Bosnian Convert to Islam Reflects on Secret Faith and Second Hajj Pilgrimage
The arrival in Mecca for the performance of Hajj represents the pinnacle, the crown of worship for all believers. The story of a young pilgrim woman from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), who is fulfilling this Islamic duty for the second time, is quite unusual and speaks of the strength of faith, prayer, and perseverance.
Due to family reasons, the media did not mention her name.
She grew up in a mixed family of Catholics and Orthodox Christians, without any contact with Islam, and only began thinking about religion after the death of her mother, whom she had cared for devotedly for years.
“People used to tell me that maybe Allah would forgive my sins because I cared for my mother so devotedly, and in Islam, the mother is above everything,” she said, recalling those first moments.
The first more serious steps toward Islam began modestly.
“Someone would mention an ayah or hadith to me, and that would make me reflect. That’s how it grew, month by month, for almost three years,” she said.
A key turning point happened in January 2023, when she received a trip to Umrah as a gift. At first, as she says, she went more out of tourist curiosity.
“But in Mecca, my heart changed. The events that happened there directed me toward Islam,” she added.
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After Umrah, filled with emotions, in the late night hours in Sarajevo, she did something that would change her life.
“Without ablution, without a covered head, I turned to Allah. I just fell into sujood and cried. I had two prayers: for Allah to send someone who would make it possible for me to perform Hajj and for Saudi Arabia to lift the mahram rule,” she said and explained that through the events that followed she became completely convinced that God accepts prayers, because both of her wishes came true.
She received Hajj as a gift from a complete stranger from Asia, and Saudi Arabia changed the rules regarding the Hajj for women under 45 years of age.
After all these events, on March 30th, 2023, she embraced Islam and recited the shahada in front of hafiz Ammar Basic, whom she had met during her first Umrah.
“Everything somehow connected – event after event, miracle after miracle, prayer after prayer. After that, I went on Umrah two more times, and now, alhamdulillah, I’m on Hajj again,” she said.
Due to the fact that her family does not know about her conversion to Islam, she performs her prayers in secret.
“I lock myself in when I pray. I don’t want anyone to see me. People say: ‘Lucky you, you went on Hajj.’ But no one sees what lies behind that, how many tears and how much pain,” said the pilgrim.
She says one of the hardest moments for her was when during her first Umrah she didn’t manage to visit the Rawdah.
“I was crushed. I cried and wondered why Allah wouldn’t allow me that. And then people told me: ‘Allah will invite you again.’ At that moment it was unimaginable to me. And now, here I am again,” she recounted during her stay in Mecca, where she awaits with our other pilgrims the departure to Arafat and the completion of the rest of the Hajj rituals.
She concluded by saying that her situation and her life journey confirm Allah’s mercy, the strength of patience, and the importance of perseverance and not giving up.
“There was a reason in every tear, and every pain brought something beautiful afterward. Today, I am thankful even for the trials, because I know that through them Allah gave me something. Whatever happens, one must have patience and trust in Allah. He truly can do everything,” said the pilgrim, N1 writes.
Source: Sarajevo Times
