Through him...

Through him, by the will of the All-Merciful, I began to see Islam as a peaceful, beautiful and gentle religion. My inner world was thrown into turmoil as I began to contemplate leaving the religion of my parents and heeding the inner call of God. It took me a number of years to finally come to terms with the reality that I wanted to be a Muslim, during which I developed a mental depression which brought me to the edge of the abyss.

A great Muslim called al-Ghazali once wrote that depression is one method that the Beloved chooses to bring His servants to Him, and for me this was true. Becoming conscious of my calling to Islam meant alienating myself from my perplexed family, struggling with the collective sins of a less-than-perfect Muslim community, and finding my spiritual feet like a new baby.

It was a humbling experience: I went from being a knowledgeable Bahai, active in the religions organisational structure, to being shown how to wash myself and pray. More than once I faltered in my new baby steps and fled to the safety of the comfortable old world that I knew. I even rejoined the Bahai organisation, after quitting it for a year, but could not make myself feel happy there. Finally, three years ago, I surrendered myself to God and accepted Islam as my religion.

I took the scarf as a symbol of my Muslim identity and from that point on began to implement the teachings of the Quran and my beloved in my life. In answer to a half-spoken prayer, God filled my life with wonderful sisters and brothers who help me walk along this path: He is the Generous! I still struggle with the trials of life, but feel I have found my spiritual home and a Muslim community which provides me with the opportunity to give a little of myself.

All praise be to God, the Lord of all the worlds! Holy Quran 47:17 *** And (as for) those who follow the right direction, He increases them in guidance and gives them their guarding (against evil).*** Previous…