Sometimes, what is best for you is right in front of you, but you can't see it because you are caught up in keeping everything the same. It is at times like this when you need that extra push to delve into the unknown. Islam has always been around me in many different ways. But because it still had no specific meaning to me at that point, I chose to appreciate it value, but to disregard it by not taking it any further. My push in the right direction came in the form of an individual who I will call Chota for the time being.
This story is not a love story, nor is it an easy journey. I want to explain my hardships not to gain sympathy, but to show you the power of God and the strength you gain by submitting yourself to your Lord.
I met Chota by chance, at work, on a day where he was volunteering for only two days. When I spoke to him, it felt as though something was happening between us. I was trapped in his words. He was not being romantic, nor was he saying anything related to me. He was speaking about his love for his family. It truly touched me to see him be so open with me when we were just strangers. I thought nothing else of it and went about my work, secretly hoping I would see him again the next day.
I did see him, but our encounter was brief, and at the time although I was a tad disappointed that I would not have another interesting conversation with him, it did not affect me greatly. He was after all still a stranger. But Allah Al Wadood plans for each and every one of us. I had left something at the end of the day so as I went back into my office to retrieve it, I bumped into him. We spoke again, both of us lost in the little bubble we had created, and we decided to keep in touch as he would no longer be working here.
Step into my shoes. You receive a phone call from Chota...there is some general talk before the discussion turns to religion. You say you are happy in your religion, and that you have nothing bad to say about any other religions. He insults you, he tells you that you are wrong...he raises his voice and calls you a fool...what would you do? Hang up presumably. Which is what I did.
But, something made me want to call back and stand up for myself and my religion. Just as I was about to text him, he called me back. We decided to agree to disagree, and I promised him that we could discuss this in detail very soon.
The truth was I was scared. Although I knew about my religion, I was not really knowledgable. There were gaps in my information where my parents could not answer certain questions for me. I needed to be confident with all my answers before I approached this conversation again. Because I could see that Chota had no plans of making this easy for me in any way whatsoever. He thought that he was right, and I thought that I was right. As he had said in the conversation, that which is lawful is clear, and that which is unlawful is also clear.
I was determined to prove him wrong, but the first thing I had to do was to find out why I was right. Or was I?
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