Page 91 - MY GREAT LOVE FOR JESUS LED ME TO TROUTH

in the Catholic Church, I was taught that Jesus had died to save us; in Islam I learned
that every person is responsible for his own acts and will be rewarded or punished
accordingly. This information sounded so logical that it reassured me and set my mind at
rest.

This new knowledge was gradually transforming all my previous information as well as
my sense of priorities. I began to devote more time to studying the new faith. When my
early morning workout at the gym began to conflict with morning prayers, I delayed the
training to give priority to my prayers.

For several years before embracing Islam, I was an aspiring musician who had
participated in several music concerts, playing the guitar and singing my heart out.
However, once I accepted Islam, I abandoned music and singing altogether and
dedicated my time to learning how to recite the Qur'an in Arabic — the very language in
which it was revealed. My responsibilities as a married man and my engineering studies
at the age of 21 left me with no time for any other activities. Nonetheless, through Allah's
guidance, my attachment to my new faith grew to such an extent that I wanted to start
teaching what little I knew.

When I returned to Venezuela, my family did not know anything about Islam. They used
to watch how I prayed without criticizing or condemning my actions. I had been abroad
in the USA for more than four years, so the joy of a reunion with my parents, brothers
and sisters prevailed, and they accepted me as I was.

At work back home in Venezuela, I asked permission from my supervisor to pray for five
minutes in my office. I was practically the only Venezuelan Muslim in the oil industry in
1982. I prayed and asked Allah to help me persevere and be steadfast, since temptations
appeared everywhere and more and more often. I managed, by the grace of Allah, to
keep away from these temptations.
Today, after more than thirty years since I embraced Islam, I feel increasingly happy that
I resolved to become a Muslim, especially when I see many people around me embracing
Islam every day. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all that exists, for that. I have also
discovered that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. It has actually the
greatest number of practicing followers[1] in spite of the modest means available to those
inviting to it in comparison with other religions, especially Christianity. While Islam