This is a short summary of my journey of faith. I grew up in a multi-racial society with various religions. When I was younger, my heart had a deep emptiness that hungered for a better meaning in life and within me I felt a deep sense of being in a spiritual prison. All the religions that I knew somehow didn’t appeal to me, because I felt they had the tendency of suffocating a person rather than helping him to be freed from spiritual bondage. I found most religions to be a form of external practice, more hypocritical than genuine. They preach a wrong kind of fear, a man-made fear. When I grew up and went away to University, I thought I had finally found freedom and a new home but my heart told me otherwise, that I was still the same old person; it was only a change of environment. It was an external change and not an internal change.
Somehow, later on in my student days, I came to know a little bit more of the person called Jesus. In my heart I knew that I had found someone unique and special. Through further study of the Bible and knowing about Jesus, I experienced a transformation within. In my heart I see the love of God through this man called Jesus. I even had an amazing experience of the presence of God through Jesus in my dreams. It was such a great experience that it became the turning point of my life. If you have had this experience you will know what I mean; the burning fire of love that filled the emptiness of my heart was just overwhelming. There was a spiritual awakening, strength to overcome sin within my heart and an outpouring love to others that I had never had before. It seemed that through him I could meet with God.
Now, I want to clarify that at that time I did not regard Jesus as God though it is the standard teaching of the churches. Yet in my ignorance, I received this teaching along with the man-made doctrine of the Trinity which now I know lacks Scriptural proof. This went on for more than 20 years of my life. But God had mercy upon me. I did more in-depth study of the Tanakh, began learning Hebrew and Greek, the two languages of the Bible.
I have also begun to read the Quran and learn Arabic to understand the words of the Quran. There are many misconceptions about Prophet Muhammad S.A.W, but everything is being made clear by the grace of Allah SWT. I have begun to accept that indeed Prophet Muhammad was a prophet of God and what a burden he had to carry! The revelation was given to him to correct the wrong of the people of the Book (the Jews and the Christians), depending on the context.
This has been an enriching journey, having experienced God and yet not knowing who exactly He is. Through continual study of all these Scriptures, I now know Allah’s name – Yahweh, the name given to the Jews. As though going full circle, I have finally come home, spiritually speaking. The Scriptures have always been the guidance for mankind, even the experiences that I have had cannot be explained properly without understanding the Scriptural truth. May the Compassionate and Merciful Allah SWT, who is Yahweh, bless you in your journey, and bless you with all His truth that He is about to reveal to you.