I think this story has been posted here before too by someone else, but it was written differently, though I could be wrong, anyway, here it is:
The story of Aminah…
“I embraced Islam about 24 years ago to the consternation of most of
my family. The reaction of my family was so severe that one member
of my family actually tried to kill me … And yet by applying Islam
to my life, by living Islam, most of my family is now Muslim. The
thing is that everywhere you go, if you actually are living Islam,
if you are demonstrating Islam, you will impact people. And you will
change mindset.”
Conversion to Islam, or to any other religion for that matter, is not
always a simple thing to do. Except for a few fortunate ones, a new Muslim
usually face consequences. The convert may face isolation from family and
friends, if not pressure to go back to the family faith. Sometimes, a
convert may even face sever economic hardship, as in the case of those who
are asked to leave the house because of converting to Islam. Some converts
are fortunate to continue to be well respected by family and friends, but
most of them face minor to severe hardship especially during the first few
years after the conversion.
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. There are few who could rely so much on Allah as she
did, standing firm and meeting the challenges, making sacrifices, and yet
maintaining a positive posture and influencing people around with the
beauty of what she found and believed in.
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 zeal and that she would soon grow out of it.
Her “mental health expert” sister thought that she lost her mind. She
attempted to put her in a mental health institution.
Her father was a calm and wise man. People would come to him for advice
and he could comfort anyone in distress. But when he heard that his
daughter 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 was now without friends and without family.
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.
She and her husband both loved each other very much. But while she was
studying Islam, her husband misunderstood her for her apparent changes.
She became quieter and stopped going to the bar. Her changes were visible
to him and he suspected her of having affair with another man, for whom
she must have been changing. She could not explain to him what was
happening. “There was no way to make him understand what was changing me
because I did not know.” Eventually he asked her to leave and she started
living separately.
After she openly accepted Islam, it went worse. A divorce was now
inevitable. This was a time when Islam was little known, much less
understood for what it is. 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.
She loved her children very dearly. It is perhaps the worst nightmare that
a mother can have: asked to willfully leave her child - not for one day,
month, or year, but forever. On the other hand, how could she keep the
Truth away from her children and live as a hypocrite? “It was the most
painful 20 minutes in my life”, she said in an interview. Those of us who
are mothers and fathers, especially of young children, little imagination
is needed to feel the pain and torment that she must have passed every
second in those 20 minutes. 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. Her two dear children – one little boy and
one little girl – were taken away from her and given to her ex-husband.
For a mother, is there a sacrifice greater than this – a sacrifice that is
done for no material reason but only for faith and conviction?
“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:
Allah! there is no god
But He – the Living,
The Self-subsisting, Eternal.
No slumber can seize Him
Nor sleep. His are all things
In the heavens and on earth.
Who is there can intercede
In His presence except
As He permitteth? He knoweth
What (appeareth to his creatures
As) Before or After
Or Behind them.
Nor shall they compass
Aught of His knowledge
Except as He willeth.
His throne doth extend
Over the heavens
And the earth, and He feeleth
No fatigue in guarding
And preserving them
For He is the Most High,
the Supreme (in glory).
(Quran 2: 255)
“This veil warns people upfront that I am not a woman to be messed
with. It shows that I am a woman with a mind and that I know I am
more than a body. In no way does this veil equal oppression and we
don’t want you to feel sorry for us.”
Or do ye think
That ye shall enter
The Garden (of Bliss)
Without such (trials)
As came to those
Who passed away
Before you?
They encountered
Suffering and adversity,
And were so shaken in spirit
That even the Messenger
And those of faith
Who were with him
Cried: “When (will come)
The help of Allah?”
Ah! Verily the help of Allah
Is (always) near!
(Quran 2: 214)
Perhaps the air of Colorado was too thin for justice. Or perhaps there was
a plan in Allah’s greater scheme of affairs. 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.
By accepting Islam, 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, just as the Qur’an
enjoins the Muslims to do. She would send cards to her parents on
different occasions, but she would always write down a verse from the
Qur’an or the Hadith without mentioning the source of such beautiful words
of wisdom.