From the Canadian Mountains to the Minbar: Will Saleh's Journey to Islam
Deep in Western Canada, where majestic mountains meet heavy winter clouds, Will Saleh grew up in a home without religion. There, in that quiet town surrounded by breathtaking nature, faith was merely "a crutch for the weak"—this is what his family taught him, and this is how he grew up.
There was no talk of God at home—no prayer, no scripture. His father, a former biker with a thick beard and tattoos covering his arms, would occasionally take the family to the Kingdom Hall where Jehovah's Witnesses gathered. But it was never a search for the Creator; it was just a chance for little Will to wear a small suit and tie.
That was the first paradox of his life: a child dressed in religious clothing, in a place where faith never entered his heart.
2001: When Islam Entered Through Terrorism
Will never heard of Muslims until high school. And when they entered his consciousness, it was through television screens broadcasting the Twin Towers collapsing. The "War on Terror" defined the era, and Islam was merely a media appendage to this war.
This is how his first image of Muslims was formed: violence, anger, veiled women, bearded men. Daily indoctrination, day after day, year after year. He didn't know that destiny was preparing him to confront this indoctrination with just one woman.
Hell on Earth: Hastings Street
At seventeen, Will moved to Vancouver for work. One Friday night, he found himself in Hastings and Main—that small strip of land that was the heroin capital of the world. There he saw hell with his own eyes: walking corpses, vacant eyes, arms punctured with needles, lives falling like autumn leaves.
Death began harvesting those around him:
His brother-in-law: Tied a rope around his neck and left life behind.
His sister: A fentanyl overdose ended her journey.
A childhood friend: Drowned in a bathtub while high, leaving behind a newborn child.
Another friend: Went in and out of prison repeatedly, then killed someone.
Then one night, a friend came to him covered in blood, stab wounds all over his body. Will stood looking at him, then at himself, then at the road he was walking.
"Where will I end up?"
That question never left him after that night.
The Decision: Marriage Without a Map
He didn't know how, he didn't know who, he didn't know where to start. But he suddenly decided to change his life. He left everything: friends, parties, drugs, long meaningless nights. He moved to a new city, started applying for jobs, searching for a new beginning.
One day, he walked into a Future Shop electronics store to submit a job application.
That store was his gateway to destiny.
The Meeting: When Image Collides with Truth
Three months later, he was hired as a seasonal worker. And there he met her. She was a quiet girl, always smiling, different from anyone he'd ever known. She didn't know that years later she would become his wife, and that she would be the first Muslim he'd ever met in his life.
The conversation began simply:
"I'm Muslim."
"Okay... what does that mean?"
She began explaining. Will interrupted with his accumulated impressions since 2001: about Muslims, terrorism, violence. She looked at him and said calmly:
"No, you're completely wrong."
This was the first collision between the manufactured image and living truth.
They talked for three hours. Will was astonished: she had never been to a party, never smoked a cigarette, never drank alcohol, had no previous boyfriend. All these concepts were completely foreign to him. He asked in amazement: "How is this possible?"
She answered simply: "This is my religion."
That night, Will said to himself: "This is her. This is the girl I've been searching for my entire life."
The Purpose of Life: A Lecture That Changed Everything
He began searching, but the path was difficult. Then he received a DVD lecture by Sheikh Khalid Yasin titled "The Purpose of Life." He listened to it repeatedly. The Sheikh spoke about the very problems Will lived daily in the West, offering clear solutions.
But one sentence remained etched in his mind:
"Your heart is a vessel like a cup of water. If you turn that cup upside down, no matter how much water you pour, it will never be filled. But when you open that cup yourself, only then can it be filled."
Will realized the problem wasn't the answers—it was his closed heart.
The Adhan That Made a Man Cry
One night, a brother invited him to the mosque. They said simply: "We're just going to pray."
Then the call to prayer was raised.
"I swear I'm not joking... tears started flowing uncontrollably."
He didn't understand the Arabic words. He didn't know the meaning of "Allahu Akbar" or "Hayya 'ala al-salah." But the sound pierced his chest and reached a place no one had ever visited before.
Then he saw the scene: Pakistanis, Africans, Arabs, whites—all standing in one row. Feet aligned, shoulders touching, hearts facing one direction.
"When I saw this unity—not based on color, not based on race—I was stunned."
Here, he could no longer deny that something was different.
The Leap: When Logic Met the Heart
The question that always tormented him: If God truly existed, would He leave us without guidance?
Then he understood: The Quran is preserved. Unchanged for 1,400 years. You could burn every physical copy, yet millions of Muslims could recite it entirely—word for word, same letters, same diacritics, same dialect.
This wasn't possible unless it was from God.
At the mosque, he sat before thirty men. The Imam asked: "Do you have questions?"
Will said: "I have many questions. But I know this is what I was created for. And this is what I should be."
He pronounced the Shahada.
Among those present were his future father-in-law and brothers who would one day pray behind him as their Imam.
Five Years of Rejection: The Love Story That Faced the Impossible
From the first moment he met his future wife, Will knew she was the one. But the path to her family's heart was treacherous.
His friend—the same one whose adhan had made him cry—proposed on his behalf.
The reply: "No. And don't mention this matter again."
He waited. Years passed. He traveled to Pakistan, returned, changed, matured. He proposed again.
The reply was harsher: "No. And don't you dare bring this before me again. Impossible."
It was his future wife's mother who refused. Her father loved Will. He prayed behind him at the mosque, listened to his sermons and lessons. But the mother said no, and no meant no.
Then something completely unexpected happened.
The Last Ten Nights: When God Intervenes
Will was observing itikaf at the mosque during the last ten nights of Ramadan. The family would come for Tarawih prayers, and Will was the one calling the adhan. His beautiful voice filled every corner of the mosque.
During those nights, the mother heard the call to prayer. It moved her deeply. She didn't know who it belonged to.
They returned home. She asked her husband: "Who is that giving the lessons and calling the adhan so beautifully?"
He said: "That's the one you rejected."
"What? Really?"
During those days, she was reading a verse from the Quran. She doesn't remember exactly which one, but its meaning was: Do not judge people before knowing them. Give them a chance.
She said that verse turned her heart completely. As if God had transformed what was in her chest.
One day, completely unexpectedly, she wrote him a message:
"I would be honored if you would marry my daughter."
On Eid al-Adha, they were married.
The Last Name: The Final Battle
When Will embraced Islam, his family was distant. His older sister, who was once close to him, said coldly: "What have you become? You're not one of us anymore."
For years, the relationship was nearly severed. Will would leave his prayer mat visible when his mother visited, place the Quran in plain sight. No comment. Heavy silence.
Then during one phone call, an argument erupted about Christmas. Will said: "I'm Muslim. This doesn't work for me."
Her response was classic: "Do you think we're stupid?"
Will smiled to himself: "Mission accomplished, Mom. If you're watching, we had that conversation. The ball's in your court now."
But the biggest shock came when he changed his name. Will—the youngest son, the last carrier of the family name—became Muhammad William Saleh.
"How dare you?"
This question hit hardest. The name ended with him. If he had no son, it would not continue. And he was choosing to change it voluntarily.
But he didn't hesitate.
Fatherhood and Loss: Lessons from the Prophet
Years passed. Will had children. Then came what no father expects:
They lost a baby.
The hardest day of his life was returning home to tell his children their sibling had died. To this day, his eyes well up remembering their reaction, his heart breaking not for himself, but for them.
Then he remembered the Prophet ﷺ.
A man who lost all but one of his children in his lifetime. A man whose own tribe turned against him, fought him, boycotted him, starved him, tried to kill him. Yet he prayed. He fasted. He remained steadfast.
"As fathers, as Muslims, as human beings—when we look at his example of patience, steadfastness, and faith, we find peace."
Imam of the Mosque: From the Boy in the Little Suit to the Friday Pulpit
Just four months after his conversion, Will returned to that same mosque. Not as a seeker this time, but as an Imam.
For three to four years, he gave lessons, delivered Friday sermons, received visiting church groups and education boards. The white man with the atheist background stood at the minbar explaining Islam to anyone who wanted to understand.
The boy who once wore a suit and tie at the Kingdom Hall now led Muslims in prayer.
The Final Message: To Those Still Outside the Matrix
If Will had only minutes to speak to every non-Muslim in the world, what would he say?
"The problems you face, the suffering you all experience—there is a solution. But this solution is deliberately concealed from you by people who don't want you to discover the truth."
"Because if you discover it, you will no longer depend on the system they've built. You will free yourselves from the matrix—in your understanding, your consciousness, your awareness, and your very purpose in life."
"Your purpose is far greater than being just a cog in a polished machine that destroys everything in its path."
"When you humble yourselves, abandon arrogance, and begin looking at Islam sincerely—you will say: Wait, this is the solution to all our problems. Not just personal ones, but economic and political ones too."
"It is the answer. Whenever you take the time to truly understand it."
Epilogue: The Mountains That Carried Him to God
In Western Canada, the mountains still stand tall. Snow still covers the peaks, and cold winds still blow from the Pacific. But Will Saleh—Muhammad William Saleh—is no longer that child who believed religion was only for the weak.
He discovered that true strength isn't in relying only on yourself, but in acknowledging there is One greater than you, and placing your trust in Him.
He discovered that tears shed from fear of God aren't weakness—they are the strongest form of courage.
And he discovered that true unity isn't created by color, race, or nationality—but by facing the same direction in prayer, repeating the same words, and bowing to the same God.
His journey began in the mountains of Canada, and ended—or rather, truly began—when he prostrated on a prayer mat for the first time.
Between the first adhan that made him cry, and the countless adhans he later raised as Imam leading the faithful, there was a complete life of searching, pain, love, and certainty.
This is the story of Will Saleh.
This is the story of a man who found God in the moment he thought he had lost everything.
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