Five months ago I was visiting my childhood
friend in Islamabad when she passed me the message. Since then I
have carried out a thorough study of the translation of the Quran
by Dr. Rashad Khalifa, along with some supplementary literature
my friend supplied me with. Very soon after the message was given
to me, I became a submitter.
I really feel that it is changing my life—that it’s
changing me in a lot of ways. I had spent the past six years of
my life in a state of disbelief—not disbelief in God, but
disbelief that he could really help me out of my problems—or
even, quite stupidly, I doubted that He wanted to. Two years ago
it took a very big personal crisis to make me realize the God really
is the only one there for me, that He does listen, and He is the
only one who could help me out. God was constantly on my mind since
then and I wanted to find my faith and I wanted to maintain it.
I tried—I began reading a translation of the Quran which was
lying at home. Its archaic style and language put me off and I couldn’t
get past the second chapter. I read portions out of the rest of
the Quran but it didn’t seem to settle well with me.
I was constantly “talking to God” but I could not compel
myself to pray? something seemed to be holding me back physically.
I don’t belong to a very religious household?even though they
take great pride in being “Syeds.” When I tried to look
to someone for guidance, I was only given a list of compulsions
in our religion and of all the awful punishments awaiting me. I
felt confused and also unable to handle problems relating to other
areas in my life. I could not figure out which way to go and what
to do.
I was in a constant state of depression and felt as if there was
a huge space inside me which kept growing and I could not figure
out a way to close it or fill it. Nothing?friends, “fun,”
things, people, nothing could take it away. I decided that it was
probably due to my |
weak faith. I started praying but I
was not regular. When I finally received the message about submission
from my friend, I decided that I would really go ahead and find
everything out for sure this time. If God was guiding me, it was
because He probably wants me to be guided and I could not let this
opportunity just go.
Each time I opened the Quran and read it, I see something new that
reinforces my belief. The amazing clarity of the language Dr. Khalifa
has used makes it much easier to read than any other translation
I’ve seen. I try now to pass the message on to people I know,
people I meet socially—or to anyone who would care to listen.
Unfortunately the traditions we’ve been following are buried
very deeply within people’s minds in this country and they
refused to accept what I tell them. So far I have had little success.
I tried to pass the message to a friend and she was quite responsive
at first but finally rejected the whole idea by saying that, firstly,
I was complicating her life and ideas of religion; and secondly,
she said Dr. Khalifa could have created the mathematical code and
that “mathematics can go wrong....” That was the biggest
disappointment I have faced so far. I was enraged at what she said
but I cooled down and forced myself to disregard the aversion I
felt for her at that very instant—it was like one of the verses
of the Quran coming to life. I told myself I tried and now it's
up to God to deal with her. I talked to a lot of people daily and
most reject the concept, while some show doubt—which I feel
means they’re a quarter of the way there.
The biggest problem I face is that my knowledge about submission
isn’t as vast as I’d like it to be. I need to talk to
more people, read more, learn more so that when I talk to people
they can’t argue ceaselessly. Sometimes I have questions and
I turn to my friend for answers, but she and I are in the same boat.
Her mother and sister are also |
submitters and we all teach each other
all we learn, but it isn’t enough. We’d like to know
about other submitters in our area.... I would really appreciate
it if you could answer all my questions.... I will be looking forward
to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
[Editor's note: These are some excerpts from
a letter sent to us. Unfortunately, we are not able to publish the
name of the submitter who shared his experience with us because
of the social and religious oppression in the country in which he
lives. We all pray for the well-being of the brothers and sisters
who live in places where their God-given religious freedom is not
allowed by the so-called Muslim scholars and government officials.]
Mark Your Calendar
1996 Conference
August 9-11, 1996
Houston, Texas
God willing, we are planning to hold this year’s United Submitters
International Conference in Houston, Texas. The dates of this conference
are set for August 9-11, 1996.
God willing He will make it easy for Submitters to attend the conference,
and He will provide us the time and means for getting together and
striving in His cause.
Please mark your calendar and start making your plans to attend
the conference. Remember that this is a great opportunity to be
with Submitters from all around the world.
Look for more details in the coming issues of the Submitters Perspective. |
|