Abdur-Raheem McCarthy – AbdurRaheem McCarthy- How I became a muslim (Pt 23)

			has drawn them to Islam. And it just shows the way of Allah can use the simplest of things, you
know, or either the most curious of things to attract one's attention, like the lady who's done the
laundry or, or like yourself who has an accident and is caught stabbing to stay at home and now
forced to read a book about Islam.
		

			Okay, so you accept Islam. And so talk to us about now, what happened next and particularly with the
family because
		

			a lot of new Muslims you know, have some varying kinds of reactions from their family and their
friends. What was the reaction of your family and friends? Once you announced that you're you're now
missing?
		

			Okay, so we have the family we have the friends we'll start first of all, with the family.
		

			What happened last month I blessed me with some very good brothers during that time who were you
know, serious about practicing Islam? And right after I became Muslim, they asked me where are you
living? I said, I'm living you know, in this place. Yes. And they said, you know, mashallah, we have
a masjid right there. And actually the masjid from my grandma grandparents house where I was living
in that time. It was you know, we did with the car was 2.7 miles from my house. I used to walk there
for Fudger and the other players and 170 miles or whatever miles, okay, back in those days.
		

			You were you were healthy.
		

			Basketball was playing basketball is in good shape during those days. So at that time, 2.7 Miles was
the closest masjid so I went there that night to the masjid and I met the other brothers and they
said, you know, you want to come and learn some things in next few days and another magenta they're
going to go there for a few days. So I went and we you know, to learn some stuff about Islam as as I
was coming. Yesterday, I had you know, my gold cross chain, I had another gold chain. I had an
earring diamond earrings are really a diamond.
		

			After this,
		

			you know, went to the masjid. I'm praying now, and at this point your parents still don't know yet.
Don't know yet. Okay, this is like the second day. Okay. No, but where it used to stand at your
grandmother's Yeah, but there was another error. They said we're going to go there, you know, like
Yes. And you know, just to have some lessons and teach you some things. Um, so I went there with
them. There's other in another area the brothers to meet him. They were you know, they were learning
about, about Islam, how to pray, you know, teach them the basics. And the good thing is they had
some, you know, youth with them. These were like older brothers, but they had some, you know, some
		

			of the youth who are my age teenager. Yes. So they came to San Antonio as Muslim you shouldn't have
a gold necklace. Yeah, you shouldn't have an earring, man. So I took that out. So it was the last
event um, then and then at that didn't bother you. In terms of because I wanted to be the gold Yeah,
well, I wanted to learn
		

			and then I don't want to be like an outcast obviously, you know, sure.
		

			I noticed that after they said, I'm like gonna want the gold chain to fall on the ground as I'm
making to do with you know, so there was some some peer pressure there. Yeah, but it was good peer
pressure. Yeah, good. So I took that off. And then after that, we started you know, trying to learn
more about Islam. The brothers will come pick me up, take me to Juma and one of the blessings that
happened to me another blessing that happened to me is two weeks after I became Muslim, it was
Ramadan
		

			and we want to talk about that later on in the show. Yes, it was Ramadan so I had to fast Yes. And I
started fasting I'm glad I didn't have trouble fasting many this was a blessing from Allah. And but
this took me to the total we in this know the in the Sunnah, and doing this during Ramadan, the
brothers are teaching me so I want to learn I'm trying to learn more. So I started to go to the
masjid more and more and every day I'm gonna end them in the mosque there with the brothers. And
then after this, you know, I really started to get into Islam at an early stage two, three weeks
after a month and he said I became Muslim I never any shaved my beard.
		

			Because I noticed that the Sunnah of the Prophet size and in the present has ordered the Muslim men
to have beards. Yes. So there's something I learned this and I learned, you know, a lot about Islam.
I started buying books or reading books. And I guess I have two books that really affected me the
beginning of Slavic and maybe can tell you a little later.
		

			And then we had you know the title we were going there and praying. So all this really affected me.
And then the brothers I was with they were trying to follow the Sunnah. No longer beards wearing
turbans, and this and Islamic attire. Yes. So I don't think I said I want to do like this too. So
since after I became Muslim,
		

			I've always wanted Islam at the time even in America. You remember when I left America to go out to
seek knowledge? Yes, I left and have my own wearing my mother and my turban. That's how you that's
how we used to do because you know what to find with this in them. So when I had my highlighter,
anything I find soon in the book, I'd highlight it and try to implement it. So I really started to
love the Sunnah and to love Islam and this would inspire me to go overseas to study more about
Islam.
		

			Okay, this family the family yeah. Okay, I haven't forgot. Good the family, the friends, my family,
actually, you'd be surprised they're actually very happy.
		

			Well, why what was what did they say? Not really. I'm not
		

			So there have got Islam. And it's a bit because your life changing better Exactly. Now see if, if
you've actually this is what was the response for my mother, my mother when she, I told her us is,
you know, I'm not well Muslim, my religion, Islam, etcetera, etcetera. And she says the her only
question was, do you all believe in God? I said we believe in God. Absolutely. And there's only one
of them just what
		

			she says, then that's good. She says because as long as it makes you a better person, she says I'm
okay. It's obviously the your parents reacted in a similar way. Yeah. Because they didn't they know
that Islam is one of the original believes in God. Exactly. My family has that much knowledge.
They're not ignorant where they think we worship something else. Other than God, they know worship
God. Yeah, that wasn't a big problem. Obviously, they would prefer me to be like them and be a
Christian, obviously, I'm sure of that. But the changes because they tried to tell me to change and
do this. And I even told my father and my stepmother who were very, very strict on me when I was
		

			when I was young. After I became Muslim, I said, I realized what you guys were trying to teach me
now was good. Yeah, Islam taught me this. Yes. And I couldn't see it before. So I told him, thank
you for what you tried to do. 100 100. So they when I saw the changes, I remember one time my
grandfather was on the phone. You know, the, you know, the old guys may talk to their old, you know,
like army buddies on the phone or what have you. So he's talking to he said, I don't know what it
is. He said, he has Islam. Now. I don't know what this Islam is. They say, yes, there is a Muslim.
You know, I don't use it. I don't know what it is.
		

			He said they have this thing called the mosque. He said, he goes there, he spends a lot of time
there. He doesn't come in the house late now. He doesn't talk to us, it will matter no
disrespectful. He only only polite. He does all these kinds of chores around the house. Now. He's
left you know, hanging out with bad friends. He's lived in all the bad things he used to do. So he
said, whatever it is, he said, I like it, because it's really good for 100. Yeah, so this was a
positive effect that they had because of the change. Now, even at a young age, I'd stopped going to
school. And I was in 11th grade. And I just stopped going I was always hanging out, you know. So
		

			your parents and your grandparents, you know, obviously saw a change in you as a result of becoming
Muslim? And they were quite happy about that. Yes, absolutely. Yeah. What do you have brothers and
sisters? Yes, I do have any my my brother, my older sister.
		

			I don't really I can't really say how she because she was living in a different area at that time.
So I don't know where the how she felt about it. She didn't really say anything about it. My other
my brother and my younger sister, my younger sister wasn't born that time. I see. But my my younger
brother, he was young, so he didn't really have much to say about it. But in general, most of them
at the fame like my grandparents in my my mother and father, they were all pretty happy about the
changes. Anyways, that was one of the big things I know, for me as when I became Muslim. And of
course, that was in the early 70s. One of the things that impacts a lot of new Muslims is the
		

			relationship they have with their friends, particularly if they've had very close relationships with
friends, or if they've had, you know, behaviors and activities that were very much against Islam. So
for you, how did becoming Muslim, you know, impact the relationship with your friends.
		

			There was a lot of difficulty, I'm not gonna lie, this is one of the most difficult things, even
till today, you know, people when they say, you know, Islam is difficult, it's not difficult, it's
not that difficult. We've just left something for something greater. Yes. And then we're gonna get
that something greater in the hereafter. That's what we're striving for. So it wasn't easy to
change. It wasn't easy. And I used to describe it to some of my friends. As you know, I used to
literally get sick into my stomach, because I wanted to go out so bad to hang out with my friends. I
really, you know, feel this sickness in my stomach. And I just, you know, because in America has
		

			opened the doors right there. So, you know, just, it was really difficult. My friends would call me,
you know, we'd have the mobiles and pager days and those days, you know, the pager just keeps going
off. And so what would you say to them? I mean, what would you give excuses, or, I'm gonna tell you
two to two stories.
		

			That actually was I guess, you know, I'll give you three stories that could be changed in my life.
The first reason why I started implementing
		

			this law more in like the first week or two weeks, was one of my friends. We're hanging out on the
street where he's hanging on for the house where he's always hanging out. And you know, the corner
will always be there. So while we're there, we're hanging out you know, people are partying and it
is yes, of course. So Subhanallah this one of the guys he said look at so and so. He said He claims
he's a Muslim but he said he's just like us he said he's no different as there's no change I would
only been Muslim for like nine days and yes, but he said he does we do we act like we act Yeah, he's
no different. So it's like Muslim, you know, kind of Muslim as this, you know, is that a real
		

			Muslim? So and I said this, this statement was like a lightning bolts in my heart really, really
affected me. So I went back at home, I started to think why did you become Muslim? Didn't you become
Muslim to become closer to God? And to learn more about his religion, you need to know
		

			make some sacrifices, you know, and to change your life to change your life. And yes, it's one of
the reasons so the main reasons that's why I have to make some sacrifices to do that. And that's
when I started getting a sickness in my stomach and feeling really want to go out. So And the funny
thing was, is the street where that was said it was actually the street where I was born. Wow. And
it was a street where I got into a lot of trouble in before a Muslim and then that statement on the
same street is what changed my life. And I thought about that about a year ago, I was talking with
my friends about you know, the things before Islam. And I remember that it's it's really it was
		

			really strange, you know, it's all on that same street Subhanallah so what happened after this one
of the things that changed me as well with the friends
		

			when you know, you have obviously an invoice and you have male friends and
		

			the female friends you know, they don't want to believe that I'm Muslim and you can't have relations
with females you can't talk to them on the phone now and stuff like this. So I was having a big big
problem with this in the in the Why can't you talk to me right? Yeah, exactly. Why can't we go out
like no, we can't. So like I said, it was Ramadan time. hamdulillah and you know, I was with the
brothers in the masjid. And as a brother, I still remember him Mashallah. An older brother from
India much a big beard. You know, he had he had moved to the States when he's a little bit older.
And you know, beautiful brother though. He said, I have something an idea for you to stop all these
		

			calls.
		

			And what was it? I'm gonna tell you now? He said sell me your pager for 25 cents.
		

			And I was like, 25 cents. I just bought it for $120 you know? But a month before? And he was like,
just you said you trust me brother. I said I trust you. Yeah, sell it to me put it back since is
like a Durham here in the Emirates. Yes. And I bought it for like almost, you know, lower for
another house. Alright. So I sold it to him. And then he took all the numbers of all the you know,
the females who are calling, and he has a you know, really heavy Indian accent. Yeah. called, you
know, so he's like, you know, hello. And then he's talking and they're like, you know, who is he
said, I bought this pager from him. Now, it's now my pager. Yes. So they hear this man now, with his
		

			heavy Indian accent, they're not going to call back again. Of course, they had no way to call me.
And so he did this and he got rid of all them for me. So that was one that was one set of difference
with that.
		

			After this, it was a
		

			in the last 10 days and I learned to the stimulus to make a decaf done in less than days. So I told
my grandparents, my grandmother, she was handicapped at the time, she couldn't move around freely.
So I talked to some of the scholars I need to help my grandmother so they said you can go out you
know in the morning for like an hour to help her and come back and come back to this weekend. So
that's what they would do every day. So what happened is they called me and they had gotten to an
altercation to a fight. And you know, always your friends and engineer was never gonna fight you
don't have to go back home and help each other. So they call me to you know, come it's out help them
		

			out. And I said no, I am in a religious name. We call it a ticket and explained to you we're in
isolation we don't need the mosque for the 10 days. And they were like wow, man, they said you're
really serious about this Islam, aren't you? And I said, Yes, I am. I said if that's the situation
they said, we're just gonna leave you said you know, best of luck to you. Yeah. And the thing was
even I used to go hang out with him and tell them about Islam and you know, one of them did come to
Islam and interested in Islam
		

			but some there were some things holding some of them back they said no, we thought you will either
be dead or to be in jail and a few years one of the two so since since you're Muslim it's good for
you they were happy for him the law even though many of them could not Yeah, did not come to me. But
they saw the benefit in time because like I said, I was even though they weren't good I was the
worst of them I was
		

			I was the wild way they were they were really you know nice that's good for you know, we wouldn't
they say we don't want we don't want to see you in jail and once you did, you know
		

			those are good friends. Yeah. And I actually it's true Yeah, so we're very had a very tight
relationship there's about six or seven so they were all happy about that. So anyways, any they left
me after that, and they let me be after that. So this was a big change.
		

			So the friends and family that's the how it happened. The love made easy for me was much more
difficult you know? He helped me to make it you know handle like you saw those little things that
happened? You just made it as a way I got my pager back by the way, or did you realize okay
		

			but I would imagine that becoming Muslim in or near the time of Ramadan is a big help because it's
kind of like an immersion because you know, if you're going to do it, you know, I mean there's the
fasting you know, there's of course the concentration on you know, praying in the masjid and and the
into calf and the title we and the Muslims are coming together and particularly in America this is a
time when you really see a lot of Muslims in America so that had to be be quite quite a good thing
for you know, even something it's interesting a lot of Muslims in this part of the world they don't
know it, and I still feel it I only spent one Romel after became Muslim for I went out to seek
		

			knowledge. Yes, but I still remember that Ramadan. Yes, they're all my mom's
		

			In the west especially in America that makes you different than they are nicer I'm gonna be I think
they're nicer as well and everyone you know some of my friends all my friends from America you know
they really miss