My journey to Islam

It is interesting to note that Muslims established the First University in the world in Cairo, Egypt and not only this, but it was the Muslims who were mainly responsible for the great advances in medicine, mathematics, astronomy, geography, physics and literature.
Saturday mornings, I decided to volunteer my time at the Centre, to teach both conversational and Basic English to many foreign persons seeking help with the language.
Although I am not a professional teacher, it was during this experience that I met many Muslims, who later became my close and loyal friends. These Muslims came from countries such as Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Indonesia, Bosnia, Libya, Yemen and China.
All of these people had high degrees of education in their countries, which unfortunately was not automatically accepted in Canada without further standards that are applied here. Even though I was not a professional teacher, this did not hinder their desire to be helped and they were only too grateful for whatever resource they could use to help speed up their learning.
I can remember being asked by a Muslim once what my religious affiliation was. Dumbfounded, the only suitable answer I could give at the time was that I was a spiritual person but attended no particular church nor believed in any dogma. I definitely believed in God, and only one God. I chose to consider myself as a very spiritual person who was now at the end of the line when it came to religion.
It was this person whom I had witnessed in the deep and sincere prayer, that brought me to know that a love for God first and only, was not something I alone realized. His name was Majid which is one of the ninety-nine names of God.
In all the other churches I had been to during the past years, the men did not show any emotion towards God at all. It was as if they were there in attendance physically but not mentally. I always had the feeling that the men did not love God with the same fervor the women did. At least they did not express it in the churches I had gone to.
I will never forget the way I saw this man pray. Although I could not understand what he was saying since he was praying in Arabic, it was very clear that he placed God first. His complete attention both in body and mind was absolved entirely in what he was doing. He was in a completely different world, immersed in his prayers. It was so beautiful, that it left a lasting impression implanted in my mind forever. This was the kind of prayer that I wanted to be involved in, thoughts and attention dedicated in passionate love to Almighty God.
Continuation of the Divine Light
One day, I found a book lying on my desk that Rukhsana had brought in and left for me to read. It was a long time before I decided to take it home and look at it. This book was the Holy Qur’an in English. The Qur’an according to Muslim belief, is the Word of God revealed to the last Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (blessings of Allah be upon him and his family). It is the holy book for all the Muslims everywhere in the world which they follow that contains 114 chapters (called Surahs).
Muslims believe it is the pure word of God to Muhammad, unadulterated over the past 14 centuries. The Qur’an deals with issues which affect human beings such as piety, human conduct and worship. There are also injunctions which act as guidelines on how to create a just and virtuous society, as well as the practice of ethics. It also teaches the belief in the Day of Resurrection. Islam is the final religion given to human beings, revealed by God to the last Prophet who was named Muhammad (blessings of Allah be upon him and his family).
Muhammad was a very honest and truthful person, who was born in Mecca (Saudi Arabia) in the year 570 A.D. He was deeply religious natured and at the age of 40 he was approached by God through the angel Gabriel to proclaim the religion of Islam to humanity. Islam is a monotheistic religion and all Muslims are required to believe in Moses and Jesus (and others) as Prophets of God.
I started reading the Qur’an and could not put it down. It was so easy to read and understand and thus, I loved it. I would read it every night in bed and take seriously what I learnt from it, telling Rukhsana how much I had read.
Weeks later, another book was placed on my desk which also came from her. It was entitled “Know Your Islam”. I decided to read this one too. This book gave me more details about Islam.
One time she invited me to go to a lecture at the Masjid in Kitchener which were held there on Thursday night. The speaker was Br. Shafiq Hudda, administrator of the Islamic Humanitarian Service. Again I was introduced to many friendly and welcoming ladies and began to attend the sessions there every week. Once more, I witnessed the sincere love and recognition given to Allah that I had observed by the Muslims in the Toronto Masjid. It was something wonderful to be a part of.
Acceptance of the Truth
It was spring time just going onto summer. On Sunday afternoons, I visited a local park to sit, relax and read. It was there in Victoria Park that I purposely took notice of the many Muslims who were out walking. The men walked together with the men, and the women met and walked or would sit on a bench and wait for their husbands to come back for them later.
I had taken up an interest in writing and attended a Creative Writing class held once a week by a professional teacher named Veronica Ross, who is a well-known Canadian author. I began writing my observations on the Muslims I saw in the park and developed my curiosity towards them.
It was on a Sunday afternoon in early May while sitting that I noticed a young Muslim woman alone on a bench. I decided to approach her and talk to her. She welcomed me with a warm smile and gesture and invited me to sit and talk with her. Her name was Annam, and she had just arrived in Canada from Iraq and was recently married to her husband Salam whom she was waiting for in the park.
Annam seemed to understand my English quite well although she was not able to reply fully. I told her what I was doing and of my growing interest in Islam. She offered to help me with whatever information I needed. Later on, I learnt she was a professional High School teacher in Iraq before coming to Canada. I liked her attitude and the happy spirit that went along with her good nature and everlasting patience with my queries. We exchanged telephone numbers and she introduced me to her husband when he came back to get her. Salam seemed happy for her that she made a new friend and he showed no concern that I was not a Muslim at the time.
We became close, good friends and our friendship developed into her leading me further into Islam. We started going to the Masjid every week together and later on, she also started to teach the children at the Maderssah4. She read to me many Surahs from the Qur’an while also teaching me more about Islam.
I am forever grateful to her for all the help she has given me in my journey towards Islam. I like to think that Allah inspired her to meet me in the park that day. I believe that there is a certain connection between cause and effect; that the sphere of life’s events does not just take place by chance or accident. Rather, everything is subject to a law – Allah’s law.
Six months after meeting Annam, I became a Shi‘a Muslimah and vocalized my Shahadah5 at the Masjid with Br. Shafiq Hudda making the announcement over the loudspeaker and welcoming me into al-Islam and the teachings of the Ahl al-Bait (peace be upon all of them).
I felt deep contentment and happiness inside myself. It was as if I had finally found the path to my way home – the inner peace I had been searching for since birth. I knew without a doubt that this was it. Had the closed down finally opened allowing me to venture into consciousness? The newborn longing and suppression stored inside me for so long now seemed appeased.