IN SEARCH OF YOUR LORD: THE PATH FROM TIMATI WINTER TO ABDALL HAKIM MURAD
Abdal Hakim Murad, who converted to Islam at 19, is Britain’s leading Islamic scholar, writes Necdet Burak Ozyurt.
Timothy John Winter was born in 1960 in London, his father was an architect and his mother was an artist. He graduated from the prestigious Westminster School. His youth came at a time of fundamental social and cultural change. The Beatles turned popular culture upside down, the movement for women’s rights gained momentum, various spiritual practices and Eastern teachings began to spread. Tim was only 15-16 years old, and, following the spirit of the era, he began to question Christianity. He was opposed to the concept of the Trinity, he wanted to believe in the only God, and believed that the Creator should stand behind the mystery of existence and the unique beauty of nature.
Timothy John Winter was born in 1960 in London, his father was an architect and his mother was an artist. He graduated from the prestigious Westminster School. His youth came at a time of fundamental social and cultural change. The Beatles turned popular culture upside down, the movement for women’s rights gained momentum, various spiritual practices and Eastern teachings began to spread. Tim was only 15-16 years old, and, following the spirit of the era, he began to question Christianity. He was opposed to the concept of the Trinity, he wanted to believe in the only God, and believed that the Creator should stand behind the mystery of existence and the unique beauty of nature.
Source: gzt.com
When he started studying Arabic at a small college in London, he had no knowledge of Islam. The young man was just going to learn Arabic in order to get a good job in the Gulf countries. Acquaintance with Arabic made him wonder what constitutes Islam. In an interview with the BBC later, Abdal Hakim Murad said: “Learning more about Islam, I realized that it fills all the gaps that Christianity cannot fill.”
He also became interested in Muhammad (peace be upon him), read about him and found that he was very close to him in his position of recognizing the oneness of God. On the other hand, Timothy Winter saw that the Prophet (peace be upon him) fought his enemies instead of “turning the other cheek”, and he succeeded in bringing about revolutionary change in society. Timothy Winter was impressed by this. When he decided to convert to Islam, he had not yet met religious Muslims. With such a young man met only in the mosque, where he came to pronounce “words of testimony.” It was 1979, Timothy Winter was 19 years old. From now on, he took the name Abdal Hakim Murad. Further studies followed at al-Azhar. In the late 80s, Abdal Hakim Murad returned to London to study Turkish and Persian.
Source: khutbahbank.org.uk
Today he is Founder and Dean of the Cambridge Muslim College, Aziz Foundation Professor of Islamic Studies at Cambridge Muslim College and Ebrahim College, Director of Research at Wolfson College and Lecturer in the Divinity Department of the University of Cambridge, and Founder and Project Manager of the Cambridge Central Mosque. He is regularly included in the list of “The World’s Most Influential Muslims” and was ranked 45th in the 2022 edition of that list.
The study of Turkish and Persian languages prompted Abdal Hakim Murad to study Sufism. He believes that music is one of the doors of this tradition. According to Sufism, music opens hearts, and the opened heart easily finds its Creator. Abdal Hakim Murad compares a believer who has surrendered to Allah with it (a reed flute) in the hands of a skilled musician. The scientist says that the sound it makes is reminiscent of the universe that existed before the creation of man, and calls this feeling cosmic nostalgia.
Islamosphere
SOURCE: https://islamosfera.ru/author/lenar/