Abdul Rashid Abella: Jouney to Islam
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I was born to a very devout Catholic family. I even served as an altar boy for a decade of my life and almost ended up pursuing the vocation of the priesthood. However, as I started reading the whole Bible, I discovered that a lot of the Catholic beliefs and practices are not in consonance with the Bible’s teachings and is mere based on pagan traditions/beliefs. I had many questions left unanswered and I began to question my faith.
In pursuit of the elusive answers to my questions, I studied the Bible with various organizations, briefly becoming a “born-again Christian”, a Jehova’s Witness, and finally a member of a local Philippine Christian sect known as the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ). But all of these did not satisfy my craving for the truth. It did not come to my mind back then that the true religion is outside of Christianity and becoming a Muslim then is farthest from my mind because my idea of Islam and Muslims then is solely based on information fed by biased tri-media.
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I was born to a very devout Catholic family. I even served as an altar boy for a decade of my life and almost ended up pursuing the vocation of the priesthood. However, as I started reading the whole Bible, I discovered that a lot of the Catholic beliefs and practices are not in consonance with the Bible’s teachings and is mere based on pagan traditions/beliefs. I had many questions left unanswered and I began to question my faith.
In pursuit of the elusive answers to my questions, I studied the Bible with various organizations, briefly becoming a “born-again Christian”, a Jehova’s Witness, and finally a member of a local Philippine Christian sect known as the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ). But all of these did not satisfy my craving for the truth. It did not come to my mind back then that the true religion is outside of Christianity and becoming a Muslim then is farthest from my mind because my idea of Islam and Muslims then is solely based on information fed by biased tri-media.
Out of curiosity and most of all with Allah’s (swt) mercy, I began reading the Holy Quran and researched about becoming a Muslim. I did not expect to find all the answers to my questions in the Noble Quran and right then and there, I embraced Islam by reciting the Shahadah. Finally, I found the true religion, the religion ordained by the One True God- Islam. Becoming a new Muslim and practicing Islam in a predominantly Catholic country is not easy though as you are stereotyped as a suicide bomber, terrorist, drug dealer, kidnapper, etc. Persecutions are abundant. Even seeking gainful employment is very difficult for a Muslim. But truly, Allah (swt) works in magnificent ways and He will not let a single soul who is earnestly seeking him to be led astray. Alhamdullilah for everything!
I am proud to add that because of our Dawah efforts in the social media, some of my former classmates/batchmates expressed interest on becoming a Muslim. I had one such classmate follow me as I recite the Shahadah online - Yes, he embraced Islam and is now a brother. Alhamdulillah!
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