As a young boy growing up in the middle of the African bush, surrounded by Allah’s magnificent creation and dwelling in places where there was no piped-in running water, no gas, no electricity, no computers, no phones, and no internet, I believed that my parents knew everything, may they rest in peace. When I was sent to boarding school, where church was compulsory, I believed my teachers knew everything, may Allah reward the ones who inspired me. But, then it gradually dawned on me that they didn’t know everything. So, I trusted more and more in what I learned from experience and what my heart told me —which did not always align with what other people were telling me. So, from an early age, although I was aware that there was an unseen dimension to life, and believed in God as the One who controls existence —Whom I could not confine to an idea, concept, or form—I was waiting (although I didn’t realize at the time) to meet a wise teacher. As it turned out, Allah provided this teacher at exactly the right time—when my formal education had been completed, and when I thought I knew everything, yet in reality, I knew very little.
Can you tell us when and why you started to ask yourself questions about your beliefs?
I never had fixed beliefs and I never questioned them —although being initially brought up as an Anglican Christian in central Africa, I did question the beliefs I was being ‘educated’ to have. Especially when the priests and teachers whom I questioned were unable to provide satisfactory answers—for example: “If everyone is equal before God, why did the black Africans have to attend a different church to the white Africans? If Jesus is God, to whom was he praying? If Jesus is God, and if Jesus was crucified, then who supported the heavens and the earth for three days? If the doctrine of Trinity is true, why is it not mentioned in the Old Testament and why did Jesus not teach it? What is the source of the doctrine of original sin? Why should I be held responsible for someone else’s wrong action committed thousands and thousands of years ago near the beginning of time? If I do something wrong today, why should the death of someone over two thousand years ago absolve me from the consequences of my actions? As the Prophet Muhammad said (although I did not know this at the time), “Knowledge is the lost property of the believer,” (Tirmidhi, Ilm, 19) so without knowing that I was following the sunnah, I picked up my knowledge wherever I found it. And as it happened, although I explored almost all of the main religions, philosophies, and ideologies at university, I did not look at Islam! Allah was saving the best until last for me.
What were your thoughts on Islam at the time? Did you ever hear about it?
My parents had sent me to the best schools possible, and I went to a good university—and yet none of their syllabuses taught us anything about Islam. From my limited, misinformed viewpoint, Islam was just another religion like Christianity (which I had left as soon as it was not compulsory)— which I knew very little about, and which, because of my ‘educated’ misconceptions and preconceptions, I had no desire to explore. Social conditioning runs deep. This ignorant attitude only changed when I met a wise teacher, who not only talked about Islam, but also existentially embodied its teachings and practices in a profound and meaningful way— and, most importantly, within the setting of a community of Muslims, may Allah fill his grave with nur and barakah. In this setting, we experienced a taste—however small by comparison—of what it must have been like for the noble companions who entered and learned the life-transaction of Islam— not as an institutionalized religion, but as an unfolding, dynamic way of life—from the Best of Creation (blessings and peace be on him).
What was your breaking point when you decided to become a Muslim?
It wasn’t a breaking point— it was just an unavoidable realization that I had reached a point in my life’s journey where Allah had cornered me so that I had no choice except to accept Islam. In my small book, Golden Days on the Open Road, that point is described as follows: “Sitting there, in the late morning sun, by the side of the empty open road, perched on my ruck-sack, with my trusty guitar close to hand, completely isolated from all my usual haunts and habits and friends, I considered which way was forwards and which way was backward, which way was straight ahead and which way was running away or turning aside. And I considered which company I wished to keep.”
How did your close circle (your family and your friends) react to this?
None of my friends understood my decision to accept Islam —and when I entered the world of Islam, they remained in the world I had once shared with them. My parents were worried that I had joined some dangerous sect who were brainwashing me, but in time, as I learned how to live as a Muslim and since I continued to visit my parents regularly, they came to recognize that I had lost a few bad habits and gained a few good habits—so eventually we reached an understanding that they wouldn’t try to persuade me to leave Islam and I wouldn’t try to persuade them to embrace Islam.
What do you find most admirable about Islam?
I have come across no better way of life than the life transaction of Islam because it is not only a way of action, but also it is a means to knowing what is in the Unseen—and it leads to knowledge of your Creator. As Allah says in the Qur’an, “Whoever seeks a way other than Islam, it will never be accepted from them, and in the Hereafter they will be among the losers.” (Al-i ‘Imran, 3:85) This confirms the choice that I made when I decided to embrace Islam, even though I knew so little about Islam at the time: just before I said the shahadah and was given my Muslim name, I said to myself, “If this turns out not to be true, I will leave it.” More than 50 years later, I confirm that it is all true! —and I remember the words of T. S. Eliot:
“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time”
What impressed you the most about the Prophet Muhammad, the Messenger of Mercy (blessings and peace be on him)?
The more I have studied the life of the Prophet Muhammad, the more I have realized how accurately he (blessings and peace be on him) is described in the Qur’an— and in particular: “He is concerned by your suffering, anxious for your well-being, and gracious and merciful to the believers.” (Tawbah, 9:128) —and if we follow him with sincerity, as best we can, Allah has promised us the Garden, insh’Allah, “well-pleasing and well-pleased” (Fajr, 89:29)!
What advice would you give to someone who has embraced Islam?
Things are not what they seem. This world is like a fading mirage. Consult your heart and ask Allah to guide you to a good teacher whom you trust. You only gain success by keeping the company of someone who has been given success. Do not rely solely on books for guidance – and do not expect anything from anyone! The Qur’an is your book, study it, learn Arabic, and recite it regularly. Study and emulate, as best you can, the life of the Prophet Muhammad, because he is your Prophet, and your means of access to knowledge of your Lord, may Allah bless him, his family, his companions, and all who follow him and them in what they are able, until the Last Day, and grant them peace—and, as well as doing what is obligatory for you, study the meanings of the most beautiful names of Allah and call on Him by them.
