At one point, out of curiosity, I wondered what one has to do if one wants to convert to Islam… I learned in that moment it is enough to make a simple statement “La ilah illa Allah, Muhammad rasoolu Allah”. I said it and… actually started crying… tears were slowly rolling down my right cheek.
I moved to Oman in January of 2012 and started working for an IT company based in Muscat. After 4 months, my contract was terminated and I went back to Europe. Less than 6 months later I had the opportunity to come back to Oman… Shortly after, I started reading about Islam online on www.islamreligion.com, staying in the office after working hours. I must say I liked what I was reading. I didn’t read much about Islam, maybe 3-4 times in total. So I didn’t study Islam deeply.
At one point, out of curiosity, I wondered what one has to do if one wants to convert to Islam… I learned in that moment it is enough to make a simple statement “La ilah illa Allah, Muhammad rasoolu Allah”. I said it and… actually started crying… tears were slowly rolling down my right cheek.
I thought it was no ordinary event and decided I would read it again in about a week time and see what would happen… I did. And I cried again. This simple statement obviously had the power to touch my heart and move me to the core. It was overwhelming, in a good way. I had to acknowledge “something” out of the ordinary was definitely happening. I thought to myself: “I will read it a third time and if I cry again, I will consider becoming a Muslim…”. I wanted to wait and make sure I was not fooling myself, or even worse, God. I didn’t want to take the decision to make the transition lightly. Shortly after, I thought to myself: “if I have been moved so much by that simple yet powerful affirmation twice, it is because it’s already alive in me and I am actually already a Muslim at heart! So there is nothing to convert “per-se” here”.
A few days later, I found myself listening more and more often to the Holy Quran while in my car. I would usually be humming the melody while listening. One day, I stopped the car and as I was humming, the words started coming out intuitively! I knew in my heart what was coming up… when there was a pause, I knew which sound would come next. I would actually say it mentally, after a few seconds the confirmation would come to me… my level of “intuition” was 100% accurate. I must say it moved me very deeply. I went thru the experience several times… sometimes being able to “sing along” only a few fragments, sometimes saying them out loud with a complete accuracy. I must admit this had a big impact on me!
Shortly after reaching that point in my journey, a friend of mine connected me with a man whose name is “Khalfan”. I felt he had a good heart even before meeting him… meeting him gave me the confirmation my intuition was right. A few days later after meeting each other, he invited me to go with him to spend the whole day in the mountains. We went with 4 brothers and had such a wonderful time. They made me feel I was one of them and that feeling was simply extraordinary. When it was rayers time in the evening, I felt a strong desire to go pray with them… I asked Khalfan if they would accept that I join them for “Maghrib” (sunset prayer). To my great satisfaction he said “Yes, you’re welcome to join us”. I said to him very respectfully how very happy I was they accepted me but wanted to make sure I was not going to disturb them… I was not officially a Muslim after all… He responded with a smile… so we went together to that little Mosque near the top of Jebel Shams. And I prayed wholeheartedly with my newfound brothers.
I must say it was very special, beyond words. What took place right there and then is between Allah and myself. We went back down to the valley, made a pit stop in Nizwa before heading back to Muscat. A few days later, Khalfan invited me to lunch and said a friend would probably join us. In fact, his friend “Mohamed” came and we had the most interesting conversation, connecting heart to heart right from start. After I shared with him what I had been through in the recent past, he said in his opinion he had heard enough and confirmed I was ready to make the transition officially and he invited me to go with him to the “Islamic Information Center” at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque… I met with the volunteers providing information to visitors and they asked me a few questions, how I was suddenly attracted to Islam… I shared with them the tenets of my story above and they gave me the confirmation I was ready. Shortly after, I was repeating the Shahada and that was it, I was officially a Muslim!
Ya Allah! My heart full of joy, as I was feeling it is a natural state I had been away from for a long time… so it felt as reverting back and not converting. When asked for my new name, I responded “Abdullah” for this is who I want to be for the rest of my life: Allah’s humble servant. For the first time, I went to pray at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque… I did Wudu at the Grand Mosque for the first time, accompanied by a brother and then we made our way to the Mosque… he told me to enter on the right foot and I did… and… ohhh my, I was stunned by the sheer beauty inside. I could not believe my eyes, really.
Shortly after, we started praying… I came back for Friday prayers a couple days later. I met the first Imam who welcomed me warmly and then the second Imam who spoke to me in such a way it immediately brought tears in my eyes… I immediately felt a deep connection with him… “Hilal”… I will never forget when our eyes met for the first time, it was so intense! I saw him a few days ago for the second time and again we had a wonderful time. How much I wish I will see him and walk with him and my other brothers, inshallah, in the Gardens of Eternal Bliss…
Now a few words about the last name I have adopted… When I met Mohamed, I asked him his family name and he responded “Al Rawahi” and I immediately loved it! I told him and he smiled. A few days later I told him I wish my name was “Al Rawahi” and he told me I had his permission to adopt it. Mashallah. I love my new name, “Abdullah Al Rawahi”, this is me… many of my brothers in Islam call me “Sheikh Abdullah”, I am really honored… I pray Allah every day, I am worthy of being called with such an honorific title. A sheikh is someone endowed with a certain spiritual authority. A clear signal and calling for me to unleash my spiritual potency.
This is my story… everything belongs to Allah and we shall return to Him in the end.
Alhamdullilah
By “Abdullah Al Rawahi” (also known as Christophe J. Poizat)
