The Favoured Ones

Recently during a session of our women’s workshops we got into a very important discussion. Two of the women present were reverts to Islam. They both married men who were born Muslims and they became Muslim before they married. These women shared a little bit about their lives with us, and they mentioned that as a revert into Islam, things are not very easy. They explained how certain people in their families and community were not willing to accept them as equals and how they always had to work hard to prove themselves as worthy Muslims.

It was disappointing to hear their accounts of the negative reactions they receive from fellow Muslims, especially because those people who are fortunate enough to be born as Muslims are supposed to be the one’s working harder to attract people towards Islam instead of turning them away. In any case, I loved the reply that was given to them by one of our very knowledgeable and experienced facilitators. She told them that they were the ones who had been favoured by Allah. Allah chose them to come to Islam and they were blessed, and they would be given great reward in the hereafter, Inshaa Allah. She then urged all of us present that day to treat our fellow Muslim sisters in the manner set out for us by the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). She reminded us that those who have come to Islam should be welcomed with open arms, and these people will indeed be favoured by Allah on the day of Judgement, and she emphasized how we shouldn’t take things for granted simply because we were born as Muslims because we all have to work hard to attain Jannah (Paradise). Alhamdullillah, I thought that was an amazing answer, and it seemed like it really helped our two sisters to feel more positive about their lives.

I decided to write about this because it really is such an important topic. I have always admired people who have come to Islam. I find it amazing that they have such a zeal for knowledge and they follow the rules of Islam with such urgency and strictness that you can’t help but be amazed. The thing I’ve noticed is that those of us who were born as Muslims have tended to become too comfortable in our lives, and we take many things for granted. Sometimes we even carry out acts of worship in ritual fashion, and we believe that since we are Muslims all our lives we don’t need to gain more knowledge about Islam. We thus tend to become complacent and remain in a static state.

In contrast, those who have reverted to Islam are continuously striving to better themselves. They regard the religion as a beautiful gift; they hold fast to it and work hard not to ever lose it. They appreciate what they have been given and they see the true beauty in it, and what’s more, they want to share it with everyone so they tend to do more daw’ah work. In fact, most of the people who work the hardest to spread Islam in today’s times are revert Muslims. This should make us wonder, shouldn’t it? Especially when it is the duty of every single Muslim male and female to spread Islam.

Those who revert to Islam read more and learn more, and they insist on doing things exactly how they should be done. The Islam they portray is true Islam because it is not tainted with cultural or familial ideas of things. They focus only on Sunnah and Qur’aan and their understanding of Islam is not based on old traditions. I remember hearing about someone who became a Muslim and within months this person had already learnt Arabic and could speak the language well. SubhanAllah, this is amazing! I am still struggling to learn Arabic and I know very, very little of the language.

I have to agree that those people who have reverted to Islam are indeed the favoured ones! There is so much that we need to learn from them and so much inspiration that we can gain from them. The ideal should be for us all to come together and love one another, as true Muslim brothers and sisters should love one another, purely for the sake of the Almighty Allah. There should be no differentiation, it doesn’t matter if you are a Muslim your whole life, or if you have recently become a Muslim, the only thing that matters is whether you are going to die as a Muslim! (May Allah save us all from death without Imaan (Faith).

I can’t remember whether I heard this from someone or if I read it, but I remember that there are 3 types of people; Those who live with Imaan their whole lives, but die without it. Those who live without Imaan their whole lives, but die with Imaan. And those who live with Imaan and die with Imaan. May Allah make us all of these people who live with Imaan and die with Imaan, Inshaa Allah!

Image from: http://islamandthemoslimworld.blogspot.com/ (Check this site out, it's very interesting)