I am a Muslim – Ask Me Anything!
25 May 2011 5 Comments
in Belief
It seems a dark veil drapes down and divides the Muslims from the non-Muslims, not necessarily the physical veil worn by Muslim women, but an opaque shroud formed by confusion over women’s rights, dietary restrictions, and jihad. I never knew what Islam was all about until a friend’s mother clearly explained that the message of Islam is the same message preached by Moses and Jesus and all the other prophets that came before Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The specific term Islam with the messengership of the last prophet, Muhammad, (peace and blessings be upon him) came as a completion of the two former Abrahamic faiths, Christianity and Judaism. As Moses and Jesus were sent by the same God, that same God is the God of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Who is Allah then? Allah directly translates from Arabic to mean The (Al) god (ilah). The term is particularly special because it signifies the uniqueness of the one God who we attribute no partners to. So why was there another messenger sent after Jesus (peace be upon him)? Put simply, a lot of things were left unknown and thus inaccurately manipulated by the people after the time of Jesus (upon him be peace). ”Where did Jesus go?” they asked. Nobody knew with certainty, but based on the accounts of the discipals that Jesus rose to Heaven, Christianity came to life and those those believed in these narratives were called Christians. The complete message of God, however, was not finalized.
The World Is Going to End Saturday!
19 May 2011 12 Comments
“What did you ask me?”
“Isn’t this gloomy weather making you feel down?” I asked from underneath the comfort of a plush blanket as the rain beat down hard upon the roof.
“God is making the Earth wet for all the fire and destruction that is going to happen this Saturday,” she answered dismally as her attention diverted to the sight outside my bedroom window of the many green leafy trees that the heavens seemed to be weeping down upon.
My mother has been speaking for the past month with an increasingly trembling voice about May 21st -’Doomsday’ according to preacher Harold Camping. Curious and a bit playful, I asked, “so what are you doing to prepare yourself?” ”There is nothing we can do!” she shouted back at me. ”Please come watch Harold Camping on T.V!” she pleaded in a voice of despair, “you have to see this man- he is so sincere and has read the bible a million-and-one times, he knows what is going to happen!” SpongeBob and Patrick Star rattled on in the background and their adventure with the giant worm seemed more interesting than an 80 year old man ramble about the apocalypse, “No, I don’t want to,” I said and sunk deeper into the blanket. After a few more attempts, my mother gave up trying to convince me for that time being the world will end on May 21st.
First Post – “God knows every leaf that falls”
17 May 2011 8 Comments
in Belief
In the name of Allah, the Beneficient, the most Merciful
As feelings of boredom began to mature just in the first few days of my summer vacation, I decided it was time to start blogging about my experiences as a young Muslim female convert, the various works I’ve been reading, and my humble opinions regarding the current state of our ummah (Muslim community). With this blog I hope to provide some insight for other converts or anybody who wants to know more about Islam.
To introduce myself, I’d like to begin by answering the question why I decided to become Muslim five years ago as a thirteen year old girl. First, I’d like to clarify what my understanding of being “Muslim” is – some have told me to be Muslim all I would have to do is utter the words “I bear witness there is no God but Allah and Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) is his messenger,” or not eat pork, or be kind to others. All these, undoubtedly, are fundamentals of the Islamic religion – but do these alone make one a Muslim, a submitter? No, what must come first is true Belief.
I reiterate – Belief.
I was an atheist, a hater of this Earth and all the misery within, the depression humans experience, the injustice, and respectively I hated the One who created it all. It was not until I believed that there was something bigger than myself that I was actually able to “listen” and not just “hear” when others would speak about God. If I may, I’d like to give an account of when I came to this realization of the possibility that something greater than what I could comprehend existed as it remains very clear in my memory. It was a hot September day, the kind which you do not expect because the school year has already started and you and summer have said your goodbyes long ago. Although you know the experience will be fleeting, the sound of the birds beckon you to come outside after school lets out to remember just once more all the times you and nature spent together just a month earlier. A Muslim friend and I went for a walk along the streets of one of the residential areas of our small town in New Jersey suburbia. I, of my extremely eccentric nature, suggested we lie underneath a large oak tree to look above at its branches that extended throughout the baby blue of a late September sky. I picked up a leaf that must have fell from the tall oak tree and inspected its shape, its smell, its color, its texture. ”God knows every leaf that falls.” I was silent. God? There is no such thing… but then I looked around and I saw the endless number of leaves. The bundles of leaves once raked into neat piles now spilt over onto the road. Red, green, and yellow tumbled across the sidewalk; the strongest still hung on tightly to their branches, not ready to be swept away by the cool breeze. I could not fathom how many leaves I saw just on this one street, but “God knows every leave that falls?” It took me close to five minutes to learn about the one leaf I held in my hand. I understood then that the ability/power of One that knows each leaf that falls on the entire Earth lies beyond my comprehension. I then thought, if I were to give His existence the benefit of the doubt, His greatness is definitely worthy of learning of. Little did I know that from that day, my life would change forever. For the better.
To be continued…
