EASY GUIDE FOR NEW MUSLIMS-part1 Introduction Assalamu alaykum (peace be upon you)! We would like to congratulate you upon taking the most important and meaningful decision of your life by submitting to the will of our Creator and Sustainer, Allah. On behalf of the almost two billion Muslims (and growing) from around the world we would like to welcome you with open arms. Al-Hamdulillah, All Praise be to Allah, for turning our hearts to the true religion of Islam. Islam is a religion of deep spiritual awareness, it is a way of life in which we strive to become closer to God with every action we take. The process of submitting to Allah is a life long dynamic experience in which the mind, heart and body come together in a complete, beautiful and balanced system of worship. The material presented herein will be practical in nature. It will insha'Allah provide you with guidelines to start building your relationship with Allah and will focus on the remaining four pillars of Islam as well as on basic information you may find valuable during your first months as a Muslim. We sincerely hope and pray that you find this material useful and that you may benefit from it.
1) THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM. 1.1) SHAHADA. The testimony of faith will soon become the source of your guidance, and it will be the cement that will unite your entire life with Allah and His Messenger. There is no God but Allah, nothing worthy of worship except Him, nothing nor nobody can give or take away except what He has already prescribed for you. Converting to Islam is usually followed by great trials, and tremendous stress and anxiety. It may affect your work and your studies, and it may distance you from life-long friends and family members. These trial are meant to bring you closer to Allah and to develop a love towards His Messenger (peace be upon him) as you strive to learn more and understand better the new and bright life you have chosen for yourself. Rely upon Allah to help you work through your trials and hardships as you put your best effort forward. Remember that the Prophet, Allah's peace and blessing be upon him, went through even harder trials than you will ever go through, and so studying his life should be second only in importance to learning and understanding the Quran. His life will balance yours, the beauty of his character will beautify yours, and insha'Allah every aspect of his life will inspire you to become a better human being.
1.2) PRAYER Praying five times a day, an obligation on all Muslims, becomes our personal communion with God and is the foundation of our daily life. Prayer becomes the medium through which we search for peace, for inspiration, for protection against sinning, repentance, among many other things. It is therefore of paramount importance that you learn how to pray properly. The best way to learn how to pray is through the help of another Muslim. Befriend a good practicing Muslim and ask him/her for help, but to get you started the following explanation should prove to be useful. As we mentioned above it is our duty to Allah to pray five times a day. Each prayer should be performed within the timeframes as described below, with the starting and ending times for each one being available at most mosques or better yet, | | | | | 1 | Morning Prayer (Fajr).Two rakahs | Begins about one hour and twenty minutes before sunrise and ends about ten minutes before sunrise. It is recited out loud | | 2 | Noon Prayer (Zuhr). Four rakahs | Begins when the sun passes the meridian and ends about two and a half hours afterwards. It is recited in silence | | 3 | Afternoon Prayer (Asr). Four rakahs | Begins from the time the noon prayer time ends and ends about 10 minutes before sunset. It is recited in silcence. | | 4 | Sunset Prayer (Maghrib). Three rakahs | Begins soon after sunset and ends before darkness approaches. The first two rakahs are recited out loud, and the third is recited in silence. | | 5 | Night Prayer (Isha). Four rakahs | Begins from the time the sunset prayer ends and extends till just before the morning prayer. The first two rakahs are recited out loud, and the last two recited in silence. | Tobe contd......
Engr.Sulthan
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