When its not served on a golden platter

Bismillah,


Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!


The following essay was taken from a book called 'They are either Extremely Smart or Extremely Ignorant' by Salim Boss.




Assilmi, a radical feminist and a broadcast journalist, was raised in a white American family of Southern Baptists in Oklahoma. 

Her fascinating conversion story started when the university computer mistakenly registered her for a Theater class, where she would meet Muslim students. She found herself with a mission to accomplish. Trying to proselytize the Arab classmates, she preached to them that "they would burn in the fires of hell for eternity, if they did not accept Jesus as their personal saviors." Determined to win converts Assilmi said,"I explained how Jesus loved them and had died on the cross to save them from their sins. All they had to do was accept him into their hearts." When all the preaching didn't work, she decided to study the Quran to gain insight into Islam for the purpose of converting Muslims to Christianity. "It was a huge surprise for me," Assilmi said, referring to her experience with the Quran. Her mission to convert other led to her own conversion. 

Assilmi did an intense study on Islam as she says, "For two years I studied in order to convert Muslims to Christianity". During this time she studied the Quran fully, Sahih Muslim and fifteen other books on Islam. In fact she re-read the Quran. While  studying Islam, Assilmi encountered questions and objections which were untied by her college mate Abdul-Aziz Al-Sheikh. Realizing the truth in Islam, Assilmi had no choice but to utter in front of Abdul-Aziz and his companions, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger." It was May 21, 1977. She chose the name Amina Assilmi. However, she vowed not to cover her hair and if her husband takes another wife, she would castrate him. Nonetheless, after a deeper plunge into Islamic knowledge, she found herself wearing the hijab. "...I even came to be a proponent of polygamy", she added, "I knew that if Allah had allowed it, there had to be something good in it."

Upon her conversion, Amina lost most of her friends, for she was 'no fun anymore'. Her 'mental health expert' sister thought she had lost her mind and so she attempted to put her in a mental health institution. On hearing that she had converted to Islam, her father loaded his double-barrel shotgun ans started on his way to kill her. "It is better that she be dead..." he said. The day she started wearing hijab, the award-winning broadcaster in the Denver market, was denied her job. After she openly accepted Islam, she was divorced by her husband. Just because she became a Muslim, she was denied the custody of her two little children whom she loved dearly and whose custody should have rightfully been given to her. In fact, the judge offered her a harsh choice, before giving the formal verdict: either renounce Islam and get custody of the children, or keep Islam and leave the children. What added further to her pain was that according to the doctors, she could never bear another child because of certain complications. However, she decided to retain Islam. Her two children - one little boy and one little girl - were given to her ex-husband. The suffering shifted beyond mental to physical as she says, "I've been forced off the road before -- beaten up -- and I've never lifted a hand against anyone." The defining moment came when she tried to cash a cheque at her bank wearing a face veil when a bank security guard drew his gun preparing to shoot if she made any questionable moves. 

Despite her family's initial reaction, she remained in touch with them and addressed them with respect and humility. Her life had changed for the better so her family started appreciating her. The invisible force of the beauty of Islam exhibited by Assilmi attracted her family towards her. The first to become a Muslim was her grandmother who was over a 100 years old. Next to become Muslim was her father, the one who wanted to kill her after she became a Muslim. Years later, her mother accepted Islam. Her sister, who wanted to put her in a mental institution accepted Islam as well. Her oldest son, Whittney, upon becoming an adult at the age of 21, accepted Islam. Sixteen years after the divorce, he ex-husband also accpeted Islam. "Relatives of mine are still becoming Muslims left and right," she said. 

Assilmi later married another person, and despite doctor's verdict that she could never conceive another child, Allah blessed her with a beautiful boy. She lost her job because of wearing hijab, but now she is the President of the International Union Of Muslim Women. She delivers lectures nationwide and is on high demand. 

Amina is proud to be a Muslim. She says:

I am so very glad that I am a Muslim. Islam is my life. Islam is the beat of my heart. Islam is the blood that courses through my veins. Islam is my strength. Islam is my life so wonderful and beautiful. Without Islam I am nothing, and should Allah ever turn away from me, I could not survive.

Hope you liked it :) May Allah guide us all. Ameen

wsalam