Page 10 The Islamic Bulletin Volume XXV No. 29 “It’s okay. If you want to find your way to God that way, that’s your decision.” As for my sister, she doesn’t approve of it very much. She actually keeps her distance. I tried to talk to her about Islam, and I gave her a Quran, but she wouldn’t read it. Then I gave my son a Quran and talked to him, and he reads some, but you know, he tells me, “I don’t believe in organized religion.” He’s sixteen years old, and he’s just . . . he’s one of the kids these days. They’re about video games and friends. And being bored, you know, that’s all they do. He’s respectful to me, and he’s still going to read the rest, and I’ll talk to him. I keep talking to him about Islam and everything. Then I have a Christian cousin who’s really supportive of me. And you know, I told him about it and he didn’t say anything bad. You know, yeah, he prays. He tells me he prays for me all the time. And he’ll, you know, even in my room, he’ll ask me, “Can I say a prayer?” And I’ll allow him to. You know, I don’t want to disrespect him, and be like, “No!” So the family is okay. Actually, they’re really good. I talk to my brother a lot about Islam and everything. And he liked everything in it. And, you know, I got him to take Shahada actually. He’s the one, if you look on my Facebook page, he’s the one with the turban and the white thawb. He kind of looks like me, a little more chunky though. [Laughs] I got him to take Shahada, but he doesn’t practice. I’m still gonna talk to him more. I believe I can get him to accept wholeheartedly and practice his faith. Yeah, I took it to heart and, like I said, I woke up and took Shahada, and I started to learn. I’ve been trying to keep my mind straight and stay steadfast, and be on the straight path. It’s very difficult living in a place like this, and being in the condition I’m in, trust me. But I do it. I stay happy. I’m not depressed. I get angry, like any human would, but I don’t get depressed. I’m happy. Anyone who meets me would agree that I’m a happy person. And I’ll be honest. Before I converted, I was a mean person. I was angry toward other people and treated people badly. Afterwards, I watch what I say, I watch my tongue. And I think about what I’m gonna say to somebody before I say it, you know, and I remember it. I want to speak softly to people, and with good words. Reasons for converting (Or reverting) to Islam If you ask people why they converted to Islam, most likely they will give you 10 different reasons. The vastness and beauty of Islam is encompassing; Islam is universal. All over the world people are finding that the true message of Islam is something that they lacked in their lives. It is quite interesting to discover some of the different reasons which have led these people to the religion of Islam. Following are a few accounts of their discoveries. 1. ONENESS OF GOD: I accepted the religion of Islam because Islam is the only religion on the face of earth which strongly believes and adheres to the concept of One True God. In Islam, the concept of one God is very clear and its whole foundation is based on Monotheism. – ADAM, PHILIPPINES 2. ALLAH HAS NO IMAGE: The first time I came to know that Allah has no image was when there was a visit to a Masjid for Non Muslims conducted by Islamic Affairs Dept. After hearing the explanation about Allah and that He is Almighty, All Knowing and All Powerful, I accepted Islam. – MANUELE, ITALY 3. WORSHIPING MANY GODS IN MY PREVIOUS RELIGION: We were worshiping thousands of gods and we had different gods whom my parents and other family members were worshiping. From the beginning, I was not worshiping these gods. When I moved to Dubai, I stopped doing everything related to my religion and started believing in the One true God and at last I found this concept in Islam. – ADARSH, INDIA 4. ALLAH IS UNIVERSAL GOD: In each region and place we have different gods, whereas for Muslims, Allah is their God wherever they are. From Nepal to India, from Kashmir to KanyaKumari, you can list the names of our gods in thousands but for Muslims, they have one Universal God. – SANJANA, INDIA 5. GOD IS ONE IN COMMANDMENTS: In the 10 commandments of the Bible, it is mentioned that God is only One and we should worship Him alone. But we do not follow these commands, whereas I found this concept very clearly only in the Qur’an. –ABDUL RAHMAN, CAMEROON 6. NOT WORSHIPPING MARY: We worship Mary and my mother is very devoted to mother Mary, whereas it is not mentioned anywhere in the Holy Bible to worship her. While reading about Mother Mary in Islamic books, I got precise information about her and I accepted Islam. – ALVA, PHILIPPINES 16. Dhu'l-kifl (Ezekiel) 17. Dawud (David) 18. Sulaiman (Soloman) 19. Ilias (Elias) 20. Al-Yasa ( Elisha) 21. Yunus (Jonah) 22. Zakariyya (Zechariah) 23. Yahya (John) 24. Isa (Jesus) 25. Muhammad 1. Adam 2. Idris (Enoch) 3. Nuh (Noah) 4. Hud 5. Salih 6. Ibrahim (Abraham) 7.Lut (Lot) Ishma’il 8. (Ishmael) 9. Ishaq (Isaac) 10. Ya’qub (Jacob) 11. Yusuf (Joseph) 12. Ayyub (Job) 13. Shu’aib) Answers to Quiz on Page 24 and 25 Quran Answers 1. 40 2. 23 3. 30 4. 114 5. 6 6. 2 7. 25 8. 136 9. Friday 10. Maryam (A) 11. Isa(A) 12. Nuh(A) 13. 10 14. Yaseen 15. Muhammad(Saw)
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