Healing Faith After a Painful Experience
Salam, everyone. I wanted to share something really heavy on my heart. For years, I was close friends with a Muslim brother. He was always so respectful and kind, masha'Allah-his character genuinely drew me closer to Islam. I trusted him completely; he was someone I felt safe being alone with. After three years of knowing him, I embraced Islam and took my shahadah. Not long after, he invited me for coffee, like we used to do before I converted. When I arrived, he waved me into his car instead. I didn’t think anything was off-I knew him well and trusted him. But then, he assaulted me in the car. I was completely frozen, like a statue. I did report it, but without evidence and since he denied it, I didn’t pursue it further. This experience shattered my iman. I didn’t convert for him, but he was a huge part of what attracted me to the deen-to me, he seemed like a living example of a practicing Muslim. Now, I feel scared of Muslim men and even of Islam itself, because he lied to hide his sin and protect himself. How do I come back to Allah after such a deep betrayal? Any advice from those who’ve been through something similar would mean a lot. Jazak'Allah khair.