You can also start by posting your location... city or country.

I wonder why you chose this handle? Manwithnogun? are you in the military service? How did you find Islam? what Islamic Materials you had so far have read? If you don't have any access to any Muslim or Mosque? who invited you into Islam?

I believe you know the technical meaning of Muslim... have you made your Shahadah already? If not, then I suggest you should... Is it possible to do this On-line?

Mods... and Old timers - help here.

Thank you everyone for your answers, they have helped but more faith in me. Believer....now i should answer your questions as you have answered mine. I found Islam by myself as someday i picked up a book on Islam and became fixed on it. Shortly afterwards i bought the qur'an. so far i have read around half of the qur'an, many hadith, and many other various books describing Islam. I do not know any Muslims and i dont not know of any Mosque in my area, but i am searching. I know all i know of Islam from the books i have read so technically no one but myself has invited me into Islam. I have not made the Shahadah, i know of it, but i dont know the arabic......
hopefully that has answered your questions

Salaam/peace;

well bro , surely it's the God Almighty who invited u in to Islam



here it is

The Shahadah can be declared as follows:

“ASH-HADU ANLA ELAHA ILLA-ALLAH WA ASH-HADU ANNA MOHAMMADAN RASUL-ALLAH”.

The English translation is:

"I bear witness that there is no deity worthy to be worshipped but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger."





"This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion" [al-Maa'idah 5:3 – interpretation of the meaning]
Allah did not chose to give this favour just to a one race but to the whole of humanity.



Therefore any one can become a Muslim no matter what race or colour he/she is. No matter whether they are single, married, divorced or a child.



Any sins no matter committed prior to Islam no matter how bad they were are forgiven. One is totally reborn and starts with a clean record.


http://muslimconverts.com


PS. to my knowledge , if one believes in his/her that God is one & Muhammed (p) is the last Prophet , then s/he is considered as a Muslim. To be recognised officially as a Muslim , one needs to testify that in front of 2 Muslim men . Anybody pl. correct me if i m wrong.

If thats the case... then you are indeed guided.

in the meantime.... I will give you a virtual Shahada...

I can't say this is permissible since I have no authority.

If you know how to make wudu (ablution)... then do one first or if not, then take a quick shower first.

Get dressed like you are going for an appointment... well, in this case you are actually having a meeting with a company of angels who will witness your first meeting with Allah.

When your done... do the following:

1. place your right hand on your Chest and say these words (don't whisper it):

"ASHADU ALLAH ILLAHA ILLALAH HWADAHU LA SHAREEKA LAH,, WA 'ASHADU ANLA MUHAMMADAN ABDUHO WARASOOLUH.....

ALLAHUMAJ'ALNEE MINAT TAWABEEN WAJ'ALNEE MINAL MUTATAHIREEN"


(I bear witness that there is no other god worthy of praise and worship other than Allah and He has no partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is his Slave and Messenger.....

O Allah, make me one of those who always repent and to be one the pious)

If this virtual Shahadah is permissible and or is acceptable... then you are already officially a Muslim... Brother.

However, there is no rule against making more than 1 Shahadah until you get a more formal one which is during a Friday Jummah. This takes place in the mosque during midday during the Friday Congregation.

Bear in mind, Allah is witness in all we do. I believe for the meantime, if you do this the earlier... the better for you.

Give thanks to Allah! and Welcome back home brother.


P.S.

I suggest you finish reading the Qur'an first before you read any other islamic material. It's like you have to watch the full length movie first... because watching the trailers or film reviews will only disrupt the flow of the really good story. One good English Qur'an is the one published by SAHEEH INTERNATIONAL.

Alhamdulillah ( praise be to God only )


ooopsss , bro is off line

I just missed the opportunity to witness a wonderful event






Shahada: Declaration of Faith (video)


http://islam.org/Video/iis/Shahada.ram



http://www.islamicschool.net/links.htm



here is a link for translation in multi-languages

• Translations
• Translations of the Qur'an
• The Noble Quran
• The Audio Meaning of The Glorious Quran in English
• Holy Quran Home Page(split)
• Swahili Translation
• Dutch Translation
• German Translation
• Spanish Translation
• French Translation
• Indonesian Translation
• Italian Translation
• Japanese Translation
• Albanian Translation
• Malaysian Translation
• Turkish Translation
• Chinese Translation
  

http://www.islamicschool.net/links.htm

Your story is a lot like mine. My whole family is christian and I want to become Muslim..I feel like I'am a Muslim but I just don't know how to tell my family. Also I think you should buy some Islamic books and just keep researching and learning..thats what I'm doing right now. I hope that you can find a Muslim friend to help you. Good Luck with everything.

Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh



(May the peace, mercy and blessings of God Almighty be upon you)



sis , u don't have to start jumping & shouting out that hey , hey everybody listen ...i m a Muslim now

If u fear hostile reaction , then it's ok if u hide ur identity . Ask Allah to help u . God Willing , a way will come out


To introduce ur family members with Islam , u may bring home translation of holy Quran . Also , some good books on Islam written by reverts like Gary Miller , Yusuf Estets , Jeffery Lang or audio/ VCD of Yusuf Islam ( Cat Stevens ) , Dawud ( David ) Ali etc.


verses we all need for this life & the hereafter

God invites [man] unto the abode of peace, and guides him that wills onto a straight way.

-Quran (10:25)

salaam sister welcome.

i had a friend who told her parents and learning from her experence the best way to tell your parents is by becoming a better daughter, listen more talk highly of islam with out insulting there beliefs you can make them hopefully respect islam rather then feel threatened by it, in either case im sure it must be difficuly however there are alot of people in the fourm that are in very simular situations...good luck sister

I am a bit thinking about how your concept of Islam is... you've mentioned you have read many hadiths... and you are only halfway in finishing the Qur'an. I have been a Muslim for 1 year now and has been practicing since. I have read only the Qur'an in one month before I took my Shahada...

I wonder how you are able to say you are already a Muslim by simply reading Islamic materials and not practicing the orders of Allah?

Unless you make a Shahadah or personally testify that there is only one God and that is Allah SWT... and that you testify that Muhammad is His slave and servant as well as all the other Prophets... and that you surrender to Allah alone... worship Him alone, Praise Him alone and Pray to Him alone... then you are technically a Muslim.

It's not enough to say that you believe and you will not be tested.

As Yusuf Estes say: Islam is a strange religion... all the other religion guarantees you will go to heaven if you join them... Islam guarantees only that you can go to hell... unless you believe in the Oneness of Allah, and follow his orders and the ways of the Prophet, not practice Shirk, nor practice Hypocricy.

It's easy to say "We believe" - and witness the naivity of Muslims reacting enthusiastically with ones' admission... but - once you say it... your meter is already counting... it is counting with Allah... and the angels are keeping a record on how you are performing inside.

I pray for your guidance.

PLEASE READ THIS... VERY IMPORTANT FOR NEW MUSLIMS:

BEFORE reading any other Islamic Materials:

Read the Qur'an first in the translation of your mother tongue... read it wholheartedly... cover to cover... and re-read it again and again for one year. Read it until you come to the feeling that it is already OK to put the book down.

The Next Islamic book you should read is about the TAWHEED...

Then, a Qur'an with the Transliteration of Arabic with English Translation... this is available with Darusalam books.

If you do this... you will never go astray from the straight path.

You can start reading Hadiths later on... but not until you have a full understanding of the Qur'an in its entirety and total context.

It is better - always better and best to be a Qur'anic Scholar than being a Scholar of Hadiths... Remember - the Hadiths is just like the bible - a book about the accounts on the life of the Prophet/s... but the Noble Qur'an - is the final WORD of GOD/ ALLAH SWT. and Allahs' word is CLEAR! It's not Nuclear Science... even a 5 year old can memorize it and even a baby practices it. The real effort is only for us reverts... we are already exerting effort reading it and understanding it - to add - understand the arabic form... yet you still want to burden yourself with reading Hadiths at the same time? - I am now hacing doubts about your sincerity in grasping Allahs' message since you divide your time by reading Hadiths...

The Qur'an has only one volume... while the Hadiths - from 9 to many!

It is not my intent to criticize you but your reading treshold... I too am a voracious book reader... but when I started reading the Qur'an last year.... I stopped reading any other book since then. I started to read another book only after a year when I felt that I can already put the Good Book down....

The next book I read is about TAWHEED... it will make you more appreciate the quran... then If you wish to read Hadiths... read Sahih Al Bukarrihs... this is the most authentic one.

Salaamualaikum.