Why Islam is my choice — Page 65
65 one thing, alcohol. I had persuaded my wife to give up drinking alcohol but she could not. Once she herself told me that it was all right with her if we separated. I did not see any rationale in staying in that marriage either, so we divorced. In 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. He was a great Civil Rights leader. His death in that cause had brought about some realization especially among the political leaders. Many opportunities thus opened up for the Afro-Americans to improve their situation. I took advantage of one of the scholarships that I could avail of. I joined Brandeis University to complete my education. I did this despite my two full-time jobs. By the grace of God Almighty, I received a Bachelor’s degree in 1974. During this time, I was also elected the president of Boston A ḥ madiyyah Muslim Jam ā ‘at. Somehow, All ā h gave me the strength to carry out all my responsibilities, amicably. One of the brothers, Bash ī r by name and who was originally from India, once asked me to visit Qadian. This brother had seen in a dream that I was to sign my Nik āḥ papers within the following six months. Exactly six months later I visited Qadian. Qadian was beyond ‘Abdur Raqeeb Wal ī with Mas‘ ū d A ḥ mad Dehlavi Ṣāḥ ib, then Editor Al-Fa ḍ l Rabwah, and Anwar Hussain Ṣāḥ ib in San Francisco.