Before I was Muslim I was what you could classify as a \u201ctypical British lad\u201d.
\nI used to go out drinking on a Saturday evening, and all that kind of thing.
\nThen about five years ago, I was going on holiday to Greece.
\nWhen you go to an airport, you’ve got loads of books packed in your backpack for you to read from, and then you go sitting by the side of the swimming pool with a large bear, sun-bathing and reading a book, and you would never have too many books!
\nI thought I would go to WHSmith and pick up a good book I could read, and I couldn’t find anything. I got my rucksack on my back, and as I turned around to leave, I knocked the bookshelf and all the books fell off.
\nNot wanting to be a bit awkward, so I picked everything up, and the books were all one book, and it was by a western author, called Barnaby Rogerson, and he wrote a book called \u201cThe Prophet Muhammad: A Biography\u201d. I read the first page and it looked interesting. I read the second page. Took it to the counter, I bought it and took it on holiday with me.
\nSo I read the book, and I thought \u201cYeah I want to learn more.\u201d So I came back, and I started to go to the local mosque, and I spoke to them and I said I wanted to learn more. And the Imam, who took my shahadah, said \u201cWell to tell you the truth, the best way to understand Islam is to become a Muslim.\u201d
\nI didn\u2019t think twice about it. I just took my shahadah there and then.<\/p>\n
I Related to Hamza, The Prophet’s Uncle<\/strong> Source: OnIslam<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Before I was Muslim I was what you could classify as a \u201ctypical British lad\u201d. I used to go out drinking on a Saturday evening, and all that kind of thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[87,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editors-choice","category-c71-introduction-to-islam-muslims"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nAs a revert Muslim, you find that you sort of adhere yourself to somebody from the Sahabah (The Prophet\u2019s companions). You know you could relate to them, because they were all revert Muslims too.
\nAnd my relation was Hamza, because of the way that he lived his life before; he was leading a life of hard drinking and hard living, he enjoyed his life to the full. He still enjoyed his life to the full after he became a Muslim. I related a lot to him.
\nSo when I went on Hajj, I wanted to go to the battle scene of Uhud to see where he died. So I went to the cemetery, then got off the bus. As I was walking across, it was like I was walking through tranquility. I felt so emotional, and tears were just streaming down my face, and I couldn\u2019t stop them, and I didn\u2019t know why.
\nSo I kept going, and as I got off this sandy patch unto the little paved area, it all went, and I thought that was strange. I went to the cemetery. I made my duaa to the martyrs and Hamza. And made my way back to the bus when I said \u201cCome on it\u2019s time to go\u201d, and as I walked across that patch of ground it happened again, just crying.
\nSomeone asked me \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter?\u201d and I told him, to the man who was there next to me because he was translating for me. He said \u201cWhen our Prophet found out what happened to his uncle he cried, and just wept and wept.\u201d And I said \u201cMaybe he just left something there for somebody who wanted to find it,\u201d and I felt it here, in my chest, for Hamza and it hit me fully.
\nSo when I got home I said- and my wife was pregnant at the time- \u201cIf we have a son I want to call him Hamza,\u201d and we had a little girl. So before I went to see my mom, I went on to the internet to see if there are any female relations of Hamza to give her a second name, and I couldn\u2019t find anything. My wife said \u201cAsk your mom\u201d. So I asked my mom and my mom went away.
\nA couple of days later, she said she went through the internet and found three names for us. The one we liked most was Safiyya. So we thought \u201cOK then, we will give her the name Safiyya\u201d.
\nFew months after we had done that, I was feeling really depressed and frustrated. I got a book and I just opened it up to read and see what there is in there. I was reading about the aftermath of Uhud. It just opened there, and it was talking about them going wrapping the Muslim Martyrs up and burying them.
\nThen the book started talking about Hamza\u2019s sister, coming with two pieces of cloth. And Hamza\u2019s sister was called Safiyya!<\/p>\n