The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Through his good conduct a believer can attain the rank of one who fasts during the day and spends the night in prayer.” [Abu Dawud] A Romanian brother, Muhammad, was a guest on a program called “Kayfa Aslamt” (How did you accept Islam?) on the Quran radio station of a Muslim country. He recounted that in 1992 he was motivated to embark on a “peace tour” on foot after visiting Bosnia and seeing the state of the people there. One night his travels landed him and his wife in a small, remote village in Turkey. As he searched for any roof to spend the night under, he came across a villager and asked him for information regarding a place to stay. The man responded that there was none, and through a few English words and Muhammad’s very limited Turkish, managed to invite him to spend the night in his home. Seeing that he had no other choice, Muhammad agreed, although they were a little scared of this stranger who was a large man and sported a long beard. As soon as he arrived at the man’s house, Muhammad and his wife were comforted by the fact that there was a family there; an elderly grandmother of about 80 years, a mother and five children all close in age. The family prepared a supper for them that he described as simple yet tasty. Then they were told that they shall sleep in the same room and the family would go sleep in another. Early the next morning, Muhammad and his wife got up to thank the family and complete their journey. To their complete astonishment, they discovered that the house only consisted of that one room where he and his wife had slept, while the old woman, the man, his wife, and their five children were all sleeping outside, under a tree. This was in the month of November and the cold was bitter. Extremely shocked at the man’s behavior, Muhammad asked, “Are you crazy?” The man, who could barely communicate, replied, “No, I am Muslim.” The words went through Muhammad like an electric shock. He could never forget that man’s action. He began investigating Islam, as he only had a distorted image of it, and even read the Qur’an. He visited Syria, Jordan and Egypt, were he furthered his studies about the Qur’an and Hadeeth. When the host asked him when he embraced Islam, he replied that in his heart he had become a Muslim from the moment the man said, “I am Muslim.” But he and his wife officially took their Shahaadah (declaration of faith) in Egypt, two months after their encounter with the Turkish man. When he returned to Romania, he faced anger and rejection from his family. Taking heed in the conduct of the Turkish man, he decided that preaching would serve no purpose. He showed them the beauty of Islam through his actions. Later, the ones who carried the most enmity towards him, were the first to accept Islam.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 12:13:37 +0000
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