I once heard a Muslim explain his religion like this: “Islam is a relationship between you and the Creator— after you get to know Him”. For me, born and raised in a Christian family in a small town in Norway— with seven different churches and no mosque– then accepting Islam at the age of 19, this was the perfect explanation of my new religion.
Childhood
While growing up I never questioned my religion. My parents and all family members were Christians. We prayed in the evenings, I went to Sunday school every now and then, Christmas was my favorite time of the whole year, in school we used to sing a song to thank God for the food, and the religion subject was called “Christianity: Religions and Views of Life”.
Practically everyone around me believed in Jesus Christ (pbuh) as the Son of God and their savior. So being Christian was really just a matter of course; it was natural – the way it should be.
Looking at My Own Skin
Still, there were a few incidents in my early years that made me consider the fact that there could be something “more right”. First of all, I remember learning about imperialism. These white men were invading the countries of black people and behaving like they were superior and masters of the other human beings. It didn’t make sense.
I was looking at my own skin and my mom’s and dad’s. We were all white. I couldn’t understand how people like us could treat others like animals just because they had a different skin color. For this reason I thought to myself, Maybe we aren’t right. Maybe there is another group of people in this world doing things differently and more correctly than us (I must admit that I imagined this other group to be an unknown tribe in the middle of the rainforest).
Purpose? What Purpose?
The other incident was a very brief article about some teenagers explaining what their purpose in life was. Some said surfing, hanging out with friends, just having fun, etc. But the one that made the strongest impression and got stuck in my mind was: “The purpose of life is to find it”. From that day on (and I was just a child, maybe 10 or 11) I didn’t have any special opinion of what the purpose of life might be. Nevertheless, I was certain I would find it.
Teenage Years
In spite of this, I never turned my back to Christianity. I believed in God, and Christianity was all I knew about Him. All my teenage years I considered myself a Christian. At the age of 15 I was confirmed in a Protestant church, with the firm conviction that I had done it for the sake of God and in order to confirm my faith.
For me personally it was very important to have the right intentions, because in Norway (at least in my hometown) practically everyone confirms when they reach this age. And there’s a lot of money involved. I never liked that money played such a big part of the ritual. It only caused friction, jealousy, and ironically, ingratitude, because those getting the most money didn’t exactly keep quiet about it.
The Grumbling of Comfortable People
That’s what’s funny about Norway. Most people have far more than they need— all kinds of possibilities, an amazing health system, and the list goes on and on. Still, we complain like we’re the the most unfortunate people in the world. I was always thinking that we should look at those with less, rather than at those with more.
Seeing My Thoughts in the Writings of the Prophet (saw)
This was actually one of my reasons for coming to Islam. I read a hadith of the Prophet Muhammed (saw) saying the exact same thing– in a different wording– and I was just amazed to find my thoughts written down (but this wasn’t until some years later).
Essential Questions
It was when I first turned 18 (in June 2010) that I started reflecting on essential questions. Every day for a whole week (summer vacation had just begun) I went down by the river or some other nice place by myself, with a pen and some paper. I thought a lot about life, why I was created, God, what my future would bring, and what I would teach my kids if I were to get married and have children.
The last one was actually just a dream I didn’t believe would come through. But still I realized that if it did happen, I needed to know what to tell them. I needed to have a clear sense of the purpose of life so that I had something valuable to share with them. I wanted to be able to make them confident, independent human beings, who would have a positive impact on people and the world.
It was a very interesting week, but then it stopped. I got caught up in things people normally do; I met friends, drove around on my scooter, went swimming, and pretty much just enjoyed the vacation.
Two Impressive People
In August I met two people who made a huge impression on me. One of them was a beggar sitting on a busy bridge with nothing more than his clothes, a paper cup, and a broken umbrella. It was a very cold and rainy day, and I was just passing by on my way to buy some food. Due to travelling I was quite hungry myself.
But after passing him the second time and then starting to eat my calzone, my guilt just grew and I couldn’t eat more. So I decided to go out to him again and offer him the calzone and a bottle of water.
I was thinking I would do him a little favor, but he actually did me a bigger favor. The gratitude he expressed and showed me for that little piece of food was way beyond anything I had ever seen before. It wasn’t just his words saying: “Thank you very much!” It was his whole body, his face, his eyes, his smile. You could see he was truly thankful.
The other person was a 93-year old friend of my grandmother. Of course she noticed that her body, sight, and hearing weren’t functioning as well as they used to, but over and over again she told me the reasons for her happiness and gratitude. Most of all she was extremely grateful for being alive.
Due to these two persons, I would end every single day thanking God for the blessings in my life. I would not sleep without mentioning many of the things I was grateful for.
You could say I was a very grateful Christian.
(To be continued next week in shaa Allah)
Pls read this.
Ramzan bhai hr u…
mashallah
mashallah
Allahu akbar……………
alhamdulillah, whoever allah wishes to guide no one/nothing can lead him/her astray.
if god wants to show the right path to someone than nothing can stop it from happening 🙂
Allahu Akbar! If Allah say ur destination, no body can change it.
Allah is the greatest
Well, if all christians think quite deeply, they will find what the truth is. But most of them just disregard what their destination will be
Subhanallah,Allahu ahkbar,Wa-alhamdulillah robil alamin………I was born in islam and i practice islam as a religion now,till the end and hereafter………..Allah alwaz show ways where there is no way,to who he want…..
Allahu Akbar, Allah really leads someone in the right path whomsoever He wills.
..beautiful story..can't wait for the sequel…..alhamdulillah..sister…welcome to Islam…am very happy for you…alhamdulillah..subhanallah..:)
SubhanAllah
mashaallah.
Alham du lilah
Wa alaikum salaam rahmatullahi wa barakatu hu.marhaba,marhaba,marhaba&marhaba.mubarak,mubarak,mubarak&mubarak.please stick to this religion till ur laast breath Allah subhana wa tala will reward u in both the worlds .InshaAllah.Subhanallah Alhamdulillah Lailaah illallah AllahuAkbar.Allahumma a izzal islaamah wal muslimeen.Allahummah fazna min kulli balaaiddunya wa azabil Akhirah.Ameen sum Ameen.
oh no!!!! where is the rest of the story. Mashallah. Seriously people in Canada too with so much to have they still complain. They complain about hospitals, governments and most of it they complain about traffic and say they are too many people. Funny.
Mashah Allah…. May Allah guide you throughout your life… (Ameen)
ALLAHU AKBAR,
Alhamdulillah i accept ISLAM as my deen also,,Inshaallah i read again the rest of this story nxt week,
JazakAllahu khairan for your wonderful comments, everyone. Ameen to all the beautiful duaas. I’m very glad you liked the story so far. Alhamdulillah! Honestly, I cannot take the honor. When Allah have written such a beautiful story for me, the least thing I can do is to share it. May Allah SWT bless us all with the best of both worlds. Ameen
Goosebumps!
masalaa…keep it up.
Masya Allah.
May Allah continue to guide you through your life and that you remain strong in your Iman and your conviction in the religion of Islam. Ameen.
SubhanAllah…May Allah make it easy for you (Ameen), can’t wait for the next part.
MasaALlah that was s0oo great..
Be str0ng’keEp it up..
And sh0uld have
SABAR&IMAN n
ur very own heart,
alLah blesS us
alL..and guide us
to a riGht way
of life:)
Sister, May Allah s.w.tAccept your submission.
Always remember that Allah s.w.t does not forgive “shirk”(Associating partners to HIM) & ISLAM is the only religion that teaches how to remain God Conscious 24×7 till one’s last breath.
Mashallah , you really touch my heart with your words.while reading , i feel myself living the days of the Prophet (pbuh), Early Muslims with sincere faith.
I thank ALLAH and pray for my sister in islam. May Allah
shower HIS choicest blessings on her nd guide her and us in the right path.
pls sister if you wish we can exchange knowledge in islam
Welcome sister to islam. I noticed someone wrote In Shaa Allah together as InshaAllah. According to dr zakir naik if you write it together it changes the meaning but if you write it in 3 separate words it means if allah wills.
Amazing masha Allah sister May Allah always guide you and bless you. Ameen