through phases where I am very religious, very enthusiastic towards going to Jummah, praying, listening to halaqas, but then the dunya gets in the way, and I start to fall out of practice. I’m working on it in sha Allah. I hope to reach that ‘place’ where Islam is so much a part of my life that I can’t even imagine it any other way!

My favorite and most treasured aspect of Islam is that I have finally come to know peace, due to having ALLAH in my life. Along with being at university, I am a member at many campus clubs, and work two jobs as well. As you can imagine, I am usually a big ball of stress! But since I have accepted Islam, I have come to the realization that everything that happens in life has already been ordained by Allah. And that He is always there, available and ready to listen and help us if we just pray!
I heard from a speaker at an MSA-Muslim Student Association event that, “Allah only tests those who He loves, who He wants to strengthen” and that, “Allah never tests a person beyond what they can bear. For, if you’re going through it, you can handle it!”
I try to remember this every single day and in all situations. SubhanALLAH, it makes my stressful life a lot easier. Another thing I love about Islam is how everything comes back to Allah. We wake up, we thank Allah; before we eat, we remember Allah; we plan to do something, we say in sha Allah. While it seems like a little thing, it has really had a huge impact on my life. It centers me, reminds me of my faith, and keeps my focus always on Allah!”
 
Lauren’s message to Muslims and non Muslims were, “As a Muslim, keep your chin up! Sometimes, I-myself feel lost in the middle because Muslims hold me to a very high standard even though I’m still a very new Muslim and they expect certain things from me. And then non-Muslims also expect me to behave and act in a certain way or do certain things! But you’ve got to be comfortable with who you are, how Allah made you and realise that this dunya is a merely journey. We are constantly moving, constantly changing and constantly learning. And in the end, the only important thing is what Allah thinks of us! Endeavour to be confident in who you are and remember that you should only aim to please Allah, in sha Allah!
To non-Muslims, I would like to say that ‘hey, we’re just like you!’ Get to know us, talk to us. For me personally, I love telling people about my faith and having interfaith dialogues! Don’t let a peace of cloth or a headscarf deter you from getting to know us Muslims. Who knows, we could end up being your best friend!”

Being a student at a University with very few Muslims, Lauren’s reception and interaction with others proves interesting, “Since I attend a college that is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, it’s been interesting. Nothing bad at all, but I’m one of only six Muslims on campus, and the only revert. I have met all of the other Muslims on campus, and I am good friends with two of them. But being an American revert Muslim, I get some pretty strange looks at times! I have begun to wear the hijab on Fridays and I am trying to get into wearing it more often. So when I do wear the hijab, I get more weird looks! But people are usually very polite and while some ask questions, I have never really received a negative response to the hijab or my reversion. I even had one professor, who is Jewish, show a keen interest when I showed up in a hijab and abaya with henna all over my arms, the first day of class was on Eid! Over the course of the semester, she asked me to share my testimony regarding my reversion! She has been wonderful, Alhamdulillah, and very polite. She will be joining me for Jummuah at our local Masjid some time soon, In sha Allah!
 
Heartfelt and sincere, Lauren’s concluding sentiments were, “I would just like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped me in my journey to Islam; brothers and sisters from all over the world who have supported me in tough times. I feel as if my life has been blessed over and over with my reversion to Islam. I thank you sister, for allowing me to pass my story along as well! If this helps steer anyone to the way of Allah, that is really all that I can ask for! Jazakallahu khair.”

From many a reverts inspirational tale, I have discovered one underlying message, which undoubtedly leaves one with much food for thought, “No ALLAH, No peace…Know ALLAH, Know Peace,” SubhanALLAH!

Extracted from my column, In The Embrace of Islam from the SA print mag- The Muslim Woman Magazine.
Rehana Shah Bulbulia Twitter account- @muslimahatpeace

Let His Love lead the way…in the Blessings of ALLAH endeavour to live your day! RSB
@muslimahatpeace

In the Embrace of Islam “A LifeLong Journey”

In the depths of the majestic and mesmerising ocean there exists countless of wonders for us to behold; we have the opportunity to study infinite lessons as they unfold. A never ending journey, a cycle of continuous fluid motion. It has no beginning, we can see no end; a lifelong voyage for all its inhabitants.

And in these waters of such potency, we are privileged to observe and take lesson from the multitude of creation of ALLAH’s ocean cosmos. Glory be to ALLAH, the Magnificent, He- Who has created waters sweet and salty, separated by an invisible barrier; such a vast and intricate system to explore. Have you ever watched or read about the salmon run each year? Tiny fish that travel thousands of miles from the Atlantic Ocrean just to reach a specific place, infact a river and the exact spot where they were spawned, in order to lay their eggs and birth their young. Yet, that is not their destination. For subsequently, they together with their young, traverse again thousands of miles to return. And each year they proceed back and forth, in what proves to be a lifelong journey for them.

Undoubtedly as Muslims we acknowledge, that like the salmon fish, we traverse a lifelong journey. It is indeed a lifelong effort that we have to endeavour for our Imaan, for our Islam and as ummatees of Muhammad sallallahualaiwassallam. And this is the message that has been shared with us by the revert we encounter in this month’s edition of In The Embrace of Islam.

“Assalaamualaikum, my name is Muhammad Nubi. ‎​Alhamdulillah for this opportunity to share with you my journey to Islam. I am an American and I was born in America. My parents are Christians and so I was born and raised as a Christian. My named used to be Thomas Hall but after accepting Islam I changed my name to Muhammad.
Alhamdulillah my journey to Islam was a beautiful and nice transition for me. Before Islam my life in America was that of a typical young American man. I had a good job, happy family and all the material things that plentiful money could buy. And I was also doing the kind of things young people do in America. You know when you are young and just out of college, busy making money. While fortunately I possessed all of these material things I still found myself very dissatisfied with my life. Perhaps for two reasons. Firstly, life beginning to get a little out of control for me. The norm is, as a young American you party, drink and club a lot and I was also engaging in drugs. And secondly, I began to realise, that while I had all enough money and material possessions, I was still not at peace with myself. I wondered that there had to be more to life. What was life really supposed to be about? More importantly, what was my real purpose in life? This kind of emptiness led me to begin my search. In all honesty, I didn’t know about Islam, I only knew about Christianity. While I believed in God, my belief was

hazy. So I went back to the Church in an attempt to discover what my real purpose was and what exactly my relationship with God was supposed to be like. But unfortunately no one had the answers, infact any answers for me. They told me straight that I just had to believe, even without answers and understanding. And so many of these people began to become annoyed with me. I was asking too many questions and causing an uneasiness amongst them at the Church. They then quite abruptly, asked me not to come to the Church anymore.It was after this that Islam entered the picture. A friend invited me to a programme/talk about different religions at a hall and this was the first time that I learnt about the religion of Islam; Who is our Lord, Allah; the beautiful prophet Muhammad sallallahualaiwassallam, the greeting of Islama and the five daily prayers. In learning about Islam and the way of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahualaiwassallam, I began discovering what my purpose in life should be; I began to feel at peace. I learnt about ALLAH, my Lord and the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

Of course after I accepted Islam, my life changed tremendously. My mother was very supportive, even though she didn’t understand much of it. Especially when it came with all those things that I could no longer do now that I was a Muslim, like not eating pork. My father, on the other hand, was very upset with me for leaving the religion of our forefathers. It was actually very difficult for him and he somewhat disowned me. My brothers and sisters were not too much of a problem. ‎​Alhamdulillah, my youngest sister accepted Islam but only brother ended up becoming a minister. I really tried to give him da’wah, but it is as ALLaH has wished. I also lost all of my friends, because now since I was a Muslim we had nothing more in common.

After I took the shahadah I felt extremely happy. I sincerely believed that it was indeed ALLAH who had guided me to this way, the way of Islam Don’t imagine that my life was without challenges and tests. My wife didn’t like and accept this change at all. So we had no choice but to divorce. Even though we had a little son together. Next came the problem with my job, I was a cigarette salesman, selling tabacco for a big and major company in America. This company also used to buy and sell alcohol. Of course, I learnt that as a Muslim, this was all haraam and so I quit that job. My life now seemed to be filled with difficulty and hardship-no job, no wife, no baby. But ALLAH SWT promises in the Holy Quran that surely after difficulty there comes easy. Alhamdulillah, ALLAH has made it easy for me.
My message to the non Muslims is please study Islam, the Quran and life of the Last Messenger Muhammad sallallahualaiwassallam. Also talk to sincere muslims, and ask God-Almighty show you the correct way, the straight path and guidance to the truth.
To new muslims I say, hold fast to the reliogion of Islam, your Imaan and the commandments of ALLAH and the way of Muhammad sallallahualaiwassallam. Islam is a lifelong journey of study and effort. We all need a good and sincere teacher because there is so much to know. Islam isn’t just black and white, we have to learn about ALLAH’s commands and the life and way of Prophet Muhammad sallallahualaiwassallam, what is halaal and haraam and so much more. But throughout this journey, fellow Muslim be patient. For we all can never learn everything. Yes, Islam is truly a lifelong journey, towards your relationship with ALLAH and your purpose in life. It is also a beautiful journey, so enjoy it.”

Extracted from my column, In The Embrace of Islam from the SA print mag- The Muslim Woman Magazine.

Twitter account- @muslimahatpeace

Let His Love lead the way…in the Blessings of ALLAH endeavour to live your day! RSB
@muslimahatpeace