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Advice To New Muslims From Converts
Advice For New Muslims by Mona
Given that I have been having major problems with my parents
regarding my reversion, the following advice is particularly suitable
for other new Muslims having problems with their non-Muslim family
members:
(1) It is very helpful and comforting to have a few Muslim friends
nearby in whom you can confide, ask questions of, and spend time with
during the formative and often tumultuous initial period as a new
Muslim. Born Muslims are generally honored and pleased to help you
improve your faith by showing you the details that help you become a
better Muslim.
(2) Before you decide to announce your reversion to loved ones who
are non-Muslim, make sure you are ready for their response, whether it
is pleasant or horrible. Being ready means many things: understanding
the basics of practicing your faith, understanding the reasons behind
actions demanded of you by Islam, and being able to reconcile
unfortunate world events that are attributed to Muslims with your own
understanding of Islam and its inherent goodness, logic, and beauty.
(3) As hypocritical as it may be, many open-minded people cease to
be open-minded when difficult issues such as religious conversion "hit
home." People who are ordinarily rational, educated, and worldly
unfortunately can swing 180 degrees when a person they love converts to
a religion they do not appreciate or understand. It may be in your best
interest, and in theirs, to not discuss your reversion to Islam until a
year or two has passed and you feel comfortable in your faith. At that
point, it would be obvious to them that Islam has not made you a worse
or lesser person, and has in fact (hopefully!) noticeably improved you!
(4) Most importantly, remember that the best teaching is by
example. If you want to help others overcome the stereotypes bound to
Islam and lessen discrimination against muslims, be a model muslim!
Remember to be tolerant, patient, giving, helpful, and peaceful with
those around you, be they muslim or not. Be open to questions regarding
your new faith, but do not feel compelled to answer questions to which
you do not (yet) know the answers. Get involved in your ummah, mind
your prayer, and with time, everything will become easier for you.
Written by Mona August 5, 1998
Please drop Mona a line. Her e-mail address is: [email protected]
Advice to new Muslimas by Judi Muhammad, MA, LLP, PhD
Candidate;
Vice President/ Clinical Director Islamic
Health & Human Services, Detroit, MI
AsSalaamuAlaykum (Peace be upon you)
It feels like I have been Muslim all of my life. In actuality, I
probably was - underneath. But, for most of my life (50 years) I was
Christian. I was raised Catholic and converted to a fundamental
Christian religion, The Salvation Army, in my 30s and remained there
until Allah (SWT) rescued me at age 50. AlHamdullillah!!
For many years I taught psychology and philosophy in college. In
that teaching, and in my own education, I came to believe many concepts
and philosophies things that did not fit with my religion. But, I
accepted that there would be differences and that was OK. One of the
things I knew was that while the Christian religion taught that I was
(1) born in the image of God (on one hand) and (2) born in sin (on the
other) - both were not possible. The first thing I heard about Islam
was that we are born good.
In succeeding years, fitrah has become a favorite topic of my
reading. All of my reading has proven that what I always believed in my
heart was true - that man is born good and his propensity is to live
within the Will of Allah.
I spent the first 8 months in Islam single - and when I did marry
I was truly blessed with a good Muslim husband. I learned more in the
first 1 month of my marriage to him than I had in the 8 months I tried
to learn on my own. Always, however, my husband told me that, "Islam is
a process. You are responsible for what you learn as you learn it.
Worry about the ‘big' things - not the little things."
Some of the most important things I have learned are:
That I was always Muslim in my heart - that not all practice Islam
the same but anyone who calls themselves "Muslim" is treated by me as
Muslim - that Sisters make WONDERFUL friends ( too bad I waited so late
in my life to learn that) - that being obedient to my husband has more
benefits than I could have ever imagined - that women are more
respected in Islam than anyone who is not a Muslimah would possibly
imagine - and that the "Peace that passeth all understanding" is not a
Christian reward - it is an Islamic reality.
The most important advice I can give a new Muslimah is: Allow Allah
to chose your husband - make Istikharah and trust that you will learn
the truth from it Do not worry about changing those around you - worry
about changing yourself , into the best Muslim you can be - Allah will
take care of the rest Search for legitimate Scholars - not everyone
knows enough to teach you the truth When you marry, trust your husband
and look to him to teach you Islam - it is his job Enjoy obedience to
your husband - it will bring rewards in heaven but also on earth!!
Become friends with Sisters who are like you want to become.
May Allah bless you and make your Islamic journey as peaceful as mine.
Written by Judi Muhammad August 3, 1998
Please drop Judi a line. Her e-mail address is: [email protected]
FROM JIM (NASIR) who Embraced Islam Sat, 11 Apr 1998 at
the ripe young age of 68
Assalamu'alaikum
As advice to a new Muslim I first greet you and congratulate you on
your choice and good taste. If you are like I was the road will be a
little to quite rocky at first but you must remember Allah is probably
testing you to see if you are truly worthy. After a while things will
smooth out. You will laugh. cry, get upset and be the happiest person
in the world. In time you will have doubt that you chose was the best
way to live. Nobody will tell you this, you will know deep down inside.
When I started out I almost gave up many times. I was introduced to
a converts/reverts group. The leader asked me if I was a convert yet. I
was so fed up I almost told what to do with his group. I thought here
comes a third degree. Man did I eat crow. Then again it reminded me of
the years back when I went to live in Australia. When you went to get
anything. It had a different name over there and if it was not on the
ladies counter she did not want to know about it. After I learned my
way around things settled down for me. All I can advise you is patience
and perseverance. Try to find a good Muslim friend who can guide you
around, but best of all be guided by your inner self. I could tell you
stories of my problems but then you have enough that you can probably
tell me. Why don’t you? As I look back I am reminding myself how much
of Don Quixote there is in me. Also his epitaph on his tombstone which
goes something like this.
Here lies a brave and fearless knight Who had the courage in his day to
live a fool and die a sage.
I am not a sage yet but I am working on it.
Nasir (Jim) Written July 20th 1998
Please drop Jim a line. His e-mail address is: email address is:
[email protected]
Advice from Khadeejah (Jacklynn)
Assalamo aleikum (Peace be upon you)
This is the greeting and salutation that Muslims give to each
other. It is also the true blessing of Islam. The peace that comes from
choosing the right path in life is incomparable! No one can tell you if
you have found the right path - you will know it for yourself when you
discover the inner calmness of your soul, the joy that even the
difficulties cannot extinguish, and the sureness of feeling that you
are home... That you have found a WAY OF LIFE - not just a religion! Al
hamdolellah! (Thanks to God!)
Islam is not something that you just gulp down in one swallow. It
is a lifetime of daily meals to be enjoyed, savored, tasted, and
digested. If you eat too fast and try to take it all in one huge bite,
you will get indigestion and probably it will come right back up again
and make you sick so you don't want to try another taste. If you eat
too slowly and in tiny portions, you will always feel hungry and never
be satisfied and if someone comes along offering you sweets and junk
food (el shaitan does this) you will perhaps be tempted by that, so you
won't feel like eating any more of the good meal. But if you have a
well-balanced meal (studying the Holy Writings, association with fellow
believers, putting into practice what you learn) you will feel
satisfied and healthy and in peak condition of life.
And think about it... if someone who loved you made a meal
especially for you, wouldn't that make you feel surrounded by their
love? Wouldn't you be anxious to tell everyone you know how well you
were treated and how much you enjoyed the food? They would probably
envy you and wish that they could also have a meal such as this. Allah
loves us and has prepared spiritual food especially for us, his
creation, in order for us to be healthy and happy and to know that we
are loved. That food of course consists of all the Holy Writings
available to us. When the opportunity arises, we can let others know
how good our food is and how much our Creator loves us, so that they
might see our healthy souls and want what we have. This is human
nature... wanting what we don't have.
So take things moderately, one bite at a time. Some foods take
getting accustomed to, just like when we were kids and were told to eat
our vegetables... as we grew up, we knew they were good for us, so we
ate them as part of our meal even if they were not our favourite food.
So, when you come across a "vegetable" in Islam that you find hard to
swallow, just take a small nibble and leave it at the side of your
plate until the next meal, or the one after that. Eventually you will
grow up enough to realize that ALL "foods" in the spiritual meal are
good for you and need to be partaken of if we want to stay healthy. As
an example, imagine hijab as one of these "vegetables" that we might
either love from the start or as something that we will only partake of
after growing up and realizing that it is good for our spritual health.
May Allah grant us all the wisdom and good spritual health we need to
stay on the straight path. Ameen.
Fee amanallah
Khadeejah (Jacklynn) Written July 21 1998
Please drop Khadeejah a line. Her e-mail address is: email address is:
[email protected] |
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--
Linda
http://freedetainees.org
"If we shadows have offended, Think but this,
and all is mended, That you have but slumber'd
here While these visions did appear..."
- William Shakespeare
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