while studying medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston,
Texas. After a long day of study, I went to bed on a Saturday night
with no intention of becoming a Muslim. However, 2 thingshappened
during that night that would change my life completely. First ofall, I
had a dream in whichI was commanded by a strong and firm voice, to
embrace Islam immediately. I was reminded of how I had previously
studied comparative religion at Wesleyan University, but refused to
accept Islam even though I felt in my heart that it was the
mostpractical way of life. WhenI woke up the next morning, I sat on
the edge of the bed contemplating what to do, when the telephone rang.
The call came from my ex-roommate from Wesleyan who had embraced Islam
after graduation and was livingin Washington, D.C. At that time, he
was studying to be an attorney at Catholic University School of Law.
This phone call was the second and final thing, that convinced me to
embrace Islam immediately.
My friend asked me, "Are you ready to become a Muslim?" I replied,
"Why are you calling me this early in the morning with such a
question?" He answered in the followingway, "Last night, I had a
dream. In that dream, I saw you smiling, surrounded by a sort of
spiritual light (called Noorin Islam). Then, I heard a strong and
powerful voicesaying, 'Allah has made this man a Muslim in the night
and Allah has given him the name, Bilal Abdul-Alim (3 times). So, your
job is to call him in the morning, and invite him to accept Islam and,
give him his new name." My friend continued by saying, "Don't play
games with me! Tell me what happened!" I then related my experience
the night before with tears in my eyes. A few days later, I drove
non-stop from Houston, Texas to Washington, D.C to accept Islam in the
presence of my dear friend, Attorney Haroun G. Cook.
--
- - - - - - -