Alhamdulillah, I Have Chosen Islam and Will Soon Embrace Shahada Privately

As-salamu alaykum everyone, please bear with me because this might be a bit long. A little about myself: I’m Indian, born into a Hindu family. We weren’t very religious, and interestingly, my great grandfather once gifted land to his close friend for building a mosque. I come from an upper caste family (if you’re not familiar with casteism, I recommend looking into it-it’s really troubling). Growing up, I was a bright kid and did well in many areas. Life was good until something really hard happened that split my extended family (my parents are still together though). I ended up pretty much alone, without close friends or cousins for support during my teenage years. Around 2023, I fell into deep depression and overthinking. I started exploring religions from around the world, and Islam caught my attention as a source of hope. At first, I stayed with Hinduism because I don’t dislike its teachings, but I did feel upset about the rise of extreme views within it. In 2024, I went to university for engineering, and honestly, that’s when things got tougher. Most people were into drinking, smoking, or casual relationships. I even received proposals from two girls, which I declined. Watching my peers engage in these things made me feel even more drawn to Islam. I imagined how peaceful society would be if Islamic values were widespread-no fights, no abuse, no bullying (there was a student who sadly took his own life because of bullying), no alcohol, no gambling, no cheating (I've witnessed too many cases around me). The more I read the Quran and Hadith, the more I admired Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He was truly a remarkable man who transformed society’s morals and helped humanity progress. So today, October 8, 2025, I have made the heartfelt decision to convert to Islam. Tomorrow is my mother’s birthday, and I plan to take my shahada privately then. She already knows about my interest in Islam and has always supported me. JazakAllahu khair for reading my story.