JEDDAH: P.K. ABDUL GHAFOUR
Published — Friday 12 September 2014
A simple act of kindness can do wonders. A Briton embraced Islam after he witnessed a fellow Saudi patient being bombarded with moral and financial support from two Saudi scholarship students, who had regularly visited their compatriot at a hospital in Brighton.
Abdullah Omar Khayat, a Saudi columnist, said he had received a letter from the Saudi student about the heartwarming incident.
Khayat dedicated his latest article to the story and said such simple acts would not only enhance the Kingdom’s reputation, but also inspire more people to accept Islam as their way of life.
The Saudi student, whose name was not mentioned in the article, said he was hospitalized following a road accident. “We were three in the hospital room. The other two were David, the convert, and Allen. I spent 17 days in the hospital. David was discharged five days before me.”
The Saudi had received many calls from his friends while in hospital. Many friends had also visited him. Some had brought bouquets, while others lent him financial support. “David and Allen watched as their fellow patient was spoilt with affection, while they hadn’t received a single visitor or call,” he said.
David had taken the Saudi patient’s address when he left the hospital. A few days later, the Saudi received a letter in his postbox from David.
“In the letter, David had written that he was highly impressed by the way my compatriots treated me when I was in the hospital, showing overwhelming readiness to assist me in any way possible.”
David wrote: “You told me that they were inspired by Islam to act in such a way. That one word has encouraged me to learn more about this great religion and embrace it.”
Saudis and expats have commended the development, saying it reflects the true spirit of Islamic culture.
“We feel relieved that such stories exist amid heinous crimes being committed by so-called Islamic State terrorists, who tarnish the image of Islam. We can win the hearts of people by such little acts of kindness,” said one Saudi blogger. “They are real ambassadors of the Kingdom,” said another.
The number of Britons converting to Islam has nearly doubled in the past decade. A new study by the inter-faith think tank, Faith Matters, suggests the real figure could be as high as 100,000, with as many as 5,000 new converts nationwide each year.
“This report is the best intellectual ‘guestimate’ using census numbers, local authority data and polling from mosques,” said Fiyaz Mughal, director of Faith Matters.
“People are interested in finding out what Islam is all about and when they do that, they go in different directions. Most shrug their shoulders and return to their daily lives, but some will inevitably end up liking what they discover and will convert,” he said.
SOURCE: http://www.arabnews.com/islam-perspective/news/629006
Categories: Arab World, Asia, Saudi Arabia, UK
Aslm Alkm,thank you very much for the education and enlightment. We thank you for updating us .In fact , even here in Nigeria many do enter into the religion of Islam in troops(al-asr).Highly place religious leaders that were antagonist to Islam are the ones that are propagating the religion. Alhamdulillah
Islam will grow despite of strong opposition to Muslims in the west. Islam is not any new religion, Islam means to submit your will to one and true Lord, who is the Lord of the Thrones. Who sent Adam,Abraham,Ishmael,Isaac,Joanna,Lot,Joseph,Moses,Jesus and Muhammad( Peace and blessings of God be on them all),The Quran Honours Mary as the women chosen above women of all the nations and their is a chapter dedicated to her in Quran called chapter 19, Mary and Jesus(Peace be on him) was the mightiest messengers of God, he was born miraculously without any male intervention, he healed all the blind and sick by God’s Permission. And no Muslim is a Muslim if he does not believe in Jesus Christ as the messenger of God, and Jesus is coming back to this world, and this is our emaan our faith. Jesus says in the Bible that” on that day many will come to me and say, “Lord Lord have we not done mighty works in thy name, in thy name cast out devils. Jesus says” You evil people depart from me, I never knew you”.
Islam the faith that was the FIRST to give woman rights, the veil is not to cover for husbands but as a source of empowerment for woman so that they can be treated as an individual rather than a sex item for the male, ask Helen Flanagan about the respect she receives!!! Islam will grow despite of strong opposition to Muslims in the west. Islam is not any new religion, Islam means to submit your will to one and true Lord, who is the Lord of the Thrones. Who sent Adam,Abraham,Ishmael,Isaac,Joanna,Lot,Joseph,Moses,Jesus and Muhammad( Peace and blessings of God be on them all),The Quran Honours Mary as the women chosen above women of all the nations and their is a chapter dedicated to her in Quran called chapter 19, Mary and Jesus(Peace be on him) was the mightiest messengers of God, he was born miraculously without any male intervention, he healed all the blind and sick by God’s Permission. And no Muslim is a Muslim if he does not believe in Jesus Christ as the messenger of God, and Jesus is coming back to this world, and this is our emaan our faith. Jesus says in the Bible that” on that day many will come to me and say, “Lord have we not done mighty works in thy name, in thy name cast out devils. Jesus says” You evil people depart from me, I never knew you”
A Western Girl understood how Muslim men are dedicated for their families, At least they come home everyday not drunk and do not abuse their wives and children. More and More white women realize the importance of family lives as their childhood will be full of miseries and they don’t know whose their fathers are and they also realize how women are burdened to up bring the children on their handwork, where men only see than as objects of sexual satisfaction. ISLAM is the complete way of life and more and more women will accept Islam as their way of Life and Insha Allah the whole world will turn to Islam and only Islam has the answers for the problems faced by modern women. I urge all the Muslims in the west to call people towards Islam and be generous with the poor and unfortunate. Never sleep until your neighbour is well fed, take care of old, and the concept of old age homes shall vanish from the society and all the old parents shall be taken care of their children. Spread the Word.
IA
http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
Every religion and sect has been producing men and women of most exalted characters -said Swami Vivekananda, Doyen of Hinduism. It is a universal fact. good culture …. etc are not the monopoly of any sect be it sauthi students or anyone else.There may be some hidden facts in the episode.