How to become a Muslim?

As salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

May the peace, mercy, and blessing of Allah subhana wa ta Allah be upon us all.
My name is Abdul-Kareem this is the Islamic name I chose when I converted to Islam 9 years ago, Nov.
11, 2011 that is the time when I went to Saudi Arabia to work.
Converting to Islam is the happiest and best decision I’ve made in my life.
Up to this time, I am so glad that I made a choice of converting to Islam
I created a video about my journey to Islam to share, inspire, and teach other people about the beauty
of Islam and to tell the reason why a person like me would want to become a Muslim.
I belong to a non-Muslim family.
We have a large family
I have 5 brothers and 2 sisters.
I do not know if we have Muslim relative or family
I never met any of our relative who belong to Islamic faith.
I do not have knowledge about ISLAM before
All I know is that Muslims in our country, Philippines, are very brave and very quarrelling person
I thought they have different cultures
they have different language
and they believe in different God.
I met some Muslims in our country Philippines
many of the Muslim in our country are traders
they sell different products in the market.
But, none of them taught me about ISLAM.
I am just an ordinary guy
I experienced drinking alcohol and being drunk
I enjoy going to the party with my friends
I experienced gambling and lose money and getting addicted to it
But, I believe in God and I know that there is a Creator of heaven and earth and all mankind.
My first knowledge about Islam was when I went to Qatar last 2008 to work.
I experienced the situation of being a non-Muslim in an Islamic country.
I was a little bit scared because I heard from other people that in Islamic country they are very strict in
implementing their rules and regulation.
Muslim impose severe punishment for the violators of shariah law.
I do not want to be punished
I follow their rules and regulation about prohibition of drinking alcohol, gambling, eating pork, and not
going with a woman that is not your legal wife.
I saw women wearing with full covering from head to feet and it was very strange very unusual to me.
The adhan or calling of prayer by Muslim from the masjid really scared me the first time I heard it in
close range.
I thought there was a fight going on or something bad was happening
I am proud that I experienced living in a Muslim country, I felt that it will be easier for me if I go to
another non-islamic country
I loved reading various books because it gives me pleasure of acquiring new knowledge.
During my free time, I read different books, English dictionary, and news from the internet.
There are many Islamic books given by Muslims in our area.
I also read them, and I was surprised to know about their teachings against drinking alcohol and
gambling
I was very amaze when I learned that they are also mentioning Jesus Christ, peace and blessing upon
him, as one of the mightiest messenger of Allah swt.
But, I do not have enough knowledge and there is no one teaching me about the religion of Islam.
I returned to our home town in Philippines.
I married my long-time girlfriend on July 03, 2010. We married in a church.
We do not have a baby. I was 31 years old that time and my wife was 29.
I decided to work abroad again and this time it was in Saudi Arabia on 2011.
During the month of Ramadhan there were Muslims who invited us to join their iftar or breaking of the
fast.
Muslims in our area have programs for the whole month of Ramadhan and they provided delicious
foods, followed by games and giving some prizes.
They also presented us with the lecture about Islam.
During this whole month, I always attended this event because aside from having fun and receiving
some prizes, I was interested to learn more about Islam.
I am really surprised in the teaching of Islam that they believe about Jesus Christ peace and blessing
upon him as a messenger of Allah swt
They also read some script from the holy Qur’an about Adam and Eve and creation and other similar
things from my traditional belief.
They mentioned prophets that I knew from the bible who are also included in the Qur’an.
I had a change of heart and there is a calling and a desire to come to Islam.
I control myself and try to assess the level of my determination to convert to Islam. Maybe I am just
overwhelmed with the new knowledge I learned
There are things that I need to consider before I accept Islam like not drinking alcohol, not eating pork,
praying five times a day, fasting and getting hungry during the month of Ramadhan, and in our
country Muslims are branded as terrorist and totally misunderstood.
I told myself that if I accept Islam it must be for truth and there is no turning back.
I gave myself enough time to study more about Islam
I researched about Islam.
I watched some lectures of Ahmed Deedat, Dr. Zakir Naik Center, shabir ali, and other prominent
Muslim scholars and lecturers around the world. I attended and listened carefully to our ustadz and
lecturer in Saudi Islamic center
I watched many videos of the debate to see the stand of Islam and Christianity in many issues like is
Jesus God, Is the Bible God’s word, Qur’an and the Bible in the light of Science, Qur’an and the Bible
which is God’s word, and many debate and lectures
After watching many lectures, debate, and further study, I really fall in love in the beauty of Islam.
I am in love in Islam that I cannot live without Islam in my life.
I’ve learned the purpose of my life which is to worship the one and only true God Allah swt
I asked one of my Muslim friend to help me because I was ready to do my shahada or testimony of
faith.
It was on Nov. 11, 2011 that I proclaimed that there is no God but Allah swt and Muhammad saw is a
prophet and messenger of Allah.
My friend guided me and assisted me going to the masjid because I am a little bit shy and I do not
know what to do during prayer.
I dedicate most of my time studying the steps in prayer.
I memorize what is stated in the prayer during the step by step position of prayer.
I memorized some verses in the Qur’an.
I also tried to write and read in Arabic so I can read Qur’an. Slide 45: I am very thankful to the Islamic
center of Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah Saudi Arabia for all the knowledge I learned. (
They teach me so many things about Islam.
I was very happy being with my Muslim brothers.
I also help them when they are conducting dawah or giving lectures.
I was given a chance to perform Hajj.
I really wanted to go to Mecca because I knew that it was the first house of worship.
I pray sincerely to Allah swt to give me children because my wife and I do not have children
I also went to Madina see the house of Prophet Muhammad saw and to see the first community of
Muslims and other important place in Madinah.
My wife did not know that I converted to Islam.
I knew she will get angry because of many misconception of Islam in our country.
She also did not know anything about Islam.
Whenever I called her I tried to lecture her about Islam.
She noticed that I knew many things about Islam and I have good impression about Islam She
questioned me angrily if I am going to convert to Islam
I am not ready to admit to my wife about my conversion to Islam, so I just told her that I am learning
about Islam because I have some friends who are Muslims. I knew that there is a proper time to tell
her about it.
I always pray to Allah swt to give me strength to let my wife, my family, my friends know about me as
a Muslim and to accept my decision of becoming a Muslim.
When my wife learned that I converted to Islam, she got angry. She has many worries about what our
relatives, friends, and families would say?
She is also considered what will happen to our daily lives if I became a Muslim.
I told her that she had nothing to worry and following the teaching of Islam is the right thing to do.
I returned to our country Philippines on April 2013
I brought so many Islamic books to give to my family, relatives, and friends.
I was thinking about spreading Islam in my own little way.
Eventually, my wife, my family, and my friends accepted me as a Muslim and they learn about Islam.
In 2016, my wife converted to Islam.
After a few months of being a Muslim, my wife got pregnant at the age of 36.
I was 38 years old.
I was very happy because I know Allah swt heard and granted my prayer to have children.
We named our child Fatima after the name of one of the daughter of prophet Muhammad saw.
This is my first video about my journey to Islam.
I hope this video will give an inspiration to those people who are watching.
If you like my video, please don’t forget to subscribe, share, and ring the notification bell so you will
get updated in my next video.
I will be creating more videos all about BEING a MUSLIM.
As salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.