Why Islam is my choice — Page 79
79 I must explain that. When this uncle of mine had sent me this gift, I had merely had a glimpse into the book. As I have stated before, my knowledge about Isl ā m was scant. I simply knew what a somewhat educated person in the West would know about Isl ā m. The few lines that I had just read though, had struck my heart with such an impact that I thought I was left with no choice but to declare myself a Muslim, without realizing what that would mean for me and what I was supposed to do. It was the Fall season and despite this experience I was mentally not prepared to take any further step. I was living with my mother in her house. I continued to quietly live there. A few days must have passed when reading a newspaper, my eyes focused on a tiny news item that said that the month of Rama ḍā n was about to set in. I suddenly realized that being a Muslim, I was supposed to fast too. Since I did not know anything about the fasting, I decided to contact a local mosque to find out all the details. I picked the telephone directory and started calling the consulates of Muslim countries, one by one. Fortunately, someone from the Lebanese consulate told me about the N ū r Mosque (which happens to be the mosque of the A ḥ madiyyah Muslim Jam ā ‘at). I called the mosque where the Im ā m answered the phone. The Im ā m was very kind. He politely asked for my address and promised that he would mail me a calendar. Having received that calendar, a day or so later, I began to fast in the prescribed way. After a few days, I decided to go to the mosque myself. I was warmly welcomed by the missionary, Im ā m Mas‘ ū d Jehlum ī. He also presented me a copy of the German version of Kisht ī N ūḥ (The Noah’s Ark, which also includes, Our Teaching). Im ā m Jehlum ī further persuaded me to purchase a copy of the German translation of the Holy Qur’ ā n, published by the A ḥ madiyyah Muslim Jam ā ‘at. He