Abdullah

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Tonight, before starting the tarawih prayer, the Imam made an announcement to the jama'ah and a Chinese in his 39 years of age stood in the eyes of everyone. The Imam asked for the people there to assist him, a recent convert but I didn't catch his name, only a part of his name, Abdullah and his surname, Tan.

A skinny man and quite timid in front of his brothers and sisters. It seemed that he had lost his job as a chef and was on his way to a place to study more about Islam in one of the local traditional religious institution there.

After performing the tarawih prayer, I went to see the man and everyone was embracing him in a brotherly manner. Some were contributing according to their capacity and it was overwhelming. No one knew him since he was not local but the sincerity of brotherhood was in the air.

May Allah guide him and strengthen his heart in facing future challenges that await him. Amin. The way to the truth is not as easy as one imagine. It is full of hardship and antagonising isolation and losses. It is much easier to follow one’s whim. At the expense of our conscience of course. What is a life if you can't live it?