My name is Sayfudine before it was ( Stefan)
I am married and have 4 children, Praise to Allah.
He was a music fan..
Once, he opened the Youtube, and listened to a Surah from Quran..
He liked the tone of Qur’an!
The Dutch, Sayfudine
My brother, Sayfudine..
Before you become Muslim, you believed the Darwin theory..
very convinced about it!
Tell me why did you believe this theory?
In The Netherlands, we study Darwin theory (evolution)
That man has evoluted from monkey..
That was reasonable for ordinary people..not researchers..
It was reasonable for me too.. as to many people at The Netherlands
That’s why I was convinced by the theory of Darwin
Drugs,
are a serious propagating problem of our days..
At The Netherlands, Unfortunately, it is easily obtainable for the youth..
So, The experience which Sayfudine had with drugs was completely negative!
He didn’t only use it..
But, he sold it, too
In this country, you have to do a lot of efforts to avoid using drugs!
I started to work trading drugs, the soft and the hard ones, at a young age..
The result was negative..
Brother, Sayfudine, At your youth, Why did you choose drugs..?
Sheikh,The way to have money fast, is exciting for youth..
Because, so many of them have no other choice..
That was my reason to enter this field, and sell drugs easily..
I am not proud to say that..But from Dawa point of view..
To prevent our brothers and sisters from falling in the same mistakes
Because we love that others have good..and if we didn’t love good for others, we won’t have it ourselves
Because this life is short!
if we were Muslims or not..
A day will come.. and Allah will ask me
he will ask us, what did you do with your time..?
What did you do with your money?
From where did you earn your money?
And for what did you spend it?
Subhan Allah, my brother Sayfudine ..
It is not only..
getting into this dangerous world..
But also, the earned money vanishes fast..
And the health also..
And life is going to be lost..
Actually, he can’t enjoy the beauty of Dunya at all
This is a message from a young man..
Who lived this kind of life before.. and now he..
regret..
That he once was living like that..
But Allah SWT, with His grace
guided him to the path of truth..
‘I had a past which I regret..I left it behind me’
‘I prostrated in front the door of Allah..with humbleness.’
‘Hoping that He would forgive the big sin’
Take a lesson from those who reached high up..
Those who dealt with gangs.. but then they came to Islam
What did they find in Islam?.. and in their lives?
What did they gain from the Haram money?..Nothing!
They got emptiness of their hearts..
They feel that they are missing something, something which cannot be found in money..
The mutilated picture of Islam..which Sayfudine had
wasn’t because of the media..
But was because of the Muslims around him.
Those who didn’t behave like true Muslims
Your grandmother..
played a great and an important role..
on how you came to know Islam!
Tell me about this.
My grandmother was Christian, Catholic..
She was very faithful..
I was young..about 15 to 18 years old..
and I wasn’t interested on religion..
My parents raised me with no religion to follow
Praise to Allah SWT, I had to be with my grandmother for sometime
Because I had a fractured leg
It was an open wound fracture..
And at the hospital, I wasn’t improving..
And my grandmother was helping people to get cured..
She was giving them a kind of charm..[Ruqyah]
For me that was only a superstition..
She put her hand on my foot..
Then she slapped several times..
and put her hand, then my foot turned very warm!
I said: O, grandmother..What is this?
How could you remove the pain?
She said to me..that was mariya..
Mariya cures people..
That was the reason that I thought..
There are thing in life which are not on books..
Things which are not taught in schools..
and we cann’t see with our eyes
things are happening and we have no explanation for them!
That was the incident which made me search for religion
After what had happened to me with my grandmother
I began to look for faith!
I read the Bible from start to end.
Both, the Catholic version and the Protestant version.
I read the Old Testament of Jews and the Buddhists books..
I also read Qur’an from start to end..the Dutch translation
When Sayfudine read Qur’an for the first time, he wasn’t impressed!
But he was fond of listening to Qur’an recitations..
He used to listen to it with a friend from Tunisia
They used to play basketball together, when they were kids..
Sometimes I sleep at the house of this Tunisian brother
And sometimes he listens to Qur’an
That was the first acquaintance with Qur’an..
I said to myself, it has a beautiful music
The first time I heard Qur’an recitation
The melody..the rhythm..of the recitations..
All of that without instruments..
Those who love music know that..
it is hard to sing without music
‘As if it’s lines were of dawn ..or of a fragrance..’
‘ And life was there..between the pages..’
A sheikh told me: If you looked at Dunya,
Look at persons less than you..
Don’t look at a person who has a car better than yours
Or has a house bigger than yours..
Look at people less than you so as to appreciate what you have..
But if it is about Akhirah, Hereafter..
Look at those who are better than you in Deeds..
People who do [qiyam] and worship Allah better than you
You find this meaning in that surah
Sayfudine talked about verses in Srat As-Sajdah..
They are amazing!
Allah SWT says:
“Then He proportioned him and breathed into him from His [created] soul”
“and made for you hearing and vision and hearts; little are you grateful.”
At the beginning, Allah SWT reminds us of the graces
Then He advises us to be thankful..
Then He stresses that at the end, we will come back to Him.
“Say, “The angel of death will take you who has been entrusted with you.””
” Then to your Lord you will be returned.””
Are we ready?
‘Pardon me.. My hands are heavy..’
‘I am a sinner..and my soul is thirsty’
Then I found two books..
They have changed my direction completely.. To Islam!
‘Guided through the Qur’an’
‘Living it is the sweetness of life’
‘Longing to the Lord, coming to Him’
After a long search..
After profound readings about religions..
Sayfudine, found what he was looking for!
in a book about Islam..
Named..
This is The Truth..!
The book was telling the stories of 15 of the scientists..
They were Non-Muslims..and they entred Islam
They went to visit Muslim Scientists..
And they showed them different verses of the Qur’an
They were scientific miracles
For example; the verse at Surat Ar-Rahman:
Allah SWT said:
“He released the two seas, meeting [side by side];”
We know that the prophet SAW didn’t see the sea all his life
And he had never been on a boat..
How did he know about the two seas, and the barrier in between?
I noticed that Sayfudine is a clever man and he has critical thinking
He doesn’t rush into conclusions, and he likes to research matters
That was the reason I took Shahada
I said Shahada when I was 24 years old
That book is miraculous and marvelous
No one could censure this book till now..
They tried but they didn’t succeed..
‘It is the light of the body and the heart’
‘I declare submission to Allah’
‘His verses are becoming lightening candles’
‘And the brightness overflows from my heart’
He took the decision!
That there is no real deity, only Allah.
So, he went to masjid..
he wanted to say Shahada, with Imam only..
But..
It is the will of Allah, and His will happens
So, The Imam called all the students and everyone in the masjid
He said: We have someone here.. he wants to say shahada
I understood why he did that later..people like it..
When they see someone ..wants to enter Islam!
At that time I was nervous because I am Dutch
and I wasn’t familiar with Islamic traditions..
Saying Shahada is very easy..
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah
and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah
But, the meaning is very big..
The emotions and feelings came after I said Shahada..
The whole masjid said Takbeer..with enormous emotions..
I still remember that and I still see it on those who enter Islam
Our brother Sayfudine is a very clever man
I liked that on him..
He is also keen to do all five Salats in masjid..
What impessed me about Sayfudine is that
he is a hard worker.
When Stefan told me that he is Muslim..
he expected that I might show some resistance or objection..
I said: Yes ..OK
Good for you..
Then he said to himself..
OK, I didn’t expect this response..he was happy..
But..
I didn’t expect that..
because we raised our kids without religion..
So, they would decide what do they want to do later on their lives
I didn’t expect that someday he will be Muslim..
But after he entered Islam I was relieved..
I knew that he will need Qur’an and Islam
to be on the right path
My relation with my parents is a good
They are unique parents.
They are open..and accept everything without problems..
Alhamdulillah that I have good parents..
our relation is getting better ..
Because Qur’an teaches us so many things..
Including how we must treat our parents!!
Now..I am inside the biggest Dawa center..
It is The Huda Center, at this province of Netherland
Sayfudine sits with me.. He is the president of this center
I want to know about this center..The Huda Center
What are the Dawa services that you provide here?
This center is new..
before it was masjid..and praise to Allah we changed it to this center
I learned that the this center is funded by residents of the area around
Is this true..Yes..only from locals..Yes..
Every month they donate money..
Subhan Allah..He helped us to find this place which at the center of the city
close to the highway and the train station..
“By the fig and the olive”
“And [by] Mount Sinai”
“And [by] this secure city [Makkah],”
The thing which happened to you is not simple!
My brother Sayfudine..
You have changed from a drug dealer..a Non-Muslim..
To a president of this center, of Dawa to Islam..after you became Muslim yourself..
Do you feel the love of Allah, my brother Sayfudine
Praise to Allah.. It is a grace from Allah..
Allah, SWT took me from one place and put me in another
Allah SWT, changed so many things in my life..
And every thing passed on as it passed..
At my youth..I studied..
and did bad things..
I was perfect on doing that .. and earned a lot of money..
Allah, SWT saidin Qur’an, many times..
” Little are you grateful.”
And when I reach this fact..I thank Allah very much!
Becaus of His Generosity..He took me from one place..
and choose me to do good..
‘Glory to the one I have returned to’
‘Both His hands are stretched welcoming us ’
‘I dropped all my sins in front of Him’
‘Oh Allah, forgive me doing these sins’
I am proud of Sayfudine
It is an honor for me to be his father..
not because he is my son..
I am very glad and proud of him..
Because I am the father of a successful man..
He has reached where I can’t raise him to be..
Allah SWT talked in Qur’an..
about everything..
So, from there, I learned conducts, morals and beliefs..
Everything,,
You can have them from Islam.. and the source is Qur’an!
I could mend all my previous mistakes
I remember the first time I did Sujud..clearly..
I was wearing Shemagh..[ head cover for men]
When I put on Shemagh..I prostrated.. then I felt completely different
I didn’t know Why??
At this great position..your face is on the ground..
This is the most humble position for the Muslim
In addition to that, the Shemagh covers the face completely..
And no one can see your face except Allah, SWT
And it is only between you and Him..
You make Dua’a for Him… I still remember that very good
Sujud was the most beautiful thing..especially with the Shemagh
‘Pardon me.. My hands are heavy..’
‘I am a sinner..and my soul is thirsty’
‘I came reciting with silent tears’
‘Hoping that He would forgive the big sin’
If you heard someone saying anything..
or things at the media.. TV or news..
You need to be sure that this information is correct..
You are obliged to research is this information is correct or not..
You will find so many people who found their happiness in Islam.
Islam doesn’t have oppression and violence, on the contrary…
No religion on the world that gives rights to people..as Islam does.
No religion on the world that encourages mercy ..as Islam does..
Sayfudine told me..
That at The Netherland, they have problems..with female new reverts..
Because they are evicted away from their homes..
So, we suggested that..
To rent a house for them..
And that they work from this house
Praise to Allah..
We are very happy with this..
And we thank Sheikh Fahad Al-Kandari for it
And we will do our best..
and by the help of Allah, SWT, to make this project successful..
And by the help of our brothers, we will please Allah, SWT
‘I was far from it.. But when I came close..’
‘I was guided by it.. right away..’
‘You had known it.. for a long time.. from childhood..’
‘Why some people have dead hearts?’
‘My criticism, ummah of Qur’an.. is full of love’
‘because it is a sin to desert Qur’an’
‘Tomorrow, the prophet will blame us.. is that acceptable?’
‘Tomorrow, what are we going to say? what’s our excuse?’
‘My criticism, ummah of Qur’an.. is full of love’
‘because it is a sin to desert Qur’an’
‘Tomorrow, the prophet will blame us.. is that acceptable?’
‘Tomorrow, what are we going to say? what’s our excuse?’