A Peaceful Awakening
As-salamu alaykum everyone. I'm a 19-year-old living in England. I was born and raised Catholic, even got baptized, but over the years, I stopped going to church and pretty much lost my faith. I just don't connect with Catholicism anymore. I did study Religious Education in school though, so I learned about Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, though Islam wasn't covered in much depth. I've always been really curious about Islam. You hear so many things online and in the news, and I wanted to know the truth for myself. So, I went to an interfaith iftar recently during Ramadan. I just wanted to experience what it's like to break a fast. I was pretty nervous going in, but Mashallah, everyone was so warm and welcoming! They gave me an English translation of the Qur'an at the end. I've finished reading it, and ever since that event and reading it, I've been feeling something I've never felt before. With Catholicism, it always felt kind of... bland. But after reading the Qur'an, I feel this deep sense of tranquility and peace, SubhanAllah. It honestly surprised me. I read the Bible before and it felt like just another book, just words on a page. But the Qur'an is different. It touches something inside me-it brings this feeling of peace and joy. The words feel special. Now I'm wondering if I should look deeper into Islam. I'm slowly feeling drawn to the deen, and I'm starting to truly believe that Allah is real and that Islam is the truth. Like I said, reading the Qur'an has struck my heart, in the best way possible. JazakAllah khair for reading.