Travelogue Germany - Part 9

We were all having lunch at Madni Masjid, Zurich, when we heard a salutation from a heavily bearded handsome european man dressed in all white kamis and shalwar and white amamah who suddenly appeared at the entrance of the masjid. All eyes were beamed on him as we instantly answered his salutation. He just grinned and said in a perfect kelantanese dialect, "Ooo makey nasik ko?" A few seconds of silence then turned into eruption of astonishment and joy. 

Muhammad Amin is an Italian Muslim living in Zurich. His presence at Madni Masjid were cherished by us all. He blended instantly with the three most senior among us as he speaks fluently the same language - Kelantan language. In fact he could not speak Malay language other than Kelantanese dialect. 

Amin told us a fascinating story on how he first came into the fold of Islam. He had come backpacking to Malaysia from Italy in search of religion. Intrigued by hinduism, he had heard about a large hindu ritual gathering in Penang during thaipusam. However, what he uncovered at the ritual in Penang had turned him away from hinduism. The sight of people afflicting physical pain and punishment on their own bodies did not appeal to him at all as an ideal religion for him to embrace. He felt even more displaced and perturbed. 

It was at night in the month of Ramadhan when Muhammad Amin was having a snack at a burger stall in Penang. He saw a scene that he had never encountered before. Crowds of people - men, women and children - all heading towards the same direction. He asked the burger stall lad about it and was told that they were going to masjid for prayer. When he eventually asked the lad about Islam, the young man scratched his head and told him to go to Kelantan to know more about Islam!

Amin did take a bus to Kota Bahru and, alhamdulillah, praise be to Almighty Allah that led him straight to dakwah markaz at Dusun Raja, Kota Bahru, Kelantan. With the light of hidayah, he not only embaced Islam but the work of dakwah and tabligh as well as did the early generations among this Ummah. He stayed in Kelantan for four years before returning home. Truly, when men really search and make effort on hidayah, Almighty Allah will surely grant them hidayah.