FROM DARKNESS TO GLOW
Surprising travel logs of a new Muslim, Nassir bin Jabir who was in search of real Islamic Faith; described by Qari Hanif Dar, translated by lala sehrai.
I belong to an Israeli immigrant family, now inhabitant of England; I stand forth amongst my siblings, being the most junior but most beloved to all of them.
Jews are not different from any other cast and creed who doesn’t admit any scream on their religious beliefs; here I am surprised that even any needful ethical question is also measured as a plot against God and religion within almost every religious circle.
On the other hand, I prefer to ask everything what I need to know, as I think, the knowledge is more nourishing than the food but my parents were sick of my keenness, they always tried to answer me somehow but as soon as any of my question returns to a discussion they used to come up with their universal parental law like just nip the bud with a stick and blow him up with a heavy beating.
In short, for my whole family, every blessing was just a blessing to enjoy, but for me, it always remained a subject to know before to enjoy that how the blessing happened to us, even if they share some edible with me, instead of eating, I had to ask first, who one send it, for why and how much.
So, my mother became duty-bound to explain me most of the things before to share with me like some as; the sweets came from your aunt, she is blessed with a baby, so she greeted everyone with the sweets, now have your share and end up with it calmly etc.
Despite of this practice, none of the family was competent to explain me their religion adequately, they always answered with their hear-say or traditional stories regardless to the logic and helpless to the satisfaction of the listener, but luckily there is no concept of impeachment on such investigative approaches and critical questions in Jewish beliefs as compared to Islam, no one declares you a traitor or disloyal to the Judaism in response to your bold queries, even if you are a non practitioner Jew, you are still a Jew equal to the practitioner one.
Later on, I converted to many religions and found that Likewise Israel, averagely, every government in the world comprises non religious but eligible persons while the religious practitioner are found so far incapable to withstand in politics due to their rigidness, accordingly insufficient to get through the power corridors because they don’t have such abilities and vision which caters the public needs in the innovative way and befitting manners, so they are remained with their traditional character to be boiled up on societal trends towards modernism and be vexed with each other on religious issues.
Many times, I used to ponder on how Hazrat Yousuf, peace be upon him, succeeded alone to have and hold the ruling position in the society filled with the non believers, how he employed rule and regulations, justice, peace and welfare solely by his personal virtues and convinced the peoples to become believers and practitioner Muslims as well. It raises a basic question that do the believers of this age have anything common with that highest moral values which the Honorable Prophet, peace be upon him, possessed.
By the time, from the island of Judaism I sailed to the ocean of Christianity, there struck me no hurricane because this conversion is considered not a big deal so nothing was unusual, you may know the Muslims who can change their Sect of Fiqah, school of thought, but remain the Muslim as usual, same was my conversion but it could not quench my thirst, so it no longer sustained me in Christianity.
A Sikh friend of mine, known from the university days, entailed me towards Sikhism but exploration of my questions revolted him too, I was alone there to join Sikhism but rebelled a duo, alongside me, the other was that Sikh, now we both were in search of a new religion.
Then I approached Islam, however, due to dreadful ethnic bigotry which Jews have against Muslims, it was so hard to initiate but once I started recitation of Quran I found it not less than a pleasant surprise. Gradually it curtailed all of my contradictions and bumps of my critical thoughts. I came to know that Quran is filled with answers; it advocates all human needs by pointing out problems and fixing their resolutions in befitting manners. As a matter of fact, Quran has settled all the needful questions centuries before which the human race may need now or in the future, so knowing Islam was too relaxing but accepting Islam as my final religion instigated another sort of impasse.
I Accepted Islam in England and planned to learn the practice of Islam from some Muslim country, my father, who had been an attaché with British embassy in Pakistan during 1977, knowing my conversion to Islam and my wish to study Muslims, He suggested me to visit Pakistan instead of Saudi Arabia, He depicted his opinion that Pakistan is the sole spirit of Islam, purely taken for the Islamic practitioners, you may have the matchless knowledge of Islamic practices from there as compared to rest of the Muslim world.
God knows, for what actually he drove me but following his opinion I flew to Pakistan, At Karachi I booked a five star hotel room and expressed my purpose of visit before the service boy to seek help in finding some appropriate religious institute for further understanding of Islam, I also offered him services charges if he agrees to spend two or three days with me to let me find a desired best place.
In this response, he required to know, which kind of Muslim I was, as he thought it was necessary to find pertinent class institution, despite of my life journey was filled with deciphering a variety of questions but this was quite a hilarious and disoriented, so remaining aghast I could not work out that which kind of Muslim I was, except this;
“I told him that following the teachings of Quran I have pledged myself to The One God, and acknowledge The Prophet Muhammad, Blessing of Allah and Peace be upon him, as Last Messenger of The God, I do believe in life after death and accountability of dooms day, I do believe that Quran is The sayings of Allah conveyed through The Angel Gabriel; Now what else is Islam and which kind of Muslim I am?”.
He told me, it’s not sufficient to be Muslim in Pakistan; it needs some identical add on to garnish your Faith, a.k.a. Emaan, which our worthy scholar may let you know, Next day he took me to a religious institution where an overweight flabby man with green turban revealed my knowledge about Islam and added that Islam is spread by the Saints in Hind, Islam is what they have conveyed so if we are not in line with the Saints, surely, we are not on the path of Islam, I had nothing to disagree with him so he sent me to the successor of Saint Manghopir Shrine along with his representative.
Having reached there, the man introduced me to the successor of the Shrine and handed over him the appraisal letter of admin of Jamia Amjadia, The sitting Saint, as known as Sajjada Nasheen or chairperson of the Shrine was supposed to teach me the path of Saints in which they achieve wholesome of inner piety, a.k.a Tazkia-e-Nafs, the Saint had me showered, wear up a green gown and four gem-stone rings in my fingers, took oath of allegiance, as known as bait, given a stick in my hand and enter me into the Islam of the Saints.
Every day after breakfast, they used to carry me on railway station where I had to conduct preaching of Islam before the passengers also telling them whom Highness, Sajjada Nasheen, encircled me into Islam, this practice lasted about two month, during which whenever I tried recitation of Quran they took the English version of The Holly Book from my hands and placed back in my baggage with due respect declaring that Quran have conveyed you on right place hence you need no more reading of the Holly Book, now you have entered into a second phase in which you have to bring up your inner sanctity by following the teachings of the Saint.
On day, after a couple of month, my guide suddenly wedged my hand to refrain me from approaching a group of preachers, a.k.a Tableegi-Jamaat, who were descending from a train, the guide whispered me; never ever try to come up such people, I stopped but one of the tableeghi-jamat fellow noticed the ongoing scene, he took a leap toward us, after salutation and hand shaking he started in a cultured manner with a good accent of English to ask my whereabouts, He was a Doctor, He asked me whether I am a new Muslim, where my luggage was? His fellows had also encircled us during this conversation, they wanted me to go with them for the best practices of Islam and I got agreed as well.
During this meet up, my guide became so restless, he severally insisted me to end up conversation with the Jamat and step back to the shrine but the doctor also decided to accompany with us to take me back with my luggage, It’s another story how the luggage were recovered from the shrine but it was evident in view of their dialogs that the both groups were not Muslims in the eye of each other.
According to the doctor, I had been accompanying there with the polytheist group of Islam, a.k.a Mushrik people, while the chairperson of the shrine told, if I return with the doctor I will be considered apostate, a.k.a murtid, but I could not appreciate this verdict of the Sajjada Nasheen because when I have entered into Islam with my free will and accord and still not have any wish to leave it how one can consider me apostate or excluded from the circle of Islam. I think one who accepts the Islam through his sole declaration he must not be considered apostate or non Muslim unless he detach himself through his sole declaration as well. So under the circumstances, one mystification mill shut by the Quranic magnificence in my mind once again was propelled by the ill behaviors of the Muslim practitioners.
Now from the house of tableegi jamat, I was sent with a Jamat to Raiwind where I also spent a couple of month, during this I came across various tableegi-jamats returning from abroad and exchanged views with them and also spent a forty days chilla travelling with a jamat.
No doubt, the grandeur of Raiwind was so appealing, people filled with sincerity and love were so nice and the whole populated environment was accustomed to repeated invocation of the God’s name, in this venue, a row of book stalls can also be seen at every Thursday attracting a plenty of buyers, same was on the annual gathering, the book stalls were more crowded at the occasion but I noticed there a young vendor quite different from the others standing alone glancing at me, after salutation he enquired whether I am a new Muslim? I endorsed smilingly and picked up an English book from his stall bearing the Title “TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING ISLAM” and started reading its preface, just before I decide to purchase the, some stick bearer volunteers appeared and compelled the vendor to wind up his stall at once which otherwise may be evicted forcibly, the vendor was helpless so he dejectedly started to wind up, As far as the book in my hand, the vendor gifted me and denied to take the price, even he shifted the cost of the book from his pocket to the moneybox and left with his belongings.
When I asked the stick bearer men as why you evicted him, they declared him a wicked person who spread misleading literature to simple people like me, they also declared the author of this book as an ignorant man who is not qualified scholar from any religious institute, while the reality was poles apart, actually there was no space of other literature in their manifest which appear contrary to their preaching syllabus like Fazail-e-Amaal, Fazail-e-Sadqaat, Hayat-e-Sahaba and Riyaz-us-saliheen while the vendor and his books were belonging to another school of thought.
The stick bearer guys also advised me that because I have devoted this whole time to The God so I must read only the prescribed books dully permitted by the Saints of their sect, this whole scenario alarmed me to realize that The Gifted Book looks contrary to their religious views so it might be in danger, I felt hard to save it from the guys rather to read it uninterrupted so I moved on towards my camp.
At the vendors stall, going through preface of the book I found it must clarify my recent dilemmas about Practitioner Muslims; perhaps during this short reading the intelligence of the venue had noticed my keenness in this Book and have alerted the guys to evacuate the vendor whose further supplies could change my mind in total, so was the reason of all this happening.
It was all of a sudden but I could not forget the vendor during my whole life, He might have turned elderly now or might have been departed to the next world but I always remembered him in my prayers, I think he was like an angel just sent for me, as soon as he gave me the book he was driven out.
I noticed, commonly in all religions people worship Allah for the sake of the Jannah, Paradise, Suwarg filled with fairies and beautiful women called Hoors, truly they are not seeking for Allah, they sought only for the Hoors, one who is the most elder, he is the most greedy to explain his fantasies about the Hoors, from churches to temples and from synagogues to here every one is almost covetous and gluttonous toward Hoors, not to recognize The God, they are with The God until He have Paradise, if He depose the Paradise, no one will stay more for Him.
Known to this, It flares me up that no one care the face of Allah, it rebels in me like an atheist against all who are materialistic towards both of the world, I whine, Oh my Allah no one pledge to You, no one is in search of Your Majesty, all are selfish, it saddens me, I look The God sad too as He complaint the same about the human.
I came to Pakistan with clear concept of Islam in the light of Quran that The God created human with love and Want the human to reciprocate Him, He love the human most of all and seek the competitive love from the human too;
والذین آمنوا اشدُۜ حباً للہ-
He wants you in prayer with zeal and enthusiastic manners like a Pro, He wants you to pledge before Him like a beloved, He wants you to have the colors of Him in your being, He wants your existence to be the shadow of Him in your words and acts alluring all around of you, He wants you to be the true copy of;
سیماھم فی وجوھھم من اثر السجود
He wants you to remain connected equally while you are at home or mosque, He wants you to remain in plotting how you put your requests before Him, How you are scheming to seek pardon for your ill deed and sins, How you are looking to earn His pleasure, Are not the seekers of these passions are the noblest who would be accommodated in the shadow of His kindness during the dismay of doomsday?-
God has granted every needful thing to the mankind in their life, if there comes any vacancy of thirst, there also come plenty of ways to extinguish the vacancy, He Who balances these entire imbalance if ask you to sacrifice something in his way or to leave some unpleasant ways of life for the sake of his love, be sure, He would extinguish your shortage with plenty of better things in reward of your sacrifices in the next world, He would garnish your next world with houses, wives and other valuables as He granted in this world, if you leave all the mortals which resist you in His way, be sure, He will bestow you immortal and persist able thing here and there.
In the context of your sacrifices in the way of God, the reward of Jannah as well as beings of Jannah like Hoors are justified but when you invest your whole worship for only the Hoors, meal and playful veranda, it viciously relinquish your sincere relationship with The God, even the concept of Divine Majesty, His Kindness and Blessings shrink to a mediocre trade in which The God seems compelled to allure you with your sex hunger, This silly concept of an ignorant preacher as well as greedy human ruthlessly drag down the Majestic Outlook of The God while the Devil also entrap the human through human sex hunger, Now what the difference this nonsense human being had left between God’s scheme and Satan’s scheme, between modeling for mobile companies and preaching for Jannah where these both are enticing through the women?-
Actually Quran counts on such thing a very few times just to ensure you that the human being shall have both body and soul as usual in the next world so that he would be able to sit on the Sofas and to lean against the cushions.
متکئین علی فرش بطائناھا من استبرق-
While the soul cannot eat fruits and take milk or honey accordingly it has nothing to do with sex, So Quran never enticed the human towards sex in Jannah but towards the fact that human would have both body and soul, secondly
یطعمون الطعام علی حبہ مسکینا و یتیما و اسیرا-
و آتی المال علی حبہ ذوی القربی-
Depicts about the sacrifices but standing apart from the context how viciously the preachers had employed the trade of Hoor in connection with the other world diminishing the Prestige of God, it blown me up to travel from Judaism to Christianity and from Sikhi to Islam but the Pakistani society again blew my true zeal into a rebellion.
Where all these nonsense pushed me again on to the banks of atheism there the Gifted Book pushed me back “TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING ISLAM”, hence God proved his promises to my pleasure that one who take the way in search of God, The God bring him up from DARKNESS TO GLOW, here I am convinced to believe that the Book Vendor was exclusively sent to cater me like an angel and as soon as he finished his job he was withdrawn.
Later on, having reached back in Britain, I officially got replaced my Jewish name replicating to Nasir Mehmood, the angel guy who donated me the Book and I decided to travel for Hajj through Jerusalem, Iran, Iraq and Jordan where I confronted an Irani young man who was atheist travelling to Zahidan, knowing me, he screamed, what a coincident, I left Islam and you just entered, then he said, How nicely God has united his soldier and rebel in the same carriage.
Exploration of his views about Islam were shocking again, He told according to some ethics, that the Quran is not an original book but the foot note of the Original One which is possessed with the Imam who dwells in some unknown cave but If we believe in this story then the promise of God take no place wherein He says;
[: رُسُلا مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ لِئَلا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى اللَّهِ حُجَّةٌ بَعْدَ الرُّسُلِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا ]
The guy named Yazdani agreed and elaborated, I have get rid of all these religious discrepancies as it looks better to stay alone and peaceful than to be boiled up by the vigor of such contradictions who have spoiled the real sense of the religion.
Then he asked me; what have entwined you with the Islamic faith? Instead of any answer I gave him the Gifted Book which he kept reading all the way, mean time, we also discussed somewhat of the text, however, surprisingly he again converted to the Islamic faith before we reached Zahidan.
During this journey whenever we had a chance to offer the Prayers I pushed him forward for imamat while rest of the people kept on joining the assembly behind him, God knows what he started feeling in every Prayer which used to make him cry a lot during the recitation, nobody out of the assembly also could resist the feelings and pleasure of worship as well as companionship of this assembly, most of the carriage fellows started to treat him like a Peer as I Witnesseth at Manghopir, in fact the bogie had really converted into a shrine in this sense.
In fact, the Gifted Book refreshes human relationship with the God in its true spirit; I would request to all the Muslims by birth should also read it, the writer have convinced the folks towards the zealous necessities of Islamic faith with real arguments keeping aside his personal views like some quite a neutral person, no gift can be as precious as this book stands equally beneficial for the Muslims and non Muslims.
Yazdani gave me a good chance to know about Dr. Ali Shareiti, the author of “MAN AND THE ISLAM”, this book reveals the Divine purpose of human creation, importance of human and his connection with The God in such an inspiring way, both the books are worth reading, At the moment I was departing from Iran, Yazdani gifted me his book but I could not dare to donate my book, perhaps I had to convert my family with it.
At Iran, Yazdani arranged three memorable meetings, First at Tehran with a Jew Rabbi, without exposing my conversion to Islam I discussed him Judaism extensively, it was notable how they defend themselves, Actually Judaism is ethnic religion instead of an ideology, it means no one can adopt Judaism unless he is a Jew by birth, so they don’t need any preaching of Judaism to the mankind, eventually they don’t have to qualify any ideological quality, that’s why Judaism is shrinking, financial situations resolute them to keep the families short, eventually they became corrupt, rough and limited, Jews can change their religion but their nature cannot be changed because they think themselves descendants of Hazrat Abraham, peace be upon him, to whom fire of nimrod could not harm accordingly His descendants are also safe from the fire of hell, thinking that, How The God would burn those in the fire of Hell whose forefather He saved from the fire of an enemy, this genetic pride is their basic psychic which God severally exposed in the Quran, particularly in Surah Albaqarah and Surah Almaida.
ما کان ابرھیم یہودیاً ولا نصرانیاً ولٰکن کان حنیفاً مسلماً
قل فلما یعذبکم بذنوبکم ؟
After showing a little sympathy to Judaism I returned to critical questions with Rabbi and felt all the religious leadership think alike, they used to answer in the same habitual way according to their faith regardless to the truth even they can’t withstand the caliber and IQ of the questioner, for example, when I asked him as, if The God would not burn us in the Hell due to our genetic values then why He had pushed us in torments here;
He answered that God defers the accountability of his enemies till the doomsday while He clean his friends through thick and thins of this life and shall not give any pain in life after death, I referred to Quran again;
ولھم فی الآخرۃ عذابٓ عظیم-
Now he smelled my conversion because no Jew learn Quran neither rely so he enquired, Have you been Muslim? I admitted, he added, you betrayed in introduction as Jew, I replied, you have admitted to be it Jew or converted to any other religion the Jew Genes are not changeable in any case so at first I introduced you my biological status not ideological.
The next meeting was held with Ayatullah Muntazri Sahab of Qum, I enquired him about Shia ideology which I clutched from Yazdani, during the days, Muntazri Sahab was in hot water for opposing Khamini Sahab, half of the population was with Khamini Sahab and half was following Muntazri Sahab, he had to remain house arrest or some time jailed, so it was very hard to get appointment with him.
Ayatullah Muntazri was the person who handled the revolution movement in absence of Khamini Sahab and faced all the pressures of Shah Iran, Khamini Sahab took the charge of the movement when it was highly evolved, after takeover Khamini Sahab neutralized all who supported him in the exile with fund, manpower, presented his soft image in the press and provided him all the covers he needed but according to the quotation that revolution takes its own child first so Khamini Sahab was getting rid of persons who could threat him, after Sadiq Qutubzade and Bani Sadar now he was trying to remove the title of Ayatullah from Muntazri Sahab so that trial could be launched against him even though Muntazri Sahab was having equal public support but the Pasdaran was with Khamini Sahab.
In these circumstances, he gave us only thirty minutes provided we present our questionnaire in advance, in association with Yazdani we supplied only three questions making it clear that further question on your replies must be accepted if we need so, First was, how will you convince a Jew to accept the Islam, Second, difference of opinion’s limit in Islam, Third, difference of worships.
Actually he was told that a Jew family desire to accept Islam on your hand but they need some clarifications, it was the basic reason he agreed to give us time, after permission we entered where the sitting was arranged on a carpet in a noble and reverential environment, the file in which copy of my passport with necessary details was also supplied to him a day before was placed in front of him, after the welcome Yazdani started as interpreter as he had good Britain accent in English and pure Iranian accent in Persian, I still could not differentiate his English was charming or Persian was better but due to sweetness his conversation in Persian did not let me apart eyes from his face.
How will you present Islam to me I mean what are the terms for accepting Islam? I requested.
He replied, Shahadah to the Oneness of God, Shahada to the Prophet Hood of Hazrat Muhammad, Blessings of Allah and Peace be upon Him, Shahadah to the Villayah of Hazrat Ali and affirmation to the right of His Caliph hood as second to none.
Q: Did Hazrat Muhammad, peace be upon Him, accepted Muslims on these Terms?
A: No
Q: So, what were their terms?
A: Oneness of God, Prophet Hood of Hazrat Muhammad, Allah’s Blessings and Peace be upon Him, Belief on Angels, Holly Books, Doomsday and Life after death.
Q: Then why have you presented one additional term, Is not a sufficient which was specified from Hazrat Muhammad, Peace be upon Him,?-
A: This additional one complies with cohesion of this country, if you don’t accept you may go.
Q: You have differences with Khamini Sahab, been arrested, house arrested, restricted to writing, speech and movement, even you can’t deliver Khutbatul Jumma, despite of all this hardship, do you have any disparity with Imam Khamini in terms of faith?
A: No.
Q: If any way of worship differs or need to be diverted?
A: Not at all, these difference are political, it has nothing to do with religious conviction, faith and practice.
Q: So nice, but where these political flashes do not apart you both in faith and practice even do not give you both any negative impact on your ranks of imamat then why you consider difference of Sahaba impacts on their prestigious ranks and how it apart them in faith and practice, why you consider them less than you in patience and conscious, how you consider their political and family differences can divide the religion for Muslims as you conditioned to accept the first right of Caliph Hood while it was happened on forth, do you want me to start Islam from a Lie?-
More over, did the military corps of yazid including Hur offered their prayers in the leadership, Imamat, of Hazrat Imam Hussain during the besiege at Karbla?
A: Yes, they followed Imam Hussain in the Prayers for seven day.
Q: Don’t you accept that despite of political diversity their ways and timings of worship were the same, accordingly they had no disparity in religion?
Here, he asked something to his secretary who opened my file, he consulted it again and said to Yazdani, Have he accepted Islam?
Yazdani replied, He wished to accept Islam so he has learned a lot about it.
I asked, do you believe the Quran is in Original Form?
He replied, yes, we believe it from God and recite in our Prayers but it’s not complete, some part is not available.
Q: Where is that part?
A: That remains with our 12th Imam who is awaited to appear soon.
Q: Don’t you think the Imam stand responsible for the loss of faith of the people who are expiring without knowing the complete code of Islam to which they are answerable before God because the Imam is not ready to appear since centuries to complete the code of Islam.
A: The present Quran is decisive completely in term of faith, the held part pertains to some political and administrative decision which shall be implemented by the Imam after his political domination.
Q: So, you will not accept me in Islam with the Shahdah to Oneness of God and Prophet Hood of Nabi, peace be upon him?
A: Actually the said terms are printed on the certificate which we shall grant you on your acceptance and no one has right to change the terms except Majlis-e-Khabargan, so If you are not agreeing the full description of the certificate then we are apologetic.
The meeting was over and we moved out, after my arrival in England the political circumstance of Iran also compelled Muntazri Sahab to seek refuge in the England.
Next day, we met a Sufi at Tehran, many other were gathered there, some of them were infected by physical illness; some having financial problems and other were spiritually impure by Jins and black magic etc., however I noticed, there was separate arrangements for women as compared to the system of Manghopir Shrine, women were explaining him behind from the curtain and he was guiding them softly and praying for his aspirant, he was also advising everyone to offer their Prayers regularly, recite prescribed verses after different Prayers and also read 100 time Astagfar before to sleep.
Lastly, he opened the house for questionnaire, various people asked about different matters, on my turn I asked about the Hell and Paradise, Yazdani interpreted but he did not give any attention to an English man’s question and its Persian exchange, he as usual asked to the crowd again, anyone else?
I repeated again the same question but he ignored like before and asked the others if anyone have to ask something or not?
It irritated me a lot and I shouted, reply me first, now he noticed me and asked to repeat the question, I corresponded again, what is the Hell and Paradise in your beliefs?-
Now he replied briefly but satisfactory, he said, the situation you have faced when I ignored you was your Hell, and the pleasant moments you found on my response, remains your paradise, this was between you and me and was momentary but as the Quran says:
ولا یکلمھم اللہ یوم القیامۃ ولا ینظر الیھم ولا یزکیھم، ولھم عذابٓ الیم-
When The God will pay no attention to the hopes of wicked people, they will suffer a pain; it will be their Hell which shall not be the momentary, it shall remain consistent.
So as the people who would be privileged from The God will have an unavoidable joy, this state is the Paradise, A kind look from The God shall never be momentary, the pleasure will be everlasting as well as the hazard of the unprivileged people.
The reply was fascinating so I had no ways to deny as I had just experienced the both situation a moment before so the impact was deep on me, you also can realize that the annoyance of your beloved will not let you be easy even in the furnished valley, you will remain counting the dimensions of sorrow and grief one by one from beginning of love to end of the breakup, seemly prickles of bad deeds shall be accompanying with the people from this to that world who disobey the God and gather His wrath, The Blessing of God is a great reward and his anger is a great suffering.
Next day, I found message from my father to reach back, there was an emergency, I bought a ticket from Tehran and returned leaving many segments of this journey unfulfilled, there was a great sadness at home as medical report of my mother was found positive with cancer at its last stage, It was exorbitant to see her weight was remain almost less than the half.
I recalled memories of the days when there was a lot of happiness in our compound, she was eager to garnish my life with wedlock with a noble family girl but now she was fighting for her own life, being a new and passionate Muslim I had no better gift for her at her last stage of life than the light of Islam to save her from Hell but no one could realize me in this Jew family particularly she could not change the religion without the permission of her husband.
Parents are usually conversant with the psyche of their kids, their sixth sense can read all of your anxiety from your face so my father sat near ne and exclaimed what I have learned from my journey of Islamic faith, I told him all with my desire to let the mother accept Islam before she dies.
My father read my both books within few days and asked me, How can we prefer Islam on our religion whose hereditary pride prominent us from all others?
It was very challenging moment; I feared if I fail to convince him, my mother will die impious but soon I gathered my wits concluding that I have no option than to convey the reality, rest is depending on rest.
I reminded him of the preaching of Hazrat Abrahim, peace be upon him, when He invited the people of His age towards the religion, He did not confined it to His hereditary kinship, His religion was a universal blessing equally beneficial for every human, even He presented it to the Nimrod too.
Likewise Hazrat Yousuf, peace be upon him, presented Islam to the prisoners who were not His kith and kin, latterly He converted entire populace of Egypt who had no genetic relationship with Him, so were the Bani Israel having no genetic bond with the prophets of their ages.
As a matter of fact, Genetic forms up groups of families while the Ideology forms up relationship with The God according to His valid code of conduct as specified by the Prophet of the time, so ideology and religion have no relationship with genetics, even God have no genetic relationship with the mankind.
I think you are wise enough to realize that our preachers had no valid argument to convince the people, they were not competent to sooth new generations with logic and wisdom even they had no charm to stop the people from leaving religion, in this hardship, they crafted an effective story of genetic pride, they knew that human mind attracts to ethnic, cultural and national prides and defend their prides till their last breath at any cost, So actually we have owned a fake pride from our ancestors which is now a matter of our psychological satisfaction instead of religious need, it was all they have to keep the people attached with their religion emotionally, Now I hope you will conclude it positively.
I was not sure how much he is convinced or even not but I was surprised when he moved from his seat toward me and pat my shoulder smilingly, then he announced we shall visit the mosque in the evening, I could not stop some tears of joy on the moment.
Islam had entered my home, we were embraced with a great blessing, my father received his new Muslim name Jabir and mother selected Amna, she has departed to the next world leaving us shocked but I am satisfied she have gone Muslim.
انا للہ و انا الیہ راجعون
“Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return”
Apparently The God have granted me another pride to encircle more than thirty people into Islamic Faith from my family, siblings and my wife too and still expect more to count, I hope Allah to grant me more of His blessing, Ameen.
Wish to remain
Nassir bin Jabir
Translated from Urdu To English By Lala sehrai
نار سے نور تک
