StrangeHood

"[True] believers are those whose hearts tremble when [the Name of]
Allah is mentioned, and when His verses are recited to them it increases
their faith, and who put their trust in their Lord." [Surah Al-Anfal (8), Ayah 2.]

Alhamdulillah Allah has opened your hearts and guided you to the beauty and truth of Islam. You are most likely feeling happy, relieved, yet scared *to tell your family and friends that you are now Muslim* overwhelmed *praying 5 times a day in Arabic, wearing hijab, fasting and more. These are normal feelings and inshaallaah you will find that Islam is a simple religion which people sometimes make complex. No one expects you to change overnight. It takes time to adapt to Islam and give up your old lifestyle.

The Quran was not revealed in one day, but in stages over a period of 23 years. Therefore take baby steps and seek knowledge.

The best way to give up your old habits such as drinking, dating, not praying is to turn to Allah and seek his pleasure. To do this you should gain Islamic knowledge that will soften your heart and keep you away from sins.

Reading Quran, Joining a Halaqa, and reading about the life of Prophet Muhammad *peace be upon him* are just a few of the ways you can seek knowledge about Islam which will make practicing Islam properly easier.

A great site to visit for gaining knowledge is www.kalamullah.com
you will find a variety of documentaries, videos, books for new muslims as well as lectures on Islam.

The most important thing a new revert should focus on is Prayer. On the day of judgment the first thing we will be questioned about is Prayer

I know it can be difficult for reverts to go from not praying at all or once in awhile to 5 times a day. You probably feel overwhelmed having to pray that many times a day. However each prayer takes less than 10 minutes which comes to 50 minutes a day out of a 24 hour day.

Below I am sending the link to a lecture called ¨Come to Prayer, Come to Success¨ By Yasir Qadhi. This is a Must watch video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSvrtBF4SHk (part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZnwnpdYF10 (part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQTZJC5t-YY (part 3)

I would suggest meeting some sisters at the masjid *mosque* or brothers for the men and asking them to show you how to pray. I have included instructional videos on how to pray and make wudu (which is done before prayer). It took me months to learn how to pray perfectly and to memorize the prayer in Arabic. Don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed to write the prayer down on a piece of paper and use it while praying. As a Muslim we pray 5 times a day and you will find that after a few weeks it gets easier. Don’t worry about pronunciation, no one expects you to master Arabic over night. I found it helpful to listen to Quran recitations online, as well as practicing with sisters at the masjid.

Below is a website for listening to Quran. You can choose from a variety of reciters. Some speak slower than others. I would recommend listening to Surah Faatihah (since you will be reciting it in every single prayer)

http://www.islaam.com/Reciters.aspx
http://globalquran.com/

A word of caution. It is not uncommon to come in contact with cultural Muslims who do not practice Islam properly and therefore will try to impose their cultural beliefs onto you. I would suggest seeking help from a practicing sister. It can be confusing for reverts when meeting new sisters and having to differentiate between Islam and Cultural Islam.

Muslims often have a hard time relating to reverts. That is why I would suggest finding other reverts to talk to for support or Muslims who are not cultural. A few of my blogs are dedicated to cultural Islam vs. Islam, I would highly recommend reading and listening to the videos I have selected on this topic.
Continue to pray to Allah to make things easy for you and give you strength to deal with your non Muslim family members and friends. InshaAllaah they too will be guided to Islam.