“How Come Nobody Told Me This?” — One American's Journey to Islam

A Search for Answers

Imagine spending years searching for answers about God, religion, and the purpose of life, only to discover a book that makes you stop and ask yourself: “How come nobody told me this?”

That was the experience of an American man who grew up on Detroit’s West Side. Throughout his life, he explored different religious paths, including the Nation of Islam, the Five-Percenters, Buddhism, Judaism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and various Christian denominations.

He was searching for answers. He wanted to understand God, the world around him, and what it meant to live a meaningful life.

Then he began reading the Quran.

As he read, he felt that many of the questions he had been asking for years were finally being addressed. The Quran presented familiar figures such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, but placed them within a message centered on the worship of one God.

The experience changed the way he looked at Islam. A few months later, he took his shahada, the declaration of faith by which a person embraces Islam.

The following year, the September 11 attacks took place. The way Muslims were portrayed in the media made him even more conscious of the difference between what he was learning about Islam and what many Americans were being told about it.

His experience raises an important question: How many people have formed an opinion about the Quran without ever reading what it actually says?

One place to begin is with the Quran’s descriptions of the natural world.

The Quran and the Winds That Help Bring Rain

The Quran speaks about the role of winds in bringing rain. Consider the following passage.

Surah Al-Hijr (15:22)

“And We have sent the fertilizing winds and sent down water from the sky and given you drink from it. And you are not its retainers.”

— Quran 15:22, Sahih International translation

Notice the wording: “the fertilizing winds.”

Today, meteorology studies how winds move moisture, dust, salt particles, and other tiny materials through the atmosphere. Some of these particles can act as nuclei around which water vapor condenses, helping cloud droplets or ice crystals form under suitable conditions. These processes play a role in cloud formation and precipitation.

The verse connects the winds with fertilization and the sending down of water. Readers can consider that description alongside what modern atmospheric science has learned about the relationship between winds, particles, clouds, and rain.

The important point is to read the verse itself and understand the natural process being discussed rather than relying solely on someone else’s description of it.

Rainfall, Water, and the Measure of Nature

Water is essential to life, but rainfall is not distributed evenly across the planet. Some regions receive abundant rain, while others experience severe drought. The water cycle continually moves water between the atmosphere, land, and oceans.

The Quran repeatedly draws attention to rain as a sign of God's power and provision.

Surah Al-Jathiyah (45:3–6)

“Indeed, within the heavens and earth are signs for the believers.

And in the creation of yourselves and what He disperses of moving creatures are signs for people who are certain [in faith].

And [in] the alternation of night and day and [in] what Allah sends down from the sky of provision and gives life thereby to the earth after its death and [in His] directing of the winds are signs for a people who reason.

These are the verses of Allah which We recite to you in truth. Then in what statement after Allah and His verses will they believe?”

— Quran 45:3–6, Sahih International translation

These verses invite readers to look at the heavens, the Earth, living creatures, the alternation of night and day, rainfall, and the movement of winds as signs worth reflecting upon.

Modern science explains many of the physical processes involved in these systems. The Quran approaches the same natural world as something that should inspire thought, gratitude, and reflection on the Creator.

The water cycle itself involves evaporation, condensation, cloud formation, and precipitation. Water falls as rain or snow, collects in bodies of water, flows over land, and returns to the atmosphere. These processes sustain ecosystems and make life possible.

The Quran’s broader message is that the natural world is not something to observe thoughtlessly. It is something to study and consider.

Darkness Beneath the Ocean

One of the most striking passages often discussed in connection with the natural world describes darkness in the depths of the sea.

Surah An-Nur (24:40)

“Or [they are] like darknesses within an unfathomable sea which is covered by waves, upon which are waves, upon which are clouds — darknesses, some of them upon others. When one puts out his hand [therein], he can hardly see it.”

— Quran 24:40, Sahih International translation

Consider the imagery: an immense sea, layers of darkness, waves, and clouds. The verse uses this picture to describe the condition of those whose deeds are compared to darkness upon darkness.

There is also a natural phenomenon worth understanding here. Sunlight does not penetrate the ocean indefinitely. As light travels through water, it is absorbed and scattered. Red light disappears relatively close to the surface, while other wavelengths penetrate farther. At sufficient depths, sunlight becomes extremely faint or disappears altogether, leaving the deep ocean in near-total darkness.

Scientists studying the deep sea have documented environments where sunlight cannot reach and where some organisms produce their own light through bioluminescence.

The verse is not a modern oceanography textbook, and its immediate context is a spiritual comparison. Nevertheless, its imagery of darkness in the depths of an immense sea gives readers something concrete to examine alongside what is known about the deep ocean.

Read the passage yourself. Consider its language, its context, and the natural world it evokes.

Reading the Quran for Yourself

The man from Detroit did not arrive at Islam simply by accepting someone else’s opinion. His journey involved exploring different beliefs and eventually reading the Quran for himself.

That is an important lesson for anyone trying to understand a religion. Before accepting someone’s criticism of a sacred text, it makes sense to examine what the text actually says.

The Quran repeatedly directs attention toward the natural world, human existence, and the need to reflect. Its passages about winds, rainfall, the heavens, the Earth, and the sea invite readers to look beyond the surface and ask deeper questions.

You do not have to rely on a social media clip, a television commentator, or another person’s interpretation to begin that process. You can open the text, read the verses, consider their context, and investigate the subjects they discuss.

Perhaps that is why discovering the Quran can prompt a person who has searched through many religious traditions to ask a simple question:

“How come nobody told me this?”

One God. One message. A world full of signs for those willing to look.