Asmaa's Story-My Journey to Islam.
The daughter of Christian priests coming to Islam... One of the MOST BEAUTIFUL STORIES I HAVE EVER HEARD... :)))
Asmaa - Deanna, 27 White Female
Ontario, Canada
Protestant Christian
Reverted: October 2008
Ontario, Canada
Protestant Christian
Reverted: October 2008
Salaam Brothers and Sisters
My Journey to Islam started during my years of study at university but first I will give a brief history of my background.
My Childhood,I was born into a beautiful and loving family, father, mother and an older sister! From the time I was born Christianity was instilled in every aspect of my life. By the time I was three years old my parents (both mother and father) became pastors (priests). In every area of my life my parents pressed upon me the importance of God. I was a strong believer in God right from childhood and cared deeply for humanity. My mother told me that when I was a child I would come home crying if I had a friend who lived in poverty or did not know God, I would want to do anything I could for them, giving them gifts, toys or simply teaching them the bible stories I grew up learning. My parents church was founded on the beliefs of helping your fellow man and thus from a young age I was taught to care for those that society shunned or to help others in need! I grew up to believe that I should never turn my back on anyone no matter their situation but rather to show Gods grace and mercy through my actions.
By the time I reached my teenage years I began to question the validity of my Christian beliefs, I never doubted once that their was a God but I began to question the teachings and principles of my faith that I learned in church and Sunday school. I remember quite clearly being in youth bible study classes and I would ask the teacher as many questions as possible praying they would give me answers that I could understand and accept! If God was so powerful then why would he need to send his son to earth to die for our sins, why cannot God himself forgive us our sins if we asked him, How can God be more than one?, I could never understand this concept of our faith and it never made sense to me. The answer I most frequently recieved when posing my questions to my bible teachers was that belief was not just what you can see and understand but that it is a leap of faith, faith alone is all I needed. So to believe that God sent his son to earth to die for me so that I might be forgiven was supposed to be a leap of faith, I just had to have faith no matter how many doubts I might have.
Lost
Shortly after this period of time I began to drift away from my teachings and the lifestyle of Christianity. I became caught up in the lifestyle that most of my peers were enjoying. I just wanted to be normal, and live life like those around me. I gave up church, reading the bible and associating with those people who practiced their faith. All of the things I had been taught as a child just couldn't make sense to me, Their were too many inconsistencies to hold on to my beliefs any longer and instead of going out and looking for the truth I stopped searching all together. It was during this period of time that I had a child, a life altering experience. I ended up as a single parent, with no job, no money and what felt like no future. All I knew was that I had this beautiful little child and wanted to give him all the love and security in the world that I could offer, but how was I going to do it?
Finding my way back!
I wanted to provide my son with a home that is grounded by faith, love and values. I tried so hard to come back to my christian roots. I began attending church again regularly volunteering my time with the soup kitchens and taking over as a leader for the youth group! I dove head first into challenging myself to the fullest to be the best Christian I could be but all the time I felt as if I were pretending to be someone I was not, I was trying to force myself to believe in the Christian principles that for so long plagued me with doubt. No matter how hard I tried I never seemed to be able to become comfortable with my beliefs.
During this time I also enrolled in university. First starting out in a program to become a teacher and then switching my focus to a Human Rights based education. I had finally found something to be passionate about, something that was grown and nurtured in me since childhood. It was during my second year of university that I first had my introduction to Islam. Yes, I had heard of Islam in the past but only from what I had gathered from newspapers and media sources. I really had no understanding of Islam or Muslims. I had been taking a womans rights course and one of our lectures was specifically on the topic of hijab. The class was called Hijab: oppression or a human right. The professor for the class decided to invite the local Imam to the class to help shed some light on veiling and other woman's rights issues in Islam. I was amazed to find that woman had rights in Islam long long before woman in Christianity. I was also floored when my views of the hijab were completely transformed from seeing it as something oppressive to viewing it as liberating, freeing the woman from the confines of her looks and viewing ones self as something special to be shared with only her husband. I remember leaving that class feeling that my eyes had been opened to something new, that my thoughts had been so transformed.
The following weeks were filled with similar experiences in other classes. Time and time again my preconcieved notions of Islam were being smashed to pieces and replaced with new meaning. It was then in a night class that my thoughts transformed into actually wanting to know more about Islam itself. My professor was talking about the clash of civilizations where he compared it to the clash between the west and Islam, and how terrorism was being breaded by such clashes. He also gave the opinion that Islam was a religion founded on terrorism and hatred. It was in those moments that I asked myself why over a billion people would follow a path that was full of hatred and terrorism. I wanted to know for myself.. I bought an english translation of the Holy Quran and began my search on my own. I read as much as I could and searched the internet for non biased sources. My only intention at this point was to learn the truth about Islam. I had no intentions of becoming a follower, but the more I read the more I fell in love with Islam. I could not believe its simplicity, its purity and its devineness. Jesus (pbuh) in Islam made much more sense to me, learning that he was not the son of God but a prophet made my faith feel much more complete. It made more sense than all of the teachings I had learned about him in my sunday school days. I was overjoyed I had an ovewhelming feeling all over me that this was the right path, the one trueth that must be followed and I knew I needed to be a follower of Islam.
Everything about Islam amazed me, the submission to Allah, the five prayers, The Holy Qurans beautiful words and its unaltered state, the life of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh). For the first time in my life I felt so much at peace. I started to attend the local Masjid at the end of my 4th year of studies. I had much help from some of my sisters from the Masjid who would meet with me constantly and talk about Islam with me for hours. They were never afraid to answer questions and always were able to answer any of the questions I may have had. If they could not answer my questions, they and I could easily find the answers in the Quran. The following October of 2008 just two weeks after Ramadam I did my Shahadah in the Masjid.
It has been an amazing journey and I know it was Allahs will, I am so greatful to Allah that he chose me to come to him and become a follower. I am so happy because I now have something so beautiful to share with my son, to ground him morally and to live as an example for him that he too may follow in the path of Islam.
Yes some days it is a struggle, I have a family who except for my sister have yet to accept my reversion. They believe I have lost my way from God and am now living a sinners life. I have been accepted by my friends but In the Muslim Ummah it sometimes can be difficult. Many still judge me for my past actions in that I am a single mom. But what I do know is that the only one I have to worry about judging me is Allah, and I know that the day I did my Shahadah all my past sins had been wiped clean, given a clean slate. How beautiful Islam is!
Allahu Akbar
By the time I reached my teenage years I began to question the validity of my Christian beliefs, I never doubted once that their was a God but I began to question the teachings and principles of my faith that I learned in church and Sunday school. I remember quite clearly being in youth bible study classes and I would ask the teacher as many questions as possible praying they would give me answers that I could understand and accept! If God was so powerful then why would he need to send his son to earth to die for our sins, why cannot God himself forgive us our sins if we asked him, How can God be more than one?, I could never understand this concept of our faith and it never made sense to me. The answer I most frequently recieved when posing my questions to my bible teachers was that belief was not just what you can see and understand but that it is a leap of faith, faith alone is all I needed. So to believe that God sent his son to earth to die for me so that I might be forgiven was supposed to be a leap of faith, I just had to have faith no matter how many doubts I might have.
Lost
Shortly after this period of time I began to drift away from my teachings and the lifestyle of Christianity. I became caught up in the lifestyle that most of my peers were enjoying. I just wanted to be normal, and live life like those around me. I gave up church, reading the bible and associating with those people who practiced their faith. All of the things I had been taught as a child just couldn't make sense to me, Their were too many inconsistencies to hold on to my beliefs any longer and instead of going out and looking for the truth I stopped searching all together. It was during this period of time that I had a child, a life altering experience. I ended up as a single parent, with no job, no money and what felt like no future. All I knew was that I had this beautiful little child and wanted to give him all the love and security in the world that I could offer, but how was I going to do it?
Finding my way back!
I wanted to provide my son with a home that is grounded by faith, love and values. I tried so hard to come back to my christian roots. I began attending church again regularly volunteering my time with the soup kitchens and taking over as a leader for the youth group! I dove head first into challenging myself to the fullest to be the best Christian I could be but all the time I felt as if I were pretending to be someone I was not, I was trying to force myself to believe in the Christian principles that for so long plagued me with doubt. No matter how hard I tried I never seemed to be able to become comfortable with my beliefs.
During this time I also enrolled in university. First starting out in a program to become a teacher and then switching my focus to a Human Rights based education. I had finally found something to be passionate about, something that was grown and nurtured in me since childhood. It was during my second year of university that I first had my introduction to Islam. Yes, I had heard of Islam in the past but only from what I had gathered from newspapers and media sources. I really had no understanding of Islam or Muslims. I had been taking a womans rights course and one of our lectures was specifically on the topic of hijab. The class was called Hijab: oppression or a human right. The professor for the class decided to invite the local Imam to the class to help shed some light on veiling and other woman's rights issues in Islam. I was amazed to find that woman had rights in Islam long long before woman in Christianity. I was also floored when my views of the hijab were completely transformed from seeing it as something oppressive to viewing it as liberating, freeing the woman from the confines of her looks and viewing ones self as something special to be shared with only her husband. I remember leaving that class feeling that my eyes had been opened to something new, that my thoughts had been so transformed.
The following weeks were filled with similar experiences in other classes. Time and time again my preconcieved notions of Islam were being smashed to pieces and replaced with new meaning. It was then in a night class that my thoughts transformed into actually wanting to know more about Islam itself. My professor was talking about the clash of civilizations where he compared it to the clash between the west and Islam, and how terrorism was being breaded by such clashes. He also gave the opinion that Islam was a religion founded on terrorism and hatred. It was in those moments that I asked myself why over a billion people would follow a path that was full of hatred and terrorism. I wanted to know for myself.. I bought an english translation of the Holy Quran and began my search on my own. I read as much as I could and searched the internet for non biased sources. My only intention at this point was to learn the truth about Islam. I had no intentions of becoming a follower, but the more I read the more I fell in love with Islam. I could not believe its simplicity, its purity and its devineness. Jesus (pbuh) in Islam made much more sense to me, learning that he was not the son of God but a prophet made my faith feel much more complete. It made more sense than all of the teachings I had learned about him in my sunday school days. I was overjoyed I had an ovewhelming feeling all over me that this was the right path, the one trueth that must be followed and I knew I needed to be a follower of Islam.
Everything about Islam amazed me, the submission to Allah, the five prayers, The Holy Qurans beautiful words and its unaltered state, the life of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh). For the first time in my life I felt so much at peace. I started to attend the local Masjid at the end of my 4th year of studies. I had much help from some of my sisters from the Masjid who would meet with me constantly and talk about Islam with me for hours. They were never afraid to answer questions and always were able to answer any of the questions I may have had. If they could not answer my questions, they and I could easily find the answers in the Quran. The following October of 2008 just two weeks after Ramadam I did my Shahadah in the Masjid.
It has been an amazing journey and I know it was Allahs will, I am so greatful to Allah that he chose me to come to him and become a follower. I am so happy because I now have something so beautiful to share with my son, to ground him morally and to live as an example for him that he too may follow in the path of Islam.
Yes some days it is a struggle, I have a family who except for my sister have yet to accept my reversion. They believe I have lost my way from God and am now living a sinners life. I have been accepted by my friends but In the Muslim Ummah it sometimes can be difficult. Many still judge me for my past actions in that I am a single mom. But what I do know is that the only one I have to worry about judging me is Allah, and I know that the day I did my Shahadah all my past sins had been wiped clean, given a clean slate. How beautiful Islam is!
Allahu Akbar
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