A guide for the new Muslim - Weebly

A guide for the new Muslim
BY
Jamaal al-Din M. Zara bozo http://etofalatest.weebly.com 1430 2009
Preface
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful. All praises are
due to Allah; we praise Him; we seek His help; we seek His forgiveness; and
we
seek His guidance. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil in our souls and
the
badness of our deeds. For whomever Allah guides, there is none to lead him
astray. And for whomever He allows to go astray, there is none to guide
him. I
bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, for whom
there is no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and
Messenger.
I would like to take this opportunity to express praise and to thank Allah
for giving me the opportunity to write an important work of this nature.
May
Allah forgive me for my shortcomings in presenting His religion.
As with What is Islam, this book's "sister," I must express my thanks to
the noble Shaikh Muhammad al-Turki of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs,
Endowments,
Da'wah and Guidance for his support. I would also like to express
my thanks to Ahmad Ba-Rasheed for his continual efforts as well. These two
have been the driving force behind this project.
There are many people that I would like to thank for their help in this
particular work. First, I must express my thanks to my beloved wife who is
always a source of assistance and help. Special thanks must also go to Dr.
Abdulkarim
al-Saeed, Br. Nahar al-Rashid, Dr. Mohammad al-Osimi, Dr. Ahmad al-
Teraiqi and Br. Jalaal Abdullah. I can only pray that Allah rewards them
and
blesses them in both this life and the Hereafter.
I must point out that I have previously written about many of the topics
included in this work. I borrowed or adapted liberally from my earlier
works
"He Came to Teach You Your Religion" and Purification of the Soul: Concept,
Process and Means. To a much lesser extent, I also adapted material from
What Is Islam and Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi.
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I pray that Allah accepts this work from me as being solely for His sake.
As with all such work, the responsibility for any mistakes lies with the
author. I
ask Allah to forgive me for my shortcomings and to guide me to the Straight
Path.
Jamaal Zarabozo
Boulder, CO Jan. 17, 2007
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Congratulations to the New Muslim
Especially in these times with so many barriers placed in front of Islam
and so many negative untruths spread about it, it is a great blessing from
Allah
that He gives specific individuals the ability to see the truth and light
of Islam.
A new Muslim-and, in fact, every Muslim-should always be thankful to Allah
that Allah has blessed him with this ever-important knowledge and
understanding
of His religion.
By converting to Islam, the new Muslim has entered into a new realm
that is most likely very different from his previous outlook on life.
Perhaps
most importantly though is that via Islam the individual has found the
means
by which the Lord will be pleased with him and he becomes pleased with his
Lord.
As one grows more in Islam and as one's knowledge and faith increases,
the individual is able to appreciate more and more of its beauty. In turn,
one's
love for Allah, Islam and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) shall continue to increase. The result is a spiritual life on a very
special
plane that only those who know this faith are able to experience and enjoy.
There is a lot to look forward to. The embracing of Islam is the
significant
first step and the rest, Allah willing, shall come by increasing one's
knowledge,
faith and attachment to Islam.
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Introduction
The Goal andMotivation forWriting this Book
The goal of this work is to present the new Muslim with a basic guide
that will help him understand and implement Islam. As already noted, the
newly converted Muslim has set himself upon a new path that, most likely,
is
very different from the path that he was on before. The convert understands
enough about Islam to recognize that it is the truth but he usually does
not
have enough detailed information about Allah's religion to guide him in his
everyday affairs.
The author sincerely hopes that the individual will have the best
experience
in Islam by understanding it properly from the beginning and by applying
it correctly in his life. Many are the converts to Islam who are bewildered
and confused once they convert. Unfortunately, not every Muslim today is a
good ambassador of Islam and not every Muslim today understands all of the
basics of Islam. This can lead to a great deal of confusion, as some Muslim
converts cannot even recognize the Islam that they see when compared to the
Islam that they read about. This work is a modest attempt at assisting the
new
Muslim to set out along the correct path based on the Quran and Sunnah.
What Distinguishes ThisWork
Many introductory works on Islam are currently available. However, it is
hoped that this work is distinct from the others due to a number of
characteristics.
First, this is one of the few books currently available that specifically
targets
newly converted Muslims. In other words, it is directed toward those who
have already been convinced of the truth of Islam and, hence, no arguments
are presented herein to attempt to convince the reader of the truth of
Islam.
On the other hand, once a person embraces Islam there is still a wealth of
information
that the new convert needs. First, he needs to understand properly
the foundations of his new faith. He also needs guidance concerning the
most
important practices of his new faith, including a good awareness of what
deeds he must avoid as aMuslim.
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Second, the writer himself is a convert to Islam. Thus, the author is able
to draw upon his own experience as a convert and, by reflecting back upon
that after so many years, can provide insight into what a convert needs to
know and what are some of the pratfalls that he must avoid. This book can
be
looked upon as the book that the author wishes he had received when he
first
became Muslim. Furthermore, the author has dealt with many converts
throughout the years and is aware of many of the conceptual and practical
issues that other converts have had to deal with as well.
Third, the author has done his utmost to ensure that all of the information
contained herein is verified and authentic. This is particularly true for
any
of the words attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon
him). Unfortunately, not everyone who writes about Islam gives this issue
the
attention it deserves, thereby including false information in their
introductory
works. In reality, one of the main reasons why this author embraced Islam
is
because its original teachings were kept pure: One can actually claim that
the
Quran is the word of God and the hadith are the words of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him). This religion has come down to this
generation
in preserved form and it is a must that it not be distorted in any way. It
is, therefore, incumbent upon those who write or speak about Islam to
continue
to make sure that what they are saying is the confirmed truth from Allah
and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
The Sources and Approach of This Book
The most important source for any work about Islam must be the Quran
itself.1The Quran lays the foundation for the entirety of Islamic
teachings.2
Hence, due emphasis will be placed on Quranic evidence for the views
expressed
in this book.
However, the Quran was not simply revealed upon a mountainside for
anyone to read and understand on his own. Allah chose to reveal the Quran
to
1 The reader should note how the verses of the Quran are referred to:
soorah or "chapter" number
followed by verse number, e.g., 2:16 would mean the sixteenth verse of the
second chapter.
2 If a book is supposed to be about Islam while it is void of Quranic
verses and proofs for its view,
the reader should be immediately and rightfully suspicious of such a book
and the positions propagated
in it.
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the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and within
the Quran itself ordered the Muslims to follow his example and to obey his
commands.3 His way of life is known as the Sunnah and has been captured in
what is known as the hadith literature. Therefore, the guidance of the
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as contained in the authentic
hadith4
literature will also be heavily relied upon.
The Quran and Sunnah, therefore, form the ultimate sources of one's
understanding of Islam. Any other source must be secondary to these sources
and subject to their overall approval. In other words, if something is
contrary
to the Quran and Sunnah, it cannot justifiably be considered part of Islam.
Furthermore, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
raised up a generation under this guidance and direction. Although his
Companions
were simply humans-and as such had, to some extent, human
faults-their overall understanding and application of Islam was approved by
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself. Thus, their
overall way will be treated here as the proper and correct way of
understanding
Islam.
Finally, the author has benefited from the works of many who have written
about Islam, including the leading scholars throughout the history of Islam
as well as many others who have also written introductory works. Referen