As a result of this newfound faith, many respondents felt a sense of agency in terms of their ability to avert feelings of unhappiness, uncertainty and the general malaise often associated with the rapid demise of taken-for-granted ‘truths’ (Hunt 2003:9). The case of MH Nada demonstrates how this malaise affected her prior to becoming Salafi, and how the significance of religion and the religious ritual of the ‘Hajj’ (Pilgrimage) enhanced her “mood” and “emotional impulse [towards] the belief system” in her search for the truth (Roberts and Yamane 2016:89):

When I performed Hajj, I made du’aa to Allah to become like the Sahaba (Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ)), because they’re the ones destined for Jannah. I wanted to follow that path, because I didn’t want to be in a black hole again where I don’t know what’s going on and really upset and depressed.

Conversion to Salafism helped respondents to view their existence and life purpose with a new and constructive optimism based upon affirming “absolute morality and right and wrong” and the belief “in resurrection after death, accountability in the Hereafter, and recompense … [in the] anticipation of recompense, reward and justice for one’s efforts, struggles and pains in this life” (Rafīq 2017:6); a perspective that differs from that of those who find meaning outside of religion, such as atheists. Salma described how, when she found Salafism, she also found a happiness that did not compare to anything she had ever felt before:

The happiness I feel now I’ve never felt before. When I came to Islam, I said that there’s nothing that can give you that feeling. It’s very difficult to explain to people unless they’ve had that feeling themselves.

As Barker (1995) states in her analysis of some NRM characteristics, “the ‘Truths’ of a new movement are held more fervently, and are often more simple and absolute than the more sophisticated and complicated beliefs of religions that have responded to the shifting and multifarious concerns of successive generations” (Barker 1995:11). Respondents often felt overwhelmed that they had been given the intellect to comprehend Salafism’s Call to the straight path, which they regarded as nothing less than divine guidance and a ‘blessing’ from Allah. This is a good example of how the conversion process is sometimes “induced by nonrational experiences” (Roberts and Yamane 2016:138):

Salafiyyah made sense to me, it’s easy. It’s clear. I don’t understand why others find it confusing, except that Allah guides those who are sincere. (Saffa)

Viewing “religious switching” from a rational choice theory perspective, which “emphasizes the behaviour of individuals choosing on the basis of a cost/benefit analysis” (Roberts and Yamane 2012:138)it appears that once again, Tawheed was the most single effective “commodity” within Salafism that could meet the religious demands of all respondents from a variety of “specific socioeconomic status, ethnicity, geographic identity, or other trait [backgrounds]” (Roberts and Yamane 2016:139).

Tawheed’s high value as a “product” within Salafism can thus be viewed from a number of different angles. First, every chapter in the Qur’an mentions something in clarification of Tawheed (Fawzaan 2005). Second, the Messenger Muhammad spent the first 13 years of his Prophethood in Makkah calling to the Tawheed of ibaadah (worship of Allah alone) while warning the tribes against the dangers of worshipping others alongside Him. Third, during this first period of Prophethood, Allah sent down no other revelation to mankind in relation to the pillars of Islam except the prayer, on the night of the Isrā’ and Mi’rāj shortly before his migration to Madinah 13 years later.[1]

One of the most poignant factors highlighting the loftiness of the foundational principle Tawheed, the first pillar of Islam—especially in the minds of respondents from an NMH (non-Muslim heritage) background—is the belief that all the Prophets of Allah are paternal brothers, and that the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) is deemed the closest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary (Fawzaan 2005:21). Furthermore, the belief within Salafism that every Prophet and Messenger sent down by Allah to mankind was to establish Tawheed, the root of all fundamentals, and to remove Shirk (worshipping a deity or being other than Allah) the greatest of all oppressions, is considered essential for anyone wishing to attain success in this life and Paradise in the Hereafter:

And We did not send any Messenger before you (O Muhammad) but We inspired him (saying): “None has the right to be worshipped but I (Allah), so worship Me (Alone and none else).” Noble Qur’an (slightly modified) [2]

---

[1] The Fundamentals of Tawheed (Monotheism) ―Part 1: Foundation of Religion, by Abu Khadeejah Abdul-Wahid, 20^th September 2017, accessed August 15^th, 2020.

[2] Surah al-Anbiya, 21:25.