Aminahwas a Southern Baptist preacher girl, a radical feminist, and a broadcast journalist,..
At
collage, and because of a computer mistake, she found herself in a class
that she did not ask for, and it was full of Arabs which she didn’t
want to join them because it was not possible for her to sit in the same
class with those “camel jockeys” , but then she felt that God gave her a
task to convert those Arabs into Christianity.
She says
“I proceeded to explain to them how they would burn in the fires of hell
for all eternity, if they did not accept Jesus as their personal
savior. They were very polite, but did not convert.”
So she
decided to do something else: “I decided to read their own book to show
to them that Islam was a false religion and Mohammed was a false God”.
At her
request, one student gave her a copy of the Qur’an and another book on
Islam. With these two books she started on her research,. She read the
Qur’an fully and another fifteen books on Islam.
Unconsciously, however, she was changing from within which did not
escape the attention of her husband. “I was changing, just in little
ways but enough to bother him. We used to go to the bar every Friday and
Saturday, or to a party, and I no longer wanted to go. I was quieter
and more distant.” She stopped drinking and eating pork. Her husband
suspected her of having an affair with another man, for “it was only for
a man that a woman changes”. Ultimately, she was asked to leave, and
she soon found herself living in a separate apartment.
She continued studying Islam and By Allah’s will, she converted to Islam in 1977 ..
But the
difficulty that Aminah Assilimi had to go through and the sacrifice that
she had to make for the sake of her conviction and faith is almost
unheard of.
She lost
most of her friends, for she was “no fun anymore”… Her mother did not
accept her becoming a Muslim and hoped that it was a temporary…. Her
“mental health expert” sister thought that she lost her mind. She
attempted to put her in a mental health institution…
When her
father heard that she became a Muslim, he loaded his double-barrel
shotgun and started on his way to kill her. “It is better that she be
dead rather than suffering in the deepest of Hell”, he said..
She soon
started wearing hijab. The day she put it on, she was denied her job.
She was now without family, friends, and job. But her greatest sacrifice
was yet to come
After she
openly accepted Islam, it went worse. A divorce was now inevitable… She
had two little children whom she loved dearly and whose custody should
have rightfully be given to her. But in a grave violation of justice,
she was denied their custody just because she became a Muslim… Before
giving the formal verdict, the judge offered her a harsh choice: either
renounce Islam and get custody of the children, or keep Islam and leave
the children. She was given 20 minutes to make a decision.
It is
perhaps the worst nightmare that a mother can have.. “It was the most
painful 20 minutes in my life”, she said in an interview.. What added
further to her pain was that according to doctors, she could never bear
another child because of certain complications… “I prayed like I had
never done before … I knew that there was no safer place for my children
to be than in the hands of Allah. If I denied Him, there would be no
way in the future to show my children the wonders of being with Allah.”
She
decided to retain Islam and so her two dear children were taken away
from her…. “I left the court knowing that life without my babies would
be very difficult. My heart bled, even though I knew, inside, I had done
the right thing” . She found comfort in the following verse of the
Qur’an..
2.255..
Allah – there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of
[all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him
belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is
it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what
is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they
encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His
Kursī extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation
tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.”
Aminah
Assilimi later fought back and took her case to the media. Although she
did not get custody of her children again, a change was made in the
Colorado law that one cannot be denied child custody on the basis of his
or her religion.
Indeed
Allah’s love and mercy engulfed her so much that, as if, she has been
granted the touchstone of Islam. Wherever she goes, people are touched
by her beautiful words and Islamic manners and become Muslim.
She
became a changed person, and a much better person. So much so that her
family, relatives, and people around her started appreciating her
mannerism and the faith that brought about such changes in her. Despite
her family’s initial reaction, she remained in touch with them and
addressed them with respect and humility..
The first
to become Muslim was her grand mother… She was over 100 years old..
Soon after accepting Islam, she died. “The day she pronounced Shahada,
all her misdeeds had been erased, while her good deeds were preserved.
She died so soon after accepting Islam that I knew her “book” was bound
to be heavy on the good side. It fills me with such a joy!”
Next to
become Muslim was her father, the one who wanted to kill her after she
became Muslim… Her mother called and said that she appreciated her faith
and hoped that she would keep it. Couple of years later, she called
again and asked her about what one would need to do to become a Muslim…
Her sister who wanted to put her in mental institution accepted Islam as
well
Her son,
upon becoming adult, accepted Islam. When he turned 21, he called her
and said that he wanted to become a Muslim… Sixteen years after the
divorce, her ex-husband also accepted Islam… He said that he had been
watching her for sixteen years and wanted his daughter to have the same
religion that she had. He came to her and apologized for what he had
done. He was a very nice gentlemen and Assilimi had forgiven him long
ago.
Perhaps
the greatest reward for her was yet to come. Assilmi later married
another person, and despite the doctors’ verdict that she could never
conceive another child, Allah blessed her with a beautiful boy.. If
Allah (swt) makes a gift to someone, who can prevent Him? It was truly a
wonderful blessing from Allah (swt), and so she named him “Barakah”.
Aminah
became the President of the International Union of Muslim Women. She
delivers lectures nationwide and is on high demand. It was her
organization that successfully lobbied for the “Eid Stamp” and had it
approved by the United States Postal Service
She was
also involved in creating an educational centre for Muslim converts..
She has tremendous trust on Allah’s love and mercy and she never looses
faith on Him… She was once diagnosed with cancer some years ago. Doctors
said that it was in an advanced stage and that she would live for
another year. But her faith in Allah (swt) remained strong. “We must all
die. I was confident that the pain I was experiencing contained
blessings.” As a brilliant example of how much one can love Allah, she
mentions about a friend of her named Kareem Al-Misawi who died of cancer
when he was in his 20’s:
“Shortly
before he died, he told me that Allah was truly Merciful. This man was
in unbelievable anguish and was radiating with Allah’s love. He said:
“Allah intends that I should enter heaven with a clean book.”.. His
death experience gave me something to think about. He taught me of
Allah’s love and mercy.”
Sister
Aminah, Despite previous health setbacks, including battles with cancer,
she continued to be active and maintained a rigorous schedule of
speaking engagements around the United States.
She once
said .. “I am so very glad that I am a Muslim. Islam is my life. Islam
is the beat of my heart. Islam is the blood that courses through my
veins. Islam is my strength. Islam is my life so wonderful and
beautiful. Without Islam I am nothing, and should Allah ever turn His
magnificent face from me, I could not survive.”
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