My dear child..
There was a time when I was ignorant about the advantage of being born and raised in a Muslim family,and then sent to Islamic schools untill I was 18..
To me what I learnt was mainly for passing exams..Tafsir,Hadith,Fiqh and even Arabic are just something I had to learn..not something I really wanted to learn….
What was missing is my understanding of faith..how it is human nature to believe in something greater than them..and to find purpose not just in this realm that they can perceive with their senses..
When I was in Russia..it was about 10 years after the Soviet Union collapse,to some it is the fall of socialism and the rise of capitalism/consumerisme(which was worse)..but some might know that during that time..religions was nearly abolished,scrutinised and persecuted systematically..even Christian Orthodox priests was executed..and after decades,most of the people in USSR were atheists or agnostics…
But when freedom of religion and information was given back to the people..most of them chose to have one..I saw people choosing Buddhism,Hinduism and of course Islam..
I remember well how our mosque was empty when we were in our 1st years..the Jumaah prayers congregation will only make up 5,6 saffs..but at the end of my studies the mosque was so full each Fridays that if we were late..we had to pray on the stairs because it was so packed..Subhanallah..
It was amazing to see how little knowledge they had before learning and reverting to Islam and their stories and tribulations to become a Muslims are always inspirational..they understood what faith was and strived for it,while most born Muslims like me had the knowledge but not the understanding, so as much as they thought that we were lucky to be born a Muslim,we realised how empty we were…
Today after Jumaat prayers the Imam announced that a new sister is reverting to Islam…most of the congregates waited and listened to her bear witness that there is no God but Allah,and Muhammad is his Messenger..
There were a few seconds of silence after she finished her Syahadah..but it was promptly followed by Takbirs of everyone inside the Mosque..It was an amazing opportunity to be in that Majlis,eventhough I had been in similar ones before…
I could only imagine what it must have been for the Prophet and his Companions each time a new brother or sister reverted to Islam when it was at its early stages..