Guidance to The TRUTH by AbdulHAQQ (DTF WONG, China)

WHO I AM

My name is AbdulHAQQ (formerly known as D T F Wong).  I am of Chinese origin and was born in Brunei Darussalam (which has a predominantly Muslim population). I am 36 years old and male. I left Brunei Darusalam in 1977 to further my education in UK and am now settled in London UK. My education has mainly been at a missionary school (from kindergarten) related to the church and later for nearly 2 years at a Christian independent school in UK before entering College.

WHAT I WAS BEFORE

I was born into a Christian (protestant/anglican) family who were (and still is) actively involved in the Church. In a secular society, one could add that I had also accepted and followed secular laws and customs.I remained a Christian till I was 27.

WHAT I AM NOW

I am now a Muslim – have been for nearly 9 years since I left Christianity.

WHY I CHOSE ISLAM

According to Islam, guidance is of two kinds: a) Guidance of Taufiq i.e. totally from Allah, i.e. Allah opens one’s heart to receive the truth (from disbelief to Belief in Islamic Monotheism). b) Guidance of Irshaad i.e. through preaching by Allah’s Messengers and pious preachers who preach the truth, i.e. Islamic Monotheism. In my case, the guidance from God is guidance of taufiq. I say this because I was actively seeking the truth and was hardly preached by Muslims.

When I was 23 (and in my last year in college), I became god-conscious in a way I was never really taught in Christianity. I looked out of my window and observed the signs of creation (eg sky, trees, people, etc) and developed a strong belief in the existence of God. I was studying Architecture (in College) and for me – when I look at buildings I know that someone designed and built it. Same with the creation – the alternation of night and day, the bodily functions, etc led me to believe strongly that there was a Creator. Christianity tend to push forward the concept Trinity which many can’t explain and many accept to satisfy their spiritual instinct. I had no problems with Christianity at this point. However this new god-consciousness stayed with me. The way the Trinity was being ‘pushed to the masses’ by the Church as well as Christians left this new god-consciousness a personal experience for me.

I had never studied Islam even though I grew up in a predominantly Muslim country. At that time in Brunei Darussalam, non-Muslims were exempt from Islamic Education. One day I was passing by a Muslim bookshop and decided to enter (without any idea what I was looking for). I came across the Qur’an and decided to buy it. As any Muslim will tell you, the Qur’an instructs (time and time again) all mankind to observe the signs of creation around and affirm their believe in the Creator. This matched with the way that I had developed my new god-consciousness and I decided that there was truth in the Qur’an and Islam. The Qur’an also led me to question the authenticity of the Bible and the Trinity for the first time. I began searching and reading books questioning the authenticity of the Bible and the Trinity. Many Christians answer difficult questions on issues like the trinity with ‘God can do anything’.

I couldn’t fault Islam and the knowledge I was gaining had a profound impact on me more so than Christianity. I was slowly deciding to switch to Islam. Islam had a simple purity that anyone would appreciate – ie without the complexity of issues such as the Trinity. Islam allowed mankind to have an intellectual conviction on fundamental matters of belief. It didn’t leave the spiritual instinct in man to be satisfied by an emotional conviction such as one would say of idol-worshipping.

The decision to become Muslim was personal. When I told my parents that I had done so, my mother asked two of my uncles (who were in priesthood) to communicate with me – trying to convince me that Christianity was right. They failed and decided that I was not dragged into a cult and that I had made an informed decision – so they left me to continue as a Muslim.

As I continue learning and increasing my knowledge of the deen of Islam my faith in God increased. I became more aware of Christianity’s lack of guidance for mankind. Church services was man-made, Christian festivals/celebrations was man-made, arguments as to whether to accept homosexuality in Christianity or Christians at war, etc.

Islam had guidance for relationships between man/woman and God, between man/woman and himself/herself, and man/woman with other men/women. Islam had guidance on issues relating to economics, politics, education, social, legal/penal system, etc. In Islam there is guidance on how God wants us to pray, how to conduct Friday prayers, what and how to celebrate, what is right and wrong, what the penalties for crimes are, how to set up the state, what the state should implement, how the ruler should rule, etc. Islam offered guidance on establishing a society based on divine guidance.

Christianity placed heavy emphasis on faith/beliefs and seemed happy to co-exist in a secular world. Islam had laws and guidance for individuals and society. I believed this to be right – that the Creator would not leave the Created to argue and make laws of their own. The Creator knows best for the Creation. Anyone would follow instructions from the manufacturer to make best use of the manufactured item. Islam is submission to the will of God, our Creator. Muslim is one who submits to the will of God, our Creator. Society will only function well and in peace when we all submit to the will of the Creator.

I could not be a Jew – Jews are a chosen people (descendants of Judah of the tribe of Israel). Christianity I now see as a deviation from the real teachings of Jesus – leading mankind from guidance from God to guidance of man/woman. With a world dominated by man-made laws and the evident injustices in society, the time is ripe a return to laws from the Creator – as Islam offers. I am convinced I made the right choice in becoming Muslim.

AbdulHAQQ

Source:  http://islam100.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/guidance-to-the-truth-by-abdulhaqq-dtf-wong-china/

Former Christian Abdullah DeLancey becomes a Muslim

This is the story of how I found Islam.

My name is Abdullah DeLancey. I am Canadian and I am employed as a Patient Service Worker at the local Hospital. I have been married for almost 20 years and we have 3 wonderful children.

Alhamdulillah. I am a now a Muslim. I wasn’t always a Muslim though.
Previously; I was a Protestant Christian for all of my life. My family brought me up in the Pentecostal Church until I was an adult at which time I moved to a fundamental Independent Baptist Church. As a faithful Christian I was very involved at Church, giving lectures for the Adult Sunday School and other duties. I was eventually elected as the Deacon of the Church. I really wanted to further my dedication to God and decided to pursue a career as a Minister. I was awarded a scholarship to help me start taking a Degree in Divinity. My goal was to be a Pastor of a Church or a Missionary.

However, becoming a Minister would commit me and my whole family to the Church full time for life. So just before attending Bible College, I thought it best to look at Christianity critically and ask some very serious questions about my faith. I questioned the trinity, why God would need a son, and why the human sacrifice of Jesus, as stated in the bible, was needed to provide me with forgiveness. I questioned the Christian belief of how all the righteous people in the Old Testament were “saved” and in heaven if Jesus wasn’t even born yet. I pondered serious questions about Christianity that I had neglected to ask my whole life. The answers I received from Christians on these theological issues “which are the basis of the faith in Christianity” defied all reason and were absolutely beyond any logical thinking. Why would God give us a wonderful brain and then expect us to temporarily stop using it? Because that is what Christianity is asking people to do when they say you just must have faith. That is blind faith.

Realizing that I had always accepted Christianity, with Blind faith for my entire life and never had questioned it was perplexing to me. How could I have not realized this before? I could not find the answers in the Bible. Once I realized that the trinity was a myth and that God is powerful enough to “save” someone without the need for help from a son or anyone or anything else. Things changed. My entire faith in Christianity fell apart. I could no longer believe in Christianity or be a Christian. I left the Church for good and my wife dutifully left with me, as she was having trouble accepting Christianity too.
This was the start of my spiritual journey.

I was now without a Religion but believed in a God. This was a very hard time for me and my family as Christianity was all we had ever known. I had to search for the truth.

I began studying various religions and found them as false one after another. Until, I heard about Islam. Islam!!! What was that? As far as I could remember, I had never known a Muslim and Islam was not heard or spoken of “as a faith” in my part of Canada. Unless, of course, it was news stories talking bad about Islam. For me at that time, Islam was not even a consideration. Not on my religious radar at all.

But then I started to read a little about Islam. Then, I kept reading a little more. Then, I read the Quran. This wonderful revelation of truth has changed my life forever. I immediately started to study ever piece of information pertaining to Islam I could get my hands on. I discovered the nearest Mosque was about 100 miles away from my city. So I promptly loaded the family van and drove my family to this Mosque. On the way, I was very nervous but also very excited at the same time..

I asked myself. Was I even allowed in the Mosque because I wasn’t an Arab or a Muslim ? However after arriving at the Mosque I quickly realized I had nothing to fear. I was greeted by the Imam and the Muslims with a most warm greeting. I found them very nice. Nothing like the bad things the news always said about Muslims. They gave me a book by Ahmed Deedat and assured me I could be a Muslim. I studied all the material on Islam they gave me. I appreciated these books very much because our local library had only 4 books on Islam. After studying I was in shock. How could I have been a Christian for so long and never heard the truth. I now believed in Islam. I knew it and I wanted to convert. I was put in contact with the small Muslim community in my city.

On March 24th 2006 I went to the Mosque. Just before Friday prayer started and with most of the local Muslim Community present as witness. I testified that” La illaha ill Allah, Muhammadur Rasul Allah” “There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. I was now a Muslim. It was the best day of my life. I love Islam and have peace now.

Difficult times have come since I became a Muslim. When people started realizing I was now a Muslim they would shun me or laugh at me, most of our old Christian friends have never talked to us again. My parents have all but disowned me. I love being a Muslim and it doesn’t matter if some of my fellow Canadians think of me as odd for becoming a Muslim. Why? The reason is that I alone, am the one that will have to answer to Allah after my death. Allah is the giver of strength and all mighty Allah has helped me through all the rough times after my conversion to Islam. I have many, many Muslim Brothers now. I have legally changed my first name to Abdullah, which I like very much. I am now the first and only Muslim Chaplain approved to work at the local hospital in my City.
I am a Muslim and I am truly happy. All Thanks be to Allah.

That is how I became a Muslim. Islam is right for you too. Maybe you are not just randomly reading this article by chance. Maybe you already believe Allah is the one and only true God. Do you want to have life and become a Muslim right now. It is a big step.
But the best step you will ever take. Once you have decided that Islam is the truth. The only thing you must do to become a Muslim is truly believe and freely testify that “There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Testify to this truth with me now. Become Muslim and have life.

Abdullah DeLancey founder of muslimforlife.com