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All I have to say is all what you know already, to confirm what
you already know, the message of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam) as given by God - the Religion of Truth. As human
beings we are given a consciousness and a duty that has placed
us at the top of creation. Man is created to be God's deputy on
earth, and it is important to realize the obligation to rid
ourselves of all illusions and to make our lives a preparation
for the next life. Anybody who misses this chance is not likely
to be given another, to be brought back again and again, because
it says in Qur'an Majeed that when man is brought to account, he
will say, "O Lord, send us back and give us another chance." The
Lord will say, "If I send you back you will do the same."
MY EARLY RELIGIOUS UPBRINGING
I was brought up in the modern world of all the luxury and the
high life of show business. I was born in a Christian home, but
we know that every child is born in his original nature - it is
only his parents that turn him to this or that religion. I was
given this religion (Christianity) and thought this way. I was
taught that God exists, but there was no direct contact with
God, so we had to make contact with Him through Jesus - he was
in fact the door to God. This was more or less accepted by me,
but I did not swallow it all.
I looked at some of the statues of Jesus; they were just stones
with no life. And when they said that God is three, I was
puzzled even more but could not argue. I more or less believed
it, because I had to have respect for the faith of my parents.
POP STAR
Gradually I became alienated from this religious upbringing. I
started making music. I wanted to be a big star. All those
things I saw in the films and on the media took hold of me, and
perhaps I thought this was my God, the goal of making money. I
had an uncle who had a beautiful car. "Well," I said, "he has it
made. He has a lot of money." The people around me influenced me
to think that this was it; this world was their God.
I decided then that this was the life for me; to make a lot of
money, have a 'great life.' Now my examples were the pop stars.
I started making songs, but deep down I had a feeling for
humanity, a feeling that if I became rich I would help the
needy. (It says in the Qur'an, we make a promise, but when we
make something, we want to hold onto it and become greedy.)
So what happened was that I became very famous. I was still a
teenager, my name and photo were splashed in all the media. They
made me larger than life, so I wanted to live larger than life
and the only way to do that was to be intoxicated (with liquor
and drugs).
IN HOSPITAL
After a year of financial success and 'high' living, I became
very ill, contracted TB and had to be hospitalized. It was then
that I started to think: What was to happen to me? Was I just a
body, and my goal in life was merely to satisfy this body? I
realized now that this calamity was a blessing given to me by
Allah, a chance to open my eyes - "Why am I here? Why am I in
bed?" - and I started looking for some of the answers. At that
time there was great interest in the Eastern mysticism. I began
reading, and the first thing I began to become aware of was
death, and that the soul moves on; it does not stop. I felt I
was taking the road to bliss and high accomplishment. I started
meditating and even became a vegetarian. I now believed in
'peace and flower power,' and this was the general trend. But
what I did believe in particular was that I was not just a body.
This awareness came to me at the hospital.
One day when I was walking and I was caught in the rain, I began
running to the shelter and then I realized, 'Wait a minute, my
body is getting wet, my body is telling me I am getting wet.'
This made me think of a saying that the body is like a donkey,
and it has to be trained where it has to go. Otherwise, the
donkey will lead you where it wants to go.
Then I realized I had a will, a God-given gift: follow the will
of God. I was fascinated by the new terminology I was learning
in the Eastern religion. By now I was fed up with Christianity.
I started making music again and this time I started reflecting
my own thoughts. I remember the lyric of one of my songs. It
goes like this: "I wish I knew, I wish I knew what makes the
Heaven, what makes the Hell. Do I get to know You in my bed or
some dusty cell while others reach the big hotel?" and I knew I
was on the Path.
I also wrote another song, "The Way to Find God Out." I became
even more famous in the world of music. I really had a difficult
time because I was getting rich and famous, and at the same
time, I was sincerely searching for the Truth. Then I came to a
stage where I decided that Buddhism is all right and noble, but
I was not ready to leave the world. I was too attached to the
world and was not prepared to become a monk and to isolate
myself from society.
I tried Zen and Ching, numerology, tarot cards and astrology. I
tried to look back into the Bible and could not find anything.
At this time I did not know anything about Islam, and then, what
I regarded as a miracle occurred. My brother had visited the
mosque in Jerusalem and was greatly impressed that while on the
one hand it throbbed with life (unlike the churches and
synagogues which were empty), on the other hand, an atmosphere
of peace and tranquillity prevailed.
THE QUR'AN
When he came to London he brought back a translation of the
Qur'an, which he gave to me. He did not become a Muslim, but he
felt something in this religion, and thought I might find
something in it also.
And when I received the book, a guidance that would explain
everything to me - who I was; what was the purpose of life; what
was the reality and what would be the reality; and where I came
from - I realized that this was the true religion; religion not
in the sense the West understands it, not the type for only your
old age. In the West, whoever wishes to embrace a religion and
make it his only way of life is deemed a fanatic. I was not a
fanatic, I was at first confused between the body and the soul.
Then I realized that the body and soul are not apart and you
don't have to go to the mountain to be religious. We must follow
the will of God. Then we can rise higher than the angels. The
first thing I wanted to do now was to be a Muslim.
I realized that everything belongs to God, that slumber does not
overtake Him. He created everything. At this point I began to
lose the pride in me, because hereto I had thought the reason I
was here was because of my own greatness. But I realized that I
did not create myself, and the whole purpose of my being here
was to submit to the teaching that has been perfected by the
religion we know as Al-Islam. At this point I started
discovering my faith. I felt I was a Muslim. On reading the
Qur'an, I now realized that all the Prophets sent by God brought
the same message. Why then were the Jews and Christians
different? I know now how the Jews did not accept Jesus as the
Messiah and that they had changed His Word. Even the Christians
misunderstand God's Word and called Jesus the son of God.
Everything made so much sense. This is the beauty of the Qur'an;
it asks you to reflect and reason, and not to worship the sun or
moon but the One Who has created everything. The Qur'an asks man
to reflect upon the sun and moon and God's creation in general.
Do you realize how different the sun is from the moon? They are
at varying distances from the earth, yet appear the same size to
us; at times one seems to overlap the other.
Even when many of the astronauts go to space, they see the
insignificant size of the earth and vastness of space. They
become very religious, because they have seen the Signs of
Allah.
When I read the Qur'an further, it talked about prayer, kindness
and charity. I was not a Muslim yet, but I felt that the only
answer for me was the Qur'an, and God had sent it to me, and I
kept it a secret. But the Qur'an also speaks on different
levels. I began to understand it on another level, where the
Qur'an says,
"Those who believe do not take disbelievers for friends and the
believers are brothers."
Thus at this point I wished to meet my Muslim brothers.
CONVERSION
Then I decided to journey to Jerusalem (as my brother had done).
At Jerusalem, I went to the mosque and sat down. A man asked me
what I wanted. I told him I was a Muslim. He asked what was my
name. I told him, "Stevens." He was confused. I then joined the
prayer, though not so successfully. Back in London, I met a
sister called Nafisa. I told her I wanted to embrace Islam and
she directed me to the New Regent Mosque. This was in 1977,
about one and a half years after I received the Qur'an. Now I
realized that I must get rid of my pride, get rid of Iblis, and
face one direction. So on a Friday, after Jumma' I went to the
Imam and declared my faith (the Kalima) at this hands. You have
before you someone who had achieved fame and fortune. But
guidance was something that eluded me, no matter how hard I
tried, until I was shown the Qur'an. Now I realize I can get in
direct contact with God, unlike Christianity or any other
religion. As one Hindu lady told me, "You don't understand the
Hindus. We believe in one God; we use these objects (idols) to
merely concentrate." What she was saying was that in order to
reach God, one has to create associates, that are idols for the
purpose. But Islam removes all these barriers. The only thing
that moves the believers from the disbelievers is the salat.
This is the process of purification.
Finally I wish to say that everything I do is for the pleasure
of Allah and pray that you gain some inspirations from my
experiences. Furthermore, I would like to stress that I did not
come into contact with any Muslim before I embraced Islam. I
read the Qur'an first and realized that no person is perfect.
Islam is perfect, and if we imitate the conduct of the Holy
Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) we will be successful. May
Allah give us guidance to follow the path of the ummah of
Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). Ameen!
-- Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens)
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INTRODUCTION OF III&E
The Institute of Islamic Information and Education (III&E) is
dedicated to the cause of Islam in North America through
striving to elevate the image of Islam and Muslims by providing
the correct information about Islamic beliefs, history and
civilizations from the authentic sources. Enquiries are welcome.
For more information please contact:
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P.O. Box 41129
Chicago, Illinois 60641-0129 U.S.A.
Source > > http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/newmuslims/
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