My First week as a Muslim

New Muslims Revert

‏١ نوفمبر‏، الساعة ‏٥:٤٩ ص‏ · 

My First week as a Muslim

assalam alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatu

my name is shannon and i told everyone i converted a week ago alhamdulillah and i wanted to thank everyone for their support and advice. i had kept a journal for a week now and i hope it will be beneficial for those who haven't converted or who have and are struggling with telling their family. insha allah this will help.
your sister in islam
shannon

before i converted i use to feel like my emotions were up and down and i didn't have much of a religion. i was born catholic and my grandma used to drag me to church, but when she past away four years ago my family stopped going. about a year ago i worked at sam's club ( a bulk grocery store) and i met this muslim guy that i became friends with. i would ask him alot of questions about islam and it just made more sense to me. i started to read the english translation of the quran, and four months ago i started to wear the hijab and i also learned the prayer. all that i felt was left was for me to actually convert. what was i waiting for? i believed there was only one true god, allah subhana wa ta'ala and that muhammad his prophet pbuh.. when i actually converted a week ago i felt so happy, and since i discovered islam my personally is calm and more relaxed, i just feel very peaceful. i think it is wonderful for those who have discovered islam. alhamdulillah allah subhana wa ta'ala has guided me to islam.

monday, february 4, 2008

today was the day i said the shahada. when my friend and i arrived at the masjid we were warmly greeted by the sisters there. they were such a big help since we had never been there before. first we went and prayed the maghrib prayer with the sisters, then my friend and i registered to take a class to learn to read the quran. my friend is muslim so she had read the quran before, but she decided to take the beginning class with me to improve her pronunciation. the beginning class is filled with 5 or 6 years olds, so me being 19 i don't really fit in, but i don't mind the girls are so cute, and besides i'm there to learn any ways. my teacher is so nice and she is closer to my age. she was so happy when she found out i wanted to convert that day, all the sisters were so nice and kept giving me hugs.

soon it was time for isha prayer, and we decided that i should convert after isha. we all lined up for prayer with my teacher being next to me, and i just felt so happy there at the masjid.

when it was time for me to convert everyone was so excited. i wish all the women could of been there, but sister ishraq took me to the imam and i said the shahada alhamdulillah. when i got back to class everyone congratulated me, and i was so happy that i converted to beautiful islam. i had already learned the prayer, been wearing hijab, and read the english translation of the quran; converting was my final step and i can't explain how happy that i am that i did it.

tuesday, february 5, 2008

today was my first day praying at the salon i work at. even though the girls are not muslim, i get a lot of support from them. i have a couple muslim friends that i also get support from, one of them invited me over for dinner today. i felt so welcomed over there they even brought me a new hijab. having a lot of suppost makes converting to islam easier.

even though i get support from my friends, my co-workers, and the masjid, i don't get it from my family. my dad seems okay with it even though i know he would of rathered if i didn't convert, but he accepts it and he tells me he'll love me any ways. on the other hand my mom's been giving me alot of attitude and trying to make sure i know she's not happy with me. i have talked to her about islam many times before and sometimes she understands and seems okay with it, but when it somes down to it i think she was hoping i would change my mind. i am trying my best to bite my tongue and be nice to her like islam teaches meto and insha allah she will accept me this way and me treat me the way i know she loves me.

i know everyday is not going to be easy though, even the prophets struggled making their family accept islam. i just pray that my family one day will accept islam and be guided to the straight path.

wednesday, february 6, 2008

today seemed a little bit better with my family. my sister wasn't as mean to me, she taunted me a little like normal siblings would. my mom seemed okay to, i'm starting to think that there are some other things bothering her besides me.

on the bright side i got an email from my teacher congradulating me again and telling me how happy she was for me. also there is this muslim man ( insha allah i will marry one day) that gives me alot of support. i do not know his family, but his mother has sent me a prayer rug and his brother has offered to teach me arabic. between his brother and the class i'm taking insha allah i will learn quikly.

thursday, february 7, 2008

today was a pretty good day. my friend invited me to her house for dinner and i stayed and talked with her and her family for a little while after. her parents want me to make her a better muslim. she knows more about islam more than i do, but she's more into american ways than what is right. she was born a muslim but she has to find islam herself to do better. insha allah one day she will understand and wear hijab and do what allah wants of us.

friday, february 8, 2008

today i hung out with some girls from beauty school. it was one of the girl's birthday so we all went to eat, and it was nice because i haven't seen al of them in a long time. they all knew that i was converting to islam, so no body was shocked when they seen me in hijab. i got a lot of support from my friend ashley. she said she was happy for me and was glad that i was doing what i believed in and standing up for it. i was surprised when i got to the restuarant though. i wasn't expecting my friends sisters to be there either. they were also converts to islam even though my friend is not a muslim.

saturday, february 9, 2008

well i thought things were going good with my mom, but i guess i was wrong. when i got home from work i thought things were going good, then i just had to ask why she had been hardly talking to me. she told me she felt that i wasn't her family any more and that i'm trying to change my family traditions. she's not trying to understand anything though. what ever i had said to her about islam before she was now ignoring. all these problems with my family is making me really emotional, but insha allah soon everything will be okay. i just keep praying to allah to keep me on the straight path and to make me stronger.

sunday, february 10, 2008

today me and my friends went to a lecture at the masjid. it was a nice lecture about women's rights and they compared them to other religions. i never knew how bad other religions thought of women. the masjid does them every sunday, so insha allah i will go to many more of them. it's really nice to be around other sisters, they were all really nice masha allah.

also me and my mom were getting along great today. in shaa allah tomarrow will be the same. over all today was a really great day alhamdulillah.

i am so blessed to be guided to islam and i hope other people that convert to islam will feel the same. allah please guide all humanity to islam. amen

YOUR SISTER IN ISLAM
SHANNON