“I joined Turning Point Academy in 2012 after a friend had told me about it. When I first arrived I was quite nervous but as soon as I saw all the sisters getting their coffees, sorting out the babies in the crèche ready to learn I felt very relaxed and said to myself, “yep, this place is normal”. I was expecting someone to sit at a desk register my name and contact details and be really formal. Not here. Nope, it was all smiles and friendly greetings. ‘Alhamdulillah!’ I said to myself. I have learnt so much since starting TPA and every week after the session I go home and it’s non-stop talking about TPA! I have two teenage daughters that anyone can tell you is a handful to have. They too have become Muslim and attend TPA’s evening sessions in tooting. Every Friday evening, after their lesson, they come home and they test me on what I’ve learnt; it might be about verses in the Qur’an or stories of any of the Prophets (AS). But I do get my own back and test them on their Arabic words and pronunciations! This has made us a closer family and we have better mother daughter relationships, which can be so hard with all the peer pressure and so on. It has made me realise that with faith and the fear and the love of Allah, we think twice about what we are about to say or do. I know, that at times I am so angry at them I just want to scream and shout, but I remember what I have learnt before, ‘if you are angry when standing up, take a deep breath, sit down and make Du’a, if angry when sitting, then lie down and if you are still angry, make Wudu and pray’. Trust me, it works!!!! And it makes you see things more clearly.
The teachers at TPA are so patient and friendly and there is never any rush to go on to the next step until I am comfortable. I have progressed so much in my reading and every week there is a different speaker and through this I have more of an understanding on how to conduct myself daily. As a revert, I don’t have many Muslim friends, just maybe a handful but at TPA, I have a big family. Everyone is always so happy and caring. The babies are looked after really well in the crèche so I don’t have to worry about them and I just concentrate on what I’m learning. Without TPA, I don’t think I’d be learning as much as I do and I don’t think I’d be as patient as I am now. May Allah reward all the teachers and organisers at TPA for all your hard work and efforts!!!!! Ameen.”