My Journey from Darkness to Light
I was born into a German Christian family during the most ferocious period of World War II, in Berlin in 1943. My family moved first to Spain, during the same year, and later in 1948 to Argentina. There I stayed for 15 years. I attended both grade and high school at the Roman Catholic “La Salle” school, in Cordoba, Argentina. As was to be expected, I soon became a very fervent Catholic. I was lectured daily on the Catholic religion and I often attended religious services. At 12, my dream was to become a Roman Catholic priest. I was completely committed to the Christian faith.
Allah observed my folly, and one memorable day, nearly 7 years ago, a copy of a Spanish translation of the Holy Qur’an reached my hands. My father didn’t object to my reading it, as he supposed that it would only contribute to giving me a broader background, and nothing else. He could not have guessed the effect the Words of Allah was going to exert on my mind... As I opened the Holy Book (Qur’an), I was a fanatic Roman Catholic; as I closed it, I was completely committed to Islam...
Obviously, my opinion of Islam wasn’t a favorable one before I read the Holy Qur’an. I took the Holy Book with curiosity, and opened it with scorn, expecting to find in it horrible errors, blasphemies, superstitions and contradictions, I was biased, but I was also very young and my heart had not had time to completely harden quite yet. I went through the Chapters(Surahs) reluctantly at the beginning, then eagerly, and finally with a desperate thirst for Truth. Then, in the greatest moment of my life, Allah gave me His Guidance and led me from superstition to Truth, from darkness to Light, from Christianity to Islam.... in the blessed pages of the Holy Qur’an, I found solutions to all my problems, satisfaction to all my needs, explication for all my doubts. Allah attracted me to His Light with irresistible strength, and I gladly yielded to Him. Everything seemed clear now, everything made sense to me, and I began to understand myself, the universe and Allah.
I was bitterly aware that I had been deceived by my dearest teachers, and that their words were only cruel lies, whether they were aware of it or not. My whole world was shattered in one instant; all concepts had to be revised. But the bitterness in my heart was amply superseded by the ineffable joy of having found my Rubb at last, and I was filled with life and gratitude to Him. I still humbly praise for His Mercy upon me; without His help, I would have remained in darkness and stupidity forever.
Swelled with joy and enthusiasm, I hurried to communicate my findings to other people, to my parents, to my schoolmates, to my instructors... I wanted everybody to know the Truth, to be free of ignorance and prejudice, to feel the joy I felt. I met a fortress surrounding them, a thick wall separating them from the Truth... And I wasn’t able to surmount it, because it was in their hearts, harder than stone. I was received with scorn and persecution, unable to understand the blindness of my persecutors. I learned that Allah only can give Light.
The more I learned, the more I felt compelled to express my gratitude to Allah for having led me to Islam, the Ideal Religion. I have read sacred Scriptures of every religion; nowhere have I found what I encountered in Islam: perfection. The Holy Qur’an, compared to any other Scripture I have read, is like the light of the sun compared to that of a match. I firmly believe that anybody who reads the Words of Allah with a mind that isn’t completely closed to Truth will become a Muslim, if Allah pleases. He will also travel from darkness to Light...
May Almighty Allah grant His Guidance to all the sincere seekers of Truth. The arms of Islam are open to receive them in the heart of a community called by Allah the best of communities. Praise is to Allah, the Lord of the Universe!
Saifuddin Dirk Walter Mosig,
