I remember accepting Deen al-Islam like it was yesterday. I'd wished to believe in what I was taught...as a Christian. But there was little chance of that, since I knew no practicing Christians even though I taught Sunday school and my family was quite close to the pastors. Excited and full of zeal for my new found faith, I carried with me the modern day concepts regarding those beliefs and practices. A person of faith, without a Perfect Guide is a person misguided.

Many still feel that Almighty God shares His power over mankind with Satan (I seek refuge from the 'accursed one' and such belief). Some have carried the notion that the Creator of all has limitations and even compares Him as regards the strengths and weaknesses of a man.

I could not have survived the casual, self taught, American concept of Islam without the direct intervention of my Murshid Kaamil /Perfect Guide, Sheikh Sultan Mubarik Ali Shah Gilani, for whom I thank Allah daily. 

As a community, we had tried following a "sheikh" from overseas [everywhere off the western seacoast is overseas and therefore more/or less knowledgeable of religious practices].  Unfortunately he was similar to the priests and pastors left [a world] behind; not caring to be a guide in the daily lives of a people who loved Allah's Holy Rasool (Sall Allaahu alayhi was sallam) but had no framework for carrying out the essential beliefs and practices that are essential for cultivating that love.

I thought I'd seen it all. We mixed our former lifestyle with the quest for another. We grew quickly in numbers-with the prevailing misuse and abuse of bona fide Islamic laws-every click unto itself, we would never have remained Muslim!

Allah ta Ala heard our sincere prayers and supplications and through His Grace and Mercy, sent a perfect guide for whom we owe it all.

The benefits and growth you see in me and my family, of our generations today, are a direct result of the teachings of Al-Islam as was taught to the companions by our Holy Last Messenger [Sall Allaahu alayhi wa sallam]. We do not depend on government handouts. Education and decent jobs are a natural goal for my family members-male and female alike.

We've been taught to withstand the daily pressures of family life in an un-Islamic atmosphere, keeping marriages and fulfilling the need for maintaining ties with our loved ones.

In short the life that we hold dear today could not have developed without the advent of such a perfect leader. All the guidance that a person could hope for has been found in this gift from Allah.   My Beloved Sheikh, I thank and love him.

Aisha Faruq