An internal feeling of peace that was presented to me without myself seeking religion. I never intended to revert, but Alhamdulillah Allah chose me.

I converted to Islam in 2020.

Lonely but the effort was made and Allah was always by my side. Truly an eye-opening empathetic experience people wouldn’t otherwise think of.

I have much more self respect for myself. I feel a purpose and a structure. Everything falls into place and I know Allah has my back. I would've always considered myself an intentionally kind person but Islam taught me how to express my kindness without getting taken advantage of.

No religion, but I was trying to make Christianity make sense because it was the most predominant religion in my area, but never got "saved". In such a small town, people would ask if I believed in God. I told them “yes”. They brought up Jesus and that’s where I got confused. I always viewed Jesus as a prophet before I knew of Islam’s existence.

Not so understanding at first, they're trying to understand better now but there's still a flare up time to time. I mean, how would y’all feel if you raised your child to become Muslim but they diverted? Concerned. They love me though.

Alcohol. I was born with FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder) a disability caused by alcohol going through my veins during pregnancy. (Especially hard because no other Muslim I have met has had this condition, therefore harder to find someone to relate to, because alcohol is thankfully haram) Due to nature & nurture I became an alcohol addict into my early teen's and was only able to overcome it after begging for Allah's help when I was 20. Was my first dua ever made, and it was graciously answered!

Take things at your own pace and take everything anyone says with a grain of salt. Islam is perfect, people aren’t. People hardly portray Islam the way it is supposed to. Keep doing you and ask for Allah’s guidance. That gets you further. Religion is a spiritual journey one must feel for themselves that can not be achieved just because "someone tells ya so" you have to literally feel it to believe. No one can do it for you or force you, as literally said in the Quran.

“There is no compulsion in religion” (Surah 2. Al Baqarah: 256)

My name is Sarah, friends know me as Rain. I grew up in a very rural small town in Arkansas. A predominantly white Christian area. No Muslims in sight. Among the peers in my school you'd hear occasional 9/11 or rampant racism jokes, any so-called “dark humor” really. There wasn't much diversity, and most people believed the misconceptions the media made people believe about Islam. I grew up with this gut feeling that not one whole group of people was bad despite the nature of my location I was brought up in. I decided to do my own research on Islam. I had no intentions to convert. I just wanted to provide Quranic proof to these misconceptions. Perhaps an advocate. I opened the Quran translation and SubhanAllah I felt this feeling of internal peace come right through me. It wasn't even about the words on the page, but the simple act of opening it up, and making the effort. Allah saw me and transferred this energy into me. Islam translates to peace through worship, and from that moment I knew I could not deny, that I was destined to be Muslim. After finding Islam and taking the decision to embrace modesty, I wanted to express my personal style that I did not currently see in modest clothing. I created “Hippie Hijab” which includes custom tie dye modest-wear as well as Islamic calligraphy & arts. Check it out here