How I Came To Islam

There is a lot of things you have to hear and deal with when you are a Muslim. I don't say that other religions aren't this way, but in Islam it's to a great extent. Islam is not solely a private matter, a feeling or just belief, Islam is supposed to be a way of life based on good actions. I'm still young and I have a lot to learn, but that doesn't prevent me from sharing my opinion in things or to post my perspective.

First I want to share with you how I came to Islam. A lot of people might wonder about that. Well, the first I can say is that before I was not religious. When I was young I didn't believe in God and in school I hated the subject related to religion. However, not everything in my childhood has been easy (as is with most people), and when I was 16 years old I had a really bad period during the summer. My tears couldn't stop falling, and I couldn't control it. I felt helpless. I felt there is no meaning. I felt both pain and emptiness inside me. Someone advised me to read about religion, and at this time I was so depressed that I thought why not? I just needed anything else to focus in and maybe find something to help me.

In my opinion the monotheistic religions sounded more logical (I had learnt some basics of all religions in school), and Islam was the religion I knew least about. Thus I decided to read more about this mainly, but I also read something in Christianity and Judaism. By time I realised a lot of strange things in these two religions, but I couldn't find this in Islam so at the end I only focused in Islam. I read books about the history of Islam, the principles, biography of Prophet Muhammed (SAW), eventually I also read the Norwegian translation of the Quran kareem. With time I started to feel there must be something more in this world, and I started to believe what I was reading. What impressed me the most, was the fact that any question I had in life (e.g. Is it haraam to drink energy drinks? Or is it haraam to listen to music?) could be answered through looking at sources from the Quran and hadiths. There was not really any personal opinion of the imams answering these questions. Of course, sometimes there are interpretations of the sources, but there is no opinion you make up on your own without any justification or proof.

From this my belief only grew stronger, and I talked with friends who were Muslim, and I watched videos of people who had converted to Islam before. I saw beyond the propaganda in the TV, beyond culture and traditions, and I learnt about the real Islam. The real Islam is beautiful and invites you to live in peace and tranquility. After one year of reading about this religion I made the decision to revert to Islam and embrace this meaningful religion. I haven't regret a second, and I'm always grateful to Allah (SWT) that He guided me on the straight path. After I converted I have also got a lot of help from my friends and my boyfriend to e.g. learn how to pray, and to learn more basics of the religion to perform in my daily life, such as saying "Bismillah (ar-rahman ar-rahim)" before I eat or do anything of importance. May Allah (SWT) bless them all and may He guide more people towards this beautiful religion.