Never judge a book by its cover!
( A Letter from A young girl in London)
Being a young 27 year old, in London, of course, I like to 'enjoy' my weekend and that involves clubbing, cinema, dining out and meeting new people. I also do drink alcohol (something of course, I now understand the religion of Islam prohibits very strictly) and I like partying. At this age of my life, every young girl and guy, want to just enjoy life and as the saying goes, 'Live Life To The Max'.
Last year, on Saturday 12th of December 2009, I was out clubbing in Central Londonwith my colleagues. I was dressed in a very tight dress that exposed my body to the other sex. Nothing I am now totally proud of, but thats how I did dress that night. It was Saturday, Xmas was a few weeks away, the Christmas spirit and youth was running through me; almost uncontrollable due to the prime of my youth.
I met a guy whilst partying, he seemed nice. We danced through the night till 2am. He seemed very decent , started to drink quite a bit and was ofcourse trying to get close to me. He managed to lure me through the back of the club, hence exiting via the lane through the Emergency exit. We did start to kiss and being a guy, he wanted to go further. Conveniently, he had his car in lane. He lured me into the back of the car and he wanted to go further. Although, him being under the influence of alchohol, I did know my limits and refused him to go any further.
He would not listen and I became slightly scared, he eventually started using his strong framework to hold me down. My heart was pumping, I begged him to let me go but he was out of control due. I knew my limits, having a 1 night stand was certainly a standard I would never drop to. I screamed for help but no one came. I was crying so much and was emotionally very uspet as you can imagine. I managed to smash the back window of the car using my leg and screamed for help. This 'animal' managed to take my dress off from the top and was was trying his best to basically 'rape' me. That time in the car I wont ever forget. I was crying and begging for him to leave me. That time of struggle has stained and tarnished my memories for life.
And then, suddenly, an 'Angel' came to save me. A man with a beard came over, early 30's, with his strong hands pulled the guy out of the car ,threw him to the ground and kicked him a few times. The guy was so taken back , he fled and ran away. I was crying and half naked.
The man lowerd his gaze and took off his jacket. It was very cold and I put on his jacket. Around his neck was his taxi ID. I was at relief. He gave me a hankey and asked if I was ok. I looked at him and thanked him ever so much for saving my life, my respect and my dignity. He asked me if I wanted to call the Police as I was so shaken and upset. I thankfully did not get raped, I refused his offer and just wanted to go home. He asked again, I said no, and then I asked him if he would take me home. I was crying so much.
He said ,"Ofcourse madam, more than welcome", with such a soft tender voice.
As I approached his private hire taxi car, he refused to let me sit at the front of his taxi, and said ,
"Madam, would you mind if you sat at the back?". I had no problems with that. I was crying and he said,: "Madam, you should not be out alone at this time of the night and you should stick with your friends. Further, you should not be so naive and just trust anyone you meet in a club". He was absolutely right.
Throughout the long journey to my home, he hardly looked in the front mirror when talking to me and he spoke in a very soft tone. He had a long beard and had the beads hanging on his mirror. I recognised the beads as a Muslim colleague at work also had the beads on her car. I said to him, " You are a Muslim arent you?" and he replied "I sure am madam, and proud to be. I am born a Muslim and will die a Muslim"
He then said to me, "Do you want peace?"
I was confused and replied, " What do you mean?"
He then turned up his CD player volume up and it was definetly not music ! He said , "This is the Quraan,May I ask you to listen to it for 5 minutes with full devotion please".
I listened carefully.
It was a very different sound to the type of sounds I listen to and I did listen very carefully. And you know what? He was right, it was very peaceful, soothing and very relaxing. I enjoyed it ever so much,it was amazingly very peaceful to listen to and I was at ease.
He then asked , " How do you feel madam?"
I said ." Fantastic.. I really like that, it is indeed very peaceful"
He responded , " Madam, these are the words of the Quraan. I am a Muslim. I have been taught by Islam to respect women, to lower my gaze and to respect everyone , no matter what religion they come from. You were lucky I heard you scream. I was at the corner of the lane, my tyre had burst. I now know why Allah made my tyre puncture and it was with His power that he allowed for me to save you, through the choice of Allah.. You must accept this madam, you can thank me as much as you want, but I would suggest you say thanks to my Allah, for it was his choice for my tyre to puncture at that road and at that time"
I thought about what he said, he said his words very softly to me but equally, with so much devotion. He was a very nice man, a man who was my angel.
We came to my house, I invited him to come in for a coffee and he point blank refused. I went in, changed and came back to give him his jacket back. I then thanked him again, and asked ." How much Do I owe you?"
His reply hit me for 6, as he responded, " Madam, you have been through a very rough ordeal. Do you expect me to charge you? Just go home, relax and take it easy, I can imagine you will never forget this guy for years to come as to how he treated you and what could have happened. But I do ask you one thing please?"
I was so taken back and replied, " Please, go on"
He responded , " If you do tell anyone what happened, can you please tell everyone, that it was Muslim who came to help you? "
I said ,"Of course I will, this is the least I can do ". As soon as I said that, he responded, " Madam, I have to go now, I have a long drive ahead, I wish you all the best, please take this CD of the Quraan and do think about Islam, what Islam has to offer and how it can make you a better person"
I took the CD , thanked him with so much devotion and he left. I had tears from my eyes, this dude was a beautiful person.. And He Was A Muslim
A year on, I still have his CD and I do listen to it. I love listening to the Quraan, I do put it on at 5pm when I am stuck in London traffic ! I have explored Islam a lot more and I am also a member of The Islamic Email Circle where I receive the hadith on Monday and the Islamic article on Friday.
I would just like to say to all you Muslims out there: Muslims are amazing people, they have a heart of Gold, they have beautiful principles, manners and they are very caring people. This dude taxi driver, was a beautiful person who I wont ever forget. His approach and manners has also changed my life. I can not understand why people are so scared of Muslim men with beards, they are the most beautiful and caring people in the world. Indeed they are Angels.
I am still exploring Islam and have learnt a lot. Maybe one day, I will revert to Islam, so I need to ask you to make 'Dua' for me. But more importantly, I ask you to make 'Dua' for that taxi driver who saved my respect and life. I am sure your Allah will give him so much 'reward' . Dont You Agree?...
Thank you for taking time to read this
Kind regards
Tracy Harvie
London, UK
--
Aish - The Fairy Princess
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