Reverts/Converts:Attention Please

[Signor]

:sl:

I hope this message reaches you in the best of health and Imaan, insha-Allah.

To make this clear,I am not from admin neither intended to be.It all started when I offered my help to an administrator regarding building an index in prayers section (which unfortunately I couldn't complete due to my ignorance towards issues of fiqh and lesser knowledge of madhabs). Time Flies and after coming back from a hiatus from forums I was approached by the same admin to start a new Index for New Muslims. He was thinking that perhaps we can make an index so it's easy for them to find information.We did thought of couple of ways here and there but the problems cannot be found in literature available.Infact,there is no book available on coping up with problems you face after reverting to Islam for dummies...

Now what we want to is Your help in order to build a new Index.Doesn't matter at what time you converted,what was the conditions,why you came to Islam,what guides to this path.We want to hear queries and questions arising after you've taken Shahadah and will try our best to find best possible answers in the light of Qur'an and Sunnah..Please don't hesitate to post questions no matter how silly,unorthodox,conventional,dramatic,non sensible,abnormal, goofy, foreign, irregular, strange, uncommon, uncustomary, unusual they seems to you.Sands of time will make you think of them unworthy but they may become a source of light for others.Don't think of this as burdensome but as Sadiqah Jariyah(continuous charity) for which you will continue to get virtues till this forum remains Insha Allah.

May Allah

guide us, grant us knowledge of understanding and keep us stead fast on our deen and May Allah give us strength to continue serving the cause of Islam in our communities.Ameen

:jz:

Leaving you with this beautiful dua:

اللَّهُمَّ أَرِنَا الْحَقّ حَقًّا وَارْزُقْنَا اِتِّبَاعه وَأَرِنَا الْبَاطِل بَاطِلًا وَارْزُقْنَا اِجْتِنَابه

O Allah! Show us the Truth as Truth and give us ability to Follow it and show us the Falsehood as Falsehood and give us the ability to Avoid it.

[Signor]

:sl:

The offer is still open.:welcome:

[MuslimInshallah]

Assalaamu alaikum Signor and administrator,


What a lovely idea! (smile) I wish I'd had such a resource when I was younger.


Mmm, I'll try to offer a few ideas based on my own and others' experiences, in no particular order:

1. What is wudu and how to do it? Differentiating this and ghusl. A video would be useful. Any variations in how you can do it would be helpful . An explanation of tayammum and when you might need to use it. (twinkle) An explanation on how to wash your nose without getting a massive headache! And what do you have to shave and how often, and how? Do you have to pluck your armpits, or can you shave?
2. How to pray? Again with videos and variations (and why they exist). Don't forget to show variants for women. How to dress for prayer for both men and women.
3. Words of the prayer and the exact meanings. Do you have to do it in Arabic? Do you have to do all of them immediately? Do you have to do it exactly at the time indicated on the prayer schedule? What if you've made a mistake (inadvertently) in the prayers or the wudu, do you have to make them all up? If you are older than puberty, do you have to make up all the missed prayers? Under what conditions is it best (or mandatory) not to pray? What if you miss a prayer, what to do? What if you're sick/pregnant/unconscious...?
4. Do you have to fast all the fasts you missed in your life? Do you have to do the whole of Ramadan the first year? What if you can't? Can you take medicine when you are fasting? Can you sip some water to swallow tablets? What about inhalers? Suppositories? Injections? Do you have to break your fast with dates? When should you not fast or stop fasting (under what kind of conditions)?
5. Do you have to wear a headscarf to be a Muslim (woman)? What if you feel you can't? Where can you buy headscarves? How do you put them on (with videos)? Do you have to wear Arab/Pakistani/other ethnicity clothes to be a Muslim? Where to find appropriate clothes at a reasonable price? What do men have to wear? What about headgear for men? Do you have to have a beard to be a Muslim (man)?
6. What to do if there are no sources of halal food? Does this mean I have to become a vegetarian? What exactly could qualify as halal food? Does something have to have halal written on it to be halal? What exactly does halal mean?
7. How can I know if a site/book/pamphlet/person is a reliable source of information?
8. What exactly are the differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims? Are they both kinds of Muslims? What about Ahmadiyya? Bahais? Nation of Islam? Ismailis?
9. How do I calculate the zakat? What is it exactly, anyway? Who do I give it to? Can I get into trouble? Could I be accused of funding terrorists?
10. What is a wali supposed to do? What if I can't find someone to do this for me (note: many people may sign the marriage documents, but I myself never found anyone who'll do the tasks a wali should do to protect a woman)?
11. How do I approach a woman to marry? Can a woman approach a man? Must I stop talking with members of the opposite sex? How can I find a person to marry, then? Where can you find spouses? What are the dangers? What can I do to minimize the dangers? If a man offers to me to be a second wife, what do I need to know about this? What is a mehr? How much should it be? What is an Islamic marriage? Who can perform it? He says we don't need a civil marriage, that it's not Islamic. Is this true? My husband says his mother/father/community... doesn't approve of me/my ethnic group/my nationality/skin colour..., so we need to marry secretly. Is this ok in Islam?
12. How does a marriage contract work? What is in it? Can I stipulate anything?
13. What is an Islamic name? Do I have to take an Arab name to be a Muslim?
14. Does a woman have to obey everything her husband says? What if he's doing bad stuff? What should I do if he hits me or the children? If he's always denigrating me and the children? My husband wants me to work, but I want to stay with my children. Do I have to work? If I'm supporting him, do I have to obey him?
15. I sponsored my husband to my country, and he dumped me after coming here. He won't give me an Islamic divorce/I don't know where he is. Are we still married? Can I marry someone else? How can I get a divorce?
16. My spouse wants me to do sexual acts I'm not comfortable with, like oral sex. Do I have to obey him? Is it true Muslims, or maybe Shias, are ok with anal sex (seriously, someone asked me this...)? Basically, a discussion of permitted practices and their degrees of ok-ness (mandatory, neutral, frowned upon... (twinkle. I know, these aren't the technical terms, but too many technical terms make a person's head spin)) would be useful. People are often too embarrassed to ask these questions, especially women asking male imams.
17. I'd like to learn Arabic. How can I do this?
18. What are the hadith? What is their relationship to the Quran? What if someone tells me a hadith that seems to contradict what I'm reading in the Quran. What should I do?
19. Are women really worse than men? Are most of the people in Hell women and most of the people in Paradise men?
20. What happens to children when they die? Animals?
21. Can Muslim women talk in front of men in the mosque? How come non-Muslim women can do this, but the only time a Muslim women is in front is if she's dead?
22. What does Islam say about contraceptives? The morning after pill? Abortion? Adoption?
23. If we divorce, who takes the children?
24. Do I have to become a Muslim if I marry a Muslim?
25. There aren't many free Muslim men to marry where I live, but lots of unmarried Muslim women. Can I marry a good non-Muslim? What if I do? Am I no longer a Muslim?
26. I've found Islam, but my spouse isn't interested in Islam. What do I do?
27. I feel overwhelmed by all the things people say I have to do. What's the most important thing to start with? Then what? (Listed in priority)
28. What are Sufis? Are they Muslims? And there seem to be different kinds. What are the differences?
29. I don't know how to answer everyone's questions about Islam/terrorists/problems in the Middle East.... How can I deal with this?
30. My family is/will be really upset about my decision to revert. What can I do/how can I break the news?

Ok, I've thrown in a few questions...(smile) Anyone else want to throw some in? Incidentally, I think people born into non-practising Muslim families should feel free to throw in some questions, too. They are in pretty much in the same situation, except it's sort of worse, because people tend to assume they know, and they can be too embarrassed to admit they don't.


And, Signor, you posted such a nice du'a, (smile) I'd like to repeat it (except I've changed the capitals to reflect a greater respect for Allah):


O Allah! Show us the Truth as Truth and Give us the ability to follow it, and Show us the falsehood as falsehood and Give us the ability to avoid it.

[Muhaba]

Let's brainstorm about the needs of new Muslims so that an index or something can be compiled.

one problem new muslims face is access to muslim communities. Often times new muslims live away from muslim communities. They probably also don't know how to approach muslims. An online forum new muslims and maybe a pen pal service might help them.

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[Patrick]

Let's brainstorm about the needs of new Muslims so that an index or something can be compiled.

one problem new muslims face is access to muslim communities. Often times new muslims live away from muslim communities. They probably also don't know how to approach muslims. An online forum new muslims and maybe a pen pal service might help them.

I am not sure how to go about these. I know I can show areas within the us and other places that have a majority of Muslims within the community. I mean a lot of people constantly migrate to be around people who are there race or nationality. I don't see why they shouldn't based on there beliefs. The problem with the US is there are so few less than 1 percent I believe. It would be hard to be a part of many areas outside of Michigan California new york Ohio ext where any sense of community can be found. I really do not know how to answer your questions I would just like the post to stay alive due to its intentions. Thank you.

[Lisa921]

I'm interested in a penpal service as long as its snail mail. I think a forum replaces email pals. But I would interested to send real paper letters to other converts.
Salam