Many people have asked me, to tell them how I became a Muslim, and the truth is, I really didn't know. I know now that Allah gave me mercy and let me become a Muslim. About three years after I became Muslim, I received a phone call from my father telling me my mother was dying from cancer. I was told that if I wanted to see her before she dies, I should hurry. Unfortunately, she died before I got there. I made a decision not to tell my family that I have become Muslim until I learn enough about Islam to explain it to them. I have regretted ever since that my mother died before I could talk to her. My father however is a different story. When my father picked me up, I told him I had become Muslim. He had a look on his face like he wasn’t happy; then, he asked me: "Why?" I don’t know why I said what I said then; I told him it was his fault. He looked at me and said: “My fault?!” I said: 'Yes, it’s your fault', and he asked: 'How is it my fault?' I began to explain: 'When I was a child, you use to tell me not to listen to other people, and to make my own choices; not to look at the color of peoples' skin; not to care how much money they have, to judge people for what they do, not for what they say. So, that’s what I did. Nobody asked me to become a Muslim; nobody gave me any books, I studied the religion on my own, and I found it to be the Truth, and it’s your fault!' He said: 'Yes it’s my fault'. Although my father has chosen not to become a Muslim, he still respects my decision. He also made the comment that I have improved; I’m not as shy and afraid to talk to people anymore. I know since I have become a Muslim, I feel happier than I ever did before. There were some really good examples of Muslims that I met in my life before embracing Islam. I have a Saudi friend who is paralyzed from the neck down. This man is confined to an electric wheelchair. At the time I met him, his wheelchair was broken and there was no one who knew how to fix it. I tried and got it fixed, and fixed it many times afterwards. He tried to pay me but I refused. One day, he gave me a gift of a pen set. The next time I went on vacation, I brought him back a gift which was a knife. We became good friends and he always called me his brother and treated me as one of his family members. He invited me to all of his daughters' weddings and I always sat in the most honored spot. One day while I was fixing his wheelchair, he told me he was going to Pilgrimage. He was going to use the wheelchair I was fixing. I was very amazed that a man in his condition would even try to make Pilgrimage but he did and came back in a good condition. I always noticed this man prayed even though he was confined to his wheelchair. He never missed a prayer that I saw. Whenever he went to prayer, he left me alone in his house and this showed me that he trusted me. The attitude and kindness that this man showed towards me, though non-Muslim, was one of the reasons why I became a Muslim; may Allah reward him.