My journey in Islam began, most probably, in the same way as it began for many other sisters. When I was 18 years old, I met the man who was to become my husband. I married him shortly after that. In the first six months of our family life together, my husband tried to initiate me in the Islam and told me stories about the Prophet, showed me, by doing / his own example, that Islam is something good, fair and right, but my heart did not yet respond to the calling of Islam. During that time, Allah had not reached my soul, for I was still not ready to accept the Faith and the teachings of the Prophet. But one day, as I was walking with my husband in town and it was time for the prayer, we entered the mosque and my husband asked me to wait for him outside. I stayed in the yard, alongside a few other women. The women approached me and started telling me about Allah and their Faith in Him. One of them asked to me say certain words. I repeated those words after her, and she congratulated me afterwards, telling me I had just said the Shadada, meaning I had accepted Islam into my life. It was at that precise moment that a new stage in my life began. At first, I did not want my husband to know about this, as I thought it was my choice and mine alone. But before I had the chance to tell my new sister in Faith about my decision not to tell my husband, she congratulated him as she exited the mosque and was coming towards me. My husband was delighted that I had accepted Islam into my life. Later that evening, my husband told his father, and they both congratulated me for making the right decision.
My mother is a Christian, with deeply rooted and old beliefs about that religion. And I was growing up, I always thought I also had to be a Christian, because that is what my mother was. So, for a long time after I accepted Islam into my life I did not tell my mother about my Faith but, without her knowing about it, I was reading the Namaz. We lived in the same house as my mother at that time, and I think she eventually caught on to me, but she devotedly and lovingly kept her silence, graciously accepting my choice.
I do not know how it works for other people, but for me, simply reading the prayers was not enough. Actually understanding the transformation that had happened to me came gradually. I always had Faith in a singular divinity. I believe this Faith prepared me, since the very beginning, to reach the point when I finally realized that Christianity simply was not my path in life. When I was little, I always stayed away from churches, I did not like being in church, it made me feel nauseous and made me want to run away and never come back again. I did not understand the purpose of the religious icons and of all those statues of saints, nor did I understand why we must pray to them. But I did believe there was One God, and I constantly prayed to Him and requested His help and his guidance. And, most interestingly, my prayers had always been answered, I always received answers and assistance. Allah helps those that believe in Him.
For a while, I felt like there was a battle going on inside me and that my soul was being torn in half, until one day I decided to do my first Namaz. I took the list with all the steps I need to undertake, what to say, how to move. From that day forward, I immersed myself further and further in Islam. I learned my first Sura. At first, I was reading the Namaz from a piece of paper, but soon enough I started to remember everything I had to do. All throughout my entire life it was only me and my Lord and Savior, Allah. We started this journey together and I continued my road through life with Allah by my side. I began to know Islam on my own, and studied the Prophet’s teachings alone. To stand, in all humility, in front of Allah, alone in His presence, is such an amazing feeling that I have no words to describe. I have never felt a similar exaltation in my daily life until I discovered Islam. I exuded with pride, nervousness and love at the same time, but most importantly, I was extremely grateful to Allah that He chose me and that He guided me to discover His true religion.
I have had, since then, many ups and downs in my life, I have moved to many cities and I have seen many faces, but one thing did not change. Allah, Who has never deserted me. He has always helped me, guided me and protected me.
I am a firm believer in Islam for 17 years already and, with each passing year, my Faith in Allah is getting stronger and stronger. I am certain of one thing: that Allah is the One and True God, and there are no Other Gods. Allah cannot be weighed, measured or found wanting, for He is Great and All Powerful. I have never regretted, not for a day or even for one second, that I have chosen the path of Islam. It was the best thing that has happened to me, the best decision I made in my life.
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