I humble request from the UK

[Seeking-soul]

Hello to all, My real name is Steve, it is my intention to revert to Islam on the 15th of july 2010, which I know is a long time away but this is a decision that I am taking very seriously.
I am a Catholic via birth and given the amount of bad press muslims get in my country my decision will upset a few people close to me, I came to my decision some months ago and ive decided to give it a year to get my folks used to the idea and to seek knowledge to reaffirm my decision.

I have read much but know very little, most of my reading has been of the Holy Quran and the Hadiths (English translations), I know very little of the social graces.

What I am hoping to find on this site is a few close new friends who are wise in Islam and the world who I can be open, frank and enquiring with and ofcourse to learn from.
I do not know if anyone would be willing to offer the above but my humble request is put before you.

The 15th of July is the date I have chosen as it is my birthday, a day I can never forget.

I look forward to hearing from you and offer my warmest regards.

Steve.

[Insecured soul]

Welcome steve, im sure you will find a lot friends in here who can be wise to you, by the way which name have you chosen for yourself after reverting?

[abu_musab461]

Peace be to you,

Congrats on your decision to open heartly enter islam in the near future, im honestly- from my heart so pleased that Allah (swt) guided you to this decision.

Wow i know its a life changing decision and its not something that can be rushed, but what i also know is that you never know when you will die.

I dont know for definate so im guessing when you say July you mean you will openly tell people that you have entered islam.

The truth is my friend you may already be muslim :)

If you believe that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah (swt) and Muhammed (pbuh) to be His last and final messenger- then frankly your almost a muslim.

The only thing missing is you saying these words out loud!

That can even be to your self, you dont need to have witnesses.

My advice at this stage- if you are convinced about islam, then openly say the words of Testification out loudly so that you will enter the fold of Islam because once you have said those words sincerely then in the Sight of Allah (swt) you are muslim and all your past sins are forgiven.

So dont wait till July to become muslim you can become muslim now! :-)

And then you can formally become muslim in front of witnesses in July if you like

"Ash hadoo anLa ila ha ill Allah wa ash hadoo an na muhmammad an abdo ho wa rasoolo"
(I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah (swt) and Muhammed is His slave and messenger)

[Seeking-soul]

Welcome steve, im sure you will find a lot friends in here who can be wise to you, by the way which name have you chosen for yourself after reverting?

That is a difficult decision, I am trying to find names that are both acceptable to Islam but as close to English names as possible to make it less alien for my mother, I am very happy to take any and all suggestions, but my main area I am looking at is Islamic versions of the Biblical prophets as my mother is a life long Catholic.
If not for my Mum I would have converted months ago, im 33 way beyond the age to be worried about these things but I love my mum and I have to do as best as I can by her.

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[abu_musab461]

Islam encourages us to look after our mothers and treat them well and reminds us that Paradise is next to feet of our mothers, which means that Paradise can be attained by looking after our paretns so islam caters for the natural dispostiion of people.

[جوري]

:welcome: aboard Steve.. sob7an Allah we have another br. Steve here who was a former atheist.. we'll all be here for you to answer questions you may have but also Insha'Allah, you'll be able to meet with some brothers offline who will help you with your journey ...

[GuestFellow]

[PIE]WELCOME!!![/PIE]

Hope you enjoy your time on the forum.

[Rabi'ya]

assalamualaikum

welcome to the forum and welcome to Islam :) As a revert myself I still get amazed when others accept the way of life so true and natural to the human race. May Allah guide you and keep you full of faith and strength on your journey towards true Islam.ameen.

As for your name, this is something only necessary when your name has a bad meaning. I feel you are right to study Quraan and hadith in depth, this is far far more important.

Welcome again brother. I look forward to your posts.

[Seeking-soul]

:welcome: aboard Steve.. sob7an Allah we have another br. Steve here who was a former atheist.. we'll all be here for you to answer questions you may have but also Insha'Allah, you'll be able to meet with some brothers offline who will help you with your journey ...

Is Steven acceptable, I looked up its meanings but was unsure,

[Seeking-soul]

Peace be to you,

Congrats on your decision to open heartly enter islam in the near future, im honestly- from my heart so pleased that Allah (swt) guided you to this decision.

Wow i know its a life changing decision and its not something that can be rushed, but what i also know is that you never know when you will die.

I dont know for definate so im guessing when you say July you mean you will openly tell people that you have entered islam.

The truth is my friend you may already be muslim :)

If you believe that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah (swt) and Muhammed (pbuh) to be His last and final messenger- then frankly your almost a muslim.

The only thing missing is you saying these words out loud!

That can even be to your self, you dont need to have witnesses.

My advice at this stage- if you are convinced about islam, then openly say the words of Testification out loudly so that you will enter the fold of Islam because once you have said those words sincerely then in the Sight of Allah (swt) you are muslim and all your past sins are forgiven.

So dont wait till July to become muslim you can become muslim now! :-)

And then you can formally become muslim in front of witnesses in July if you like

"Ash hadoo anLa ila ha ill Allah wa ash hadoo an na muhmammad an abdo ho wa rasoolo"
(I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah (swt) and Muhammed is His slave and messenger)

Indeed I have said it and meant it, but as yet I have not set foot in a Mosque nor learnt to say prayers, I am a muslim in heart and mind if not in life just yet.

[Seeking-soul]

assalamualaikum

welcome to the forum and welcome to Islam :) As a revert myself I still get amazed when others accept the way of life so true and natural to the human race. May Allah guide you and keep you full of faith and strength on your journey towards true Islam.ameen.

As for your name, this is something only necessary when your name has a bad meaning. I feel you are right to study Quraan and hadith in depth, this is far far more important.

Welcome again brother. I look forward to your posts.

Many thanks for your kind words

[abu_musab461]

feel free to PM me and i can add you to my msn.

[جوري]

Is Steven acceptable, I looked up its meanings but was unsure,

Very acceptable.. but in regard to what? :hiding: lol

what matters are your intentions akhi not your name..

:w:

[Salahudeen]

Alhamdulilah praise be to god that he guided you my brother :) which city are you from brother?? :p

[Seeking-soul]

Alhamdulilah praise be to god that he guided you my brother :) which city are you from brother?? :p

I live about 12 miles from Swindon,

[Seeking-soul]

Very acceptable.. but in regard to what? :hiding: lol

what matters are your intentions akhi not your name..

:w:

Agreed, I had a pretty clear understanding but its nice to have it clarified.

[IslamicRevival]

Salaam.

You say you are going to revert to Islam on 15th July, 2010 but I regard you as a Muslim right now on the basis you have read the shahadah and you say you are a Muslim by heart and Mind :)

Allah Hu Akbar. Welcome to Islam. May Allah SWT guide us all

[syilla]

Subhanallah... welcome to Islam.

May Allah guide us all and make us the best of the best InshaAllah. :)

[Insecured soul]

That is a difficult decision, I am trying to find names that are both acceptable to Islam but as close to English names as possible to make it less alien for my mother, I am very happy to take any and all suggestions, but my main area I am looking at is Islamic versions of the Biblical prophets as my mother is a life long Catholic.
If not for my Mum I would have converted months ago, im 33 way beyond the age to be worried about these things but I love my mum and I have to do as best as I can by her.

you can keep, adam, ibrahim (abraham), Isma'il (Ishmael), Yaqub (Jacob), Yusuf (Joseph), Yunus (Jonah), Harun (Aaron), Dawud (David), Sulaiman (Solomon), Zakariyah (Zechariah), Yahya (John)

names in parenthesis are biblical names of prophets may be peace be upon them all.

take ur time to find out which name u gonna keep.

Salaam alaikum

[Woodrow]

If you said the shadah of your own choice with sincerity and understanding, you are as Muslim as any of us here, possibly even more so, as you had all of your past sins removed. Please pray for me that I may gain as much emaan as you now have.

[Misz_Muslimah]

Welcome to the forum Steve,
Hope you have a beneficial stay :)

[zakirs]

Welcome and salaams bro ..

congats on the shahada.. hope you have a great time and feel free to ask any of us any Q you have . We will be glad to clarify to the best of our knowledge. :)

[Seeking-soul]

Salaam.

You say you are going to revert to Islam on 15th July, 2010 but I regard you as a Muslim right now on the basis you have read the shahadah and you say you are a Muslim by heart and Mind :)

Allah Hu Akbar. Welcome to Islam. May Allah SWT guide us all

Yes then I am thinking you are right, at the moment I am a Muslim between me and my creator, the 15th of July will be the day that the world (atleast my little part of the world) will be in no doubt that I am.

I have only made my pledge in English as I did not know the Arabic pronouniation, but in July in the company of others I will say it in Arabic, between now and then it is my wish to learn as much as I can about how to be a good Muslim and at the same time lead those around me to understand my decision (not an easy task)

For my Mother who takes her Catholic faith very seriously, if I told her I was an Atheist she would less upset than my being a Muslim, its strange set of thoughts as my God is still my God, I have just not accepted Jesus as God and with very good evidence too.

I will write her a long letter in January and it will have one of two effects, she will be ok or hit the wall.

There is only so much I can do to protect her feelings before the time and I just hope its enough.

[UmmSqueakster]

Welcome to the forum and to islam! Looks like you're already gotten a lot of advice, so let me just through a few cents in:

*Don't need to change your name, especially if it doesn't have a bad meaning. My parents named me Jennifer, and Jennifer I'll remain until the day I die inshaAllah. You will probably get pressured to change your name a million times over the next few years (heck, it's been almost 9 for me and people still ask me what my muslim name is). If you don't want to change it, just tell them that many of the sahaba (and the Prophet!) didn't change their names when they accepted islam.

*Alhamdulilah you consider yourself a muslim now. Even if you're an incongnito, down low muslim, please do your best to learn how to pray and practice as much as you can. I understand how it can be difficult for parents (mine still haven't accepted it, blah), but those things are really important.

If you're looking for more to read, I'm collecting my favorite newbie resources here - http://umms.wordpress.com/converts/

[Seeking-soul]

I would like to thank all who have replied here and the makers of the site, the warmth here of love for each other and peoples seemingly limitless displays of open friendship has left me feeling humbled and honoured to be here.

Two people have sent me private messages with great offers of help and lots of links, to these two people I would like to say that I tried to reply but was unaware i needed a 50 post count, so I will reply as soon as I have reached that number.

Many thanks to all once again, Steve.

[zakirs]

All the best brother :) please reach the 50 posts soon lol

[Muslim Woman]

Salaam/Peace

Is Steven acceptable

If Steven does not mean son of God or worshippers of other deity than God Almighty , then u don't have to change your name.


If you are sure that Islam is the Truth , then don't wait for next yr ...there is no guarantee that any of us will surely live that long.


If u think , mom will be hurt , U don't have to do a publicity about reversion . Also , tell her how Muslims respect Jesus and Mother Mary pbut , ow so many western woman are embracing Islam even after 9/11 and other interesting stuff like despite the hostile media propaganda , Islam is the fastest growing religion :statisfie

related link :


How to become a Muslim


To become a Muslim one must simply pronounce the Shahaadatayn (Declaration of Faith) with sincerity and conviction.
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 worshiped but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger."

The Shahadah is the dividing line between unbelief (kufr) and Islam. It is also called the kalimah (word). Whoever says it with truthfulness will enter the Gardens of Paradise

http://muslimconverts.com/howtoconvert/index.htm

[aadil77]

Congrats brother I'd also consider you muslim as you've read the shahada, you can always ask questions on anything you doubt we'll try and help out as best we can, I don't know if speaking to reverts removes more doubts but theres plenty here and most are from uk so you can try pm'ing them if you want to.

Edit: sorry didn't realise you can't pm yet lol