A guide for the new Muslim

A guide for the new Muslim






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Jammaal al-Din M. Zarabozo





























2009-1430








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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.


















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



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.



Introduction






The Goal and Motivation for Writing 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 This Work






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 a Muslim.


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.[1]The 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


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 hadith[4] 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, t