Convert vs. Revert

Tomorrow I will be posting a video about my conversion insha’Allah. Actually it will be in two parts: 1) how my interest in Islam began, how I came to Islam, what made me decide to convert and 2) how those around me (family, friends, etc.) reacted, how my life has been since converting. So insha’Allah the first part will come tomorrow and the second part will come on Wednesday.

But before I publish those videos, I would like to do some defining today, or rather some differentiating. What is the difference between the word ‘convert’ and the word ‘revert?’ Which word is more appropriate in defining me or other non-Muslims who enter Islam?

The term convert can be either a verb or a noun. As a verb, and in a religious context, it means to changes religious beliefs. As a noun, it means someone who has changed their religious beliefs. The term revert can also be used as a verb or noun. As a verb, it means to return to a previous state (i.e. a previous religion or belief). As a noun, it means someone who has returned to a previous state (i.e. a previous religion or belief).

Looking at these two terms, one would obviously see that I would be considered a convert. Most non-Muslims consider it this way; someone who was non-Muslim before becoming Muslim is a convert while someone who was Muslim, fell out of Islam, and then returned is a revert. I would only be a revert if I had been Muslim before. However, I was raised Christian, became agnostic, and then finally found my way to Islam. Therefore, I’m a convert.

However, most Muslims should notice this statement is false. In fact, I would say it is impossible to be a Muslim convert. Maybe to a Christian or atheist or Hindu – anyone outside Islam – I am a convert. But within Islam, I am a revert.

Wait. How is this possible? Just above I said I was raised Christian before becoming agnostic. I never mentioned anything about being born Muslim or being Muslim before my conversion. So how in the world can I be a revert? To what state am I returning?

It all has to do with something called the Primordial Covenant.

[Prophet], when your Lord took out the offspring from the loins of the Children of Adam and made them bear witness about themselves, He said, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ and they replied, ‘Yes, we bear witness.’ So you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘We were not aware of this,’ or, ‘It was our forefathers who, before us, ascribed partners to Allah, and we are only the descendents who came after them: will you destroy us because of falsehoods they invented?’ – Qur;an 7:172-173

What is the Primordial Covenant?

In Islam there are five stages in the life of a man (or woman). One of these is the ‘preconceptual life’ which took place before we came into this world. This world, termed dunya in Arabic, is derived from the Arabic word for ‘low’ and is considered the lowest world in Islamic cosmology. This means there are worlds above dunya. Man descended from the highest, which is from the presence of Allah. According to the Qur’an, this stage of preconception is when Allah took all the created souls and brought them together. Then, He asked all souls, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ and the souls responded in affirmation, ‘Yes, we testify!’

Therefore, when the soul is breathed into the womb it has a primordial recording or recollection of this initial contact made with the Creator of the heavens and earth. When this occurs it is the movement of the soul into the lower world and at that point the movement of the primordial recording into the subconscious. This is similar to the Western tradition of Plato referred to as primordial memory. In essence, the soul ‘forgets’ and progressively loses its awareness of the immediate presence of Allah. It is the function of religion to make us remember.

One of the first things a Muslim father does after the birth of his son or daughter is read the adhan (Muslim call to prayer) in the newborn’s ear. Contained within the adhan is the testimony of faith, Shahadah, which professes that ‘there is no god save for Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.’ This reminds him or her of their origin and indicating their return to that origin through this life, the movement from conception to death, a movement back to our origin: the presence of Allah.

So, based upon this explanation, it’s as though every soul is a Muslim. Therefore when someone raised in a non-Muslim religion enters into the fold of Islam, they are returning to that first state. Hence they are reverts, not converts. This is also why a lot of Muslim reverts say Islam feels very natural to them. Indeed, after becoming a Muslim, I myself felt a sense of comfort innateness that is truthfully impossible to explain.

And that is why there can be no such thing a Muslim convert and why I am a Muslim revert, not a convert. Maybe I should change the name of my blog now:)