We might not realize the effect of a gift in guiding someone!
My name is Yousef Stevens, I’m 41 years old, and I live in Almere, Netherlands
I was born in the North of Netherlands, in Groningen.
I converted to Islam when I was 23 years old
A book that was gifted to him by a Muslim girl was the key to his heart!
Yousef was astonished by the morals of the prophet Mohamed (PBUH)
He found that the answer to solving all racism in the world is in one Ayah in the Quran
My parents were Socialists and we had no relationship with religion
I never knew that there was a God, I never read the bible and I never had any idea about religion..
And what was important to me was freedom because it meant happiness to me..
I met a Muslim girl during my studies..
And I used to hate Islam because I thought that Islam takes away freedoms!
I had heard a lot of things about Islam that frightened me!
And I wasn’t interested in Islam at that time!
Brother Yousef, you met this Eritrean girl..
but my question here is, did this girl play a role in introducing you to Islam?
Yes, and no..
Because of her I got to know Islam, but unfortunately she didn’t reflect her Islamic identity and she wasn’t conservative!
And she never talked to me about Islam!
The mother of the Eritrean girl, was visiting her daughter..
And this visit was the beginning of Yousef’s relationship with Islam..
Because she gifted him a book about the Prophet of mercy, Prophet Mohamed (PBUH)
I read the book because the mother of the girl treated me kindly!
And she didn’t call me an infidel or evil or difficult or that she hates me or that she wants to kill me!
So I read the book and it introduced me to the world of Mohamed (PBUH)
And this book changed me!
The attitude of the Prophet (PBUH) astonished me! He was a very unique man! So I read the book from beginning to end!
I liked the personality of the Prophet (PBUH)
I fell in love with this man! So I started searching more!
And in the book, there were Ayat from the Quran and every time there was a problem or an issue, it showed you how the Prophet (PBUH) solved it..
And the solution was always an Aya from the Quran! and I really loved that!
You can always talk about the problems of Muslims! But you can never say that Muslims are racists!
And you can see that in Mecca how all the men are next to each other, from Africa, China or Holland, it does’t matter!
And you don’t find this in any other religion because God is the king!
And this is the miracle I found in Islam and in the life of the Prophet (PBUH)
The problem of racism and discrimination all over the world..
is the same as the issue of slavery from the old times before Islam which was demolished by Islam
And this issue was Yousef’s main concern before Islam..
I knew a lot of people from different cultures and I had no problem with that! I love my friends!
and it used to bothered me when I saw racism among people..
And it was the verse that astonished me the most from the Quran
Because it was the perfect solution from Mohamed (PBUH)
As if he was walking among us and saw the problem and said “here I have a solution for you in this verse!”
“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.”
And these aren’t the words of Mohamed but the words of Allah the Great!
Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) says “Allah does not look at your looks or wealth! but sees your hearts and deeds!”
Allah Says in the Quran “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female”
“and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another.”
“Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you.”
At the end I reached one conclusion:
“There’s no God but Allah, and Mohamed is the messenger of Allah”
I want to know about the moment of saying the Shahada..
You’re taking me back to a very special moment..
In the month of Ramadan, 1995, I was sleeping in a room at the top floor of my house
And I read the Quran every night in Dutch and English so I could understand better
I read everything to understand the message of Mohamed (PBUH)
This text is from the creator not a human being! and at that moment I believed in Allah and his book!
So Friday night I went to the mosque
And I announced in front of everyone “I believe that there’s no God but Allah, and Mohamed is the messenger of Allah.”
The first word in Quran is “read”
And not “fight”
Islam is the religion of science, knowledge and guidance!
“Read in the name of your God”
And it never said “read in the name of any sect or a country or any human being!”
“Read in the name of your Lord who created – Created man..”
Here we must pay attention to the word “man” and not “Quraish, Arabs” but for all humanity!
And this is the message of Mohamed Peace Be Upon Him for all of humanity!
Don’t forget the afterlife! I’ve seen all that can be seen in my short life!
And I haven’t found better than Islam! And every time I drift away I feel miserable!
when I found Islam and Quran I found happiness!
How did your parents respond to the news of your conversion?
Unfortunately, my father didn’t want to hear anything about Islam!
But my mother welcomed me and left the decision to me and told me that she trusts me
The most beautiful and important wish for anyone who converts to Islam is that his parents convert with him..
Thank God for the greatest gift..that we are Muslims and our parents are Muslims too..
And after 10 years, my mother converted to Islam and said the Shahada when she was living with me
And thanks to Allah for her guidance
Definitely, my brother Yousef, the best gift from Allah to us is the gift of guidance and Islam,
Allah guided you!
And He gave you a greater gift when He guided your mother to Islam and she died a Muslim!
And her greatest gift is that she has a loving son who will pray for her!
So pray for her with purity!
Thank God, her grave is close to my house so I could visit it often
I pray to God to widen her grave and forgive her sins and make her path easy to Judgement day..
I pray to God to make her path easy to Judgement day
And I also ask of all the people watching this to pray for my mother, Yohan
“Allah – there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence.”
“Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep.”
“To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth.”
Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?
I converted to Islam in 1995, and I used to be called to talk about Islam in the mosque, schools and at work
So I got an idea to expand this
So we decided to establish a media tool in 2004
I love any person who’s effective in his community
And in fact, this is what I found in our brother, Yousif
Talks to people about Allah in a wise manner
He has a lot of contributions in the Dutch media
And he also owns an organization in the media sector which publishes a magazine in Dutch
We publish a magazine called “Muslim” which is distributed in Holland and Belgium
After Islam you chose to get into media, and you chose to make it for the path of Allah, why?
Because we want to translate the words and knowledge of the scholars to the tongue of the youth
This is the goal in my heart
In Islam I found guidance and purity for my heart, and I wish this for everyone
But you cannot explain this through facts or opinions or discussions
And Islam is a religion for the people, and you find this out when you read the Quran
Not research reading but reading to understand “what does this book want to tell me?”
There’s a Da’wa mission delegated to you from your brothers in Noon website
Noon website for Quran recitations delegates a mission to you
The mission is basically messages from the Quran that we will give you in Arabic and you translate them to Dutch
and you put them inside the magazine..do you accept?
Of course I accept!
Quran is my spine and scale, without it I lose balance!
Quran is the manual you hold on to forever!
If you felt upset or depressed and you opened the Quran, you’ll find the solution!
If I had no relationship with the Quran I will lose my way!