SUZAN: AMERICAN NEW MUSLIM'S STORY OF

CONVERSION

Suzan married Abdul Qadar, a Burmese Muslim

residing in Maryland. He was a manager of a
shoe

company and frequently attended Sunday

services in Laurel Mosque. One day he
expressed his difficulties to me. He said,
"I am married to a Christian lady. We are
blessed with twin daughters. I am worried
about the future of my children. I tried my
best to bring my wife to this mosque but she
refused totally. What should I do?" I
advised him to bring her to our house for a
dinner. She will meet my wife and would feel
more comfortable. This approach worked.
Suzan started coming to the mosque and also
started attending adult sessions for Tafseer
of Quran. Few weeks passed very well. One
Sunday I was conducting the Tafseer Session.
I gave an explanation of a few verses of the
Quran and then I invited questions from the
participants. Suzan asked a question.
Another gentleman responded even before I
could say anything. To my surprise Suzan
started crying bitterly while sitting in the
session. Everybody was confused. Abdul Qadar
led her out of the mosque and drove her home.

Later on I asked Abdul Qadar the reason for

her crying. He said, "Suzan refused to go to
mosque again. She felt that her question had
annoyed the person who answered her with a
very serious face. She did not like to annoy
anybody."

To the best of our knowledge and judgement

the respondent was not annoyed. He only had
a serious look. I said to Abdul Qadar,
"Please explain to her calmly and cool
mindedly that most people from India and
Pakistan have serious faces.

You can see this at any airport or bus

station or shopping center. This is our
cultural drawback." Suzan gradually digested
this idea and after few months returned to
the mosque. She learned more and more about
Islam every week. She found question and
answers session very beneficial in
understanding Islamic values and faith. She
developed friendship with many other ladies
in the mosque and received lots of
encouragement and respect.

She liked this new way of life and wished to

embrace Islam. I had the honor to make her
recite Shahada, the Islamic pledge. After
that she was a Muslima and our sister. I
also performed the Islamic marriage between
them in the mosque the same day. Suzan was
enjoying a new life under the blessings of
the Islamic faith.

During the Islamic marriage I explained them

that it was mandatory for the husband to
give Mahr to his wife. It can be in coin or
kind. I also reminded them that Mahr is the
personal property of the wife and she can
use it the way she chooses. Husband has no
say in it throughout his life. Abdul Qadar
eagerly agreed to pay Mahr. Suzan was amazed
to see the respect accorded to a woman in
Islam and the way her rights were preserved.
It definitely strengthened her Islamic
Faith. This situation took place in the
State of Maryland.

It will be very interesting to mention

another similar situation that took place in
the state of Michigan a few years later. As
Imam of the Tawheed Mosque, it was one of my
duties to perform marriages in this State. A
Muslim youth requested me to perform his
marriage with a lady. I explained them the
rights of men and women in Islam and about
the Mahr. Both of them filled the prescribed
forms for the marriage and the form for
payment of Mahr. After that I asked them if
they had any question on their minds before
entering into a marriage bond? The lady
said, "I have no question". The young man
said, "I have an important question to ask
you". He said, "I understand that I am
supposed to give her Mahr and that will be
exclusively her personal property. Is she
not similarly supposed to give me Mahr?"

I told him that in Islam the Mahr is for

wife only. He was very much surprised to
learn this. The lady was amazed, like Suzan,
to see the dignity and honor accorded to a
woman in Islam. She was also somewhat amused
by this conversation.

She chose to be called Saeeda since she was

very gentle and nice to everybody. She
embraced Islam with clear knowledge, utmost
sincerity and full commitment. She
immediately started observing full Islamic
dress irrespective of fear from neighbours
and general public. Her daughters were going
to elementary school at that time. She
motivated them and asked them to wear scarf
in school in spite of the fact that the
children tried to make fun of them. I told
her that it was not necessary for the young
girls for the time being to face the
difficult situation in the school. But
Saeeda emphasised that they should learn and
observe Islamic way of life from their
younger age. Saeeda and her two young
daughters dressed in accordance with the
Islamic code looked very outstanding and
graceful when seen in shopping center or
other public places.

This was her level of faith and commitment.

Her husband used to laugh at himself. He
felt that we born Muslims take Islam very
easy and hence our commitment is shaky.
Abdul-Qadar and Saeeda have a very peaceful
and enviable family life.

[Source: Madrasah In'aamiyah]

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