Surah of the week

" The originator of the heavens and earth! When He decreeth a thing,He saith unto it only: Be! and it is.
(2:117)

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Interesting tips to share with new muslims

As salamu alaikum sisters, I found this article on the things you should support a new muslims on the sisters area of islam way.com


1. You should give the new Muslim the feeling that Islam is a perfect religion, its source is divine, and it is totally inclusive. You have to emphasize that there is no truth but the truth of this religion.


2. You should clarify to the new Muslim that Islam erases every sin before it. Otherwise, he will keep thinking about his previous sins. You should make it clear for him that the moment he converted to Islam, his records became clean, and if he was Christian in the past, he will receive twice the reward from Allah. ( alhamdullilhah!!!)


3. Assure him that the only reference for Islam is quraan and sunnah, not the wrongdoings of Muslims. Only Qur’an and Sunnah can define what is right and what is wrong. Ok this one I personally love because all though I love my new family in islam (meaning brothers and sisters I meet) I feel as if they can be very judgmental and this can turn off those learning about islam. I know a few people who are sooo freaking judgmental and all I hear is this is not what to do and so on. I mean, call me crazy but just because we are muslim doesnt mean we know everything and everyone else knows nothing. It doesnt give us the right to judge and be so critical of others. I often hear people talking about whats true hijab and such but I guess although I wear proper hijab meaning my full head,ears,neck and chest are covered, I dont judge those I see who arent in correct hijab because, for one, its not for me judge.Dont get me wrong, giving advice or steering sister in the right is not being judgmental, Im referring to when its more than that.


4. Advise the new Muslim to read Qur’an, Hadith and Serah as often as possible.


5. Advise him to take care of his personal cleanness in all its types, (Ablution, Ghusl…etc.)


6. He should perform prayers in time, and you should point out the importance of praying in Gama’ah.


7. It is very important that the new Muslim lives in an Islamic environment. This will help him to obey Allah, mainly by keeping him away from sins, and wrongdoings. I think this one is very important and for those who are lucky enough to live in a islamic country, you are soo lucky alhamdullilah!! I can go a whole week with out recognizing another muslim :(


8. Take the new Muslim to a nearby mosque. It is better to have someone from the neighborhood accompanying him and following his progress. Ok, I can totally atest to this, see my post on my first experience at the masjid.


9. Let the Imam of the mosque know about this new Muslim, and remind the Imam to take special care of him.


10. Advise him to read and learn more about Islam. It is better if he can dedicate some of his time to do that, whether by himself, or with a group. I wish I had a group to learn with.


11. It is very important for the new Muslim to ask about everything he doesn’t know or can’t understand. He should try to contact scholars or at least ask anyone he trusts. So true,


12. Try to know about his financial status, and help him as much as possible to make him feel friendlier. It will be more encouraging to have his salary raised a little, if you are in a position to make that possible. I dont get this one. LOL


13. You should make it clear to him, that his conversion to Islam would cause him some problems. Allah is testing his faith by these problems. He can always handle these problems by referring to Qur’an and Sunnah.


14. You should emphasize the importance of Monotheism and Islamic belief basics. You can provide him with a book that explains these important things in a simple way.


15. Try to keep him away from his previous atmosphere, and to involve him in an environment that suits, and helps his development as a Muslim.


16. Try to engage him in some Islamic activities, and provide him with important books and recorded lectures. Yes, yes, I agree. I had the best time when my future sil and I went to this lebanese restaurant and to an islamic bookstore/everything store. I purchased sooo many cool islamic item, prayer gowns, prayer rugs, books on the deen, and much more. I say this is high on the list of things we as muslims should do with newcomers.


17. Try introducing him to group from his nationality. The communication between them will be easier; he can also have lessons with them.


18. He should feel that he is important and loved by everyone, because of his conversion to Islam. Giving him a gift would be a good start…


19. Make it clear to him that the problems he faces have occurred to every new Muslim, so they are expected. Try to follow-up with his problems, and help him solving them, so that he can handle them without doing something terribly wrong.


20. There should be a simple approach that helps him to learn Arabic language (reading and writing), In order to be able to read quran by himself and understand it. ( Iam currently learning to speak and read arabic, soo neat!!)


I just wish all the he's werent there and were replaced with he/her and him or her.

Other than that I thought this were wonderful tips to offer a new muslim. But I want to know what tips would offer to a new muslim,lets try to build on this list because Islam is overwhelming. I would love to meet a new muslim (though I am new myself) to help make the transition easier for them and to offer them encouraging words of advice.

Salaams

6 comments:

بنت بيتر said...

>>>>>>>12. Try to know about his financial status, and help him as much as possible to make him feel friendlier. It will be more encouraging to have his salary raised a little, if you are in a position to make that possible. I dont get this one. LOL

I am not sure either, but when I first converted and people realized the debts I had, the Muslims tried to gather as much money as possible to pay off debts. It is clear that Islam covers all areas of our life, and understanding finances might be what this person means -- to not think about money/dunya and put all faith/trust in Allah. As well they need to learn about halal income, ribah etc...


>>>>>>>13. You should make it clear to him, that his conversion to Islam would cause him some problems. Allah is testing his faith by these problems. He can always handle these problems by referring to Qur’an and Sunnah. I dont get this one???

I think converting DOES make people's life harder -- having to turn away from everything you once believed and replace it with new beliefs. As well, most people close to them will reject them/ or their relationship will change. In general if we lived our life one way then suddenly do a 360, life will get harder no matter what change we are attempting. And again, I have to say after converting I did have soome massive tests, and I do think it is true that Allah wants to build us in character and eman and the only way to do that is through exams and difficult times.


Nice share :D thanks!

NR said...

Well this applies not only for new muslims ...but for every muslim to follow the religion correctly!!!

Chica said...

agree nazish...

this is a good post inspired well done. i have a revert in my family and i struggle to inspire her at the best of times... jazakallah khair for this. I will file this in my faves and refer to it closely over the next few weeks

your sis in silam

tabu xx

Hajar Alwi said...

Interesting share. Thanks. :)

Ms. Mango said...

this is really nice, thanks for sharing.
salaams

Anonymous said...

As salam alaykum from Finland

Great post :)
Thanks for sharing!

Template by:
Free Blog Templates