Never be caught unprepared
Salaam aleikum,
Today, I was riding on the public bus, on my way to visit a very good friend of mine, and a pair of Mormon guys got on the bus. They were wearing the white shirts with the name tags--missionaries. One of them came back and sat near me, and started up a conversation with me. Now, I am from the Southern United States, the land of Christian evangelism, so I immediately knew what his goal was. We started by talking about the weather and the landscape of Boston and Massachusetts versus that of Utah (where he was from) and the South. Inevitably, the conversation drifted towards religion, and he told me about his life as a missionary; Mormons are all supposed to do two years of missionary work, putting the rest of their lives on hold for the time being. It's actually rather demanding and busy work, and it's to his credit that he's able to pull it off. He talked about being called by God to the Massachusetts area to "bring people to Christ." (The quotes are merely to distinguish his belief from my own Islamic view of Jesus, peace be upon him.)
One thing he asked me was what church I attended, so I had to explain that, in my case, it's a not a church but a mosque. This led to further conversation, in which I explained that I did not grow up a Muslim but converted back in October of 2006, following my trips to Palestine and Jordan. He mentioned that, when he thinks of Muslims, he thinks of India, due to his own cultural experience, so I explained to him that country with the largest Muslim population is actually Indonesia, followed by three South Asian countries and then Egypt. So, I get the impression he got a bit of an education about Islam there.
As we neared the end of the bus ride, before he and his fellow missionary had to disembark, he gave me a copy of the Book of Mormon, having wrote his and his friend's names and number in there. He wanted to come to my place at some point to talk, but I kinda vetoed the idea at that time -- not that I'm not open to hearing his beliefs, but not too interested in a conversion attempt. Still, I have the option to call if I ever want to chat with him about his beliefs. After he got off, I felt good that I had been able to connect with him in that way and talk about religion and belief, and I hope he and his friend had a good day from that point forward. I do plan to give that Book of Mormon a look-over, if for no other reason than to learn more.
One thing bothers me, though: I had nothing to give him. That is, I had no Qur'an to give him in return, so that he could learn a little about what Islam teaches. All I would have needed would have been a small Yusuf Ali translation to take out and give to him. I'm sure he would have taken it and would have eventually read it, had I done so. The point is not to convert him myself; indeed, I cannot do so. Only the individual him/herself can pronounce the words "La ilaha ill Allah wa Muhammad rasul Allah." Still, we can plant the seeds that Allah (swt) Himself can water; we can give a non-Muslim a Qur'an and let Allah guide him/her. But today, I was unable to do provide that seed. I was unprepared.
It's not like I committed some grievous sin. After all, I'm sure few Muslims carry around several pocket Qur'ans on a daily basis, so this is no necessary failure of mine. Still, what a blessing it would have been to have had the capacity to do so. Kind of a "holy book trade," LOL!
The point of writing this is to advise you not to be caught unprepared. Always be ready to share Islam with someone, to the extent that you are able. It is not necessary to have a degree from Al-Azhar or anything like that. If you are able to tell them more, answer more complicated questions, or give them a Qur'an, then jazakallah khayrun; if not, though, don't sweat it. If you can just give a 5-minute introduction, along with a guide to further resources, you will have already accomplished a lot. Remember, Allah (swt) doesn't need your help, at all; He could turn the entire world Muslim instantaneously, if it were His will. Thus, if you can only give a short introduction to Islam, you have already done plenty, and there is a reward from Allah (swt) for that.
Just make sure that you are prepared, in some form or fashion. If you know nothing of your faith, learn about it. If you know something of it, learn more. Know some primary books, authors, and websites to which to direct interested individuals. Practice your religion, to the extent that you are able, and have some knowledge of why you do what you're doing. You don't have to go around actively "evangelizing" non-Muslims, but certainly be ready to become a temporary "evangelist" for Islam, if someone inquires about it.
When I was in Jordan the summer of '06, I was already interested in Islam, but there was one person, and only one, that I felt comfortable talking to at the time. She seemed to feel a little unsure of herself, on some level, but she had the courage and faith to do so and ended up making a substantial contribution to my own journey to Islam. I don't know whether or how things would have been different, had she not been able or willing to talk to me. All this goes to say, that sometimes YOU may be the one who needs to do the job. YOU might be the critical person, the one they need at that time to help them learn more about Islam or come closer to taking the shahadah. The task may be yours, whether you feel ready for it or not. Don't be unprepared!
Wasalaam,
Chris
Today, I was riding on the public bus, on my way to visit a very good friend of mine, and a pair of Mormon guys got on the bus. They were wearing the white shirts with the name tags--missionaries. One of them came back and sat near me, and started up a conversation with me. Now, I am from the Southern United States, the land of Christian evangelism, so I immediately knew what his goal was. We started by talking about the weather and the landscape of Boston and Massachusetts versus that of Utah (where he was from) and the South. Inevitably, the conversation drifted towards religion, and he told me about his life as a missionary; Mormons are all supposed to do two years of missionary work, putting the rest of their lives on hold for the time being. It's actually rather demanding and busy work, and it's to his credit that he's able to pull it off. He talked about being called by God to the Massachusetts area to "bring people to Christ." (The quotes are merely to distinguish his belief from my own Islamic view of Jesus, peace be upon him.)
One thing he asked me was what church I attended, so I had to explain that, in my case, it's a not a church but a mosque. This led to further conversation, in which I explained that I did not grow up a Muslim but converted back in October of 2006, following my trips to Palestine and Jordan. He mentioned that, when he thinks of Muslims, he thinks of India, due to his own cultural experience, so I explained to him that country with the largest Muslim population is actually Indonesia, followed by three South Asian countries and then Egypt. So, I get the impression he got a bit of an education about Islam there.
As we neared the end of the bus ride, before he and his fellow missionary had to disembark, he gave me a copy of the Book of Mormon, having wrote his and his friend's names and number in there. He wanted to come to my place at some point to talk, but I kinda vetoed the idea at that time -- not that I'm not open to hearing his beliefs, but not too interested in a conversion attempt. Still, I have the option to call if I ever want to chat with him about his beliefs. After he got off, I felt good that I had been able to connect with him in that way and talk about religion and belief, and I hope he and his friend had a good day from that point forward. I do plan to give that Book of Mormon a look-over, if for no other reason than to learn more.
One thing bothers me, though: I had nothing to give him. That is, I had no Qur'an to give him in return, so that he could learn a little about what Islam teaches. All I would have needed would have been a small Yusuf Ali translation to take out and give to him. I'm sure he would have taken it and would have eventually read it, had I done so. The point is not to convert him myself; indeed, I cannot do so. Only the individual him/herself can pronounce the words "La ilaha ill Allah wa Muhammad rasul Allah." Still, we can plant the seeds that Allah (swt) Himself can water; we can give a non-Muslim a Qur'an and let Allah guide him/her. But today, I was unable to do provide that seed. I was unprepared.
It's not like I committed some grievous sin. After all, I'm sure few Muslims carry around several pocket Qur'ans on a daily basis, so this is no necessary failure of mine. Still, what a blessing it would have been to have had the capacity to do so. Kind of a "holy book trade," LOL!
The point of writing this is to advise you not to be caught unprepared. Always be ready to share Islam with someone, to the extent that you are able. It is not necessary to have a degree from Al-Azhar or anything like that. If you are able to tell them more, answer more complicated questions, or give them a Qur'an, then jazakallah khayrun; if not, though, don't sweat it. If you can just give a 5-minute introduction, along with a guide to further resources, you will have already accomplished a lot. Remember, Allah (swt) doesn't need your help, at all; He could turn the entire world Muslim instantaneously, if it were His will. Thus, if you can only give a short introduction to Islam, you have already done plenty, and there is a reward from Allah (swt) for that.
Just make sure that you are prepared, in some form or fashion. If you know nothing of your faith, learn about it. If you know something of it, learn more. Know some primary books, authors, and websites to which to direct interested individuals. Practice your religion, to the extent that you are able, and have some knowledge of why you do what you're doing. You don't have to go around actively "evangelizing" non-Muslims, but certainly be ready to become a temporary "evangelist" for Islam, if someone inquires about it.
When I was in Jordan the summer of '06, I was already interested in Islam, but there was one person, and only one, that I felt comfortable talking to at the time. She seemed to feel a little unsure of herself, on some level, but she had the courage and faith to do so and ended up making a substantial contribution to my own journey to Islam. I don't know whether or how things would have been different, had she not been able or willing to talk to me. All this goes to say, that sometimes YOU may be the one who needs to do the job. YOU might be the critical person, the one they need at that time to help them learn more about Islam or come closer to taking the shahadah. The task may be yours, whether you feel ready for it or not. Don't be unprepared!
Wasalaam,
Chris
posted by Chris @ 7:10 PM
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