AMAZING
REVERT STORY:Sister Cassie
My name is Cassie, I am 23 years
old. I graduated as a qualified nurse this year and was given my first position
as a home nurse.
My patient was an English gentleman
in his early 80s who suffered from Alzheimer's. In the first meeting the
patient was given his record and from it could see that he was a convert to the
religion of Islam, therefore he was a Muslim.
I knew from this that I would need
to take into account some modes of treatment that my go against his faith, and
therefore try to adapt my care to meet his needs. I brought in some ‘halal’
meat to cook for him and ensured that there was no pork or alcohol in the
premises as I did some research which showed that these were forbidden in
Islam.
My patient was a very advanced stage
of his condition so a lot of my colleagues could not understand why I was going
to so much effort for him, but I understood that a person who commits to a
faith deserves that commitment to be respected, even if they are not in a
position to understand.
Anyway after a few weeks with
my patient I began to notice some patterns of movement.
At first I thought it was some
copied motioned he's seen someone due, but I saw him repeat the movement as
particular time; morning, afternoon, evening.
The movements were to raise his
hands, bow and then put his head to the ground. I could not understand it. He
was also repeating sentences in another language, I couldn’t figure out what
language it was as his speech was slurred but I know the same verses were
repeated daily.
Also there was something
strange, he didnt allow me to feed him with my left hand {I am lefthanded}
Somehow I knew this linked to
his religion but didn't know how.
One of my colleagues told me
about paltalk as a place for debates and discussions and as I did not know any
Muslims except for my patient I thought it would be good to speak to some live
and ask questions. I went on the Islam section and entered the room ‘True
Message.
Here I asked questioned regarding
the repeated movements and was told that these were the actions of prayer, I
did not really believe it until someone posted a link of the Islamic prayer on
youtube.
I was shocked.
A man who has lost all memory
of his children, of his occupation, and could barely eat and drink was able to
remember not only actions of prayer but verses that were in another language.
This was nothing short of
incredible and I knew that this man was devout in his faith, which made me want
to learn more in order to care for him the best I could.
I came into the paltalk room
as often as I could and was given a link to read the translation of the Quran
and listen to it.
The chapter of the ‘Bee’ gave
me chills and I repeated it several times a day.
I saved a recording of the
Quran on my iPod and gave it to my patient to listen to, he was smiling and
crying, and in reading the translation I could see why.
I applied what I gained from
paltalk to my care for my patient but gradually found myself coming to the room
to find answers for myself.
I never really took the time
to look at my life; I never knew my father, my mother died when I was 3, me and
my brother were raised by our grandparents who died 4 years ago, so now it's
just the two of us.
But despite all this loss, I
always thought I was happy, content.
I was only after spending time
with my patient that felt like I was missing something. I was missing that
sense of peace and tranquility my patient, even through suffering felt.
I wanted that sense of
belonging and a part of something that he felt, even with no one around him.
I was given a list of mosques
in my area by a lady on paltalk and went down to visit one. I watched the
prayer and could not hold back my tears.
I felt drawn to the mosque
every day and the imam and his wife would give me books and tapes and welcome
any questions I had.
Every question I asked at the
mosque and on paltalk was answered with such clarity and depth that could do
nothing but accept them.
I have never practiced a faith
but Always believed that there was a God; I just did not know how to worship
Him.
One evening I came on paltalk
and one of the speakers on the mic addressed me. He asked me if I have any
questions, I said no. He asked if I was happy with the answers I was given, I
said yes.
He asked then what was
stopping me accepting Islam, I could not answer.
I went to the mosque to watch
the dawn prayer the imam asked me the same question, I could not answer.
I then went to tend to my
patient, I was feeding him and as I looked in his eyes I just realized, he was
brought to me for a reason and the only thing stopping me from accepting was
fear.... not fear in the sense of something bad, but fear of accepting
something good, and thinking that I was not worthy like this man.
That afternoon I went to the
mosque and asked the imam if I could say my declaration of faith, the Shahadah.
He helped me through it was I
was shown how to walk and guided through would I would need to do next.
I cannot explain the feeling I
felt when I said it.
It was like someone woke me up
from sleep and sees everything more clearly.
The feeling was overwhelming
joy, clarity and most of all.... peace.
The first person I told was
not my brother but my patient.
I went to him, and before I
even opened my mouth he cried and smiled at me.
I broke down in front of him,
I owed him so much.
I came home logged on to
paltalk and repeated the shahadah for the room.
They all helped me so much and
even though I had never seen a single one of them, they felt closer to me then
my own brother.
I did eventually call my
brother to tell him and although he was wasn’t happy, he supported me and said
he would be there, I couldn't ask for any more.
After my first week as a
Muslim my patient passed away in his sleep while I was caring for him. Inna
lillahi wa inna ilayhi raj3oon
He died a peaceful death and I
was the only person with him.
He was like the father I never
had and he was my doorway to Islam.
From the day of my Shahadah to
this very day and for every day for as long as I live, I will pray that Allah
shows mercy on him and grant him every good deed I perform in the tenfold.
I loved him for the sake of
Allah and I pray each night to become an atoms weight of the Muslim he was.
Islam is a religion with an
open door; it is there for those who want to enter it.... Verily Allah is the
Most Merciful, Most Kind.
* note *Our sister Cassie
passed away October 2010 Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raj3oon, after she gave
dawa3 to her brother, who had accepted Islam Elhamdulileh.
May Allah swt grant sister
Cassie Paradise Ameen Yarrab
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