Revert sisters' stories needed

salam alaykum wa rahmatullah
i'm not a revert, not by the normal definition anyway, as i was born in a muslim family. i wonder though, what you'd call the people who didnt use to practice islam, for all purposes they didnt even know it properly, but then learned about it and decided ti was definately the correct thing to do and started to... what are they called? in christianity they call those who return to the path, born again... but i have so many negative associations for this one you know... any ideas?

Assalamu aleikum,

I looked up the definition of 'revert' . Dictionaries, with a few variations, usually define it as:

To return to a former condition, practice, subject, or belief

I think the rationale behind calling non-muslims who came to Islam reverts is because they were born as muslims by fitra but their parents mislead them and later they came back to their original state of submission to Allah. I think this definition applies to you, as well, because your family, although muslim by name, were not practicing but alhamdulillah you decided to return to the condition you were born into.

So, you can go ahead and send your story, inshallah.

salaam...
you certainly made my day...
except i dont have a sotry... i think if i was to write mine, it would hurt my family too much... i cant write it with all honesty because it wold just not sound nice you know... my family was integral to me actually practicing islam and re-embracing it so to speak. it was exactly because of my mother and her reaction that i ended up picking up and practicing islam. it was because of my mother that i knew of islam in the first place. it was because of her and still because of her that i'm strong and steadfast and constantly on the search for more an dmore knowledge... it is because of her that i try to learn the fiqh of certain things, to memorize certain portions of quran, even my learning arabic is directly because of her... all to show her that she is right upon islam but wrong upon its implementation in her life... sigh... Allah al'musta'an.
the other day a sister asked me if my parents were muslim or not. i said yes they were but i think by definition, they'd fall under sinner muslim cuz they know and agree with islam but dont implement some of its major obligations just cuz they are lazy but they agree the obligation is upon them and they just live on hope (empty maybe or maybe not, Allahu 3alim) that because Allah is most merciful, He will overlook their not fulfilling the obligation and forgive the sin... the how of it tho, remains to be elaborated...
so how can i write a story that would expose my parents? would hurt them? wouuld hurt me? i love my parents so much and i'm who iam because of who they are, what they taught me, how they molded me, the things they exposed me to, the sacrifices they made and still make today.
i have the best parents in the world, none has better than me. they are perfect parents, loving, generous, funny, friendly, easy going, helpful, loyal, smart, exciting, encouraging, etc... eveyrthing about them is wonderful. if i wasnt practicing islam or didnt care about their status in the eyes of Allah, they'd be perfect in every way and even my friends who know my parents envy me and have voiced a desire to have my parents be theirs. but i'm aware of Allah and what He has requried of creation and so my heart is not content, nor is it at rest and fear grips me and sometimes i get really angry that they are walking over the manifest cliff and not caring about it at all!
if i was a non muslim or did not care about Allah's rights or did not love my parents and what is best for them, then my parents and how they are and how our relation is and can be is just fantastic. but i am and i do care and i'm concerned and so our relationship is thorny and there are land mines waiting to explode and disaster areas that no one dares to step into and fix for fear of another explosion...
how can i share sucha story? what can i say? how will i explain?
better to just make dua to Allah for He is worthy of my trust and most able to fix everything ameen.
i make dua that Allah bless our parents with the islam that is most pleasing to Him ameen

Assalamu aleikum,

Oghhhh that family thing...I also have the best parents in the world and they were a big factor (after Allah's will of course) for my accepting islam. they taught me to be open-minded, interested in different cultures, countries and religios, not to hate minorities (as everybody did at one point in my country), to be just, to be searching... and then what...they become such a frustration by not accepting the choices you made, by not being open-minded, although they made you open-minded.

and the worst of all the pain that they will go to the fire by not accepting the truth...It's so painful, if they only knew...I experienced that dawa to your own family is the most difficult dawa of all. May Allah give us sabr to teach them persistently and may he open their hearts for the truth of Islam.