Taqwa |  Malaysia

Before Islam came along, I used to be the loud type.

It was in my nature to be an introvert, but back in those days, I would force myself to be more extroverted just to “fit in” with the crowd. I definitely had a hotter temper too, especially when I was at home, and fights would occur occasionally… I was a quite the rebellious teenager.

Then I met my friend, Sakeena (May Allah bless her).

Sakeena would invite me to Islamic events, and her Facebook was full of Islamic reminders. All these caught my attention and brought me closer to Islam. Through her, I got to know other amazing sisters who motivated me into becoming a better Muslimah.

The people you spend time with really do play a part on how you end up as a person.

After some time, I decided to take the hijab more seriously. I started to read more to increase my knowledge on Islam. I started to spend more time at home for self reflection and I cut contact with my male friends.  My temper went down and I tried to keep good ties with my family members and avoid getting into fights. I started taking life more seriously as it can be taken away anytime. I tried not to fall into sin (which can be hard at times) and I perceived the dunya as being very insignificant compared to the the life after.

I learnt that I shouldn’t put so much effort in pleasing the society, instead whatever I did changed from intending to please society to pleasing my creator.

My family was a test.

No, not my immediate family, but my aunties and uncles. They were brought up in the UK and are quite secular minded. So when I started wearing the hijab, stopped listening to music and acted differently around my male cousins, they would always question my new behavior and it was obvious that they were not on the same page as I was. Alhamdulillah, now it isn’t as bad as it was in the early days. With time, they became more accepting and though we’re still not exactly on great terms, but things are good. Alhamdulillah.

What keeps me going?

Besides my creator, I love hearing stories of the Sunnah of Muhammad s.a.w… He was a great example for mankind, the most perfect actually… and the stories and ahadith regarding his life guide me into becoming better for Allah and also help me stay content with what I am blessed with. Alhamdulillah.