Why Islam is my choice — Page 55
55 membership. There was an incident that took place over here which might appear to be a minor one to many people but as I witnessed it, my heart was touched so deeply that it changed the course of my life for ever. It happened so that a meeting of Majlis An ṣā rull ā h was being held downstairs. I was made to relax in a chair upstairs. I saw about twelve to thirteen children gathered there. They turned the TV on and started watching a Basketball game in which one of the famous stars was also playing. While the game was on, the person in charge of the children came in and told them to turn off the TV as such a thing was not permitted in the House of All ā h. Besides, he said, that it would make Brother ‘ Ā bid Ḥ aneef (the A ḥ madiyyah Muslim Jam ā ‘at’s president) very unhappy. I expected that the children would get upset over it but not one of them said anything. They immediately turned off the TV set and got busy in other things. I was simply amazed at the sight of such a perfect example of obedience by the children. There was something spiritual about it. I inadvertently said to myself, “This is where I want to be. ” The decision to become a Muslim and join the A ḥ madiyyah Muslim Jam ā ‘at was thus made for me by the children. I mentioned to Brother ‘ Ā bid Ḥ aneef about my desire to get initiated into the A ḥ madiyyah Muslim Jam ā ‘at. He had me fill out the Bai‘at form and arranged to introduce me to the other members of the A ḥ madiyyah Muslim Jam ā ‘at. In February 1992, on a Sunday afternoon, after a regular A ḥ madiyyah Muslim Jam ā ‘at meeting, a short ceremony was held, in which I repeated the vows of the Bai‘at. Brother ‘ Ā bid Ḥ aneef then spoke briefly, introducing me to the audience. At this occasion someone referring to me said, “He is the closest to All ā h, among us. ” Upon this, Brother ‘ Ā bid Ḥ aneef replied, “Sure he is! He just got rid of all his past sins and now he has no sins. ” Those words were so soothing that