Why Did They Become Muslims

only a moment before the source of my thrilling dread. When I
looked at them with trepidation, one of them looked back with a
cordial and amiable smile and nodded a hello to me. Trying to
curve my lips quivering with terror into a smile, I nodded back.
There! My imaginary enemies rose to their feet and made for me.
My violently palpitating heart on the verge of cessation, I
waited, saying to myself, “They are going to attack me now.” Yet,
to my amazement, they sat around me in a friendly manner. They
greeted me once again. One of them held out a cigarette. As I lit the
cigarette, in the dim light of the match, I perceived in amazement
that these men, whom we had been prejudging as barbarians in the
distance, had a very deeply venerable expression of blessedness on
their faces. My awe-stricken stiffness began to thaw. With my
extremely poor Turkish, I attempted to talk with them. By the time
the first Turkish word left my mouth, their features had already
been suffused with all the graces of a blissful expression. We were
friends now. The very men whom I had been expecting to attack
with daggers invited me to their homes. They showed me warm
hospitality. They treated me with tender kindness. All they wanted
was to provide me comfort and to do me good.
Such was my first contact with Muslims. It was followed by a
number of events in succession. Every new event raised another
curtain from before my eyes. I visited Muslim countries one by
one. For some time, I received education in the University of
Istanbul. I visited lovely places in Anatolia and in Syria. During
this time, I learned Arabic and Persian as well as Turkish, on
account of which I was later appointed by the University of
Budapest as a professor in the Institute of Islamic Works of Art
Research. I found many old works of art that had been collected
in the university for centuries. I began to study them. I learned
many beautiful facts. In the meantime, I gathered information
about the Islamic religion. The more I studied those works, the
deeper into my heart did Islam penetrate, and the more highly
was I impressed by the books that I read, [especially by the
Qur’ân al-kerîm and by the books of Hadîth-i-sherîf]. At last, I
decided to go to the orient and to examine the Islamic religion
more closely. This time my journey took me all the way down to
India. My soul was empty, and therefore it was thirsty. The first
day I arrived there I dreamt of Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâtu
wassalâm’. He was wearing plain but extremely valuable
garments. A very fragrant scent emanated from the garments and
reached me. His polite, extremely beautiful, lovable and bright
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