"Assalamu alaykum brothers and sisters in Islam. I am Maliha and a 13 year old revert. Abu Ubaida asked me to send an email to the group (muslimconverts.com discussion board) about my life as a Muslim. so here it goes. may Allah forgive me for any mistakes I make but let's remember that no one is perfect but Allah (swt)
First I shall give you my story on how I came to embrace Islam. when I was 11 years old my dad introduced me to a Pakistani friend he had and I became close to the family. Gradually, over time, I spent more and more time there and are now like there adopted daughter! But it was not until summer 2007 when we were eating ice cream that I was asked why was I eating with my left hand. Me being left handed it was a natural thing. I asked why it mattered and all they said was that the left hand is dirty and we're supposed to eat with the right hand. After that, I never ate with the left hand again.
My best friend is Bengali and very religious mashaAllah. I stayed at her house and observed her doing her prayers. Everything they did was revolved around Islam. Then I began to ask questions. By this time I was already wearing shalwar kameez. Then I decided to look into Islam and I found this website (MuslimConverts.com).
When I read that Allah (swt) will punish the non- Muslims I got very scared. I thought to my self if I didn't believe in this religion then I would not be scared. So I took it from there. When I read the part about Allah is the one true God everything made sense to me. I had never understood the Christian views on God or Jesus. I was a Christian before but not practicing.
I tried to stop eating haram meat but it was difficult at first. I told my best friend my wish and learned a lot more. I was trying to practice Islam but it became difficult with my parents and the meat issue.
Then one day I just broke down and told my
mum. she was very supportive at first but is now not so much. I just said to my
dad I was looking into it and have spoke no more. When I took my shahada
officially to myself on the 20th April 2008 I didn't feel a thing. I know some
reverts say that when they took their shahada they felt as if a weight had been
lifted form their shoulders. Because I had been a Muslim in my heart and
believed for a long time.
So there's my story and I'm sure you're
thinking, not another story, but I just thought it might help other young girls
going through the same thing.
I have a fantastic Muslim sister who
bought me some brilliant books including 1 on prayer. I now read the texts and
and practice movements. I even do fajr prayer. But I have to be careful that I
do not wake my parents up. I did once the other morning so I have to be even
quieter now. It is so hard to find a Muslim that prays 5 times a day! In
fact Allah made it easy for us. We were supposed to pray 50 times a day but
Allah made it easy to do it 5 times.
I am going to be facing some
difficult challenges this year. Like my birthday is in Ramadan. but
inshallah Allah will give me the strength to pass these tests. Sometimes I feel
like I want to tell everyone my deen. But I now it would cause problems and as
long as Allah (stw) knows, that is all that matters.
I hope this
helps Muslims out there to follow their hearts. Young Muslims, if you believe in
the religion of Islam, take your shahada that second. Allah has your date fixed
already and no one knows that date but Allah. It could be tomorrow. And you
don't want to die a disbeliever. As long as you do not eat haram or do anything
haram, Allah will be pleased with you.
May Allah keep you all on
the straight path, protect you from Shaytan and keep you strong in Iman
Allah
Hafiz."
Maliha
The above is an amazing story of how Allah guided Sister Maliha, a 13 year old English Sister to Islam. One thing that mostly hinders her from telling her parents that she has become Muslims is her fear that the non Muslims in her society may give her parents problems. This is a very common fear of many converts,
Sister Maliha told MuslimConverts.com that one day she sat on a chair next to her mother and her mother asked her if she wanted chicken tikka (made form haram meat). She said no. So her mother asked her why she had not been eating meat. Then Maliha broke down crying. Her mother asked her what was wrong So Maliha sat with her mother and said kept saying repeatedly "You're going to kill me" Her mother said no she wont. So then Maliha said I want to be Muslim her Mother said "is that it".
So Maliha told her that was the reason she had not been eating any haram meat.
So her mother asked her what else was involved and she told her that she couldn't eat haram meat and she will be dressing modestly. Which she had been doing for a long time
Then her mother asked her why she wanted to become Muslim and she told it it was because she believed in Islam and it made sense to her and then told her she was hiding it because she was scared.
Her mother said she was more angry at the fact that she Maliha felt she couldn't not tell her about her desire to become a Muslim,So then Maliha told her mother that Paradise lies at the feet of the Mother and we love our mother, our mother , our mother and then our father
So Maliha's mother said "So you're living of beans and fish now then?"
This young Sister was guided by Allah through another young Sister who knew the importance of eating with the right hand. It is a shame that some adult Muslims feel that they have to eat with their left hand in order to fit in with the disbelievers . Even though our Prophet peace be upon him commanded us to eat with our right hand and he peace be upon him even made dua against a man who refused out of arrogance not to listen to him.
A man ate with his left hand in his presence, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Eat with your right hand." He said, "I cannot." He said, "May you never be able to!?" Nothing was stopping him but his stubborn arrogance, and he never raised his right hand to his mouth after that. (Reported by Muslim, 3776). According to a report narrated by al-Daarimi, "his right hand never reached his mouth". This man suffered paralysis because of the du?aa? of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
What would happen to those Muslims who eat with their left hands if the Prophet peace be upon him was with us and they refused to eat with their right hand ?
Sheik Muhammed Saleh Al-Munajjid say that Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "In this hadeeth we have an indication that it is allowed to pray against a person who breaks a shari rule with no excuse. We also see the principle of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil in all situations, even with regard to eating. It encourages us to teach proper manners of eating to a person who is eating if he is doing something wrong. The hadeeth also teaches us that the Shaytaan eats with his left hand, because of the hadeeth: ?When any one of you eats, let him eat with his right hand, and when he drinks, let him drink with his right hand, because the Shaytaan eats with his left hand and drinks with his left hand." (Reported by Muslim, 3764). The Shaytaan eats with his left hand so the person who eats with his left hand resembles the Shaytaan, indeed the Shaytaan is sharing his food with him. Ahmad reported with a hasan isnaad from Aaishah and attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Whoever eats with his left hand, the Shaytaan eats with him." (Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, commentary on hadeeth 1721).
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "None of you should touch his penis with his right hand when he is urinating, or wipe himself with his right hand after relieving oneself, or breathe into the vessel (from which he drinks)." (Narrated by Muslim, al-Tahaarah, 392)
Of course Allah does not burden a person beyond their abilities. If a Muslim was to suffer from an illness or a deformity that prevents him from using his right hand to eat and his left hand to do things such as cleaning himself after going to the call of nature or blowing his nose then there is no sin on him if he used the other hand
SubhanaAllah Look at how some of our children are holding the banner of Islam whilst the adults due to their greed for money and fear of the enemies of Islam have dropped it. The good Muslim child will be repulsed by the haram. They will not eat with their left hand and will be shocked and repulsed if they see some one eating with their left hand. They will keep themselves clean and they will give up the haram sweets and the toys. No matter how much they have a desire for these sweets or toys. Alhamdulillah Sister Maliha loved her teddy bears and when she was told that these toys were haram. She gave them up,
The sisters story also shows that when Muslims take their religion seriously and make their whole life revolve around Islam then that can be a cause of curiosity and even admiration. It can lead to person wanting to know what is it about this religion that makes the Muslimah live her whole life around this religion. If the person is open minded and looking for the truth. They will find it. InshaAllah.
Many times some Muslims are afraid of upsetting non Muslims feelings. So some off them end up lie about the fate of the person who dies as a kafir or attack the Muslim who tells the truth. Lying about Islam could even cause the person to die as a kafir himself. The truth is what people love. Islam is the truth and it cannot be diluted. When you have the perfect drink and you try to dilute it or make it more concentrated it doesn't taste as good and the more you dilute it the less sweet and less appealing it becomes
When Sister Maliha read the truth about the oneness of God and the fate of the one who dies as a disbeliever on this site and it prompted her to say the Shahadah. She said after reading the first page on the site she was convinced she must say her Shahadah right away. Alhamdulillah this site is against watering down Islam.
Her goals are to be the best Muslimah and to go to
Jannah She was very attached to her teddy bears but she gave them up for Allah. When
she wears Hijab she says she fells so good because she feels protected from the
prying eyes of men. and she it reminds her of Allah.
May Allah
grant her and us all Jannah. Ameen
AbuUbaida