I got married!
I was 18 when I met her in a college library five years ago.
I left my notebook at home that day and needed paper to write on for a homework assignment. In search of scrap paper, I looked to my left and there she wasâŚ
I asked her for a single sheet of paper to use and she gave me three. I was in love.
Over the next year of being in school together, we had many conversations and found we had a lot in common. We both valued family, altruism, happiness, spontaneity, and living with purpose.
But there was one thing we could never agree on.
ReligionâŚ
She was a Christian and I, a Muslim. She didnât understand how anyone could follow Islam, a cult of falsehood, oppression, sexism, violence and terrorism.
Truth is, I never knew how to respond to her criticisms about Islam because I wasnât practicing my parentsâ faith at the time.
However, my competitive nature kicked in and to prove this white chick wrong, I began reading the QuranâŚ
Reflect on how unreal this is.
Allah made her (not a Muslim) a medium through which he would call me towards Islam.
At the exact same time, I was a medium for her to see an Islam that was different to what the media promoted.
I began performing my daily prayers, I stopped smoking and I quit some other nasty habits.
She began researching Islam in depth, attended prayers in mosques and befriended many Muslims.
Three and a half years ago, she became a Muslim and did so because she felt it was the truth.
We knew we wanted to be together but our familyâs approval would be challenging to attain.
It took many years for my family to get over their fear that a white girl was manipulating me and simply acting like she was a Muslim so I could fall into her trap.
It took many years for her family to accept that she wasnât being brainwashed into accepting Islam and that she wasnât falling into a trap.
Both of our familyâs wanted the best for us, but were giving into their fear of the unknown.
We recognized this and grounded ourselves in good old patience.
We knew weâd be married one day, we could see it in our minds and that weâd do it with the approval of our families.
Thatâs exactly what happened last weekend. Both of our familyâs were at our wedding and couldnât be happier that we found each other. Alhamdulillah.
Everything that is good in life takes hard work and dedication.
We did this for the sake of Allah and held on tight until now because of the belief that we would shatter stereotypes, pave the road for others in our community with the same challenges and of course, fulfill half of our deen.
You can do it too.
Keep us in your duaâs and please say MashaAllah!
