What it's like to be a new revert.

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#1 [Permalink] Posted on 1st February 2020 05:23

As many of you probably know, I'm a brand new revert to Islam.
I came across this article today, and it's pretty accurate.

8 Things You Should Understand About Converts
http://www.virtualmosque.com/relationships/brotherhood-sisterhood/8-things-you-should-understand-about-converts/

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#2 [Permalink] Posted on 1st February 2020 06:06

In Need of Teaching wrote:

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1. A lot of things are running through our heads right now.
2. Our family life is uncertain.
3. Our friends are leaving us.
4. We don’t know how to spend our free time.
5. We don’t know what to learn and who to learn from.
6. We don’t know when we’ll make another mistake.
7. We don’t know what you actually think of us.
8. We might be second-guessing our decision.

1. I am in this activity of inviting people to Islam for a long time.
2. Till date I do not have even a single case of conversion to Islam that I can present before Allah SWT as a practical evidence of my sincerity in this activity that I would like to call Dawah.
3. My sympathies are with you and I have empathy with your situation.
4. I also understand that I simply can not fathom how you feel.
5. Unfortunately I am not very well versed in managing wordly affairs and thus there is precious little I can offer as a solace for your turmoil.
6. But I am ready with whatever little I can do for you.
7. Finally a few specific comments:

Quote:

1. A lot of things are running through our heads right now.

I have not read the specific details and thus I am responding to the headings only.
I suppose it is difficult to deal with such a high influx of issues that will flood you. It is sine qua non that you have to sit down and make a classification of the myriad things that are vying for your attention.
Then you have to decide which of the issues you shall address.

I suppose I can have empathy with you on this count because I have been very stupid to take twin problems on my head. The twins are the problems of Muslims of India and the problems of the Muslims the world over.

In spite of the fact that I am concerned only with intellectual cud-chewing on these two matters I am completely overwhelmed.

Let us wade through as efficiently as possible.

Quote:

2. Our family life is uncertain.

It is because of such reasons that it is constantly on my mind that it is better to remind Gujjar, Jats, Rajputs (in India) to Islam because they already have Muslims from their respective castes.

A down side to this issue is that you can not fight the evil of casteism that is rampant in India. Personally I have given up on that.

I do not know whether you have a similar support system as a caste. but if you do have then please do utilize this facility.

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3. Our friends are leaving us.

Very sad issue indeed and more sadly a point that can not be by passed.
What will make the things worse is that I suspect that you might not be having many Muslim friends already.

May I suggest, on this issue, that you should use the fact that you are a new Muslim to the hilt. You have my permission.

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4. We don’t know how to spend our free time.

There are two issues here - lack of company and the uncertainty about the validity of the leisure activity.
Former is solved by looking for and cultivating people from Muslims. The latter is solved by asking the Islamic Scholars.

I am sorry Islam does not have as many permitted leisure activities as the rest of the society.
But that is not a handicap.

Spots, poetry, holidays and family are diverse enough to subvert any feeling of deprivation.

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5. We don’t know what to learn and who to learn from.

I cordially invite you to learn from Deoband scholars. We are not geared to the needs of the converts but we are there.

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6. We don’t know when we’ll make another mistake.

Do not worry, we all learn by committing mistakes.

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7. We don’t know what you actually think of us.

This is a valid worry and yet this is a satanic whispering too. Please, please, please do not worry about these things. Think of such thoughts as pigs roaming around you and ignore.

But I can prime you on what we think of new comers.

(1) Firstly we think of you as a miracle.
(2) We admire you.
(3) We love you, intensely.
(4) I saw a brief You Tube clip where a Muslim is inviting a black brother to Islam and this brother is asking what is the offer. Offer means monetary offer. This clip was rather off putting because to invite people to Islam with monetary enticement is not allowed and I do not know of any fools who have enough money to do that. To cut the long story short it is not on my mind to think whether a brother or a sister might have come to Islam out of greed. For us Islam is too precious to compare it with monetary things.
(5) You will be Islaming more than most of us. (Islaming=Being a Muslim. Fundamentalism is not on the cards at all. It is a distraction in the present discussion.
(6) Go easy on the issue mentioned in above point.

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8. We might be second-guessing our decision.

Do the same as you do in the rest of the life.
****
Now say thank you. Just kidding but you are welcome.

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#3 [Permalink] Posted on 1st February 2020 06:55

Maripat wrote:

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Jzk Brother,
I didn't mean to imply that I'm actually going through all those things. Some of them for sure, but not all by any means. :)

One of the sad things for me, is that I live in an area that is, probably, strictly Christian. There's practically a Christian church on every corner in this part of the US. No representation of other faiths at all.
The only Muslims I actually know, are the ones here.
My nearest mosque is a 45-60 minute drive, depending on traffic.

I spend most of my time seeking more knowledge about Islam, re-reading the Quran, trying to investigate the various schools of jurisprudence and coming here for advice. :)

So most of what I do, I do alone. I'm not going to let that deter me or slow me down though.

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#4 [Permalink] Posted on 1st February 2020 07:01

In Need of Teaching wrote:

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Good to know the things that you have added. I am sorry due to lack of time and energy I have not been following your story here at this Forum. If the times were normal this would have been both pleasure as well as honour to do so. My loss.

Yet I must admit that a new Muslim is far too better as a Muslim than we who are born into Muslim families. They value Islam much more than us and they know this blessing better than us. We are proud of people like you.

Relax and enjoy your journey.

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#5 [Permalink] Posted on 1st February 2020 08:01

Maripat wrote:

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Salaam

Quote:

2. Till date I do not have even a single case of conversion to Islam that I can present before Allah SWT as a practical evidence of my sincerity in this activity that I would like to call Dawah.

Alhamdulillah I had 2 brothers who accepted Islam at my hands in USA.

One was a Black American brother and the other was a Hindu from India who was studying in USA.

The Indian brother was in Houstan and the Black brother was in New Orleans.

Indian brother.
I was speaking to a group of Muslim students and giving dawah. Most were not paying much attention as usual. But there was one particular person who was listening very intently and shed a few tears. After the chat I invited them to join us at the mosque. They all made their excuses and left. Except for that one guy who wanted to come to the mosque with us. As we were walking to the mosque we found out he wasn't a muslim. By the time we got to the mosque the brother was bawling his eyes out and accepted Islam there and then in the mosque.

Black brother.
Towards the end of our khurooj we decided to hit the mall lol. We were young and wanted to buy some things to take home with us. (Side note: I bought one of them American post box things lol. No idea why. This was 25 years ago. I still have it somewhere shoved in the back of my mums garage. My excuse is I was only 18 years old.) So as we were walking through the mall a shop assistant said salaam to us and we said salaam back and kept walking. Then it occurred to me to turn round and ask him if he is actually a muslim. He said he wasn't, but always wanted to be one and didn't know who to ask. Long story short he accepted shahadah there and then in the middle of his shift.

Notable mentions.

In Dallas from a distance away some black guy shouts akhee! (brother) and comes charging towards us. He tells us he has just returned from Iraq as a soldier and accepted Islam there and has no idea what to do next. We took him to the mosque and introduced him to the local brothers who took over from there.

We were going door to door meeting Muslims in an apartment complex. We were getting a bit disappointed as nobody was home. As we were about to leave we nod to a white guy who was just chilling in his doorstep. He replies back with salaam. He goes on to tell us that he accepted Islam in Australia a few years ago, but not then anything about it since returning. He came with us to the mosque and the local brothers took over.

One that got away.
Can't remember where, I think somewhere in Atlanta. We were just out and about and saw some Jehovas Witnesses. We started having a friendly chat with them. The guy I was talking to seemed new. So I was asking his beliefs and he was saying how they do not believe in the trinity. So I said something along the lines that there isn't much difference between us except that we believe Muhammad (saw)

was the last messenger. He then tells me that he also believes in Muhammad (saw)

as a prophet. I said what?! He said yeah. So I said hand on you might just be a Muslim without realising it. The other senior guy heard this and quickly pulled the new guy away. Inshallah Allah guided him.

A lot of good memories. Some sad ones as well. Met someone who was on the streets with his very young son. We took them to the mosque to eat with us. The way they were eating like they hadn't eaten for days. We saw a lot of poverty in USA.

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#6 [Permalink] Posted on 1st February 2020 11:18

I for one would love to know how you found Islam.

Being where you are with churches everywhere, it would be very educational.

This is a story of a man from Texas, over 20 years ago who was a Chaplin and then came to Islam. A beautiful story of Yusuf Estes.
youtu.be/LEKgxZbFG_k

Conversion stories are really beautiful.
One of my favourites is one narrated by Noman Ali Khan. youtu.be/Tq0q2h5XRoA

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#7 [Permalink] Posted on 1st February 2020 11:56

xs11ax wrote:

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Wa alaikumussalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

Sub-han Allah.

I just created a thread to share our experience in Dawah field.

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#8 [Permalink] Posted on 1st February 2020 13:57

abu mohammed wrote:

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I'll be happy to share my story. Even though it clearly shows the cultural bias that has come about since 9/11.

One evening my wife and I were talking, she said (something along the lines of) She had always heard that Islam was a religion of peace. I of course wanted to dispute that. Then she said "Well, I've never read the Quran."
That was a "full stop" for me, since I hadn't either.

So, I downloaded a version of the Quran and read it. Fully intending to be able to prove my point about it being a religion of violence and prejudice.

Once I read it, and found that it is truly a religion of peace, I also found myself intently drawn to it. I had suffered a "crisis of faith" over my Catholic religion despite being brought up in it. I hadn't been a practicing Catholic for about 30 years.

The Quran simply registered as truth. So, I changed not only my opinion of Islam, but my whole belief system, quite literally, overnight.

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#9 [Permalink] Posted on 1st February 2020 14:09

xs11ax wrote:

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Sorry, it wasn't New Orleans. Just realised I've never been to New Orleans. Sorry it was a long time ago.

Also remember we were staying in a small musallah which was basically inbetween some retail units. There was also a pool hall in the same complex. Now I've spent a LOT of time in arcades/snooker centres in the UK.

So we decided to visit the pool hall. It was full of muslim immigrant workers. Again we did the usual dawah. Everyone stopped what they were doing to gather round and listen out of respect, but no one was paying attention as usual. There was one particular guy who made it a point not to listen. So we went up to him and he was trying to be difficult on purpose. (You get those.)

I challenged him to pool. Deal was if I win he comes to the musallah with us. So I won. But he was still refusing to come, but we wouldn't take no for an answer. Eventually he came with us. Prayed with us. And completely changed. Told us he has been in the US for years and never been to a mosque since he left his home country. He was very happy that someone finally pulled him to the mosque. Next day he came back with loads of food he cooked for us. Spent his time with us while we there whenever he could. I think he was from Bangladesh.

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#10 [Permalink] Posted on 1st February 2020 14:52

In Need of Teaching wrote:

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Assalam u Alaikum,

Remember one thing brother. You are a solider. A hero who fights odds in the midst of strangers. A survivor who resists the evils of the society. A knight who remains steadfast even if no one accompanies you.

The more you will be challenged, the more resilience you will show to preserve your faith which will increase your ranks in the here after tremendously. So don't worry.

Remember! I have spent time in dawah, have done dhikr, have offered prayers, have sat in the company of saints but the best pleasure I have ever felt is in the recitation of Quran.

Quran is the best companion, Sunnah the best way, dhikr the best food for soul, Salah the best communication and Allah the best friend.

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The world does not forgive the weak.

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#11 [Permalink] Posted on 1st February 2020 15:32

abu mohammed wrote:

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Those are two of the most touching stories I've ever heard!
Jzk for that inspiration.

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#12 [Permalink] Posted on 1st February 2020 17:18

In Need of Teaching wrote:

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This one brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it. There are plenty like it all I'll only share one more.

It's a feeling I won't get, it's special. But I feel their heart in mine, SubhanAllah

We all get Rahma from Allah, but this is different.
youtu.be/kV7ACe6ZqMg

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#13 [Permalink] Posted on 11th August 2022 07:51

This English brother lived in a mixed community in Leeds. When he went to school, he was jumped by some Pakistani boys. This continued for a long time, until he learned to retaliate and fought them off. He grew to hate Pakistanis and foreigners. He joined the EDL. Here he heard about the Qur'an and Muhammad SAWS. He wanted to know more so he asked his EDL mates, but they could not answer his questions.

He was in an terrible car accident that left him bedridden for months. During this time he read an 800 page seerah (biography) of Prophet Muhammad SAWS, and decided to accept Islam.

Halalified YouTube Audio

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What it's like to be a new revert.

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