AlhamduliLlaah! Justice has been done by our beloved Ikwan! Though I couldn't go through all comments but I must add that being a muslim is the oumost priority because it was revealed that "We should not die except being a muslim" this verse was ascertaining that Upon all trials and tribulation we should not stop being a Muslim. It's advisable that you accept Islam first before bothering about your duties as a muslims because it is your duty that affirm you as a muslim. First bear In mind that you've accept Islam, reach out to known muslims in your hood, Inshaa Allaah they'll explain the fundamentals of Islam and how to go about your daily solawat(prayers) to you... I pray Allaah keeps us all firm on the right path.

Empiree:


I guess you wanted to say "can't" @bold?

This is a good answer to a clown. Imaging someone like you shows interest in the religion of Allah, someone like you being convinced Islam is the truth, and all you need is a little push to get there.

A clown ^ from nowhere thinks you are a kid. Trying to hypnotize you. Anyways, you have handsomely replied unbridled ignorant.

Quran says do not prevent people from Allah's way. It describes such people as disbelievers.

I expected such a backlash.
I haven't discouraged the OP in anyway. I opined that one who is ready for Islam should have done his homework well enough to understand certain things without asking specifically. You cannot be ready for an exam, standing at the door of the exam center and yet you don't know if an eraser will be neccesary or not.

Your problem with me here is that i did not instantly goad him on as most Muslims do. Read my lips, Empiree; i do not care about followers or co-religionists, i care about substance. I don't treat religion as politics where the jackpot is to draw the largest crowd. That is why i rather implore people to search for the truth about their religion, inquiring and re-examining the mainstream narrative of it. I don't believe in one religion for all.

usermane:


I expected such a backlash.
I haven't discouraged the OP in anyway. I opined that one who is ready for Islam should have done his homework well enough to understand certain things without asking specifically. You cannot be ready for an exam, standing at the door of the exam center and yet you don't know if an eraser will be neccesary or not.

Your problem with me here is that i did not instantly goad him on as most Muslims do. Read my lips, Empiree; i do not care about followers or co-religionists, i care about substance. I don't treat religion as politics where the jackpot is to draw the largest crowd. That is why i rather implore people to search for the truth about their religion, inquiring and re-examining the mainstream narrative of it. I don't believe in one religion for all.

isn't what he's doing ?. it's obvious his heart inclines towards this deen. Hence, encouragement is all he needs.

Allah will made it easy. The most important thing is to have a clear and honest intention of becoming a Muslim. welcome to the religion of peace and salvation.

gatiano:
You do not need to be know arabic, however it is advisable to learn the arabic and for the christians to learn hebrew because that is the language with which the original scripts were written. and also there is no need but use a good translated Quran (i used Maulana Muhammad Ali english translation). one final piece of advice, never touch the hadith until you are a perfect scholar in the understanding of The Quran. The hadith was not written by Prophet Muhammad. in my opinion, all that you see happening in islamic world is because of the deviation from Muhammads' teachings and the hadith (which may have been misunderstood, but in reality the muslims do not need the hadith for the Quran is complete and balance and can be understood easily). All Faiths are nice when they are practised well for they provide spiritual growth.

I do not know how my eyes skipped this particular comment at first; I believed everyone was trying to help the questioner with pieces of advice they felt were good. Nevertheless, I find it too compelling to correct some of what could have been misunderstood from your comment, most especially because our questioner is a newbie. My comment here might be lengthy but it is worth the read.

First, your telling him that he does not have to learn Arabic is just like telling a secondary school student that he does not have to learn Further Math in secondary school to become an engineer. As factual and licentious as that may sound, everyone knows it is not the best advice.

There is a gulf of difference between someone who just has fondness for technology and someone who wants to be an engineer - except of course for one who never strives to excel. I do not have to state the benefits of being well grounded in secondary school Further Math for an aspiring ambitious engineer nor do I have to state those of knowing Arabic for an aspiring ideal Muslim; I already mentioned a few in my original comment. In fact, knowing Arabic is more important to the ideal Muslim than Further Math is to the ideal engineer! I believe that whatever is worth doing is worth perfecting.

Second, you asked him never to touch the Hadith until he was a scholar in the understanding of the Qur-aan. I'd advise him never to try to understand the Qur-aan without the understanding of the Hadith! What is the Hadith? It - even according to any standard English dictionary - is religious texts in Islam with collected sayings and actions of Muhammad and his companions as related by eyewitnesses, used to determine the Sunna (Muslim way of life).

Allah says in the Qur-aan, Suurat Annahl; Chapter 16 Verse 44: "And we have sent down to you (Muhammad) the remembrance that you may explain to people what has been sent down unto them." This verse makes us know that Allah revealed two things to the Prophet : the Quran and the explanation of the Qur-aan which is the Sunna of which the Hadith is a collection.

Why do we need the Hadith? We need it because as Muslims, even though the Qur-aan is our flawless holy book, it is not a human being like us whom the Qur-aan was sent down to. It is not a figure to be followed only in itself. Rather, it is a figure to be followed through the teachings, tradition and sayings of the Prophet. Had it been that Allah sent down the Qur-aan alone without providing us with a human being - like us - who would exemplify its teachings, we could say we have no human example and thus, we might have to stick to the Qur-aan alone.

Trying to understand the Qur-aan without the Hadith is like trying to understand a surgical procedure from a textbook without being in the operating room with a surgeon to learn from his practical teaching of that surgery. Islam is the surgical procedure, the Qur-aan is the textbook, the Prophet is the surgeon and his practical teaching is the Sunnah which is collected in the Hadith. Nobody can become a surgeon by mere mugging up on surgical procedures from a textbook and so - and I swear by Allah - nobody can become a true Muslim by mere studying of the Qur-aan!

Please do not ask me if I'm trying to say that the Qur-aan is not complete - as clear as my words are - because you wouldn't ask ask me if the surgery textbooks are not. You just have to differentiate between the completeness of the book in itself and it's sufficiency to teach it's content to others without a practical example - which is the Prophet in the case of the Qur-aan and the surgeon in the case of the surgery textbook.

Islam as a religion is unique only because it must be done by adhering strictly to the 'correct' teachings of our Prophet. He is our teacher and the Qur-aan cannot be understood without his teachings.

Third, by saying the Hadith was not written by the Prophet, do you mean to criticize it or doubt its authenticity? If that is the case, then I advise you to do some homework and find out what the Hadith really means, how it was recorded and how its authenticity is determined! I guess you do not know that even the Qur-aan was not recorded in text by him because he could not read nor write.

Lastly, you are right that many Hadiths are misunderstood, but who is really to blame for this? The Hadiths or those who misunderstand them? If you and I agree that Muhammad's teachings are perfect - because they were revealed to him by Allah - as the verse above states, then we should both agree that the blame of misunderstanding is on those who misunderstand it.

Allah knows best and may He guide us all.

gatiano:
You do not need to be know arabic, however it is advisable to learn the arabic and for the christians to learn hebrew because that is the language with which the original scripts were written. and also there is no need but use a good translated Quran (i used Maulana Muhammad Ali english translation). one final piece of advice, never touch the hadith until you are a perfect scholar in the understanding of The Quran. The hadith was not written by Prophet Muhammad. in my opinion, all that you see happening in islamic world is because of the deviation from Muhammads' teachings and the hadith (which may have been misunderstood, but in reality the muslims do not need the hadith for the Quran is complete and balance and can be understood easily). All Faiths are nice when they are practised well for they provide spiritual growth.

I do not know how my eyes skipped this particular comment at first; I believed everyone was trying to help the questioner with pieces of advice they felt were good. Nevertheless, I find it too compelling to correct some of what could have been misunderstood from your comment, most especially because our questioner is a newbie. My comment here might be lengthy but it is worth the read.

First, your telling him that he does not have to learn Arabic is just like telling a secondary school student that he does not have to learn Further Math in secondary school to become an engineer. As factual and licentious as that may sound, everyone knows it is not the best advice. There is a gulf of difference between someone who just has fondness for technology and someone who wants to be an engineer - except of course for one who never strives to excel. I do not have to state the benefits of being well grounded in secondary school Further Math for an aspiring ambitious engineer nor do I have to state those of knowing Arabic for an aspiring ideal Muslim; I already mentioned a few in my original comment. In fact, knowing Arabic is more important to the ideal Muslim than Further Math is to the ideal engineer! I believe that whatever is worth doing is worth perfecting.

Second, you asked him never to touch the Hadith until he
was a scholar in the understanding of the Qur-aan. I'd advise him never to try to understand the Qur-aan without the understanding of the Hadith! What is the Hadith? It - even according to any standard English dictionary - is religious texts in Islam with collected sayings and actions of Muhammad and his companions as related by
eyewitnesses, used to determine the Sunna (Muslim way of
life).

Allah says in the Qur-aan, Suurat Annahl; Chapter 16 Verse 44: "And we have sent down to you (Muhammad) the remembrance that you may explain to people what has been sent down unto them." This verse makes us know that Allah revealed two things to the Prophet : the Quran and the explanation of the Qur-aan which is the Sunna of which the Hadith is a collection.

Why do we need the Hadith? We need it because as Muslims, even though the Qur-aan is our flawless holy book, it is not a human being like us whom the Qur-aan was sent down to. It is not a figure to be followed only in
itself. Rather, it is a figure to be followed through the teachings, tradition and sayings of the Prophet. Had it been that Allah sent down the Qur-aan alone without providing us with a human being - like us - who would exemplify its teachings, we could say we have no human example and thus, we might have to stick to the Qur-aan alone.

Trying to understand the Qur-aan without the Hadith is like trying to understand a surgical procedure from a textbook without being in the operating room with a surgeon to learn from his practical teaching of that surgery. Islam is the surgical procedure, the Qur-aan is the textbook, the Prophet is the surgeon and his practical teaching is the Sunnah which is collected in the Hadith. Nobody can become a surgeon by mere mugging up on surgical procedures from a textbook and so - and I swear by Allah - nobody can become a true Muslim by mere studying of the Qur-aan!

Please do not ask me if I'm trying to say that the Qur-aan
is not complete - as clear as my words are - because you
wouldn't ask ask me if the surgery textbooks are not. You
just have to differentiate between the completeness of the
book in itself and its sufficiency to teach it's content to
others without a practical example - which is the Prophet
in the case of the Qur-aan and the surgeon in the case of
the surgery textbook.

Islam as a religion is unique only because it must be done
by adhering strictly to the 'correct' teachings of our
Prophet. He is our teacher and the Qur-aan cannot be
understood without his teachings.

Third, by saying the Hadith was not written by the
Prophet, do you mean to criticize it or doubt its
authenticity? If that is the case, then I advise you to do
some homework and find out what the Hadith really
means, how it was recorded and how its authenticity is
determined! I guess you do not know that even the Qur-
aan was not recorded in text by him because he could not
read nor write.

Lastly, you are right that many Hadiths are
misunderstood, but who is really to blame for this? The
Hadiths or those who misunderstand them? If you and I agree that Muhammad's teachings are perfect - as the verse above states - because they were revealed to him by Allah, then we should both agree that the blame of misunderstanding is on those who misunderstand it.

Allah knows best and may He guide us all.

wirelessssss:
[size=13pt]I'm a Christian who would like to become a Muslim. Both religions have so much in common, but I'm fascinated by the seriousness and devoutedness of the average Muslim.

The average Muslim is simple, honest and spiritually conscious. Their ladies are always looking decent especially with their wholesome way of dressing. I'm usually attracted to them.

I remember telling a Christian friend of mine that I would like a Muslim lady for a wife, and he, shocked, blatantly censured me... that he would 'disown' me as a friend. And I wondered if such a response was Christlike.

Anyway, the only hindrance I may have is the Arabic language. I'm not good at learning languages.

Please, before I accept the injunction below, I would like to know if I can be a good Muslim without being able to speak/recite with the Arabic language?[/size]

Salaamualaykum, so have you said the Shahadah?
If yes, to make things easier you should keep Muslim friends, the knowledgeable ones, if you can find an MSSN group it will be very good so they can teach you the basics you need and Allah will help you inshaAllah. I totally support AbuUsaama's advices

wirelessssss:
Of course I'm aware of misconceptions and deviations just like in any other religion. I read and ask questions and I can decipher the truth because it would strike a chord within me as being in line with the Will of Allah.

People have said it all. But let me just add a little bit of my own.
You need to know :-
1. What is 'halal (acceptable)' and 'haram (forbidden)' in Islam .
2. What makes a Muslim unknowingly turn to an unbeliever through uttering of some words or actions.
3. Pillars of Islam.
4. Aqeedah (beliefs) that you must have in your heart.e.g- judgement day, angels, paradise and hell. e.t.c.
5. Others.
May Allah makes it easy for you now and always. (AMIIN),
Whenever feel tired/depressed that you are tempt to stop or quit learning, say :
La ilaha ilallahu wahdahu la shareeka lahu, lahul mulku, wa lahul hamdu wa Huwa 'ala kulli shai'in qadiir .
^MEANING: There is no God but Allah alone, He has no partner, His is dominion and His is praise and He is capable of all things.
I would like to recommend a book, it is CITADEL OF THE BELIEVER .