Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

[b:d89b319c1e]Send this Letter to 13 Friends![/b:d89b319c1e]

[u:d89b319c1e]Shaikh Salman Al-`Awdah[/u:d89b319c1e]

[b:d89b319c1e]One year the people were looking for the new crescent of Ramadhan and did not see it. A man came to the town’s judge and said, “In my dream I saw the Messenger of Allah – may Allah bless him and grant him peace – and he informed me that tonight is the first night of Ramadhan. He ordered me and all the Muslims to begin the fast!”

The judge said, “The one you claim to have seen in your dreams … the people have seen him in broad daylight and he told them, “Fast when you see it [the new crescent] and break the fast when you see it”. So we have no need of your dream!”

A short while ago the following rumor spread among the young women: a certain young woman saw the Prophet – may Allah bless him and grant him peace – in the dream and he told her that the Last Hour will be soon, and that its sign is that you will open an old copy of the Qur’an and you will find a hair or a blank page! This fabricated dream had more effect on the ignorant than the statement of Allah,

“Yet for all you know, the Last Hour may well be near” [Al-Qur’an 33:63]

Sometime later this young woman gave a talk in one college, and she gave out a leaflet with the following story:

“A young woman became seriously ill, and doctors failed in their attempts to treat her illness. One night she cried until she fell asleep. In her sleep she saw Zaynab - Mother of the Believers - who put in her mouth a few drops of Syrup. She ordered her to write the story [that is related above] 13 times, and to tell the other people to duplicate and distribute it. When she woke up she found herself completely cured, and she made 13 copies of the story and distributed it them. The result was as follows:

1. The first copy fell in the hands of a poor man, so he made 13 copies and distributed them. After 13 days he made a huge fortune!

2. The second copy reached a wealthy man who ripped it up, so he lost all his wealth in 13 days!!

3. The third copy was given to a person with a very prestigious job. He ridiculed it, and so was fired after 13 days.

My Muslim brother/sister, you should copy this story and distribute it so that you can get from Allah what pleases you”

This silly fairytale reminded me of the fairytale of “The will of Shaikh Ahmed” which resurfaces every once in a while in a way that makes people believe there is something behind it!

This fairytale also reminded me of what I read in some of our magazines – unfortunately – about the “Curse of the Pharaohs” whereby they claimed that this curse is after everyone who disturbs the Pharaohs or their graves, “One man kicked one of their skulls so his leg broke … the other who discovered one of their cemeteries, his plane fell from the sky … on the same night electricity was cut-off in the whole of Cairo … etc!!”

It is a kind of destructive “mental terrorism”. It is saying, “Don’t think! Don’t discuss! Otherwise the same things will happen to you; and beware, DON’T RIP UP THAT PAPER!! Otherwise you may lose your job, your wealth, … or even your religion”. This is their claim.

But we know that revelation finished and does not come to anyone after Prophet Mohammed, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Yet you find some Muslims inventing new legislations in the religion and warn those who do not conform to what they tell them with punishment, and promise those who conform with success. How can a Muslim believe in this after reading the statement of Allah,

“Today have I perfected your religious law for you, and have bestowed upon you the full-measure of My blessings, and willed that self-surrender unto Me shall be your religion.” [Al-Qur’an 5:3]

We know for a fact that a person can leave the greatest of our religion’s practices – the five obligatory prayers - and still receive his sustenance from Allah, and not be afflicted by any illness. This is because this world’s life is not an abode of account and recompense – the punishment and reward will be in the here-after. Indeed, you will find disbelievers, who neither believe in Allah nor the Last Day, yet Allah has expanded their sustenance and given them more worldly knowledge and material civilization than others … that is because this world’s life is a trial and not an abode of recompense.

How come then, that some people insult our intelligence claiming that he who does not conform will be punished within days, and he who does will be rewarded?

Moreover, what we have been asked to do is neither obligatory nor recommended … nor is it even lawful (in Islam). It is an evil innovation and a crude fairytale. Let us ask ourselves: is copying and distributing this leaflet an ‘act of worship’ or is it a purely worldly act?

If it is an act of worship then it is rejected because the person’s motive was to preserve his worldly possessions, wealth, job and health. Allah says,

“As for those who care for [no more than] the life of this world and its bounties – We shall repay them in full for all that they did in this [life], and they shall not be deprived therein: [yet] it they who, in the life to come, shall have nothing but fire – for in vain shall be all that they wrought in this [world], and worthless all that they ever did” [Al-Qur’an 11: 15-16]

Therefore, this act of duplicating the leaflet is a worthless – indeed false – act, whose recompense is The Fire.

On the other hand, if it is merely a worldly act, then again it is rejected, for it does not rely on the necessary material means. For example, the one who wants to keep his job should not be late coming into work, he must fulfill his duties in the best way, he should receive clients warmly and politely, and he should establish his relationship with his bosses on a correct foundation.

Likewise with wealth, health, etc. , all these have well-known material means and ways of preserving them, and this act of duplicating the leaflet is not in anyway one of them.

Then, why this number 13 in particular?

If I am not mistaken, the English regard this number as a bad omen. Is this fabricated story in anyway connected to this? In the Shari’ah the acts of remembrance are repeated once, three times, seven times, ten times or a hundred times, but never 13 times.

Finally, who narrates this lie?

A sick girl? Who is she? Who says she is truthful? And who narrated it from this girl? It is a long chain of liars and unknown people. Their witness is not to be accepted in a dispute over an onion or less! How then can we accept their narration in a matter like this?

Even had this tale had been narrated by the most trustworthy of narrators, once they start relating these clear-cut lies then their trustworthiness will cease, and we will stop listening to them, and it is obligatory to censure them, and stop them from playing with the minds of the silly – may Allah help us. But then again, the trustworthy narrators would not relate something like this?

[/b:d89b319c1e][/color:d89b319c1e]

Asalaamu alikum,

I am wondering if any of you knows of a hadith that states that the prayer of a women is not valid if she is seen by a man, or praying either in front of the men, or alongside the men?

Jazak Allah Khair,

Jennifer

Assalaamoalaikum

I just wanted to know.

-- Ali

ok lets all play a game lets see how long this topic can last .

ill start of by giving one sunnat of eating

e.g eat with ur right hand !

rules of the game

1.u can only give one sunnat or ettiqutte of eating per post

2.no duplucate sunnat

3............

4....................thats all i can think of

so keep this topic going with as many sunnats or ettiquttes of eating as possible then ill start sunnats of sleeping lol

p.s have i spelt ettiqutte properly?

As Salam Alykom

Now as sister Amira posted outlets, verbs conjugation and Hefny posted the Alpha Bet.

Insh a Allah we expect that u have done some effort with them

Here will Insh a Allah post simple sentences and vocabulary:

got with this.

ما اسمك

1. What is your name (talking to a male)?

masmuka

اسمى محمد

My name is Mohamed

ismi Mohamed

ما اسمكِ

masmuki

2. What is your name (talking to a female)?

اسمى أمينة

ismi Aminah

3. How are you (talking to a male)?

kayfa haluka

كيف حالك

الحمد لله بخير

Alhamdulelah bekhayr

Alhamdulelah fine

4. How are you (talking to a female)?

kayfa haluki

كيف حالكِ

الحمد لله بخير

Alhamdulelah bekhayr

Alhamdulelah fine

Insh a Allah let us see how this works

__________________

Salam alikom

The chart can be downloaded from the link below:

http://www.fatwa-online.com/downloads/dow002/index.htm

when the page opens go to download number 6 ,winzip is needed to open those files.

Salam

When the leader of a prayer rushes very quickly through the prayer, is the prayer accepted? For example: If you have just said 'Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem.....' and the leader is already saying 'Allahu akbar' to go into raku before you could ever possibly say al-Fatiah is this valid? And should you then redo the prayer?

I am asking on behalf of another.

Any insight you can offer will be appreiciated.

Jazak Allah Khair!

[img:dc9c806475]http://islamonline.net/english/journey/images/pic42.jpg[/img:dc9c806475]

Experiencing Allah’s Mercy

Khadijah Jandhli

17/02/2003

How did a devout Christian from a practicing Christian family, born and raised in the middle of the United States of America, never knowing anything at all about Islam and never meeting any Muslims until she was in her 40s, come to accept Islam? It was completely the result of the great Mercy of Allah, to Whom all thanks and praise is due. This is my story. I never tire of telling it, as praise to Allah for His Love for me and His Mercy to me.

I was born in Oklahoma, USA and raised in a Christian family where

religion was very important. My mother was very careful to keep me

from making bad friends, and our family went to church at least three

times a week. Allah protected me by putting me in a family that

stressed high moral living: no smoking, no drinking, no drugs, no

swearing (cursing), no premarital sex, etc. I memorized almost the

entire Bible. One of my grandfathers and one of my grandmothers was a preacher. Allah blessed me with a good singing voice, and from the time I was 14 years old, I was paid by the church to sing, play the organ, and direct children's choirs, etc. In fact, when I first heard about Islam and met a Muslim who was a university student, I was 49 years old and still employed by a church and was still an active Christian.

All through my life, however, I was a person who asked questions. I read everything in the library about many subjects. The ability to read quickly and the desire to seek knowledge were blessings from Allah because they would eventually lead me to discover the Truth of Islam. However, where I grew up, there were no books about world religions, and certainly no books about Islam.

I always wanted to go to college, but when I graduated from high school, we could not afford it because my mother and father had divorced, so I went to work. That was also a blessing from Allah, because the college I wanted to attend at that time had no international students and was in a town with no Muslims at all.

Eventually, I married, had children, and was divorced, re-married, and divorced again. This, I am sorry to say, is too often the story among non-Muslims who do not understand Islamic values and the rights and duties of husbands and wives.

After my second divorce, my friends and family encouraged me to audition for a music scholarship at the University of Tulsa, near where was living at

that time. I was accepted and enrolled at the university. I loved school. I met people from all over the world and I read many books in the extensive library. I read something about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and how his religion was called "Muhammadism" by some, but that it was not correct to call it that, that the real name of that religion was "Islam." That's all I knew about Islam at that time.

While at the university, I began tutoring college athletes and very soon, other college students wanted me to tutor them, especially in writing. That is where I met Muslim Malaysian sisters, about 90 of them. I was impressed by their good manners, the way they treated me so politely, and the way they excused themselves every day for a few minutes at certain times to go to prayer. I thought that their religion must have something good in it, because it affected the way they lived in a positive way. Also, I loved the beautiful way they looked in their scarves, but I thought that might just be their culture and not their religion that affected the way they dressed. I did not realize that it was Allah's way of protecting them.

Over the years, I had had many problems with migraine headaches. Often,

these headaches would become so severe that I would have to go to the

doctor and get strong medicine to alleviate the pain. While I was going to college and tutoring the Malaysian students, these headaches increased to the extent that I had a headache every day and I was spending most of the day in bed, taking strong drugs. Finally, I could not stop taking these medicines and the headaches were still so bad that I could not go to school.

It was at this time that the Malaysian sisters showed me the real Muslim heart. I left the doors to my house unlocked and they came in whenever they wanted, to see if I was awake. If I was asleep, they just waited or came back later for their tutoring sessions. Sometimes, I would waken to find one of them putting a paste of hibiscus leaves on my temples to relieve the pain or to find one of them cooking soup for me to eat. I was so ill that I could not work.

I had no money. My family was not helping me. Even the church where I

was employed (just across the street from the house I lived in) did not call me or send anyone to see if they could help me. During the entire two years of this migraine problem, only one friend came to see me or called me on the telephone. It was like a knife in my heart.

I prayed many times every day for God to take away my headaches and

for Him to help me not to have to take those strong drugs. I begged, I pleaded, I cried, I read the Bible, but the headaches and problems continued. Some terrible things happened. For example, I had no money to pay the rent. My son, who was living with me, did not give me any money. When I could not pay the rent, he moved out of my house and went to live with his friends. I could not afford even a small apartment, so one of my sons said I could live in the back room of his house. However, he put all his junk--such as trash, old washers and dryers, and broken furniture--back there, and he shut the doors between his part of the house and the back room so that I had no heat. In Tulsa, the winters are cold, and it was winter when I moved into his back room. He also told me not to eat any of his food, although he knew that I did not have any.

One day I asked Amina, one of the Malaysian sisters who covered herself from head to toe in the best Islamic manner, if she would tell me something about her religion. She said that she would rather get a more knowledgeable person to tell me about the religion because she did not want to give me any wrong information. So, she referred Mahmoud (from Oman) to me. He came to me, saying he needed some help in writing class, and answered some of my questions. The next day, he brought Saif (from Yemen) and they both answered my questions and became my students. Soon after that, Tariq and Khalid (from Oman) and Yousif (from UAE) became also students, as did many others. They came every day for help with their English and with their writing classes. I was surprised to find that these young men had exactly the same good manners as the Malaysian sisters.

In addition, I noticed the same love in their eyes when they spoke with each other that I had seen in the eyes of the Malaysian sisters when they spoke with each other. I thought that maybe it was something about their religion that made them love each other; I wanted to have that kind of love for people and to be loved by people like that. I was hungry for this love that they shared with each other. I was attracted to the light in their eyes, although at that time I did not know what it was. In reality, it was Allah loving me through them and showing me how beautiful Islam really is. Subhan Allah! (Allah is Sublime).

Always wanting to learn new things, I asked Saif for something to read about Islam. Wisely, he brought me Jamal Badawi's book, The Status of Women in Islam and some copies of Hadiths (sayings of the Prophet) that "heaven is at the feet of mothers" and "the best companion for you is your mother (three times) and then your father." Thus, the first thing I knew about Islam was that it affected the way people acted toward each other and that it taught that women had a respected, high, and special place in this world.

Saif was very careful not to push me to renounce Christianity and become Muslim. Rather, he answered my questions and made good explanations of any misunderstandings I had about Islam. One day, I asked him if the Holy Qur'an had been translated into English. He explained that the Word of Allah could not be translated into English, but that the meanings of the Words of Allah had been translated into English. I asked if he would bring me a Qur'an, and he agreed. What he brought was a beautiful, hardback, Arabic-English Qur'an with translation of the meanings and commentary by A. Yusuf Ali. However, he gave me strict instructions about it. He informed me that this was a Holy Book and, although I was not a Muslim, he still

wanted me to treat the Book with respect. He asked me to wash my hands before I touched it; to keep it on a high shelf; to not put anything on top of it; to never carry it into the bathroom or any other dirty place; and, to say before I started reading it, "I begin in the Name of God.”

Thus, the first thing I learned about the Holy Qur'an was that it was the true Word of God (Allah) and it had remained the same forever; that it was to be respected in every way.

I was very excited to think that this Book had not been tampered with. It had always frustrated me when I read the Bible that I was reading something that had been written down long after the events had happened, that it was written by many different authors, and that I could never see the original message of God in the language in which it had been spoken. Therefore, when I began to read the Qur'an, I did so with a holy fear and awe of God.

For a strong Christian, reading the Qur'an for the first time is shocking. For example, the Qur'an repeatedly says that Jesus (`Isa) was only a man and that those who say he was the Son of God are in terrible error. To me, at that time, it almost seemed like I should not be reading these words; it was like these words were saying bad things about God. The reason is that Christians are taught that they must believe that Jesus was the Son of God and that he came to earth, lived a perfect life, and was crucified on the cross so that

Christians who believe that would never go the hellfire. In fact, Christians are taught that if you do not believe that Jesus was the Son of God, you will never go to heaven. So as I began reading, it was hard for me. However, in my heart I knew, absolutely and completely, that I was reading the Words of God, the Truth. I could not stop reading. I read for hours every day.

On the fifth day of reading the Qur'an, I found Surat Al-Noor. "... Light upon Light..." Although I was reading only the English translation of the meanings, the beauty of the Truth and of the Arabic language became clear to me. I could not wait until Saif came, so I could ask him to read that Surah to me in Arabic. He was happy to read it, and, as I had thought it would be, it was even more beautiful in Arabic than in English. From that time on, I

finished my reading each day with that Surah.

The headaches continued, but as I prayed, I began to think more and more of calling God by His real name, Allah. I asked for more books and read several about Islam. I began thinking that I was soon going to have to make a big decision about my beliefs…but I was afraid.

Suddenly, my son announced that I would have to move out of his house

because he had decided to move to another house and I would not be

welcome to come with him. I borrowed money to rent an apartment and

the Muslim brothers helped me move. The date was August 10, 1994. On

the first night in my new apartment, I decided to become a Muslim, but I was not ready to tell anyone yet. I knew that Muslims prayed prostrating with their faces on the floor, so I positioned myself on the floor facing Makkah (although at that time I did not even know what direction Makkah was or that I was supposed to face Makkah when I prayed) and I prayed:

"Oh Allah. You know me better than I know myself. You know every sin

I have committed and every good deed I have done. You know I have

been searching for Your Truth all my life. You know I have been

studying about Islam and reading the Qur'an. I am afraid. But I think

I have to make a decision. I have called you God all these years and

now I know Your Name is Allah, but I have tried to worship You in the

only way I knew how to worship. If I have done wrong, please forgive

me. If I am wrong about Islam, please do not send me to the Hellfire for believing that Jesus was only a prophet. But I believe that Islam is the Truth and that You, Allah, are the One True God, that You have no son, that there is no Allah but You, and that Muhammad was Your Prophet. I want to be a Muslim because I want to worship You in the right way, because I do not want to go to the Hellfire, and I want to go to Heaven when I die. Oh Allah. I am so afraid of You, but I believe You love me and You understand my intention."

When I finished praying, I just sat in the floor, feeling very peaceful and very sleepy. I lay down after a short time and went to sleep. When I awakened in the morning, I was surprised. I did not have a headache. I immediately began thanking Allah because I did not have a headache. I began praying five times a day, because I knew that Muslims did that, but I did not know how to pray. Nevertheless, I prayed what I could, prostrating.

About the headaches? I threw away my strong medicines that very day and since then, I have never had to take any medicine stronger than aspirin for a headache and I have never had to go to the doctor for a headache. Al-hamdulillah (all praise to Allah). I did not ask Allah for anything about

the headaches, but He is so Merciful that He took them away immediately and completely.

From August 10 to November 8, I read about Islam and prayed as best I knew how, and I tried to get enough courage to ask Saif what I needed to do to "really" become a Muslim...but I was afraid. During this time, I became increasingly shy about the way I was dressing. So, I began to wear long skirts or long pants, long-sleeved blouses (even when it was hot and I had no air conditioning), and so on. Sometimes, when no one was with me, I would put a scarf on my head and I loved the way I felt in it, so safe and pure. Finally, I decided that on the night of November 8, after I finished tutoring Saif, I would ask him what I needed to do to become a Muslim.

Although I did not know it, Saif had decided to invite me to Islam on that same night after he finished his tutoring session and had made his intention to Allah to do that. After the lesson was completed, I turned to Saif and said, "OK, Saif. What do I have to do to become a Muslim?" At exactly the same time, he turned to me and said, "OK, sister, tonight I have to invite you to Islam." Our words passed each other in the air between us. There was a moment of silence, then we both began to cry. Allahu Akbar. Subhan Allah. (Allah is Great. Allah is Sublime.) Do you see how Allah had written everything, even to the exact moment when I would be ready to ask the question and Saif would be ready to invite me to become a Muslim?

I asked Saif to give me one night to prepare myself to make shahadah (declaration of faith), as he explained to me that making shahadah was all I had to do to be a Muslim. On November 9, 1994, Saif brought Abdel Wahed with him as a witness, and I made shahadah. Then they went to the mosque to announce my conversion. I asked them to bring me everything they could find to read about Islam. They brought me a stack of books that day, and every two or three days, they brought me more to read. I read books, read the Qur'an, and asked many, many questions about my new religion. I was particularly happy to find a book that showed me how to pray. I read that one first and planned to make all my prayers correctly from then on.

The next morning, although I had no alarm clock, I was awake for Fajr

(Dawn) Prayer. Why? Because I was awakened just before dawn by the

sound of a small kitten meowing at my door. I went to the door and found a very young, starving kitten waiting for me. I brought her in, fed her some milk, washed, and made my first Fajr Prayer on time. From that time on, that kitten climbed up on my bed and meowed loudly before dawn everyday. Subhan Allah!

Upon hearing that I had become Muslim, all the students came to see me, brought food to fill my empty cupboards and refrigerator, and sat with me every evening for a time to answer questions. The sisters from the university and community brought me some clothes, including an Islamic dress. When I finally put on my Islamic clothes, I felt I had finally come to my real home, my real faith, my real identity, my real language, my real family.

Oh Allah! Thank You for opening my heart to Islam. Thank You

for sending someone to invite me to Islam. Oh Allah! Please forgive all my sins and admit me to Jannah (Paradise) because of Your Mercy. Oh

Allah! Help me and all Muslims to love You, to love our Prophet

(peace be upon him), to love the Arabic language, the language in which You revealed Your Holy Words to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and to be willing, yes eager, to share our knowledge with others. Ameen.

[img:c319d56eaa]http://www.islamonline.net/english/journ.../pic48.jpg[/img:c319d56eaa]

Christian Arab Finds Her Roots

Aisha

18/06/2003

©1995-2000 Jeremiah D. McAuliffe, Jr., Ph.D.

As-Salaam Aleikum!

All praises be to Allah Who opened my heart to the Light of Islam and blessed me with His Grace unto the True Path.

To begin with, I would like to say that the ultimate conclusions that I reached in my quest were in fact a natural result of my initial disregard and indifference. My story begins before my birth with the marriage of my father, a Gulf-Arab Muslim, and my mother, an Arab Christian. She had promised to convert to Islam after the wedding, and thus they married in Europe where they were both studying at the time.

However, six months after the wedding my mother refused to accept Islam, and since my father had stipulated her conversion as part of their marriage, he decided to divorce her. My mother was pregnant with me at the time. After the divorce, she returned to her country.

When I was born, my father demanded to take me with him, but my mother's maternal instincts prevented her from allowing it. She insisted and he acquiesced, thereby relegating my relationship with him to financial matters, holiday phone calls, and biennial visits. The effect of my isolation from him was that while I bore certain Muslim traits, most noticeably my Muslim name, I nevertheless knew next to nothing about Islam. My knowledge was confined to geography lessons, history books, and what I witnessed of the dealings of Muslims and Gulf-Arabs in my mother's country in which I lived.

From my early youth until the age of 18, I studied in a Catholic school and would attend church regularly with my mother. I had a Muslim name but I was Christian in faith. I admit that my devotion was halfhearted and I would not look forward to going to church, except occasionally. Nevertheless, I would rebuke myself for my indifference and would vow to attend church at the nearest opportunity.

I spent my adolescence recklessly, going out all the time and staying out all night in mixed company. My mother simply advised me against this but otherwise remained aloof. I finished high school with good grades but not good enough to merit my acceptance to my first-choice college in my mother's country. It was then that I decided to attend college in my father's country. However, when I informed him of my idea, he seemed generally unconcerned and simply asked, "Well, where will you live?" I understood from this that he did not want me to stay with him.

In the meantime, my mother's second husband passed away and I suggested that she and my half-brother (through her second husband) come with me to my father's country. I proposed the idea to my father and he being well off agreed to finance the venture including paying for food and a maid, and increasing my monthly allowance.

My subsequent trip became one of the most influential decisions of my life, as I would come to know about Islam through it. In my father's country, I was taken by the Muslims, particularly the young girls in hijaab whom I imagined to be precious diamonds and jewels protected in a black velvet cloth. On the other hand, they made me view myself, dressed in provocative clothing, to be like a newspaper advertisement that might draw a momentary glance but carries no real value in the mind of its audience.

It so happened that during my first year of college, I asked mother about Islam, and I will never forget her answer. She said, "I too was once impressed by Islam, and when I married your father, I truly believed in it. However, after studying it more, I reached the conclusion that it's not God's religion. Rather it is nothing more than the fancies of an illiterate Arab who could neither read nor write. It doesn't behoove an educated girl like you to let an illiterate man from over a thousand years ago play with your mind and restrict your life."

When I heard this, I was silent and accepted her words at face value. I was quite content with my carefree lifestyle and I needed little excuse to brush aside what I saw as the restrictions of Islam. Thus, three years passed in this state, and I would think about my religion intermittently.

I was an avid Internet user and I would primarily use PalTalk to chat with people on the Net. One day, I accidentally entered the wrong chat room and I found a group of people finding fault with Christianity. They were referring to another room in which people were cursing Islam. Since I bore a Muslim name and had a Muslim father yet was raised on Christianity with a Christian mother, my sympathies were torn.

I resolved to decide the matter once and for all, thus for almost two months I would enter each chat room daily for two hours each listening to what the members had to say without commenting. After that period, I was full of questions, so for an additional month I would ask a series of daily questions to the members of the two rooms. Oddly, I found the Muslims to be much warmer and more welcoming than their Christian counterparts. In fact, the only thing I heard in the Christian chat room was "liars!" or "that's taken from the Old Testament!" I was confused that there should be two distinct heavenly books in a single religion, the later of which was acknowledged to be written by human hands. At the same time, the Muslims were offering me the Qur'an, a single divine book with no contradictions.

I compared the two religions and found Islam to conform to my intellect and nature, in addition to my ideals of modesty, cleanliness, justice, and dignity. After three months, I officially chose Islam as my religion and entered an Islamic chat room to declare my new faith. The people in the chat room were eager to offer their complete help and assistance, particularly two brothers whom I will never forget; may Allah reward them generously.

I learned more about the details of Islam from my new brothers and sisters online, in addition to several other books and sites. I experienced little difficulty in my embracing the Sacred Law, as Islam conforms to human nature. After pronouncing my <i>shahada</i> (declaration of faith) online, I took a shower and prayed.

After three days, I donned the veil and thereby let my mother know of my decision. I cannot repeat what she said to me and what she tried to do to bring me back to Christianity, as her attempts and arguments were enough to fill volumes. Essentially, she called me to secular ideals, saying that I should be able to live my life as I pleased without restrictions. At one point, she even tried to tear apart my copy of the Holy Qur'an, but I fortunately stopped her just in time. Ultimately, my mother realized that she could not change my mind nor break my spirit, and thus we reached a truce in which I agreed that my Islam would not 8affect her life. She left me to do as I pleased.

I write this story three months after my reversion, and I feel that during this time I have learned more about my religion than if I had been raised Muslim. I entered Islam by my choice and free will and have subsequently rid myself of the bad influences in my life and have found a new definition of "freedom," that is freedom from the worship of my base desires. Allah has become my adoration for Whose sake I struggle to purify all my actions in order to achieve His Pleasure.

I am currently working to develop my practice, and I am studying correct Qur'an recitation and have committed various parts of Allah's Book to memory. I also try to be very punctual in my prescribed prayers.

I urge all of humanity to ponder Islam in the same manner that I did – with an open mind and a desire for sincere Guidance from Allah. Thank you for reading my story and forgive me if you found it too long (I actually shortened the original considerably, believe it or not). For those who are interested, I am now 21 years old and in my final year of college.

Sincerely: Your sister in Islam, Aisha.

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Christian Arab Finds Her Roots

Aisha

18/06/2003

©1995-2000 Jeremiah D. McAuliffe, Jr., Ph.D.

As-Salaam Aleikum!

All praises be to Allah Who opened my heart to the Light of Islam and blessed me with His Grace unto the True Path.

To begin with, I would like to say that the ultimate conclusions that I reached in my quest were in fact a natural result of my initial disregard and indifference. My story begins before my birth with the marriage of my father, a Gulf-Arab Muslim, and my mother, an Arab Christian. She had promised to convert to Islam after the wedding, and thus they married in Europe where they were both studying at the time.

However, six months after the wedding my mother refused to accept Islam, and since my father had stipulated her conversion as part of their marriage, he decided to divorce her. My mother was pregnant with me at the time. After the divorce, she returned to her country.

When I was born, my father demanded to take me with him, but my mother's maternal instincts prevented her from allowing it. She insisted and he acquiesced, thereby relegating my relationship with him to financial matters, holiday phone calls, and biennial visits. The effect of my isolation from him was that while I bore certain Muslim traits, most noticeably my Muslim name, I nevertheless knew next to nothing about Islam. My knowledge was confined to geography lessons, history books, and what I witnessed of the dealings of Muslims and Gulf-Arabs in my mother's country in which I lived.

From my early youth until the age of 18, I studied in a Catholic school and would attend church regularly with my mother. I had a Muslim name but I was Christian in faith. I admit that my devotion was halfhearted and I would not look forward to going to church, except occasionally. Nevertheless, I would rebuke myself for my indifference and would vow to attend church at the nearest opportunity.

I spent my adolescence recklessly, going out all the time and staying out all night in mixed company. My mother simply advised me against this but otherwise remained aloof. I finished high school with good grades but not good enough to merit my acceptance to my first-choice college in my mother's country. It was then that I decided to attend college in my father's country. However, when I informed him of my idea, he seemed generally unconcerned and simply asked, "Well, where will you live?" I understood from this that he did not want me to stay with him.

In the meantime, my mother's second husband passed away and I suggested that she and my half-brother (through her second husband) come with me to my father's country. I proposed the idea to my father and he being well off agreed to finance the venture including paying for food and a maid, and increasing my monthly allowance.

My subsequent trip became one of the most influential decisions of my life, as I would come to know about Islam through it. In my father's country, I was taken by the Muslims, particularly the young girls in hijaab whom I imagined to be precious diamonds and jewels protected in a black velvet cloth. On the other hand, they made me view myself, dressed in provocative clothing, to be like a newspaper advertisement that might draw a momentary glance but carries no real value in the mind of its audience.

It so happened that during my first year of college, I asked mother about Islam, and I will never forget her answer. She said, "I too was once impressed by Islam, and when I married your father, I truly believed in it. However, after studying it more, I reached the conclusion that it's not God's religion. Rather it is nothing more than the fancies of an illiterate Arab who could neither read nor write. It doesn't behoove an educated girl like you to let an illiterate man from over a thousand years ago play with your mind and restrict your life."

When I heard this, I was silent and accepted her words at face value. I was quite content with my carefree lifestyle and I needed little excuse to brush aside what I saw as the restrictions of Islam. Thus, three years passed in this state, and I would think about my religion intermittently.

I was an avid Internet user and I would primarily use PalTalk to chat with people on the Net. One day, I accidentally entered the wrong chat room and I found a group of people finding fault with Christianity. They were referring to another room in which people were cursing Islam. Since I bore a Muslim name and had a Muslim father yet was raised on Christianity with a Christian mother, my sympathies were torn.

I resolved to decide the matter once and for all, thus for almost two months I would enter each chat room daily for two hours each listening to what the members had to say without commenting. After that period, I was full of questions, so for an additional month I would ask a series of daily questions to the members of the two rooms. Oddly, I found the Muslims to be much warmer and more welcoming than their Christian counterparts. In fact, the only thing I heard in the Christian chat room was "liars!" or "that's taken from the Old Testament!" I was confused that there should be two distinct heavenly books in a single religion, the later of which was acknowledged to be written by human hands. At the same time, the Muslims were offering me the Qur'an, a single divine book with no contradictions.

I compared the two religions and found Islam to conform to my intellect and nature, in addition to my ideals of modesty, cleanliness, justice, and dignity. After three months, I officially chose Islam as my religion and entered an Islamic chat room to declare my new faith. The people in the chat room were eager to offer their complete help and assistance, particularly two brothers whom I will never forget; may Allah reward them generously.

I learned more about the details of Islam from my new brothers and sisters online, in addition to several other books and sites. I experienced little difficulty in my embracing the Sacred Law, as Islam conforms to human nature. After pronouncing my <i>shahada</i> (declaration of faith) online, I took a shower and prayed.

After three days, I donned the veil and thereby let my mother know of my decision. I cannot repeat what she said to me and what she tried to do to bring me back to Christianity, as her attempts and arguments were enough to fill volumes. Essentially, she called me to secular ideals, saying that I should be able to live my life as I pleased without restrictions. At one point, she even tried to tear apart my copy of the Holy Qur'an, but I fortunately stopped her just in time. Ultimately, my mother realized that she could not change my mind nor break my spirit, and thus we reached a truce in which I agreed that my Islam would not 8affect her life. She left me to do as I pleased.

I write this story three months after my reversion, and I feel that during this time I have learned more about my religion than if I had been raised Muslim. I entered Islam by my choice and free will and have subsequently rid myself of the bad influences in my life and have found a new definition of "freedom," that is freedom from the worship of my base desires. Allah has become my adoration for Whose sake I struggle to purify all my actions in order to achieve His Pleasure.

I am currently working to develop my practice, and I am studying correct Qur'an recitation and have committed various parts of Allah's Book to memory. I also try to be very punctual in my prescribed prayers.

I urge all of humanity to ponder Islam in the same manner that I did – with an open mind and a desire for sincere Guidance from Allah. Thank you for reading my story and forgive me if you found it too long (I actually shortened the original considerably, believe it or not). For those who are interested, I am now 21 years old and in my final year of college.

Sincerely: Your sister in Islam, Aisha

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