She used to donate to the poor and frequently visited the mosque... This is the story of "Inna," the Ukrainian woman with Islam.
On the night of the midpoint of Sha'ban, this past Monday, the communal iftar organized by Muslims at the Islamic Cultural Center (Al-Masar) in the city of Odessa, southern Ukraine, was adorned by the acceptance of Islam by Ms. Inna, a Ukrainian, who recited the shahada.
Inna’s journey to Islam
In statements to "Al-Mujtama": Dr. Hamza Isa, director of the Islamic Cultural Center (Al-Masar) in the city of Odessa, said that Ms. Ina’s entry into Islam was preceded by several meetings and a journey to learn about Islam. She had been coming to the mosque for about two months and conversing with the center's administrators. Notably, even before her conversion to Islam, she donated several times to the mosque, amounting to about two thousand dollars in total.
A week before her conversion to Islam, she attended the center and listened to lessons and lectures about Islam. She even joined the Muslims for Iftar and prayed with them for Maghrib and Isha, even though she had not yet converted.
How was Ms. Inna influenced by Islam?
Regarding her introduction to Islam, Dr. Issa says: "Her first close encounter with Islam was at the Islamic cemetery in the city during the funeral of a neighbor, an Azerbaijani Muslim. She was affected by him, even though his wife and children were not Muslims. He used to frequent the Islamic center mosque (Al-Masar), and when he passed away, his family contacted the management of the Al-Masar mosque in accordance with his wishes for burial.
Inna 's curiosity and visiting the cemetery before her conversion to Islam
Sheikh Hamza adds: Mrs. Ina attended the funeral ceremony and watched how Muslims deal with their deceased. A week after this funeral, there was another funeral for another Muslim. After he was buried, she stayed in the cemetery, praying and reading the Quran for the deceased. As the time approached for the Maghrib prayer, Mrs. Ina walked among the graves until she reached the grave of their Azerbaijani neighbor who had been buried a week before.
Inna 's Declaration of Faith
Here, Sheikh Hamza says: I was surprised to find out that she was Mrs. Inna. A conversation took place between us, and she gave me an amount of 200 dollars to donate for feeding the poor, which the Muslims hold every Friday. She took my phone number and started visiting our mosque regularly, until Allah honored her by convincing her to embrace Islam and she recited the shahada.
Read the article in Arabic
