Yes. I had just turned 13 and decided to wear the hijab like my mom. I initially did because that's what a good Muslim was supposed to do, and I knew I was supposed to try and be a good Muslim, and I was the kind of kid who fulfilled expectations. Except I did not yet have a real understanding of iman inside. At that point I was skipping salat because it was a chore and there were more fun things to do, and then I would lie to my parents about skipping it.

Then one day, not too long after, I was standing in recess with a bunch of other 13 year old girls. I was the only one at the time wearing hijab even though we were all muslims. Someone brought up the question of whether we prayed or not. It went around in a circles, yes, no, yes, no, no, etc. and I was wondering what I would say. Except when it got to me, someone said "of course, you pray!" and they moved on. I smiled and felt like nothing on the inside, absolutely worthless, and had a blinding clarity of what it was to be a hypocrite.

The rest of that day I spent in very tumultuous thought, thinking "was I a Muslim?" "Do I really believe in this?" And I knew that I could not and did not want to be a hypocrite, so I had better be sure. Putting aside all silly childish notions of boring and chores, I came to the realization that I did in fact believe in Allah. Once that was settled, everything flowed from there: I now had to pray, make up my missed ones, and do my Muslim duties. It was when iman first made its way into my heart.

It was the first but by no means the last faith crisis I had. Except Alhamdulillah, I seem to come out stronger in iman with every faith crisis I have because I have to face worldly temptations and make the conscious and emotional decision that I value Allah (swt) far more. However, all of that falls back to that first time when I was 13 when iman entered my heart, and once iman does that, nothing can break that hold. As Allah (swt) says,

"There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing." (2:256)