Why Islam is my choice — Page 26
26 He would read a particular book and then give it to me. We would then discuss it together. He picked up these books from ‘In ā yat Kh ā n, the person who allegedly introduced Sufism to America. We began reading these books and I became impressed by the extreme differences between the two cultures. I continued to read and discuss books, and continued to live the way I was used to. Then one day Akbar came across a book by the name of the Teachings of Isl ā m. He read the book and was greatly impressed by its contents and the author. On the back of the book, there was a list of centers of the A ḥ madiyyah Movement in Isl ā m in the United States. One of these centers was that of Brooklyn, New York. Akbar gave me the book and himself proceeded to the mission house. On his return, he told me of the many spiritual people he had met at the mission house. He said that he met a brother who knew everything imaginable. As excited as he was, it did not strike me that I should stop what I was doing and go to the mission house. I was content with my way of life. By the Grace of God, however, I still continued to read whatever I could get my hands on. After some time, with Akbar’s steady persuasion I was convinced that I should go to the Brooklyn mission house myself. The first event that I attended was a Khudd ā m meeting. I met N ū rrud ī n A. Lateef and many other knowledgeable people. After a few of these meetings, I believe it was Akbar who suggested that I should take the bai‘at. Akbar had already accepted Isl ā m and was attending all the meetings. I thought that I was not prepared to give up the life I was living. Yet, brothers in the A ḥ madiyya Muslim Movement kept advising me to adopt the Isl ā mic way of life, which undoubtedly was far superior t0 the kind of life I was living. I was finally convinced that without spirituality, and without turning to God, life had no meaning at all. Although I had been raised in a church-going family, I did not feel that