So What changed You?

[Isa]

So what made you practice Traditional Islam?. I'm sure majority of us went to these public school and we weren't that practicing in the beginning. I just wanted to know what changed your heart?. Perhaps a friend, or maybe a lecture that totally transformed you, and maybe a book that really touched you?.

[Omar HH]

You know when I think back on it really hard, if it wasn't for those Islamic classes my parents put me in the Masjid in 7th grade - I would probably be a lost cause right now. Al-Hamdulilah.

Politics and science are what first drew me in. Our Islam teacher, one of my dear friends, would always tell us about science in the Qur'an and talk about politics. So I started watching the news alot because I got interested. Then 9/11 happened and we would watch the war in Afghanistan. I always had that interest in my religion from the Islamic classes. I went to Syria knowing all sorts of stuff about Arab politics. I came back and got in touch with my Arab roots. Got me a turban, Syrian flag, Islamic clothing, Qur'ans, etc. I first got into the political Islamic groups and websites. Then after a while I found Islamonline.net and that got me practicing better. Then I was in a spiritual crisis over the whole Salafi movement (i.e. "maybe this is right, oh God thats insanely hard fiqh") but then al-Hamdulilah Allah (SWT) guided me to Sunnipath and I got to see traditional Sunni Islam.

I still had doubts about which one was right, until we got to the question "Where is Allah (SWT)" on the Ummah.com forums. Then brother GenN, may Allah (SWT) bless him, told me the true differences between the Salafis and the Sunnis with regards to Aqeedah. This is when I was firmly rooted in Ahlul Sunnah and this occured just this recent summer. I then, al-Hamdulilah, Allah (SWT) guided me to the Guiding Helper and Maliki fiqh from brother Abu Zayd al-Britanii. I then started asking Shaykh Abu Qanit al-Hassani questions and grew in my understanding. I started to realize that the more halal things you did and the more sins you avoid the better your DUNYA is and your AKHIRAH is. And that it gets easier as you keep going. So thats when I started on my path in traditional Sunni Islam.

Allah (SWT) changed me. Allah (SWT) as Shaykh Nuh said can "make anything the cause of anything."

Jazakallahu Khayrun

[maaz]

the right company. keep company with the pious. make them your dear friends.

[Isa]

Allahmdullah nice to hear about different experiences.

Well basically my personal experience was when I was back in high school it was always about unity and community standards. I seriously thought that activism was the deen. I had lot's of Salafi tendecies but allahmdullah I never declined the four school of thought. The only reason I thought sufism was bad because all the other brothers in the community said so.

I wouldn't even listen to Shayke Hamza because all that hype he changed after 9/11. one day I actually stopped taking peoples opinion and searched on my own and picked up a series of purification of the heart set by Shayke Hamza Yusuf and totally transformed me. I started reading like crazy about (Taswwusuf) Sufism and philosophy and let me tell you I was missing out on alot, it's like I was being lied too.

I was looking for a site of Islamic Q/A, but almost all seemed questionable until one site really opened my heart "sunnipath " and finally a trustworthy site.
I learned lot more about Mahdabs and I said "ahh Now it makes sense".

Before I had an anger problem but not since I got introduced to Tasawwuf which is sad because people have no clue what it really is.

so just to sum it up I basically thought Islam was about Quran,Hadith and activism that's it.

[Muztik]

Salams
Alhumdulillah I was fortunate enough to grow up in a strong muslim community and so was aware of the daily Islamic duties I had to perform from a young age. Then I went away to university where all kinds of people and muslims were discovered, this had an adverse affect on me, but nevertheless I would still perform daily prayers, Alhumdulillah.

The turning point came when after graduation, a online friend sent me a Islamic lecture (Ahmed Ali - Dajjal) through the post. After hearing this I became thirsty for more knowledge and so obtained more & more lectures, started reading books on general Islam etc and began to regularly attend Duroos at the local Masjid. I found Inter-Islam site very benficial too, esp the Shamaail Tirmidhi book there.

Alhumdulillah, I am still learning and increasing in knowledge, and now am making small attempts to help other younger individuals by giving Nasihah based on my experience.
WS

[Ibn Umaysh]

Wa alikum salaam

Interesting...

I became Muslim at the hands of a jama'at practically, so by default I entered there. After being confused for a bit, trying MSA stuff, and leaning towards salafism, I understood the importance of madhaahib and that helped me so much. In this way, the articles on sunnipath.com helped. Then, I recently visited Mecca Alhumdulilah and took a teacher there who is traditional, so that is how I understood the real way of Islam. I don't like the label "traditional" however.

[Ajami]

Tabligh.

[ibn_abdullah]

As salaamu alaykum

My mother.

Then it was the concern of the elders in our community, jama'at especially, the ulema in the community including my Shaykh and my friends (who right or wrong showed me a path).

Oh yes, and "SHADOWS PART I" :)

Wa alaykum as salaam

[Muhammad al-Ayyub]

my friends and espicially hamza yusuf.

[Sadiq]

As one brother said; The people you "hang" around with.

The company, and the books read and reveal who you are.

I love this quote from our shaykhs shaykh; Arif-billah Hazrat Dr. Abdul Hayy Arifi (find out who he is, then you will find how powerful is advice's are)

Things that Change dust to Gold
I tell you the synopsis of my (80 years of) life: the catalyst for changing dust to gold;

1. As much as possible get prayers (dua) from the pious (awliya)
2. Respect the elderly
3. Be thankful for each and every gift (of Allah swt)

[Malfoozat e Arifi 168] From the Ashrafiya blog. (Check the blog for more of his advices)

Our scholars always you hear, talking about the pious, telling us to be with the pious, in true reality, there is so much benefit in being in their company. Specially our sub continent ulama always stress this..... its time tested method.... how we have become lazy at getting dua from the pious/ulama...

Fix your company, and you will see how your life changes.

[suhayl]

Salaams

When I was growing up I was sent to madressah classes by my parents, had good friends and used to attend bayaans and lectures at the mosque. However as I left school and attended college I had a transformation in the sense that I became more pious - avoided girls, prayed my salaah and never spent more time than I should at college.

The weird thing was that when I started uni, I thought I was missing out on life. I leaned towards becoming a worst person. I did things which I totally regret, however after a year of uni, I met up with an old friend who took me jamaat (which I used to go before and always had love for) for forty days. It changed my perspective on life. The following year I went four months in jamaat. Though I keep having ups and downs, I never lose hope.

I truly thank my parents, elders and teachers of deen and dunyaa for putting effort behind me to make me a person that I am today and above all of these people I thank Allah and the Prophet, for without these two I would be a lost soul.

Wasalaams

[abulayl]

tablighx
tabligh
tabligh

[ENIGMA]

Tabligh Jamaat

[The Deen]

Madrassah.

[ImaanSeeker]

good friends, tabligh, and madrassah.

[Springarden]

I’m born muslim, but yet I only feel like as if I have only embraced Islam a year ago. Funny how we thought we know Islam but actually very little do we know.
The turning point for me was when something happened to a close friend of mine that made me think so much abt this life, how temporary it is, how small and insignificant we are, helpless and so much dependent we are to need to survive in this world. And as I go deeper in my thoughts it all leads me to only one thing. The One behind everything. :takbir: And at most part it’s the tablighi jamaat, who has been very concerned of my friend’s condition at that time. Alhamdulillah, the things he gained from spending time the jamaat rubs off on me. But the most significant thing that I felt so real was Allah’s words in Quran and Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s translation. :subh:, may Allah be pleased with him. All I can say is, Allah is The most Merciful, and this little favor He has granted upon me, I am loving it so much, so much so that I want it in everyone. When ppl came to me telling me that they too have good intentions towards Allah, it really enlightens me knowing that there are immeasurable goodness behind such good intention.

[razia_jaan]

My cousin changed me.

Alhumdulilah he went to study islam for 8 years and became an alim. when he came back, he was so different mashAllah. he totally was different from who he was. islam affected him sooo much. when we saw him how much he was in love with Islam then we started asking him questions and asked him if he could teach us. give us a class. so alhumdulilah he started teaching us once a week. which changed us all alhumduliiah. before i used to pray but didtn know why and what for. as it was not taught to me. just the culture that was taught to me. now i look at everything so from a different view. May Allah bless him and grant him jannatul firdous. may Allah give us hedayat like his ameen.

i havnt seen someone like him. I am so glad that we have him in our family. cause without him i think we would never be like who we r right now Alhumdulilah. now the whole community is touched by him.
subhanAllah.

[The_Humble_One]

Salam, interesting question. The fact that people become deeply attached to Islam after years of public school, college and lack of guidance is a living proof that Allah sustains his religion--Islam.

I always loved Islam but wasn't always practicing. I used to get a lot of islamic advice from islamonline but later realized that they were very lax in their rulings but their vision for empowering the ummah is great. In high school and part of the time in college I was getting very attached to the popular culture and hanging out with people I shouldn't be hanging out with.

A shaykh of tawawwuf made me see the sunnah in a whole new light. If we were buying a new car, we wouldn't make the car ourselves but get it from a company that has gained expertise in doing it through many years of experience. Similarly, when it comes to our deen (which is infinitely more important) we should seek out the opinions that has been thoroughly debated, analyzed and discussed for hundreds of years as the madhabs have done. He also made me realize that islam is the peak of human knowledge because every other science deals with finite things and ultimately reaches a logical end from which we can't progress any further (think about string theory which is at the very edge of human knowldeg but has mulitple different contradicting version all theoretically equally valid) but islam takes you to the Divine and the ultimate success (Jannah) from where there is no more failure. And the way to reach that is the sunnah of the Prophet (as). He helped me realize that incredible importance of the sunnah of the Prophet (as).

Thanks for asking the question. And May Allah gudie us all and increase our iman ten folds.

Peace

[JayshAllah]

So what made you practice Traditional Islam?. I'm sure majority of us went to these public school and we weren't that practicing in the beginning. I just wanted to know what changed your heart?. Perhaps a friend, or maybe a lecture that totally transformed you, and maybe a book that really touched you?.

Sunday school.

[Kantz]

So what made you practice Traditional Islam?. I'm sure majority of us went to these public school and we weren't that practicing in the beginning. I just wanted to know what changed your heart?. Perhaps a friend, or maybe a lecture that totally transformed you, and maybe a book that really touched you?.

...being put to work with the global team ..away from home for 2 years on a project implementations..met with real challenges for being the only Muslim. It was a 'litmus test' for my faith! Alhamdullilah that was a bonus!! :cheesygri

[mustajab]

I thought about the purpose of life and found only one answer - Islam.

I feel that my understanding of Islam has become enriched but unfortunately I don't see much of a difference in my amal from years past. :(

[caynan]

am still working on following a madhab but chosen the Maliki school eventhough it has not a lot of English translation of its Fiqh. I will be getting a hold of the Imam that visits my local Masjid who i believe to be a Malikiya.
The buy some basic books of Iman and sirah etc to increase love of Allah and Prophet Mahammed (pbuh).

wasalam

[Hamid]

ive was a non-practicing muslim pretty much most of my teen years. i guess 2 things changed me, but i will just say the 1 that really did it.

my friend, who is a 'cultural muslim', who i think is an athiest. we were playing basketball one day and started talking about islam. he was taking shots at islam i think and said things like 'do you really believe whats in the quran? can you honestly say that you pray 5 times a day?' basically said religion is BS. and i couldnt say anything back to him, because i knew nothing about my religion. so what he said kind of hit me, that i did not pray 5 times a day, and i dont know whats in the quran. after that day, i guess you can say i became a changed man.

[UmmeGibrel]

When I realized that i was with Allah where ever i went, and He was with me where ever i stayed. I realised i was a loser, and a goner. That's when i started practsing.

Most of the time we say we believe, we say we know. But actually, we do not. The turn, the realization gives us the boost. That's when we come to believe.

[loveProphet]

:salam:

Hmm what changed me, well Alhamdulillah i started practising when i was around 13 as in praying and what is required etc. And one of my friends asked me that why i didn't swear(as i was the only one who didn't) and i replied that its cause i prayed. My grandad and grandmother(former especially) were pious people Masha'Allah and they helped me a lot in teaching about Islam and i knew that my grandad had cancer for a number of years and so he had a lot of pain and a number of operations but he'd have strong belief in Allah and love for Him and His Messenger(:saw:) and would continuously go on umrah(may Allah accept all his ibadah, Ameen) even though he had difficulty.
I learned some wisdom from them but now i realise more of what they taught me.
But for a lot of my life i was just those type who didn't go deep in things, you know, like study the different fiqh rulings, how to strive for ihsan etc.
Then suddenly i was confronted by wahabis and all their fitnah which made me go deeper into Islam and learn about Sufism and spirituality which gave me the longing that i had desired for some time. The ardent desire to purify oneself and reach close proximity to Allah was started especially by the Sufi anecdotes and wisdom that i read and by the books on the Holy Prophet(:saw:) so thats what changed me, in reality it is Allah.
And now i still struggle on this path, going forwards and backwards, it is indeed a difficult struggle as the rapaciousness of the nafs is strong.

:ws: