Salim Boykin-Mustaqim (Philadelphia)
Salim Boykin-Mustaqim
Philadelphia, January, 2008
I was raised in the city of Brotherly Love as a Catholic. Most of my family consists of good people who are practicing devotees in various denominations of Christianity. I was sent to Catholic schools in which they prepared us well to meet the academic as well as moral challenges that we would face in our not too distant future. Since an early age I had always questioned the doctrine of Trinity. Whenever I had questioned a priest or a nun about my confusion regarding the fact that the first commandment said, “Thou shall not have any other gods before God”, yet we were told to pray to Jesus, Mary and the saints, I was either ignored or penalized by receiving detention.
When I’d come home late and explain to my Mother the reason, I’d get punished further and even put on punishment. I state these instances to get you acquainted with my search for the Living God since my youth. I hold nothing against the Catholic Church or my Mother because without the foundation that they had given me, through the grace of God, I would not be who I am today. And I am forever grateful, and love them all.
It wasn’t until I Hit early adulthood (18yrs of age) that I received the message of Islam and became Muslim. Upon my awakening I realized that Islam was everything that was within me, everything that I had always felt. A light began to shine and I’d do everything I could to keep that Light as bright as I could over the years. When the light seemed to dim I’d go to different extremes to find fuel to keep it burning, including associating myself with different communities in the realm of Islam.
During this phase of my journey I came in contact with many believers upon different paths leading to the same destination. Because of the universality of Islam, I identified each path as having the potential to guide me to success in this world as well as the next. But as my life went on I noticed that there were components missing. I began to feel out of place in some circles. Places where haram (forbidden) acts of some of the members were tolerated and accepted. The back-biting and corruption that were present in these places became a deterrent for me in becoming involved with various activities which would have otherwise helped me to grow spiritually.
Some years later, I was searching the internet for Islamic websites, when I came across the Ahmaddiyah Muslim website. The information that I came across was comprehensive, and it answered some of the questions I had had within my own soul. I would state up at three and four in the morning reading up the Ahmadiyyah literature, and its concepts dazzled my mind. The Ahmadiyyah viewpoint seemed to ring true within my soul.
However, with all this new information, there was nowhere that I could turn to at the time for further discussions. I was afraid of being labeled an unbeliever by my former associates. Therefore I decided to contact the Ahmadiyyah community myself and started going every other month for Jumah Khutbah to the Ahmadi mosque. I also enrolled in their free Arabic classes. During this time I started witnessing the love and compassion between the members present there, and they extended this brotherly affection to me as well!
Sometime after the third or fourth month of my instruction in Arabic, My work schedule changed and I had to temporarily discontinue the classes. It took about a year before I returned.
The Invitation
The following year I was overwhelmed by the despondency that many of my spiritual brothers and sisters were getting involved in some form or another of haram (forbidden) activities. I had to cut some ties for fear that their dealings would start to affect me as well. I started praying to my Creator that may He place believing people around me who could be my companions on the Unerring Path.
One day, in the midst of a financial challenge dealing with my automobile, I was `dhikering’ (remembering Allah) with beads in a cab and asking His Guidance. When I got out of the cab, I saw an Ahmadi Brother (Brother Iliyas Ibrahim). He was happy to see me and gave me an invitation to Jalsa or annual convention of the community. He said it was an opportunity to see what Ahmadiyyah was all about and that it was for three days.
Right away I thought about my limited finances at the time, and was convinced that I could not afford it. I asked him anyway how much it was. Iliyas said to give what I could but that if I could not afford it I could still go. It did not seem real to me at the time. I mean free travel and lodging? There had to be a catch! But there wasn’t any.
From the time I arrived with other brothers at the convention, I was able to witness thousands of brothers treating each other with love. The pugnacious attitudes of those I had formerly known from other communities were not present in this group. I expected suspicion but found no traces of that either. I was able to get the message of Ahmadiyyah without interruption and distractions simply by observing these brothers. I did not even feel any racial discrimination among this crowd which was highly unusual compared to anywhere else in America . And to top it off the food (Pakistani cuisine) was tasty, nutritious and good. I returned with a new insight into the Ahmadiyyah belief and practice.
Although I felt motivated enough to join the Ahmadiyya community at this time, I did not do so because I felt that I had to investigate further. However, the more I learned about the Promised Messiah (as) the more overwhelmed I felt to join. My heart began to speak to me when everything was still. People around me started saying that they saw a change in me for the better.
Although officially I had not become an Ahmadi Muslim yet, I was one in my own eyes. I would debate with non-Ahmadi Muslim family members in an attempt to help them see the truth that I was seeing. I noticed my dreams began to change too. Instead of dreams centering on conflict, my dreams began to introduce me to a peaceful mind by showing me images of people who had benevolence in their hearts. I prayed day and night for Allah to guide me and it became evident that he was guiding me all along.
Once this realization set in, I accepted, signed Bai’it and hope and pray that Allah will make my faith as strong as the faith of those faithful Ahmadi Muslims who are being persecuted around the world. May Allah (swa) help us against the disbelieving people, and shower us with His Blessings forever -Amin
Comments (0)
Write comment