Hello everyone. I said my shahada first time in mid-July, 2010. Before that I used to be a Christian for a long time. Growing up in a family of unbelievers/atheists it did not affect my faith much. I attended religious schools for years (Trinity Christianity), and I did read my Bible (we all got one from the local priest), and I tried to follow what was written there, but I found it very difficult. Also I resisted when the teachers told me about the trinity and that part about that we had to pray to Jesus (pbuh), I remember they said that you should not pray to God, you should pray to Jesus(pbuh), and then Jesus(pbuh) would tell God.. did never made any sense to me, so I always prayed directly to God by folding my hands as the Christian practice is. At some point I left the Bible but kept God in my heart and told him to guide me to something better as I finished half the bible, I did not found anything more to learn from it accept contradictions and perversity. I prayed to God and asked him why he did not sent down a book which no man has ever altered, that would really have been something and I guess I always hoped but did not believe that it would actually be true.. I mean, I know I can be dreamy so I just knocked that thought out of my head.. saying to myself, "of course not silly, you should stop dreaming". I did not learn much about other religions at that time, guess the teachers and those in authority of the schools I went to didn't wanted to tell us to keep us in their tiny world I suppose.. may I say that.
Else I have been a little into Buddhism, but went against that it was a religion at all, it is a philosophy and a way of life. It was also never meant to be a religion (as I read and understood it) because the great teacher of that philosophy were not any god and never claimed to be, whatsoever, also offerings to the Buddha (is he a prophet btw? GOD sent many prophets..) and keeping a golden (or whatever) statue of him I never did. I said the saying you should say every day.. three times a day I think it was. To seek refugee from evil and to meditate, as well as be busy by doing the work of goodness and working on loving kindness.
I found the Quran while I worked at the huge library in my town. I had actually tumbled upon it several times before, and each time I peeked a little into it. It was written Quran or something outside of it, and Arabic at the right side, and in my language on the left side. I remember I read always angry words, so it kept frightening me as well as fascinating me.. after a while.. well it kind of kept "speaking" to me, draw attention to me.. and that God inside, was demanding my attention.. and he seemed very angry. (I kept reading the part about kill all christians and jews so it indeed were looking very frightening)
After been befriending some people from Afghanistan which called themselves Shia, I started for serious to be curious and to investigate the Holy Book of theirs. I remember I knew SO little! I read from the Norwegian (my language) translation of the Quran, and about the miracles of the Quran, and I just knew that this Book is not just a book, it is unique, it is holy, it is from GOD, and it is "speaking" to me! of course I also was told to dedicate myself to a sect, I asked why? and was told (by a friend, I never went to any mosque nor asked any scholar or imam), that I need to belong to something. So I just for myself, in my head I picked Shia. (I have never been for the majority, also I thought that God approved of all sects). oh how hard my first month or two were! I was completely alone, with the Islamic sites on internet and I kept reading Norwegian translation of the Quran along reading bukhari and etc hadith (at that time I was not aware that different sects had their own hadeeth). I also wore a headscarf (the hijab) the whole month of Ramadan, but never because I thought I hade to even still people kept telling me to put it on and never take it off.. I read the verse about how a woman should dress, even thought it did mention the word "veil", it never stated that the veil is to be put on your head (yeah veils can be used on your body only as well) still I wore whole Ramadan, I thought that was a good thing to do, not because I had to, but perhaps God would like it and it was Ramadan after all, I just wanted to be a very good muslim and do everything right. The one day, two months after I said my shahada in my roof as GOD as my only witness, i found a verse in my translation saying that GOD disapprove of sects! I was shocked so from that moment on, I trashed the Shia sect and all their hadith.. figuring that I wanted to learn from the Quran alone.. because then I can never go wrong! and I do NOT want to go astray again! The Quran alone and praying for guidance from GOD.
I pardon for my long postS But this is my story. Hope you enjoyed it. Also I am very happy to be here among believers such as (hopefully) as myself! (well, I am new on this forum, what do I know?)
Peace and blessings brothers and sisters in Faith!
