I am hoping to become a Muslim one day, inshAllah, but there is something that has been concerning me for a while.
My Arabic is extremely weak and I'm having difficulty learning the prayers. Of course it should be no trouble for me to learn the prayers after a while. My issue is that when I recite the prayers that I do know in Arabic, I feel as though all I'm really doing is reciting, without fully understanding what I'm saying, whereas when I say the prayers in English, I'm fully aware of what the prayers mean.

I suppose my question is simply, can a Muslim pray in English, or is it necessary to learn all the prayers in Arabic to become a Muslim?

I'm prepared to do this if it's necessary, but I feel that I should know what I'm saying to God in my prayers.

Greetings.

May god guide you.

firstly I'm appreciating your good feelings towards islam the joy in islam my dear is to apply islam in your life,it is not in songs.islam is a life style,it regulates every moment in your life,the real joy comes when you feel that you are living in a way that every moment in your life is pleasing God.
I think you need to learn a lot about islam then to apply islam in your life,at that time you will feel the real joy you had not feel before.
regarding prayers, will not you feel better when you communicate with God,The One you love in the language He likes?start learning arabic ,it is very easy when you take seriously. The first thing that you should know is the difference between the obligatory prayer (Salah) and the supplication prayer (Dua’a).

Salah is obligatory in Islam, it is one of the five pillars of faith and must be done exactly as the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) has prescribed. So that means it must be recited in Arabic
However, a supplication or Dua’a made thereafter can be in any language you like. There is a great reason for this that is beyond the scope of this reply.

Howevever, please note that the Salah is not a prayer in the typical sense of the word. Further study of the Qur’an and the Salah will help you to understand this. Here are some links that may help you on your path, inshaAllah (if Allah permits).

http://www.iprofess.com/quran.htm
http://www.iprofess.com/prayer.htm
best wishes


Allaah knows best.

Take care

its not hard once you make the intention and set some time to do it inshaAllah it will flow easiy.

Dont worry about it, everything becomes easier once a sincere intention is made followed by some action

Check this thread. It has very good links that can help you!

http://www.islamicboard.com/prayer/41970-how-pray.html (How to pray???)

When I learned to pray, I received little cards from someone on a message board that had a line of arabic transliteration, followed by the line translated into english. I would read the arabic from the card, then read the english silently. That way, as I memorized my salat, I also knew the meaning of what I was saying.

I made copies of the cards to give out to people I know who converted. You can download these cards here. Print out the file, and then paste onto index cards, so they can withstand the use.

http://www.mybloop.com/rahma

thanks alot for your replies.

so far i think it'll be best to learn the prayers in English, and then once I've mastered them, to learn them in Arabic.

at the moment all I can recite in Arabic is the Surah Al-Fatiha

...and thanks for the link Janaan. those cards will come in handy.

Greetings.
When are you planing on revert then?

Take care

may Allah grant you ease! and sucess in woteva u do!

inshAllah ull become fluent in arabic

yeh i no wot u mean wen u say u wana understand wot ur tryin a say in prayers ive started learnin arabic

i pray allah giudes us all 2 da straight path ..inshAllah

inshAllah, as soon as i've learnt how to pray.

thanks.

You don't have to wait you can become a muslim right now by reciting the shadah, it's all the intention that counts in

May God guide you. Amin

You don't have to wait. It is the intent that counts!