David knew he was in trouble. He ran as fast as he could back home. He turned, climbed the stairs and found himself at the door to his apartment. He paused for a second, took out his key from the depths of his right-hand pocket and inserted it into the keyhole. David could hear his mother's muffled voice from behind the door saying, "There he is." With a quick turn of the knob he found himself inside the crowded, little one-room apartment.

"Where have you been all this time?" his mother exclaimed. "I was at the mosque," David answered. "How many times have I told you to stop wasting your time there? How many times, David?" she yelled. Luckily the baby started to cry. His mother turned and abruptly lifted the baby to calm him.

David knew he should have gone home, but the month of Ramadan was about to start and he wanted to know more about what it meant. The month of Ramadan was very special to him.

 However, David's mother did not think the same. She didn't care about the mosque. David remembered that there was a time that he didn't care about the mosque or anything else. That was when David belonged to a gang, which stole money, sold drugs, and beat up people. But all that changed about a year ago.

 It all started when David was walking down the street one day and spotted an old blind man sitting on the sidewalk. David said, "Hey old man, give me your wallet or I'll kill you." The old man calmly reached down into his pocket and brought out his
wallet and gave it to David. David was about ready to take off when the old man said, "I hope Allah makes you see one day." David laughed and said, "I don't know who Allah is but He can't make you see, you blind old fool." The old man replied, "I'm not really blind because I can see what is right and wrong. I see the truth, and light of Allah. To see that is more important than seeing the things you see. You don't know it but you are deaf, dumb and blind and only Allah's mercy can save you." David began to feel a little uneasy. He backed off a few yards and then ran away with the old man's wallet.

 When he got home he looked inside and found it was completely empty. He became angry and threw the wallet across the room. It hit the wall and something fell out.

It was a business card and it read:

There was some other writing on the back but that didn't matter. He decided to pay a visit to the Islamic Center to get back at the old man.

That night David hopped on the subway to South Street and began searching for the Islamic Center. It was pretty late so there were no people out and it was pitch black. When he finally found the place he was shocked to see that the lights were on and people were inside. He took a peek inside and was amazed to find the people standing in straight rows praying all in one direction. There were no pictures, no crosses, and no statues like he had seen in some of the churches on T.V. He looked around for something to rip off but couldn't find anything except
Shoes. He went home that night with a strange feeling in his stomach. He was curious about what these people were doing.

 He returned another night and found out that these people were Muslims and that they believed in Allah. David remembered the old man saying something about Allah. They told David that Allah is the Creator of the universe and He should be worshipped five times a day in prayer. David asked why they were here so late and they told him that it was the special month of Ramadan. They were praying extra prayers called Taraweeh prayers. If they pray on the Night of Power it is better than praying a thousand months according to the Quran. The month of Ramadan is the month of fasting and it was the month in which Prophet Muhammad first received the Holy Quran.

David thought about Islam. In the next couple of days he began to realize that the life he was living would not lead him anywhere. He thought of his mother who was always unhappy. She did not know Islam. He thought of his friends in his gang. They would be eventually killed or, if they were lucky, be put in prison. They were going nowhere too. David remembered the words the old man said to him: "I hope one day Allah makes you see." He now understood what the old man meant. Up until now David had been blind; thinking only about today and about himself; never caring for others and never loving anybody. Now, he began to see the light, the light of Allah's mercy. He felt, for the first time in his life, as if he could "see."

On the last night of the month of Ramadan, David paid a visit to the Islamic Center again. David approached the imam and asked him if he could become a Muslim. The
imam replied, "Anyone can become a Muslim." Both of them turned to the people in the tiny mosque and David said the Shahadath kalima. David then told the congregation that he first found out about the Islamic Center from an old blind man. David wanted to return his wallet. No one knew of him. All the wallet had was the business card. There was no money, no credit cards and no identification.