The Return Journey

Yesterday I was invited at a friend’s place to a dars (a talk that involves remembering Allah and giving good advice to the audience). Her mother had passed away a few days back and this gathering would serve as a condolence meet as well. There were many ladies present. Some of the ladies who are teachers at different Islamic institutes in Jeddah gave very inspiring talks. One lady shared her personal story of her mother’s last days with her.
The host  Shahjahan’s daughter Ayesha recited Chapter 84 Al Inshiqaq from The Noble Quran. The ladies had gathered with the intention of remembering Allah, taking time to remember the destroyer of all pleasures; death, and to pay condolences to the host on her mother’s demise. One of the teachers started her talk by reminding us that we all should have Taqwa (consciousness) of Allah and should focus more on preparing for the Hereafter. Then she related a very interesting story from Israelite traditions in which the moral was to be content in what you have and not be greedy over the worldly things because world is not going to stay forever.
Another speaker teacher Shakeela explained to us the meaning of Surah Al Inshiqaq and told us that slowly and gradually we all are moving toward the meeting with our Lord, Almighty Allah. The life in this world is not more than a temporary stay or transit during the journey. The return ticket is confirmed and the seats are booked. Only the date and time of the return journey is kept hidden from us. The period of stay in this world is a test for mankind. It is being monitored how we spend our days on this earth; in Allah’s obedience or disobedience. Each one of us must check our life as to what we are doing with it. Are we heedless of the harsh reality of death that each one of us would be facing for sure one day? It could come suddenly any time. When someone dies we do not imagine that this same day is about to come in our life as well. We will also die one day.
In the Noble Quran Allah says, ‘Wherever you may be, death will overtake you…’ Death is inevitable.
Every soul shall taste death. Death has a taste, so to say. Like we taste various things and get to know how it feels only after tasting, the same goes for death. We shall know the taste of death only when it is in front of us.
The last moment of a person’s life will be the flashback of the whole of his life. He will die on what he lived. If he spent his life on the Kalima, denying that there is no god except Allah and only Allah is worthy of worship, he will have a good end. The moment one sees the angels of death the curtain separating this life from the next life will be lifted up. Now he will clearly see everything that was hidden from him, he will see the truth behind things.
The good soul will be taken by the good angels, smelling nice and taking out his soul delicately. He will be given a warm welcome in the seven heavens. He will then be taken from one level to another as he crossed the stages in the world. These levels or stages of every soul will be according to his or her deeds. The one who is saved from the fire of Hell and admitted to Jannah is the most successful one.
Every one of us keeps busy in 3 things during our time in this world:
1. Earning money and making property
2. Making and maintaining relationships
3. Doing deeds (good or bad)
The first two things remain behind when we die. The deeds come along with us in our graves. If they are good they will become a source of peace for us and our stay in the next world will be a good one.
To motivate ourselves to do good deeds always we must keep in mind that Allah is always aware of what we are doing.
Since this life is a test we have been given The Book to prepare for this test or exam. This book is the Noble Quran.
A good soul leaves this world happily as he is looking forward to meet his Lord, Allah.
The angels who take out the soul of a good person give him 5 glad tidings:
1. You won’t have any fear
2. Your Jannah is ready as per the promise of your Lord.
3. We will be your companions always
4. You will get in Jannah whatever you wish
5. Allah will honour you as His guests in Jannah
These amazing rewards and temptations will be there for those who lived their lives in obedience of Allah’s commands.
These rewards will be never ending and will keep increasing for the inhabitants of Paradise.
We must collect the baggage for our return journey. It should be loads of good deeds and not the burdens of sins and evil deeds.
What we must be doing:
• We should do all actions keeping in mind the Hereafter and the outcome. The real profit is the profit of the Hereafter. We must see that we give value to the things that actually hold real value and not ignore the commands of Allah for petty things in life.
• We have to do good deeds for our own benefit in the grave. The good deeds will light up our graves.
• We should make good and righteous friends who help us remember Allah. Attending the gatherings of Allah’s remembrance strengthens our Faith and softens our hearts.
• We should have good thoughts about our companions. We are Allah’s witnesses on the earth for our fellow beings.
• Always say a good word about each other.
• The good deeds have great strength. Even if the deed is small it can be of value in the sight of Allah. It is difficult to do good deeds in this life but eventually they will turn out to be very heavy on the scales.
• The sins of show-off, taking interest, not performing salah, being arrogant will be punished severely on the day of Judgment so we should be very careful of all the sins.
• The test of the bearers of Al Quran is even harder. We as the people of the Quran must see that our deeds match our words. We must not be arrogant of our skills and knowledge.
We are never completely satisfied in this worldly life. We aim for building a house and when we achieve that we start wishing to have a big car and this greed goes on and on. Most of the time in this life is spent in making this life better and better but what happens is that we leave all that and set out to another world for which we had hardly prepared anything.
The best among all the people are those who are best in their manners and character.
The most intelligent of the people are those who remember death often and prepare for it.
These were the inspirational words by the teacher and then some of the ladies in the audience shared their experiences. In the end we made dua and thus the event came to a close.

Journeys of Faith Part 2

Fatma Joe, another former Christian from Kanyakumari, India, was the chief guest at this event. She was just 4 years old when she came to Saudi Arabia. She did not have a good experience with her Muslim classmates at school as they had a superiority complex over the non Muslims. She did not have much knowledge about Christianity therefore, around the age of 14 years, she became an atheist.

Whenever there were debates over religion her atheism grew even stronger as she could not get convincing answers.

Some years back she met a Muslim boy whose mother was a teacher at a Madrasa. They showed her a completely different picture of Islam from what she used to see through media. This made her rethink about her opinion of Islam. When she researched about Islam she was amazed by the comprehensive nature of its teachings.

Islam covers all the aspects of life- how you should be behaving as a person, how you should be dealing with others, and how you should be performing as a state or governing body. These aspects are not taught in any other religion. She said that media portrays a very bad image of Islam and the general public believes what the media shows them.

She came to Islam just 2 years back and was still living in the Christian home. She was apprehensive about the reaction of her family to her changed faith. She hid her new faith from them and used to perform wudu and pray secretly.  Once her sister suspected that she was doing wudu but she had to deny what she was doing as she was afraid that her family will stop her from staying upon Islam. During Ramadan she pretended that she was on a diet while she used to fast, but one month of dieting was something that made her family suspicious. When she used to watch TV with her family and there was negative depiction of Muslims in the news etc., she tried to give excuses that it was possible they do not know the whole truth.  But her faith could not remain hidden for long.

She believes that Islam is beautiful and perfect as a religion. She finds herself much happier, satisfied and blessed to have embraced Islam. In Islam, she said, there is a constant struggle to be a better person each day. The real Jihad is jihad of nafs, that is the struggle to become a better self and to strive against the temptations of the desires. One needs to control the desires and work toward the obedience of Allah. She requested the audience to pray for her family so that they are also guided toward the Truth.

She thanked her in-laws, her mother in law and her husband and a few other people in her life who helped her in her journey toward Islam. Her mother in law and her husband have whole heartedly accepted her as a family member and they have been supporting her throughout.

The takeaway point from her life story is that she observed that Islam is a holistic religion that covers all the aspects of Human existence.

The last of the speakers was the president of the new Muslim sisters; Umme Hudhaifah also called Scarlet, who related her amazing story to the audience.

She was of British decent but born and brought up in Belgium. She grew up as an atheist. Her mother, a staunch atheist, believed that religions only divide people and are bad. But Scarlet had her own doubts. She used to wonder why science cannot explain everything.  Why are so many mysteries of the universe unexplainable by the scientists? She did not know any way of praying but she used to say that if there is god then he should answer her.

She was from a well off family and was very fond of travelling and exploring different cultures around the world.

When she observed a variety of cultures and religions she used to like Islam more. She saw Hinduism and Buddhism but found that they do not make sense. Hinduism was very exotic but the concept of its gods was not appealing. In Buddhism she found that everything was based on philosophy. It was only in Islam that she noticed logic and reasoning. She understood that there must be only one Creator who created everything and He alone deserves to be worshipped.

Christians are very vocal about their love of Jesus Christ and Christianity but their love does not show in their way of life. They do not follow what Christianity teaches them.

In the life of a Muslim his 5 daily prayers are ongoing proof of his love and obedience to Allah and His Messenger. Sister Umme Hudhaifah spent most of her life in the West. She lived in Luxembourg which has a very high standard of living. But throughout her travel and explorations she observed that even though people have a life of comfort and have everything they need they are still not happy. They are always complaining, sad and depressed. She told the audience that life in the West is not as it outwardly seems. The more they have the riches the more problems they face and their problems have no solutions therefore they fall into despair. Contrary to the West she found that people in less developed countries like Africa, Syria, Yemen etc., and the people who are predominantly Muslims are very happy, generous, kind and content in their life. She saw poor Muslims in Africa always smiling, very kind and generous. In Europe she found the people are rich but never satisfied with their life. This, she said, is because of the lack of Eman in their hearts. 

Those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism), and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah, Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.

During her visit to Africa she stayed with a Muslim family in Senegal and it is where she became a Muslim. Her boyfriend also accepted Islam. She had studied in a University in England. She had many of her male non Muslim friends from there but once she became a Muslim it was hard to explain to them the changes she made in her lifestyle. Her husband was staying in Belgium. Soon they moved to a Muslim populated town in England but still they wanted to travel to a Muslim country. Scarlet found a job for her husband in Yemen. In 2003 they became Muslims and in the year 2005 they moved to Yemen. They stayed in Yemen for 10 years. It was a very fruitful stay in Yemen as she could benefit from many halaqas (gatherings for learning about Islam, remembering Allah etc) and classes where she learnt Arabic language. She found the Yemenis to be very generous and welcoming. Their neighbours would share food every day during Ramadan.

 The Yemenis, she found to be practising Muslims. They were sincere and made them feel like family. Her stay in Yemen is very memorable to her as she could learn many lessons, she got many books to learn about Islam and she could learn the Quran. She studied the Arabic language and started to teach Islam and Quran to the others. She can fluently speak French language as well. After 10 years in Yemen the situation changed because of the ongoing war and they decided to move to Jeddah. They are staying in Jeddah for the past 2 and half years. Here, she is teaching Arabic Language to the non Arabs.

After she accepted Islam she too had to face unexpected reaction from her family. She thought that they were broadminded but it was not so. They did not like her idea of becoming a Muslim.

In her early days as a Muslim woman she found Hijab difficult to adopt. But according to Scarlet or Umme Hudhaifah, when one takes one step toward Allah, He makes everything easy for His servant.

Just as the Quran was sent upon our Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, gradually over the span of 23 years, Islam and Eman too take their time to build their foundation in the lives of the new Muslims. It was her advice that new Muslims should not hurry over learning everything at once. The most important is the meaning of Shahadatain, one should have a clear understanding of one’s pillar of Faith, that is the Kalima. After that come the 5 daily prayers. The new Muslims should first focus on these two aspects. The other features of Islam like the hijab and other rulings will fall into place gradually with time. She suggested that the new Muslims must not be burdened with all the rulings at once rather they should be taught aout Islam gradually with patience and wisdom.

According to her we should do things gradually and try to improve ourselves daily. We should approach people with wisdom to convey the message of Islam. It is important that we learn our deen and the Quran. She shared that learning Surah Al Fatiha seemed very hard to her in her early days as a Muslim. But today by the grace of Allah she is a Hafizah (she has memorised the whole Quran)!

In the beginning she found Arabic to be a strange language but today she is teaching it to others! Nothing is impossible if the servant is sincere in the pursuit and intention, puts some effort, and makes dua to Allah. Allah makes things easy. She is now actively doing Dawah work, teaching Arabic and Islam to the community members.

After listening to the stories from our guided and blessed sisters, sister Sara would give the audience food for thought and takeaway lessons.

Throughout the event all the stories were related to the audience in Urdu by teacher Farzana from Madrasa Hafsa. Very beautifully and emphatically she would put the questions to the audience which were thought provoking.

The takeaway lesson from this amazing story is that we born Muslims must not take Islam as a plaything. We should be constantly striving in pleasing our Rabb, doing whatever we are capable of doing.

As a closing speech, sister Farzana talked about the value of Islam as Faith and how some of the born Muslims take it for granted.

Basically we need to focus on Tawheed, the oneness of Allah and clear our minds of all kinds of big or small Shirk. Our prayers, our sacrifice, our life and our death should all be in the way of Allah, for Allah. Allah subhaanahu wa taáala calls us toward the Truth, His Mercy, His Grace, His Bounties, His Jannah and His Forgiveness. We should be racing toward Him all the time. We should question ourselves what we are striving for in our life?

Look at these sisters from around the globe! Some are highly educated doctors, some are nurses, some are from humble backgrounds, yet their search for Truth led them toward it and finally they could recognize it and embrace it. Their amazing journey toward Islam leaves us spellbound and speechless. The hearts move and the eyes well up with tears. We could clearly see what they went through to reach this status. The hardships were endured and loved ones were left behind. Their hearts weep for their families yet they hold on to the Most Loving, the only Creator, Allah.

It is Allah who opens the heart and we must pray to Him to keep our hearts steadfast on His Deen.

Another lesson that we learn is that we should not be blinded by the glitter and glamour of the West in particular and of the world at large. We must understand that it is just a façade. They are all shallow from within. They have no substance. They have a deep void, a lack of the sweetness of Faith. The source of that sweetness or inner peace is none but the Truth. The peace lies in accepting the Truth.  And the Truth is that there is no god but Allah and He is only worthy of worship. Islam is the only true religion that is based on Truth, logic and Divine evidence in the form of Al Quran.

The event was successfully completed with the help of volunteers like  Lubna Zubair, Rubina and others. 

The event came to an end with distribution of the gifts sent by companies like Darussalam, perfume companies and some individuals namely Mr Zia Abbas Nadvi and Mr Nihal Shazi, who gave an air ticket for one revert sister. The gift items ranged from electronic items like the digital Quran, perfumes, utility items, books etc. 

Doctor Helen Gouse, who is a professor of anatomy at Ibn Sina National College of Medical Sciences in Jeddah, handed over the first gift to the small girl Fatima who recited the Quran in the beginning of the event.

Finally, sister Rabia, made beautiful and heart warming dua with the audience.

The academy had arranged some refreshments for the revert sisters and the attendees of the event. The guests of honour, the new Muslim sisters were served the refreshments on their tables by the organizers.

It was indeed a very thought provoking event for everyone. The life and journey of these sisters is a shining example for those who are seeking the Truth and a lesson for those who take their Faith for granted.

Pray that Allah keep these sisters steadfast in deen and help them always.

Journeys of Faith Part 1

On 4th January 2019, Maulana Hifzur Rahman Seoharvi Academy-Jeddah organized the Annual Reception-2018 in the honour of the new Muslim sisters in the famous Lasani Restaurant, Jeddah. A few days ago they organized such an event for the new brothers in Islam.

The Seoharvi academy has been very active for the past 7 years in welcoming the newly reverted Muslims into the community. They are playing a very important role in making the new Muslims feel welcome and accepted as well as appreciated by the Muslim community. They encourage them to speak out and share their journeys of Faith and enlighten the listeners. This lets them feel that they are not alone in their hard journeys and the audience also gets to understand the value of Islam as a Faith. Inviting them over to share their stories and giving gifts is a beautiful way of making them feel at home.

The function started with the beautiful recitation of the Noble Quran, (Chapter 59: Al Hashr, verses 21-24) by a young girl named Fatima. She had memorised the Noble Quran at the tender age of 8 and half years. Now she is studying in the second grade. Her mother read out the English translation of the verses recited by her which was as follows:

If We had sent down this Qur'an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and coming apart from fear of Allah . And these examples We present to the people that perhaps they will give thought.

He is Allah , other than whom there is no deity, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

He is Allah , other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him.

He is Allah , the Creator, the Inventor, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and earth is exalting Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

After the recitation of the Noble Quran the host of the event, sister Farhana, introduced the new Muslim sisters and called all the speakers upon the stage. The president and the chief guest from the new Muslim sisters were seated on the stage and some of the speakers joined them. 

The host, Sara Altaf, a Hafiz e Quran and a medical student, then called upon the first speaker to come up to the podium and share her story with the audience.

This new Muslim sister, Emaan, is a dentist by profession and belongs to the Philippines. She was earlier a Christian. When she came to work in Saudi Arabia she observed and understood Islam. Her perspective toward life changed. She started fasting with the Muslims and later accepted Islam. She told the audience that while giving anaesthesia to her patients during treatment she recites Surah Al Ikhlas which is one-third of the Noble Quran. She wants to earn the reward and it also helps her keep connected with Allah.

She suggested that if the Muslims want to invite others to Islam they should show them the essence of Islam that is good manners and best attitude in dealing with others. Her story clearly shows that all human beings are created upon fitrah or nature and they have the search for Truth inside them. When they seek the Truth and search it they get it and understand who the True God is.

The second guided sister was Batool. Her earlier name was Betty. She is also from the Philippines. She was such a devoted Christian that she had built a church behind her house in the Philippines. She even served as an assistant to the Ministries to Born Again Christians. Nevertheless, she always wondered about the purpose of life. Questions like “Who is Jesus?” bothered her. She went to Australia and worked in a Muslim family from the embassy of Kuwait. However, the family did not treat her well. She wondered why Muslims treated Christians badly. But eventually, she met a good Muslim man, which made her think that she must not look at Muslims, rather see what Islam is all about. The man proposed to her and they got married. After marriage, she took her Shahadah, and memorised Surah Al-Fatihah shortly after.

Another sister named Ayesha, formerly named Angeles, came to Saudi Arabia as a domestic help to a Saudi employer. Her employer used to share books about Islam with her. Her madam’s sister asked questions about why there was the concept of trinity in Christianity. This made her question her belief in the concept of trinity. Before coming to Saudi Arabia in May 2015, she went through a lot of trial and tribulation in life. One of her colleagues made Shahadah in the meantime. When she recited Surah Al-Fatihah for the first time, her heartbeat increased due to the effect of the words of Allah and she couldn’t put into words that feeling. This consequently led to her accepting Islam. With the help of IEF (Islamic Education Foundation), she took Shahadah on the phone. Now, she has a faith different from her family, but she hopes that when she stays with her family again, she can show them her faith by her good manners and one day, they will understand why she accepted Islam. She is concerned about her family’s faith but now in her eyes the life of the hereafter is much more important.

Yet another sister Aleena, is also a Filipino. Her earlier name was Eleanor. She came to Islam in 2010 through a friend. Earlier she stayed in Jizan till the year 2008 and worked as a nurse in the King Fahd Hospital. Her colleagues used to give her books on Islam but she used to keep them on one side and go off to sleep. She did not have any interest whatsoever in knowing about Islam. In fact she did not even like the way Muslims prayed, especially the position of Sujood made her laugh. She used to joke and say that if Allah tells her to come to Islam she will accept Islam. Her past life was completely different from what she is now as a good Muslim. She was a disco goer and used to wear miniskirts and shorts as dresses.  But gradually she realized that Islam is the true religion. Soon she was ready to take shahadah. This was the most unexpected thing in her life. Those who knew her from her past were surprised and shocked to see the change in her. She now wears hijab contrary to her improper way of dressing before Islam. She was invited by the Islamic Centre at Balad where she accepted Islam. The best thing she finds about Islam is the way of prayer! This is a drastic change of heart as she disliked this very aspect of Islam! This can be possible only by the will of Allah.

She regrets why she did not come to Islam earlier so she could call her parents to Islam. Her family is still not Muslim but they show her respect when she visits them and avoid cooking the haram food that she does not eat. Her sister is still a nun. She is very happy with her religion Islam and is greatly thankful to Allah that He opened her eyes to the Truth.

The takeaway lesson from her story is that we all regret something from our pasts but this is in fact a blessing in disguise. This regret actually leads to repentance and amendment of our situation at present.