From left: Aziz Ur Rab, Sheikh Salman, Chowdhry Shahbaz, Masood Marfani and Behjat Najmi at the event in Jeddah recently.

A total of 24 Muslim reverts of various nationalities, mainly from the Philippines, Sri Lanka and India, were honored by Molana Hifzur Rehman Seoharvi Academy at its annual program here recently.

The reverts narrated their stories of how they were attracted to Islam, and also the opposition and atrocities they faced in their families for their decision.

A revert, for instance, said he was drawn toward Islam when he was in jail. “I saw people offering salah (prayer) and reciting the Holy Qur’an during the month of Ramadan. I was impressed and wanted to know more about the religion. An inmate explained to me the fundamentals of Islam.”

Another revert, who was a Christian and would invite people to church, said he was confused with the contradictory nature of his previous faith. He said nobody had a clear answer to questions that lurked in his mind. He found all the answers when he read the translation of the Holy Qur’an, he said.

“My mother also embraced Islam and recently performed Umrah,” he said in front of a huge audience at the event.

Those present on the occasion included prominent Islamic scholar Sheikh Salman and former Pakistan Minister Chowdhry Shahbaz and representatives of several organizations.

In his presidential address, Sheikh Salman said people are accepting Islam because it is a religion of peace, and are inspired by the Qur’an and Sunnah.

Shahbaz welcome the guests and prayed that Allah reward the new Muslim reverts. “The new brothers need support and we should be eager to provide it,” he said.

Earlier, welcoming the guests, Behjat Zinjani Najmi, founder of the academy, said Islam was not spread by the sword. Citing the example of India, he said Muslims ruled the country for more than 800 years but majority of its people are still Hindu, whereas Muslims are a minority there.

The motto of the academy, he said, is to lend a helping hand to those in need and “this function is an illustration of this.”

Speaking on behalf of the reverts, Najmi said they should be shown unconditional love, as it is the attitude and character of Muslims that attract people from other religions to Islam.

Sheikh Badr Al-Khanbashi, Masood Marfani, Aziz ur Rab and Zeeshan Ali Khan were the guests of honor. The program started with recitation of verses from the Holy Qur’an by Dr. Bibani, while Anwar Ali compered the event. The program concluded with Qari Rafiq praying for the Muslim Ummah.

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