Why Islam is my choice — Page 96
96 the teachings of Isl ā m, and Isl ā m prevailed. Around 1967, being a neighborhood barber I met ‘Uthm ā n ‘Abdus-Sal ā m who managed a local bookstore. Sometimes he would be my customer and sometimes I would be his. During a period when he was ill he sent word to me to make a house call to cut his hair. On this occasion we got into a discussion about Revelation and the Bible. He explained to me how S ū rah Al-F ā ti ḥ ah was represented in the Book of Revelations in the Bible, and then he asked me, “Do you know that after the Bible revelation continues?” When he said that I wanted to get to the source of this knowledge because this information was powerful and inspiring. He then introduced me to A ḥ madiyyah literature and I was in agreement with all that I read from the A ḥ madiyyah perspective. It was plain and clear and kept me looking for more. As I seemed to always get into debates with some of my Judaic brothers, I was excited to find that there was proof to substantiate what my studies had vaguely touched upon. And one of those books was “Where Did Jesus Die. ” This was significant, as I never accepted the idol of Jesus Christ. And now I was armed with the argument that proved he was not God. My relationship with brother ‘Uthm ā n ‘Abdus-Sal ā m continued to grow. He would invite me to have dinner with him at his home every Sunday and would give me more books to read on Isl ā m. ‘Abdus-Sal ā m was bringing me to Isl ā m at a slow pace but it was much too slow for my ego as I felt there was still more that he had not shared with me. Around this time, I learned about the Muslim way of praying and the ritual washing before prayer called Wu ḍū. Although I had not yet formally accepted Isl ā m, I had already been convinced of its message of truth. So, I started applying what I was learning. At this time I had a spiritual experience through a dream. I dreamt that, in the process of my making Wu ḍū , a voice