Once I took my Shahadah, I felt an ease overcome me
Brother Joseph became a father a few days after his 3rd incarceration. And he made a pact to himself to never go back to his drug-dealing, gangbanging days.
He was a different man. He was working hard to provide for his family and studying towards a B.A. Things were going well.
Until one day, his infant son went limp and lifeless in his arms.
They rushed his son to the ICU, where he had 6 seizures. He went on to have over 100 major seizures in less than 1 month.
Selling weed to pay hospital bills
With the healthcare bills piling up, Joseph had to resort to selling weed again. The problems - and the crimes - snowballed, until Joseph found himself, once again, behind bars.
His son's mother left him and he hasn’t been able to see his son for over 6 years since he landed in prison.
But as with many of our student stories, incarceration proved to be a blessing in disguise.
While in isolation, Joseph was hungry and wanted to con himself into some more food. The worker on his gallery was Muslim, so Joseph started to make small talk and said he wanted to learn about Islam. The worker brought him a copy of the Qur’an (along with a tray of food).
This Qur’an got Joseph thinking about his life and what he went through. He started discussing it with a Muslim brother he knew in prison.
“We would talk about the tribulations that the Prophet ﷺ went through,” Joseph told us. Those stories helped him deal emotionally with his own struggles.
The jumu’ah that changed his life
At one point, he decided to attend jumu’ah at his prison. The khateeb narrated hadith of the man who killed 99 people, but was forgiven by God.
This was the turning point in Joseph’s life, as it made him realize that no matter how much he’s done wrong in the past, he could still turn to God.
“Once I took my Shahadah, I felt an ease overcome me,” he told us.
“There was this weight lifted off my chest. Somehow, I knew that everything was going to be OK.”
Since his conversion, Joseph has changed dramatically and is striving to better himself as a person every day. His mother said about him, “Islam has changed him from a lost young boy into a man I’m proud to call my son.”
Of course, not everything is easy. Joseph is white and many prisoners treat him as a traitor to his race (since Islam is seen as a “black religion”). Some prison guards make noise and try to distract him while he’s praying. People hurl insults.
But he takes all in stride.
“I try to be steadfast and patient in these situations,” Joseph says.
“I’m not perfect and at times [slip up], but I know what Allah has planned for those of us who remain steadfast: that’s Paradise.”
“I dropped to my knees when I received Tayba materials”
Tayba is one of the few resources to learn about his deen available to Joseph, so receiving his first textbook (Islam 99) was an emotional experience for him.
“I dropped to my knees and thanked Allah,” he told us about the moment he received the package.
Joseph uses Tayba materials he received to better himself and to share the knowledge with others: 3 other prisoners became Muslim through his loaning his copy of Islam 99.
Once he’s released (4 years from now, insha’Allah), he hopes to see his son again, find employment, and remarry. Of course, he hopes to be an active part of his Muslim community.
Tayba is one of the few resources to learn about his deen available to Joseph, so receiving his first textbook (Islam 99) was an emotional experience for him.
“I dropped to my knees and thanked Allah,” he told us about the moment he received the package.
Joseph uses Tayba materials he received to better himself and to share the knowledge with others: 3 other prisoners became Muslim through his loaning his copy of Islam 99.
Once he’s released (4 years from now, insha’Allah), he hopes to see his son again, find employment, and remarry. Of course, he hopes to be an active part of his Muslim community.
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