I was shown the heart of a true Muslim!
How can a devout Christian from a devout Christian family, born and raised in the middle of the United States, never knowing anything about Islam and never meeting a Muslim until he is in his 40s, finally be able to accept Islam?
It is truly the great grace of Allah, to whom all gratitude and praise leads.
This is my story. I never tire of telling it, as praise be to Allah for His Love for me and His Mercy for me.
I was born in Oklahoma, USA and grew up in a Christian family where religion was very important.
My mother was very careful not to make good friends with just anyone. Our family goes to church at least three times a week. God protected me by placing me in a family that emphasized a high moral life: no smoking, no drinking, no drugs, no swearing, no premarital sex, etc.
I memorized almost the entire Bible. One of my grandfathers and one of my grandmothers were preachers. God blessed me with a good singing voice, and since I was 14 years old, I was paid by the church to sing, play the organ, direct the children's choir, etc.
In fact, when I first heard about Islam and met a Muslim who was a student, I was 49 years old and still working in a church and still an active Christian.
However, my whole life I was the one asking the questions. I read everything in the library on many subjects. The ability to read quickly and the desire to seek knowledge is a blessing from Allah because in the end it led me to discover the Truth of Islam.
However, where I grew up, there were no books on world religions, and certainly no books on Islam.
I always wanted to go to college, but when I graduated from high school, we couldn't afford it because my mom and dad were divorced. So I went to work. It was also a blessing from Allah, because the college I wanted to go to at that time had no international students and was in a city where there were no Muslims at all.