MY JOURNEY FROM HINDUISM TO ISLAM

One of my earliest recollections about Islam

is as a boy. I saw a news clip showing Muslims

praying in Mecca on Hajj, all in one direction

to the one God Allah سبحانه وتعالى. I remember

admiring how the Muslims were all praying

to one God, direct with no intermediary or

intercessor. This particularly appealed to me

because I was always in a state of confusion

and intellectual unrest with my own belief and

manner in which I had been shown to worship.

I had been taught that we should respect all

religions, because they were all different

pathways to God, with Hinduism being the

oldest and most sacred religion to attain the

highest of knowledge and become one with God.

I believed people who were born Hindus had

been through numerous reincarnations until

they had reached sufficient level of good Karma

to be born in a Hindu household and have access

to what was supposed to be the most supreme

divine knowledge.

This belief in reincarnation plus the belief that

God had in the past incarnated into numerous

forms was something that just did not make

sense to me. However despite all the doubts, I

thought to myself it was inconceivable that

such an ancient religion practised by millions

of people could all be wrong? The problem, I

thought to myself must be within myself. I did

not possess sufficient knowledge and that's why

I could not understand Hinduism.

To find an answer to these doubts I had previously

as a boy asked my parents numerous questions.

I asked them why if we were Hindus, did we not as

the Hindu scriptures teach renounce the world and

live as monks. The answer I received was that we

need to be balanced and practical and not cop out

of life's responsibilities. I asked if God had in the

past incarnated into various forms why were these

incarnations just in India and why did God not do

this any more? Why if all religions were correct and

different paths to God, were their teachings so

contradictory? Their response was to tell me not to

take religion too seriously or I would go mad trying

to comprehend it. I thought to myself; How can we

not take our whole purpose in life seriously? Surely

if there was a God, who created all of us, he would've

given us clear guidance and a message for us to follow.
The unanswered questions and contradictions led me

on a quest where I would debate, question and discuss

with various people. I spoke frequently to Jehovah

Witnesses. I also read the bible and the bagwat geeta

secretly in my room. I did find the various stories in

the bible comforting but never in a way that would

expel the doubts that I had.

I like many non-Muslims frequently asked questions,
If there was a God why was there so much suffering

in the world? Why were there so many different

contradictory religions? Why was there no clear

message from God without contradictions and confusion?

I was an individual just waiting to be shown the truth,

although for some reason I had never come across

Islam, despite the fact that there had been many

Muslims in my school and my very best friend was a Muslim!

It was when I was 19 years old before starting university

that I bumped into an old friend and was shocked he

had spent his holidays learning a foreign language -

Arabic! I was really shocked that someone would want

to use their summer holidays, instead of having fun,

in a classroom learning another language. Whilst my

friend explained to me that it was the language of the

Qur'an, I thought what a waste of time. My parents had

frequently discouraged me from thinking too much

about religion or one would go mad and I thought this

is what had happened to my old friend. I thought he had

gone over the edge trying to figure out his purpose in

life and now he was going to flunk life and probably

become a monk.

However at the same time my stereotype of a person

devoted to God did not fit the reality. My friend had

told me he was going in to the second year of his

degree, studying at a prestigious UK university whilst

I was just starting. I agreed to meet him again, to

discuss further his newly found passion for Islam.

By the time I was 19, I had become frustrated with

not finding the answers to all my questions about life,

so I had decided to put all my doubts to the back of

my mind and become a pragmatic follower to the

teachings of the Hare Krishna movement.

My friend and I met regularly to debate; we were

accustomed to this manner of discussing. I would

continue to repeat what I had read in the Baghwat

Gita regarding Hindu philosophy. After every point

I would just repeat what I had learnt regardless of

whether it made any sense. We ended our discussion

on amicable terms. However even though I refused

to budge in the slightest on the validity of Hindu

teachings my friend still wanted to meet regularly.

Now thinking back to those days over 20 years ago,

it is Allah that guides whom he wills, but he used

the dedication of my friend to guide me. I have to

admire and appreciate his determination not to

give-up and write me off as another one of those

people who are blind to the truth, ‘a kafir' who

will never embrace Islam, especially after our first

encounter where I seemed such a stubborn follower

of Hinduism. May Allah reward him for all his efforts

and dedication in the service of Islam.

I had as a result of studying Hindu Philosophy

developed a warped understanding of God. For

the justification in Hinduism for worshiping the

creation is that everything is a part of God. This

belief was challenged and brought back to the

reality that all of creation is limited whereas

Allah is beyond any limitation. Indeed the creation

and creator are completely different in their nature.

This began to change my attitude towards creation.

Previously I had always believed in God but my belief

was plagued with doubt. Now I had come to an

intellectual conviction in Allah, the Almighty's

existence - The One who has no beginning and

whose existence can be identified but essence is

beyond human comprehension. (Just like if a

person knocks on the door, you know there is

someone knocking from the noise but have no

idea as to his appearance). I had realised that

Islam was not the stereotype I had previously

held in my head. Muslims were not just angry

fanatics who went around burning effigies but

a people who followed a unique belief that had

an intellectual foundation. A strong foundation

that could answer my every question I had never

previously been answered.

Suddenly all my doubts left my mind. All my

unanswered questions were for the first time

being answered. Every aspect of life's existence

and the Hereafter;

Q. Why was there so much suffering in the World?
Q. Why all the contradictions between religions?
Q. Why was there no clear message?

Suddenly everything became clear. Allah had revealed

the Quran, the word of God revelealed 1400 years ago.

Preserved to the letter and in it clears proofs as to its

authenticity. He had sent 124,000 messengers but their

message had become changed over time accounting for

all the conflicting religions. With the message of the

next life Allah had also revealed a comprehensive

system on how to organise life's affairs. Its political

system of ruling (Khilafah) was absent in the world

today and that's why the world was full of oppression

and suffering.

Whilst I was contemplating Islam I had many worries

in my mind. If I were to become Muslim, I would no

longer be part of a large Indian Community which I

belonged to in the UK. I also thought to myself that it

would be highly unlikely that I would be able to get

married since Muslim fathers would not allow their

daughters to marry an outsider convert like myself.

This thinking continued and I thought that what if I

thought Islam was correct but was in reality making

a mistake and there was some error in my thinking

but I had not identified it yet.

Although I was only 19 years old, I had previously

engaged in many business ventures. All of them had

failed, even though at the time I was absolutely

convinced that my idea was certainly going to make

me rich. What if Islam was another one of those ideas

- something that I was sure of at the time only to

realise later that I was mistaken in my analysis?

This is what worried me the most that I was going

to sacrifice so much for something that might not

even be the absolute truth.

So I decided that things had gone too far and I had

to stop myself from making the mistake of becoming

a Muslim. I suddenly told my friend that I did not

want to convert and I no longer wanted to meet him

if he was going to talk about Islam. So my friend

disappointed in my stance which allowed no further

discussion since by that point I had even put my

hands over my ears to prevent him further influencing me.

Three months then passed. Every day I tried to block

out what I had learnt and get on with my life as a

non-Muslim. However now my belief in Hinduism

had completely been destroyed yet at the same time

I still believed in God. What a situation, believing

in Islam, yet at the same time trying to convince

myself it was wrong.

It was the most awful time but I tried to busy myself

going to parties, getting drunk and anything else

that would distract me. Over time, to try and justify

my viewpoint, I became angry with Muslims. How

can they be so arrogant to believe they are the only

ones with the divine truth and all other religions

are incorrect?

It was when I got a copy of the Qur'an that I realised

I cannot run forever. At this point I decided to

challenge Islam. I had decided enough was enough,

I was going to read the Qur'an for myself, discover its

contradictions and errors and then I could be at

peace with myself in the decision I had made not

to convert.

However as a result of reading the Quran I underwent

a radical change in my thoughts and feelings. This

change did not occur over the days that I read the

Quran, it actually happened with me within seconds

of the first night reading the Quran.

The very first verses had a striking effect upon me.

"Alif Lam Meem.. This is a book of which there is no

doubt..."

It was as though the Quran was revealed especially

just for me and Allah was communicating to me

directly from the heavens, eliminating my every

fear and doubt. I was able to relate to every single

verse which was a message I had never experienced

before. The message was so powerful and gripped

me into a truly undiverted attention to the verses

in the book. This was truly a book with no contradictions.

Surely as Allah says if this book was from man it would

be full of errors but the Quran has none.

After two days of reading the Quran, I felt my belief

was now unshakeable. I was fully convinced with not

an ounce of doubt as to the validity of this message.

As well as knowing the truth, I now had the strength

to follow it.

I rang my friend who I had debated with and to his

surprise I told him that I wanted to embrace Islam.

The night before taking my declaration of faith I

thanked God and made a promise that I was willing

to sacrifice anything and everything to submit to

the word of God. The night I became Muslim, I was

in a very serious mood, feeling that my life was from

now on about to take a radical and difficult change.

My friend was probably a bit worried since I did not

display any joy as a result of becoming Muslim but I

was aware of the verses that Allah would test everyone

and I was preparing myself for these tests.

I would like to share some of my experiences of what

happened after my embracing Islam.

The next day when I woke up my heart was filled with

an intense sense of tranquillity. I was at last at peace

with myself, no longer searching for the answers to life.

Content with the conclusion and contract I had made

with Allah the day before. I was Al-hamdulilah a

follower of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, who

was the last in the line of Prophets which started with

the Prophet Adam and included Prophet Noah,

Moses and Jesus.
The day after converting I went to University and

announced to everyone I had become Muslim.

Initially people did not seem too bothered until

I told my friends I would no longer be joining them

in the university pub. I took every opportunity that

the interest in my conversion brought to try and

also persuade others about Islam. Looking back it

is remarkable how someone can go from one stance

in one week of being an opponent of Islam to a

propagator of it the following week. This is indeed

how Islam was spread in the past when the people

of conquered nations embraced Islam and

immediately took it upon themselves to be

carriers of this message to other nations.

My parents were to find out about my conversion

a few days later when my Mum noticed that I was

no longer wearing my Hindu luck charm on my neck.

She asked me why I was no longer wearing my

necklace, which was supposed to protect against

evil. I said to her absolute shock, "I don't need

the charm to protect me. Allah will protect me,

" She swore at me - What do you mean ‘Allah will

protect you?' -- She warned me of the implications

of what I was saying and I acknowledged I had

recognised the implication but this is what I

believed in and that she too should also convert

to Islam.

My mum was in tears and that was the hardest

part of my conversion, to see my Mum so distraught

with the news of my conversion. However I stood

firm, realising that I could never hide my belief,

because I wanted to share it with those I love so

they to could come to the same realisation that

I had.

I explained to my family why I had converted to

Islam - that all the idols in our house had no

power at all. They were all part of mythology just

like the Quresh who had over time come to worship

360 idols instead of the one God who is beyond any

limitation. The Kabba was originally a place built

to worship the one God, over time this message had

been lost as idolatry replaced the monotheistic

belief. In the same way ample evidence shows

Hinduism originally had divine origins but over

time the pure message had become distorted and lost.

When my Mum heard this message she was shaken

and could not sleep that night. However her emotions

were not in line with her intellect and as she says to

this day she feels she cannot convert because she

lacks strength of feeling to make that change.

I was fortunate in that although my conversion did

upset my parents at the same time they have always

respected and even admired my decision to follow my

convictions.

After embracing Islam, I was very optimistic that once

my relatives heard the message of Islam they would

inevitably also witness that there was No God but

Allah and that the Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم was a

Prophet of Allah. However to my surprise until today

none of my parents, nor my brother or any of my

relatives has yet embraced Islam. However, writing

this account has reminded me that I should never

give up or loose hope.

Before embracing Islam, I thought I would be losing

in this life many things. But in reality I have only

gained. Gained being part of a bigger family of the

Ummah, a brotherhood of Muslims throughout the

world. I gained a tranquillity which comes from the

acknowledgment in the truth which is confirmed in

the mind and settles in ones heart. A tranquillity

where the human being is no longer searching or

trying to persuade himself about the answers about

life's purpose and creation.

Before becoming Muslim, I felt I had compromised

the highest ideals, due to not abandoning all of

life's pleasures and devoting myself to become a

Monk. Islam does not ask or encourage its

followers to abandon life. Rather it commands

the Muslim to work. Recommends them to get

married and have children, to look after others

and involve in societal affairs. Indeed when one

does this in accordance with Gods commands he

is worshiping his Creator.

Finally my fears of never being able to find a wife

were false. Al-Hamduliah, Allah has given me

what every persons desires in life - a wonderful

wife (who was also a convert like myself) and four

lovely children.

For all those on their search for the truth, Muslim

and non-Muslim I would like to end with a perfect Prayer,

O Allah, Help me see the Truth as TRUTH and give

me the strength to follow it
And O Allah, Help me to see Falsehood as FALSE

and give me the strength to Abstain from it.