Shaykh Sulayman Names Some Major Scholars And Encourages The Students To Connect The People To Them

[Omar del Sur]

 

[Nikka]

I heard you are a revert. What’s your story walaal?

 

[Omar del Sur]

I heard you are a revert. What’s your story walaal?

I am sorry I have not responded to this. It is a long story, I will get to it insha'Allah.

 

[Nikka]

I am sorry I have not responded to this. It is a long story, I will get to it insha'Allah.

Just message me if you get around to it

 

[Abu Hesi]

Just message me if you get around to it

Let him post it here so we call benefit.

 

[Omar del Sur]

How I became Muslim:

It was a gradual thing.

I remember seeing these two pictures online, sort of randomly. It was 2012.

I remember one showed two couples. One said not to sleep on your stomache and advocated sleeping on your side. I forget which I saw first.

The one with the couples was very interesting to me.

It showed a Western man and woman. They're in love and they say "this world is so beautiful. we wish we could stay in this world together forever."

Then it showed a Muslim man and woman. They're in love and they say "this world is so fleeting, so transient. we want to be in Jannah together forever."

I was really fascinated with the mentality towards this world- that it's something fleeting, something transient- not being overcome with love for this world. This is in accord with my own innate nature and with the nature of all humans. We are not just flesh.

The other thing that interested me was the picture (I think they were early memes, before I knew what a meme was) where it said not to sleep on your stomache.

I slept on my stomach and this was my habit. I didn't know better. I was also having sleep trouble.

But I was intrigued with this new concept so I tried sleeping on my side and not sleeping on my stomach. I suddenly started sleeping much better. I honestly think this was to point me towards Islam.


I started watching Islam 101 on YouTube with the man from Green Lane mosque. I don't watch his stuff but I did watch some of the Islam 101 stuff.

At that time, though..... I knew very little about Islam......

some months went by..... I eh.... I used to play in chess tournaments as a kid.... I went to the chess club at the library and I was considered the best player there.... I also met Susan Polgar once... she is really cool....

I don't play chess now... but anyways, I was kind of super insanely egotistical when it came to chess.... I felt invincible and untouchable when it came to a chess board.... I almost never would lose when it came to playing outside of tournaments....

so I came across an African-American man named Joseph..... we talked and he wanted to play me at chess.....

I saw pretty much anyone with contempt when it came to chess.... I agreed, let's play.....

so he beat me and it wasn't even close... I was furious....

then he did it again..... and again... I was so angry and humiliated......

then he took a piece of paper and started writing the names of chess books he told me to read.....

then suddenly he started writing some Arabic and started discussing Islam......

I don't think I'd said anything to him about that I'd recently become interested in Islam.....

I just came across this guy randomly.....

anyways...... he started talking to me about Islam, I remember he said "Islam is a very practical religion"..... he told me to go to a certain store on a certain street... go there and pick up a blue Quran... the translator is Yusuf Ali.... it has three columns, English, transliteration, Arabic.....

I went to the store, picked up the Quran and I remember opening it and reading the translation of Surah Al Baqarah......

around this time I just happened to end up with a Muslim roommate...... he took me to a mosque and showed me how to make wudu and basics of salat.....

and then from there, I started gradually learning more and I've gradually been learning more since then....

I would sit in the mosque and be utterly clueless... I think they would pray in congregation and I would just sit there reading a Quran translation, not understanding I'm supposed to get up and pray..... the imam saw me and it was obvious I was clueless...... he asked me if I'd taken the Shahadah and I had no idea what that was.... so he brought me in front of the congregation and had me take the Shahadah..... that was how I became Muslim.... I believe it was early 2013