[SOUL SEARCHING]
THE MUSIC FOR THIS STORY...
http://www.youtube.com/
b-ismi-llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi
Everyday the man would awake and make salat, after that he would go to his room and collect the things that he needed and leave the room.He was always careful not to make to much noise because his cellmate slept late every day.
He liked the morning because it was quiet and because he could watch the news before all the other inmates got up and began to make noise. There were not many muslim inmates and he did not like to fool with the christian inmates that much.
So many of them engaged in frivolous activity...gambling and talking bout dumb shit that he steered clear of them.
The guards pretty much left him alone because he kept the other muslim inmates in line and because he had filed so many lawsuits that he pretty much got what he wanted within reason. There were some guards who were mostly christian ministers and deacons who tried to make his life hard but he expected that.
Classic house nigger shit.
As he sat at the table and began to study the case that the state had against him he woud look up from time to time to check his surroundings. He had been having problems with the christians lately...the chaplain at the jail was putting negative propaganda into the population about muslims and it was causing problems.
When he was younger he had learned a lot about war and the strategies of war and he overstood the need to have allies in every camp and some of the christian inmates were not proud of what the chaplain was doing and would show him the pamplets that they received that said that muslims worshipped the sun...moon gods and satan.
In response to these lies he had started a muslim, christian dialouge and it seemed to be working in some aspects yet there were still christian inmates who were not swayed and would try to attack him so he had to be careful.
After awhile another muslim inmate came out of his room and they began to build together...you know... teach each other more knowledge, study.
He had been elected iman and he took this duty very seriously. These men would base their spirituality in the way that he taught them and he was careful to never let his personal feelings come into the way that he dropped islam on them.
His teaching of the deen.
As he and his akhi [brother] were studying he noticed a young brother sitting at a table with a bible. The brother had come in a few days ago and was always the first one in the room where they held church and he was always the last to leave.
After awhile he kind of forgot about the brother until he looked up and saw him walking towards him and he closed his quran and stood up to meet him...to face whatever this brother was about to say.
Nothing could have prepared him for what came next.
As the brother came closer he noticed that his eyes were red as if he had been crying and what happened next really shook him.
The brother began to cry and his sobs tore through his body as he asked if he could have a minute of the mans time.
He said yes and sat down as the brother began to speak through his tears and he started to tell his tale.
The young brother was a singer and he had been in the church all his life, yet he had always felt that there was something missing and he wanted to know more about islam.
As he began to talk the brother seemed to calm down and a couple of times he stopped the man to ask questions...to say that it felt as if things were beginning to click into place.
After they had talked for awhile more inmates began to come out of there rooms and a few of them went and got the brother who was the jailhouse preacher out of his room and stood in the corner talking.
After a moment of this the brother who was the preacher walked over to the table where the muslims were and they stood up to meet them. The peacher walked over and began to ask the young man what he was doing? why was he talking to these people?
The young brother told them that he was searching and the preacher told him that the only place that he needed to search was the bible...to ask god and god would show him.
The young brother said that he had done this his whole life and that he still felt incomplete and that he was just trying to learn.
The preacher told him that all he would gain from the muslims was hell and the brother told him that all he saw every day was christians who gambled and kept up mess all the time and that the muslims were always studying and stayed away from all the bullshit that was happening in the wing.
The preacher turned and walked away in anger.
The young brother then said that he wanted to be a muslim and the man told him that there were things that he had to do first.
He told the brother to keep coming to the table and that they would give him the keys. The brother continued to come by and learn and after about a week he was givin his kalima shahada.
The first time the he called the adhan every muslim in the ummat cried it was so beautiful.
ARABIC WORDS...
b-ismi-llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi "In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful"
SALAT...PRAYER
ADHAN...CALL TO PRAYER
DEEN...FAITH
UMMAT...COMMUNITY
KALIMA SHAHADA...DECLARATION OF FAITH.
hamzah faruq
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