Sierra | America

As long as I can remember I have been interested in other cultures, religions and languages. This interest and passion for learning has always stuck with me and has benefited me in many ways alhamdulilah.

When I was in high school, I had summer job at a local community center. Many of my coworkers were Somali Muslims so I would frequently ask them questions about their culture and faith because I had never been exposed to either.

I was really curious why they had to fast in Ramadan, wear a hijab and pray five times a day. When the answers they gave me weren’t detailed enough to satisfy my curiosity I started doing my own research online purely to learn.

At first Islam seemed kind of burdensome to me and though I wasn’t interested in becoming Muslim, I began to live the kind of lifestyle that a practicing Muslim should. I began wearing hijab at home, saying ‘inshaAllah’ and ‘alhamdulilah’ to my Muslim friends, etc. I even fasted a few days of Ramadan and prayed Eid salah. Even after I began incorporating these small aspects of Islam in my life, I still didn’t really consider converting.

A few months after my initial interest in Islam began, my mother Allah ya rahma suddenly passed away. I was completely heartbroken and lost at this loss.

Immediately after this happened I began reading and listening to the Quran on a daily basis as well as reading hadiths and quotes from scholars. This brought me ease and comfort during this difficult time.

I was amazed at the peace I felt even during this hardship. Though I had already recognized the perfection of Islam, this was what gave ne the final push I needed to decide to convert alhamdulilah. Just over a month after my mother passed away I took shahada alhamdulilah.

Sometimes Allah subhana wa ta’ala may test us but He will never burden us with more than we can bear. In fact oftentimes it is through these tests that we find real blessings~