Salaam all:
I am new to the boards and new to Islam. I have converted over to Islam for maybe a month now and I am finding the change in my life very wonderful. I look forward to learning more about Islam, how to be a proper Muslim and just enjoying all the wonders there are in Islam and the world around me. I have so much to learn just to get the basics and I am taking each step slowly. There are definitely hurtles I have to leap over and I am working my way through them. Even in the short time I have been a Muslim I have made progress.
Given my background was pretty much...non religious, to once more embrace religion with a passion far greater than any I had looked into in the past, or even the one i was born/raised to be in, its quite a feat in itself in my opinion. My family is predominately Christian/Catholic. My folks are non practicing, and I had turned my back on it almost as soon as I learned I didn't have to go to the church anymore if I didn't want to. As for the rest of my family, most are a mix of fairly active in church to indifferent. To my knowledge anyway. None are Muslims, unless some have converted and I just haven't found out yet. Letting my parents know of the change of my faith is one of the hurtles I have facing me.
Learning the prayers in English is another that is taking time...that and praying at least once a day. (decided to focus on praying once a day, till I have the main prayers memorized then add two prayers per day, memorize the differences etc) till I am praying 5 times a day. By then I will have all the prayers themselves memorized, and the various postures required. Once I am at this stage, then I will see about memorizing the Arabic verses. Watching/listening to it in a series of videos on you tube on how to do the various prayers..certainly is helping me. That and after listening to it a few times I can actually 'hear' it in m head, even if all I can really do at this point is sort of hum the 'tune'...the words will take awhile longer, in Arabic anyway.
So much to learn.... but baby steps is the way to go.
Just like the act of joining Islam, proclaiming to Allah your heart felt intention to embrace the Qur'an and see him as the one true God and no gods or other things/people are His equal nor should be worshiped instead of him, Allah forgives all your past sins, and you come into Islam like a new born baby, innocent and with a clean slate. Even as an adult, you have to learn step by step, just as a newborn and growing baby learns.
I am new to the boards and new to Islam. I have converted over to Islam for maybe a month now and I am finding the change in my life very wonderful. I look forward to learning more about Islam, how to be a proper Muslim and just enjoying all the wonders there are in Islam and the world around me. I have so much to learn just to get the basics and I am taking each step slowly. There are definitely hurtles I have to leap over and I am working my way through them. Even in the short time I have been a Muslim I have made progress.
Given my background was pretty much...non religious, to once more embrace religion with a passion far greater than any I had looked into in the past, or even the one i was born/raised to be in, its quite a feat in itself in my opinion. My family is predominately Christian/Catholic. My folks are non practicing, and I had turned my back on it almost as soon as I learned I didn't have to go to the church anymore if I didn't want to. As for the rest of my family, most are a mix of fairly active in church to indifferent. To my knowledge anyway. None are Muslims, unless some have converted and I just haven't found out yet. Letting my parents know of the change of my faith is one of the hurtles I have facing me.
Learning the prayers in English is another that is taking time...that and praying at least once a day. (decided to focus on praying once a day, till I have the main prayers memorized then add two prayers per day, memorize the differences etc) till I am praying 5 times a day. By then I will have all the prayers themselves memorized, and the various postures required. Once I am at this stage, then I will see about memorizing the Arabic verses. Watching/listening to it in a series of videos on you tube on how to do the various prayers..certainly is helping me. That and after listening to it a few times I can actually 'hear' it in m head, even if all I can really do at this point is sort of hum the 'tune'...the words will take awhile longer, in Arabic anyway.
So much to learn.... but baby steps is the way to go.
Just like the act of joining Islam, proclaiming to Allah your heart felt intention to embrace the Qur'an and see him as the one true God and no gods or other things/people are His equal nor should be worshiped instead of him, Allah forgives all your past sins, and you come into Islam like a new born baby, innocent and with a clean slate. Even as an adult, you have to learn step by step, just as a newborn and growing baby learns.
