"I truly do hope everything goes well for you, King. I hope you're making the correct decision." Nadia spoke as she watched me walk towards the front door as I was about to leave.
I was dressed, as Ahmad had suggested, in clean and nice smelling clothes, and I had had a shower and shaved. My nerves were all over the place and I absolutely could not wait to just get to the masjid, take my shahada (declaration of faith) and become a part of the brotherhood and the religion I had completely fallen in love with in the last four months.
I couldn't wait for the moment I could officially call myself a Muslim and whole-heartedly submit myself to Allah, the Most High and if He wills, spend the rest of my days doing everything I do for His sake and His sake alone, in accordance to His rulings and in the footsteps of the beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
A smile took over my face at the mere thought. SubhanAllah. I wish I could've found the peace and tranquility of Islam long ago, but if this is how Allah had planned my life, then I would take it and be content with His decree for He was the best of planners.
"I know I'm making the correct decision." I answered her as I left the house, shutting the door with a sigh before taking my keys from my pocket and starting the car.
Bismillah. "Hey! The man of the day has arrived!" Ahmad said as he saw me get out of my car, jogging over to me with the other guys following closely behind him.
"Fashionably late as always." Walter chuckled as Ahmad hugged me. I grinned and hugged him back tightly, my cheek already hurting from how much I've been smiling today and it hasn't even been two hours since I woke up.
"You know it." I smirked at Walter as he hugged me also. I shared hugs with all the guys that were surrounding us, even ones whom I've never spoken to. This was the first thing that affected me about Islam. The friendship, the brotherhood, the family values and the absolute love and care they had for one other for the sake of Allah.
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "Verily, Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection: Where are those who love each other for the sake of My glory? Today, I will shelter them in My shade on a day when there is no shade but Mine." Source: Sahih Muslim 2566 Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Muslim
"Let's go. Everyone's waiting on you." Ahmad said as he tapped my shoulder, grinning up at me. I smiled at him gratefully. Until my last breath, I would be grateful for this guy.
"Everyone?" I asked with a raised eyebrow as I followed the guys into the masjid, my eyes widening as I saw more shoes than ever in the lobby. I took off my shoes and stepped through the doors that lead to the prayer section.
"Wow." I whispered slowly in complete awe as my eyes roamed over the countless men that were sitting in the masjid looking up at me with bright, radiant faces, a special gleam in their eyes making me feel more welcome than I already felt when I came here if that was even possible.
I struggled to keep the tears at bay as I swallowed the lump in my throat and sent the group a tight-lipped smile, looking at them through glossy eyes.
"Come on, mate." Ahmad said, tapping my back as we walked over to the front of the mosque where the imam was waiting. He smiled at me and stood up as I reached him and we shared a handshake as the other guys sat down. I handed my phone to Ahmad with his non-stop persistence to record the moment for me and he smirked, taking it from me and opening the camera.
I didn't even focus on him as I joined my hands in front of me nervously. I don't know why I was so nervous, but my heart was pounding so loud, my palms and my forehead beginning to sweat. I took a deep breath as the imam held the microphone and began speaking.
"As salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, dear brothers and sisters."
Sisters? I looked up at the second floor, even though it was covered with glass, before turning my head back down. They could probably see me.
"I'd like to thank you all for coming today to support our dear brother King and to share this special day with him as he accepts Islam and joins our religion, Alhamdulillah."
A chorus of SubhanAllah and Alhamdulillah was heard resonating through the big building as the imam looked at me and smiled, asking if I was ready.
My heart raced again and I nodded. I was more than ready.
"Repeat after me." He said with a smile as he uttered Bismillah Irrahman Irrahim silently to himself. "Ash-hadu anlaa ilaha illa-Allah ... "
He held the microphone to me and I licked my lips, taking a deep breath before repeating his words.
"Ash-hadu anlaa ilaha illa-Allah." I bear witness that there is no deity (none deserving to be worshiped) but Allah,
"Wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa Rasulullah." He said.
"Wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa Rasulullah." ... and I bear witness that Muhammad is the slave and messenger of Allah.
"Alhamdulillah, welcome to Islam my dear Muslim brother." He said as he gathered me into my arms I hugged him tightly.
"Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!" The men called out and tears that I didn't even bother trying to hold black flowed out of my eyes as they stood up one by one.
"I love you, brother." Ahmad said, his voice croaky as he hugged me tighter than ever.
"Love you too, man. Thank you. Thank you so much." I whispered as I tapped his back.
He pulled away, holding my shoulders as he looked at me. "I did nothing. All praise and thanks is to Allah." He said and I smiled, nodding my head.
"Alhamdulillah." I said with a grin as Walter came to me, his hand extended.
"As salamu alaykum, akhi (my brother)." He said with a smirk as we shook hands.
I chuckled. "Wa alaykum salam, akh (brother)." I replied as I hugged him, my tears slowly dying down as I continued to hug about 100 men who all wished peace upon me, welcomed me and congratulated me.
"Alhamdulillah." The imam said as everyone sat back down. "This declaration of faith now implies on your part and on all of us, love, devotion, faith and obedience to the rules of Islamic legislations which are legally binding on all Muslims. It is a requirement that you hold firmly onto the belief that there is no god worthy to be worshiped but Allah. You love for the sake of Allah and reject for the sake of Allah.
This is the firmest anchor of belief. The belief in the Oneness of Allah. Tawheed. All else stems from this one belief. Love and respect of Rasulullah, peace be upon him, is through knowing that Allah has told us to do so. Praying our obligatory salah should be done only to please Allah. If our core belief is shaky, then all else fails. Our intentions become contaminated and we may unknowingly worship in order to please other than Allah, may He protect us. Tawheed is key.
We need to understand that everything we do is for His sake and His sake alone. Our deeds will be worthless if they are done for any reason other than to please and get closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Lastly, as a practice, not only King, but we should all love one another for His sake and be loyal to each other, and help each other with worldly affairs, and help each other to benefit our Akhira (afterlife)."
I smiled at him and he patted my back.
"We pray that Allah may cleanse the hearts and souls of those who are genuine seekers of truth and may He bless the community of believers and have mercy on those who have passed before us, and on us when we pass and judge us with mercy rather than justice. Ameen."
They read Surah al-Fatiha before the imam turned off the mic and the men began to get up.
"Welcome to the fam, newbie." Ayman said, walking over to me with a smirk as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
"Thanks, mate." I answered with a chuckle as the men slowly departed. Food tables were placed along the back wall and men were taking what they could.
"Let's go give this kid some biryani." Ayman smirked at the others. "My sister makes the best biryani." He said, looking like he was almost drooling.
"Biryani?" I asked as I followed along, and that was how I had tasted the best, most flavorsome bowl of rice I could have and would ever taste in my life. Looks like I wasn't only missing Islam and purpose in this life, but this amazing biryani too.
~~
A'ishah pov
"How is someone late to their own shahada session?" Hanifa muttered from beside me as she lay her chin in her palm and rolled her eyes. She was right, I suppose. It was now one thirty and we had been waiting for half an hour. Not that anyone truly minded. We were always in the masjid anyway, but I guess everyone was just excited at the news that someone else was becoming a Muslim, Alhamdulillah, and so we couldn't just patiently wait for it to happen.
I smiled at her slightly. "Maybe he has changed his mind." I said to her as a joke and she chuckled softly looking at me for a second before we heard commotion from the men's section.
I leaned my head up a little and watched as all the men slowly began turning around, the younger men only turning their heads whereas the older men generally turned their whole bodies towards the entrance of the masjid. I didn't have to be very smart to assume that the man of the day had finally arrived. Alhamdulillah.
"Finally." Hanifa said and I chuckled. Clearly she had also realized that he was here. He was out of our view at the moment, but I was curious to see what he looked like. My brother had been telling me that there was a guy interested in Islam over the past few months, but except for the fact that his name was King, I didn't know anything. My brother would ask me every now and again for information and for me to teach him things that he could teach the new Muslim.
"I heard he is good looking, masha Allah." Samira whispered from beside me, making sure none of the aunties heard. "Astaghfirullah." I said to her in another whisper, giving her a disappointed look.
I was always the one that regulated Hanifa and Samira in the group in regards to our deen, Alhamdulillah.
"I'm just saying what I heard ... " She said, raising her hands in a mock action of surrender with a small smile before she looked back down, eyes widening as she spoke again in an even quieter whisper. "But boy, were they right." She said, her eyebrows raising and once again I muttered Astaghfirullah with a sigh as I turned my head, my own eyes widening as I looked at the guy who was walking besides akhi Ahmad who was one of my brothers closest friends. The imam who was at the front of the masjid stood up and shook hands with him as I narrowed my eyes, trying to get a better look, not being able to tell if my eyes were playing tricks on me or not.
"That is him." I whispered to the girls on either side of me. They both replied with confused glances my way, clearly not knowing what I was talking about. "That is the guy that protected me from the man who assaulted me a couple months ago."
I felt their bodies freeze slightly as they turned to me with wide eyes. "The one staring at you from the parking lot that one day?" Samira asked me, her voice quiet as ever so no one else heard. I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded numbly.
"No wonder why he was staring. He wasn't even Muslim. How was he supposed to know to lower his gaze?" Hanifa said, but I barely had time to process what she had said before the imam spoke, saying salam to everyone in the room.
"Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, dear brothers and sisters." He spoke, only that wasn't what caused me to freeze. Right after the imam said 'sisters the guy, King, turned his head upward and by Allah his eyes connected with mine and even though he only looked up for a split second before averting his gaze, it felt like much longer. My heart pounded against my rib cage and I felt my breath hitch in my throat. Audhubillah.
I felt exposed, even though I knew he couldn't see anything through the glass. I quickly lifted my niqab that I had taken off and put it back on over my jilbab, ignoring Hanifah and Samira's weird looks as I adjusted it, feeling more comfortable this way.
"I'd like to thank you all for coming today to support our dear brother King and to share this special day with him as he accepts Islam and joins the religion of Allah." The imam spoke clearly and people muttered words of glorification and praise to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Alhamdulillah.
The imam asked King if he was ready to which he simply nodded in reply and it didn't take long for him to repeat the words and declare his new faith. Allahu Akbar.
"Ash-hadu anla ilaha illa-Allah Wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah (I bear witness that there is no deity (none deserving to be worshipped) but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah)." He said, the words proving to be foreign for him as his accent came through, not knowing how to pronounce the words completely. The scene made me smile and I felt tears brew in my eyes, a few escaping and sliding down my cheek, being hidden by my niqab.
The imam hugged him after welcoming him and chants of Allahu Akbar, Allah is Greatest were heard resonating throughout the walls and I said the same, repeating after the men in my head as all the women did. He was crying. Tears. Endless tears seemed to be flowing freely from his eyes and sliding down his cheeks much like mine and though seeing him cry, for some reason, made my heart feel a little uneasy, I found solace in the fact that I knew they were his happy tears. The brothers all stood up one by one, group by group and hugged him. His tears were dying down and so were mine as I sniffled slightly, patting my cheeks dry with my niqab as both Hanifa and Samira looked at me.
"Aw!" They both cooed softly. "Look who got all emotional at her savior becoming Muslim." Hanifah added, making me glare at her slightly.
"Astaghfirullah." I said simply, shaking my head at her. "Of course I am happy. I would be happy if it were anyone else." I said to her, trying to convince myself of that also.
I had always though he was a Muslim. From the first time I saw him at the masjid when he stared straight into my eyes as if he could see straight through to my soul and even when he protected me from the man who caught me at my most vulnerable moment. But apparently he wasn't. He had only become a Muslim now.
Alhamdulillah. I didn't want to think of him any more than I should have, but may Allah forgive me. Sometimes at night when I was laying in bed, his face would randomly pop up and I couldn't help but smile at how concerned he was when he asked me if I was okay after he punched the man.
Astaghfirullah. I had stopped any and all thoughts of him two months ago and now they were back. I looked down one last time as my brother walked over to him and soon they left my sight, no doubt walking to the food tables that were set up outside.
I hope he likes my biryani.