Thursday, June 24, 2010

Story of Mine

Alhamdulillah wa syukurillah, di kesempatan ini penulis sertakan bersama satu kisah saudara seislam kita yang dahulunya adalah kristian tegar, Subhanallah hidayah Allah itu datang tanpa diduga. Kisah ini originally from "his". Syukran saudaraku yang memberi keizinan untuk mem"publish" cerita akhi dalam blog ini. Semoga ianya dijadikan pengajaran yang berakal, yang Islam itu lebih menghargai nikmat Islam itu. Hayati cerita di bawah:

In the name of Allah most gracious, most merciful

All praise to Allah Almighty for everything that He has done on me and also planned for me.

With this I began my story. I am born as a roman catholic, been baptized and go through the same process as most of the Christian will go through. My family is a normal practicing catholic. We will go to church every Sunday. And being an active person that I am, I will try my best to participate in the church ministry. Beginning as a helper of the priest (Altar Server) to an organist. My life has been a normal person life. During the time when I was young, I will go to Sunday classes every week. At there, we will be taught about the basic Christian faith and also their practice. Been a small boy, I am the quiet type and this has actually made me too shy to ask any question. This goes on until when I was in form five. During form five, I have already being confirmed in the sacrament of confirmation. After I myself has been confirm, I am out to the world to spread the good news of Jesus Christ (pbuh).

For me the test of my Christian faith came when I enter into University. During my university period, I am staying in a house with 8 Malays and also 1 Indian. During that period I myself have a thought of spreading the religion to the Muslim and also the Hindu. This is due to that time the impression of Muslim which I know is really bad and I myself is really confident that Christianity is the one and only true religion. During the first year in university, I have been close with one of the Muslim and we have discussion regarding our differences in faith and the similarities. During the period when staying with them, I have noticed a few things from Muslim which really amazed me and change my image of Muslim :

1. No matter how busy, they will always remember to pray.
2. The female in Muslim will wear tudung which for me is really polite and beautiful.
3. During their prayers, the Muslim really concentrate 100% on their prayers, and not on handphone and other stuff.

Besides this two main factor which really amazed me, I myself also started to like nasyid during the period when I was staying there. Even though some of the nasyid is about praising their God (Allah s.w.t) but the music really attract me. I still remember the first nasyid which I learn to sing was ‘Insan bernama kekasih’. The song was really beautiful and attract me a lot.

During the first semester, I try fasting with the Muslim during the Ramadan month. And I am really impress with them cause they would get up early around 5am to eat (sahur) and after that fast the whole day until around maghrib only break their fast. The Muslim way of fasting is different from the Christian way of fasting. Christian have several way of fasting during Christian fasting month (lent season) in which some Christian will fast on meat whereas some will fast meat only on friday. Whereas Muslim will fast on food and drinks including water. I try one day and give up in the middle of the day cause really cant stand the feeling of thirsty. And it really amazed me when the Muslim can fast for 30 days !

During the second year of university, I continue my discussion with my Muslim friends regarding our question in each other faith from time to time. During the end of my second year, I join scuba diving class, during one of my class in the 5m pool, i was so playful that I get drowned and almost die during the incident. I was hospitalized for 4 days after I drowned. After I return back to study, I continue my life as normal.

During my third year in university, life started to change for me, being a loyal Christian, I myself couple with a Muslim girl and this really makes me wonder whether I have done the right thing. But things didn’t turn out to be what it supposes to be and we break up peacefully and be friends till today. After I break up, I started to wonder what is the purpose of life to me and question regarding Christian faith started to raise up from my mind. I myself try to answer it but yet it still cant be answer. Having no one to approach, I continue to be amazed by the discipline of the Muslims in their prayers and also the way they pray. Therefore I started to approach one of my close Muslim friend asking him to tell me more about Islam.

This close Muslim friend of mine brings me to a mosque. But being a Christian which I am, I myself don’t really wanted to go. But thinking back, if my faith is strong, going anywhere will not affects one’s faith. Therefore I went to a mosque in Bangsar. At that day I get to know a person named Bro Mas-yuri. He started to asked me what do I want to know. Then I reply him saying I want to know more about the differences between Islam and Christianity. But he suggest to me to get to know about the similarities first before going to differences. During that time, he started with similarities from the basic of faith between Islam and Christianity. I do agree with his point that we believe in God and also all from prophet Adam (pbuh) until Jesus. Then it came to the differences. The things which really shocked me is that he show me all the prove regarding the prophecy of the coming of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in the bible to me and somehow it seems like he know the bible more than me. At that day also I got one book which is a debate between a Christian and Muslim regarding each other faith.

After that discussion with the brother, I still wanted some clarification on the matter which I am confuse in Christianity from Christian people themselves. Therefore I ask one of the teachers which teach at the church, but the answer which I get somehow did not convince me. Therefore I went around searching in the internet and some other sources hoping to search for answer. Finally without much result, I start to read the book which the Brother gave me. I was really amazed at how the Ustaz in the book convince the Christian regarding Islam using Bible. That time my faith regarding Christianity has really shaken. My faith in Christianity went from shaken to collapsed when I watch the debate between some overseas priests and one muslim scholar name Sheikh Ahmad Deedat. At that moment, my heart is convince that Islam is the true religion. But I myself is still finding for something which I myself can’t really tell.

This goes on until 8 of august of the year 2008. That time I was still in my practical training period. That day my close friend call me to a talk at UTM,KL. I found out from my friend that the talk was given by people who have revert to Islam. Therefore on that night, I went for the talk. I was actually just planning to get more info about Islam. But what I have plan is not what Allah s.w.t plan for me on that day. During the speech, when one of speaker describe about God in Islam (Allah) and also its attributes using Surah Al-Ikhlas and also its translation, suddenly I felt in my heart saying that THIS IS THE ‘THING’ WHICH I HAVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR. Therefore without much doubt and hesitation, I tell my friend that I decided to revert to Islam. To cut the story short, I revert in front of around 200 students after the speech.

After I revert to Islam, my close friend has introduce to me about some of the famous debate VCD between Ahmad Deedat and also other Christian priest. After I watch a few of it, I get to know more about the weaknesses which is in the bible. At the same time also, my faith in Islam grow stronger.

By watching the comparative religion VCD, it actually made me more interested in going more into comparative religion. Therefore I approach a few friends of mine to learn more about Islam and also Christianity.

After I revert there is a lot of challenges which I faced. From my parents to my relative, all has posted a lot of question to me till this day. There has been time of difficulties for me about how to solve some problem and how to handle some problem in life. But I treat all this problems and challenges as a test from Allah s.w.t as to test on my faith and also to make me grow wiser in life.

I would say anyone who revert to Islam will have his/her test from Allah. As is written in the Quran, “Allah does not buden any soul with more than it can bear. (Al-Baqarah : 286)

In conclusion, I would say that the only religion recognized by Allah is only Islam and Quran is his words in which it won’t have a single error and contradiction. For Allah has already throw to us the challenge in Quran which is : “If it (Quran) had come from other than Allah, they surely would have surely found in it many contradictions.”

I end my story with a sentences from a famous person (Albert Einstein) : Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind”

I pray so that what I have written will be accepted by Allah the almighty whom I pray for mercy and guidance. Amin

Cerita ini originally dari saudara Islam kita, bukanlah direka-reka. Ia untuk membawa pengajaran, dan supaya kita berfikir tentang Islam itu bukanlah agama yang sia-sia. Lihat sajalah Allah mengurniakan kita sebagai Islam, tapi tidak ramai antara kita yang menghargainya. Wallahu'alam^^,)

3 comments:

  1. Salam akak, brother ni tulis dari blog dye ke kak? Ada link blog dye x kak?

    Trima Kasih =)

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  2. Salam 'alaik Akmal Aliff, afwan Bro ni tak de blog, cte ni akak ambik daripada empunya diri sendiri(^_^)...wallau'alam.

    ReplyDelete