Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| One leaf |
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| jannah |
| 05/17/01 at 03:06:51 |
| [slm] Someone said to me today that it is not from books or ilm that someone becomes a better Muslim, but from being with Saliheen and learning and experiencing from them and wanting to be like them. As proof, here is my story of how I became a better Muslim... one leaf on the tree of hope for struggling muslims everywhere... somewhere in the midwest the car sped down the long, winding highway. it was summer. it was hot. the windows were all rolled down. 5 sisters sat in the car including myself. one was from montreal. one from michigan. one from indiana. one from canada. we had long since run out of conversation, the dusty highway having eaten up the last of our words about 30 miles back. we sat in comfortable silence humming along to some country tune on the radio on just to keep us sane. i thought about how we must have looked to these midwest rednecks. 5 sisters with scarves in one car. maybe they thought we were some nuns traveling somewhere, or a strange northern rock band or just strange. i felt that fleeting feeling of one second where you wish you could take a picture in time and just hold it. i knew this moment was unique. it would never come again. each us would be leaving in about a week. we had spent the summer together, laughing, staying up late watching rented videos, sitting by the lake feeding ducks, wandering through cornfields, working. now in a week we would each head back to our homes and families. i thought about each of the new friends i had made, their lives, their histories. how strong they were. nasrine would go back to montreal, walk through the flowered streets speaking french wearing hijab. sara would be going to university in michigan, taking classes, active in her msa. reeham would head back to canada and organizing muslim kids summer camps. and amal would go back to teaching islamic school. all 4 wore hijab. i didn't. how did they have the strength i wondered? to walk through the streets? to ignore the mocking? to do normal every day things? how did they have the time to learn so much quran and hadith and be so knowledgable? how could i go back to my tiny little town where i knew everyone and let them go off to their big cities and problems and activities alone? i wanted to be like them. i wanted to be independent and knowledgable and good. they were people that Allah recognized. i just knew it. Allah would say one day about one of them.. yes that one of my servant, she did so much for islam, alone. so at that moment looking at endless cornfields , pastures and skies i made my decison. i couldn't take this hijab off and i couldn't go back and be just no one again. i wanted to make a difference. i want to be someone who they could say, the world was different because of her. she shared with us what no one could. she helped us when no one could. she didn't want anything from anyone. she only wanted to please her Lord. |
| Re: One leaf |
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| BrKhalid |
| 05/17/01 at 05:54:50 |
| I remember the time, the place and the date it happened. Its funny because I could feel myself changing even before it occurred and its as if it was the final thing that pushed me to take that first step. Every year on its anniversary I wonder how things would have turned out if things had taken a different course and can't help but feel grateful that they didn't. If it wasn't the for the guidance of Allah [swt] I wonder where I would be. [hr] I think we all have big moments in our lives where we have to make some real big decisions. Sometimes you're fully aware of them at the time you have to take them, at other times you only realise their true importance with hindsight. |
| Re: One leaf |
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| Barr |
| 05/17/01 at 06:14:59 |
| Wa'alaikumussalam warahmatullah... MashaAllah, Sister Jannah... that is beautiful :) And Br Khalid... please tell us what happened... please? |
| Re: One leaf |
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| bhaloo |
| 05/17/01 at 14:20:52 |
| slm I remember the place (online of course) and people. I remember saying "so these people are Muslims". I had never known people like that before. It was incredible. They showed me a tremendous amount of compassion, understanding, patience, and were encouraging. The best dawah I have ever personally witnessed I saw online by one individual. One individual that was able to change so many lives. |
| Re: One leaf |
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| momineqbal |
| 05/17/01 at 15:31:32 |
| [slm], The value of good company was once emphasised by a writer in a couplet (which I dont remember, cuz it was in farsi), the meaning of which is something like this: Prophet Nuh's (alaihi Salam) son was in bad company so Allah did not save him even though he was a prophet's son wheras even creature like a dog found a mention in the Qur'an by virtue of being in good company of Ashab-e-Kahf! |
| Re: One leaf |
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| chachi |
| 05/17/01 at 19:13:17 |
| I'm awed by how islam reaches the ends of the earth even though muslims do so little I'm awed by it's scholars and their human compassion and fearlessness in the face of opposing tyrants Most of all i'm awed by how muslims though they don't have apriesthood or common race or history can be so close to each other |
| Re: One leaf |
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| jannah |
| 05/17/01 at 22:25:42 |
| ok peeps where are the other leaves??!!! our tree is so bare !! come on all of us need some inspiration.. so post your story of how you came to islam, or what made you a better Muslim! if you are scared like certain people *arsalan* and don't want to post your thread publically you can always send it anonymously :) |
| Re: One leaf |
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| Barr |
| 05/20/01 at 02:28:18 |
| Salam :-) [quote]I think we all have big moments in our lives where we have to make some real big decisions. Sometimes you're fully aware of them at the time you have to take them, at other times you only realise their true importance with hindsight.[/quote] And sometimes, it takes a toll and shakes our trust in Allah... for we have yet to see the diamond the lies ahead. And when the sight is given, a little at a time, we now realise, the enormous compassion and love He has for us, for He has let us grow and discover, the diamond, that we might never have, should that decision, is never made, should that path, we never tread.... I see the sparkle, and hence, I smile... but my diamond, is still ... very far away.... Hasbun Allah wa ni'mal wakeel wallahua'lam |
| Re: One leaf |
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| Kathy |
| 06/26/01 at 10:41:15 |
| slm This is a hard post to answer for me. There were two very different episodes in my life- ones that have made all the difference. The first when I met a Muslim and the second after I had been a Muslim for a long time- how I became a better one. Choices- at one time in my life I can look back and see that Allah swt had given me a choice, a test or what I call a second chance, before I became Muslim. It was kind of scary to take that first step, alone, - Al-Humdilallah I did- and as a famous poet said "it has made all the difference." |
| Re: One leaf |
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| eleanor |
| 05/25/01 at 10:22:26 |
| slm "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.." I know the poem you're talking about. The poet is faced with two paths in the wood..one broad and clear..the other neglected and overgrown, disused. It's a great poem for this thread. Inshallah if I find it I'll post it or maybe someone else will. My leaf..hmmm... it started sprouting when I met my husband and found out that Islam is not so different after all. I was literally amazed that Islam had all the same prophets and many of the same stories as Christianity. I had always thought Islam was as different to Christianity as, say, Hinduism or Buddhism are. For years my leaf didn't grow at all. It just showed its tip and never grew any further. Then we met up with some Muslim families and my leaf came out another little bit. I was intrigued and wanted to know more about these people.. I went on the internet to look for more information and well.... from the internet I found the best botanists in the world (shout outs to the Madinat) who watered my leaf and gave it loads of sunshine so that it had the courage to come out even more, but it was still curled in a little on itself, ashamed to open out fully my parents-in-law came to stay, they pray five times a day, read the Qur'an daily, don't watch rubbish on the TV or listen to trashy music. This was the last incentive my leaf needed. Now it had other leaves around it who would take care of it, and it opened out and basked in the sunshine. Alhumdulillah I found Islam in all its glory. I am on the road to becoming a better Muslim. I still have mountains to learn and will always be learning for the rest of my life. "I, I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference" wasalaam eleanor |
| Re: One leaf |
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| Rashid |
| 05/26/01 at 01:36:20 |
| [slm] It was a regular hot and humid day in south florida, the sun was shining bright and there was no relief in sight. I had looked up the address to the mosque in the yellow pages and now was parking my car outside its gates. "I wonder what goes on in there" was my thought as I approached the wudu area. Seeing no one, I went to the door and a brother came and greeted me. He was dressed just like in the movies: turban, beard, robe, and barefoot. I just looked at him in amazement marvelling that he could dress like this in america and not get arrested for conspiring to blow up a building. Regaining my composure, I said "I'd like to find out about Islam" he smiled and grasped my hand firmly and led me to the prayer area. Immediately upon entering, I felt an overwhelming feeling of peace, as if the whole world had ceased to exist. the carpet was green, the walls were white, and I thought this simple empty room was the only place that mattered. His first words to me were "Why are you here?" and I didn't know how to respond. Finally I blurted out that I was a student and wanted to find out more. He asked if I had any questions. I didn't, I had read about 20 books on Islam and printed out over 200 pages of FAQ's. We started talking, and I lost track of time...when I looked at the clock, 3 hours had passed, but it seemed like 10 minutes. I found myself amazed that I agreed with everything he said about the unity of God, the finality of prophethood, the fallacy of christianity, and the futility of associating partners to God. Food was brought, and he dug in with his bare hands. Surprisingly I thought that this was the most natural thing in the world. He offered a fork but I refused, gathering the rice in my hands. If only my family and friends could see me now! After eating, he said that I was already muslim and all I had to do was make the declaration. I became alarmed, my only intention was to find out some info, not become one! But I found myself unable to speak. I thought it was time to leave, but couldn't move. I suppose he must've read my thoughts bacause he said "Follow your heart. Allah has brought you here, now it is up to you to submit" I took a deep breath and once again the feeling of tranquility was over me. He asked if I was ready and I said yes with no hesitation. He instructed me in what to say in arabic and then translated it. And then surrounded by 4 other brothers whom he had called, I repeated after him "ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah wa ashhadu anna Muhammad ur rasulullah" As soon as I was done, all were smiling ear to ear and were lining up to hug me. I was late for work so now I really had to leave...to my disappointment, I never saw the brother again. I later found out that he was with Tabligh Jammat and had left Miami the next day, but not before telling all the other masajid about "the young brother who was guided by Allah to the straight path" which is how I got my name. [wlm] |
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