Page 8 The Islamic Bulletin Volume XXV No. 29 Do You Know Who Robert Davila Is? I recently had the pleasure of reading an inspiring story about Robert Davila, a young man who lives in a small town near Fort Worth, Texas. Robert was a farmer with a genetic disorder that manifested later in life. At 20 years old, due to his genetic disorder, he became paralyzed from the neck down. Now 31 years old, Robert has been living in a nursing home for the last ten years. Sharing Robert’s room in the nursing home was another paralyzed young man who was waiting for a liver transplant. Day after day Robert and his friend would talk about God and other things. Each day Robert’s friend waited for his transplant. Finally, the day came when Robert’s friend got the call that a donor had been found. Both Robert and his friend were so happy! Sadly, however, his friend died on the operating table. When his sister came to remove her brother’s personal items from the room he shared with Robert, she gave Robert a crucifix that had belonged to her brother. “This is a reminder of your old buddy,” she said, as she hung the crucifix by Robert’s bed. To enable Robert to search the web and research information, Robert’s family bought him a voice-activated computer. He would spend hours surfing the web and learning many things. One night Robert dreamed of a man named Muhammad. In this dream, pointing at the crucifix, Muhammad said, “God did not send messengers for people to worship the messengers. God sent messengers so people could worship God. Jesus was just a man. He walked in the markets and he ate food.” Then the dream ended. Robert woke from his dream with the knowledge that Jesus was just a man. He also learned there was a man named Muhammad who told him that messengers were sent to remind people to worship God. Not knowing anything else about this man, Robert decides to google the name “Muhammad.” While researching Muhammad, Robert finds Islam and soon takes Shahada. When Robert takes Shahada, he wants to learn about the Quran. He finds a chat session and posts, “Someone needs to teach me the Quran.” He finds a brother in Egypt and they get together online to learn Arabic. Once Robert learned how to read the Arabic alphabet, he began to study how to recite the Quran. From his hospital bed, Robert memorized ten Surahs from the Quran. But this was not enough for Robert. Robert said, “I’m beginning to memorize the Quran and I’m beginning to learn about the prophet. But I need to understand the Quran.” He goggles, “How to understand the Quran.” The Google search leads Robert to bayyinah.com where he is introduced to Nouman Ali Khan. Meanwhile, oftentimes at the nursing home there was construction going on and on one occasion an Egyptian man was doing some repair work. One day, as the Egyptian man is passing by Robert’s room he hears the words of the Holy Quran: “By the token of time, through the ages, verily man is in loss.” Indeed, mankind is in loss (Quran: 103:1 -2) Hearing these Arabic verses, the repair man walks into Robert’s room and asks, “Robert, what are you listening to?” Robert answers, “Nothing, that was me.” The Egyptian says, “You’re Muslim?” and Robert answers, “Yeah, I became Muslim.” The Egyptian man is in shock and cannot believe what he has just heard. In fact, having lived so far away from a masjid and other Muslims, the Egyptian man had been struggling with his own faith. When he heard Robert reading verses from the Quran, he thought, “How does Allah guide someone in the middle of a small town in the USA, a man in a nursing home with a crucifix by his bed, a man without the ability to move?” Robert tells the Egyptian man that he discovered Islam online. Robert also tells him about the teacher he found online, Nouman Ali Khan. So the Egyptian man starts watching Nouman Khan’s videos, and says, “I hope I can meet him one day.” Robert says, “Okay, I will pray for you.” Five years later, the Egyptian friend shows up at the same Masjid as Nouman Khan. After Jumuah prayers, the Egyptian man approaches Brother Nouman and tells him the story of Robert Davila and adds, “I think Allah wants to answer Robert’s dua.” Nouman Khan, with a few other brothers, decides to visit the nursing home to meet Robert Davila. During the visit, Robert is asked to recite some Surahs and he chooses to recite Surat Al`Aşr. Those present end up in tears listening to Robert’s recitation. Such an emotional reaction was due to the fact that Robert, an American man, had learned and memorized the passage from the Quran completely on his own, without the ability to attend any kind of schooling or classes. They were humbled by what they heard and the perseverance and dedication required. What Robert had accomplished was extremely difficult, especially learning to read in Arabic on his own without a shred of support in the traditional sense because he was paraplegic. Robert’s efforts and achievement overwhelmed everyone in the room. When anyone turns to Allah, no matter the means, guidance and balance will come. Due to the nature of Robert’s paralysis, he is unable to sit in a regular wheelchair. He needs a special wheelchair that supports his neck, along with every other part of his body. Robert requires a special van to accommodate his wheelchair; one that will lock in place, so when the van drives over a bump, his spine is not further injured. One Friday, Robert requested to be taken to Jumuah prayer. The special van that Robert requires for transport was already being used on another patient that day. Determined to attend Jumuah prayers that day, Robert ignored the warnings from the nursing home and rode in a regular van. He returned from Jumuah in excruciating pain . The doctors informed Robert that he would no longer be able to sit in his wheelchair. Sadly, he
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