I am writing as I would really like to know how those of you who have reverted to Islam have been doing since converting and what problems you have had to face.
I converted over two years ago and have been very off and on with practicing and I have even had doubts about whether my decision to convert was the right one
At the beginning I was very positive and worked hard to be regular in my prayers and not drink alcohol, etc. Now I have moved countries and I don't know other muslims near me and think if I did, it would help me in growing stronger and becoming a better muslim, which I really am not at the moment
Do you think it is normal to have these experiences? What about your experiences?
I am not a revert but I do know some revert sisters through the internet. They passed through the same experience you have, its normal even for the normal muslims that you have some weak eman times were you feel that you are not a good muslims or you need to work harder
This is always helping us to always plan for the better. It always alert us that we have to do more, and hence we really do more when those down times passed away
one of the sisters I know is a teenage girl living in a place where she hadn't meet any muslim face to face, but subhanAllah she is doing really good in learning. She knows that its hard for to go and look for muslims so she try to learn from the reliable websites or from reading books.
So inshaAllah being alone without having muslims around will not be an obstacle for you to be a good muslimah
May Allah guide us all to the true path
First of all your decision to convert was surely the rightest thing to do ever.
I think it's normal to have some ups and downs in eman but all in all we should always move towards making our eman stronger.
Being in a country with only around 5,000 muslims I know what it feels like not to be around muslims. But we reverts/converts need to hold on to islam and do everything we can to make our eman grow stronger.
Just don't let yourself go and now that whenever it's tough to follow islam the bigger will be the reward for us for following it in all the difficulties.
Try making a contact with your sisters in islam, perhaps trough a local masjid.
And now when the Ramadan is coming it's a perfect time to get closer to God and start practicing islam even better than you did before.
May Allah help you and keep you blessed and guided.
I sometimes see muslims who are really not friendly and at present I am going through a patch of seeing born muslims behaving bad and it can pull ur imaan down, then I see ppl who dont do salaat and appearto be non practising then I realise they are praying every meal, teaching thier kids surrahs, not cheating in business etc etc, and I feel far from Islam, this also pulls imaan down. The answer is definatley keepup with salaat, read Qur'an, friday mosque and dont judge anuone. Ramadhan will teach us the meaning and value of imaan and peace. Sister theres always some sort of confusion or hardship for us reverts but Alhamdulullah Allah wanted us to live off the path before bringing us to Islam. Never ever give up asking for His help, we really need it
"O ye who belive! Endure, outdo all others in endurance, be ready, and observe your duty to Allah, in order that you may succeed"
Its normal to have up downs... Just do your best and don't do it too much beyond your practicality. Remember the most important thing is the consistency and not the quantity.
Allah swt will always be there for us...if we ask
25:36 And the true servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk the earth with humility and when the ignorant address them, they respond with words of peace.
I think your problems are common for many people who have converted to a new religion or way of life. I have seen it in many converts/reverts, and I have experienced it myself.
When people convert/revert to a new religion, they often express a great sense of joy and peace, everything seems to going well, all previous problems seem to disappear, and they feel confirmed that their decision was the right one!
But that 'honeymoon period' doesn't last forever. Soon enough problems with practising the new religion set in; doubt and questions come; and the new religion, which seemed to be the perfect answer to everything, becomes actually quite difficult to follow.
I think that's when your real test begins.
Is this the religion I believe to be true and really want to follow?
Can I deal with the difficulties?
Do I believe?
If your answer is YES, then don't stop and keep going!!
I remember very clearly some months after converting to Christianity,finding it very hard to cope with the criticism I received from people around me.
One day I was in my room praying, crying out to God, when I clearly felt a voice speak to me. It said temptingly: "You know that you can always go back to how you were ... it was an easier life, you know ..."
That was my greatest test!
As soon as I heard that voice I rose to my feet and declared my faith, defiantly!
Even now, after 6 years, there are times of spiritual emptyness, times of fatigue and times of questioning.
There will always be ups and downs in any spiritual journey. So don't think you are alone!
When times are tough, draw closer to God. Lose yourself in him! Trust in him!
Submit to his will, and believe that he knows best!
I wish you all the best. May God guide and guard you always!
Peace glo
Here I stand.
I can do no other.
May God help me.
Amen.
Come, let us worship and bow down •
and kneel before the Lord our Maker
[Psalm 95]
I'm not a revert but I used to not practice. I think to myself when I started to wear hijab and make changes to live the islamic lifestyle and people made it very difficult for me..etc.
I used to wonder..."ughhhhhh whyyyyy do I have to do thissss."
Doesn't matter who you are and where you come from, THIS IS REALITY. ISLAM IS REALITY. Do we really have a choice once we know the truth? EVERYBODY will be judged on the day of Judgement.
For most people, it's not the belief in Allah (swt) or the Day of Judgement that's the "wrong choice" they might have made, but it's the difficulty og following through in actions that creates the doubts.
Sometimes, astagfiruallah, I like to wonder if I could just be and atheist for convenience... so instead of doing my obligations, I could just watch Television all day. But can you really deny that there isn't a day of Judgement? a God?
Just because at times, Islam doesn't feel "convenient" or "easy" doesn't mean it won't be worthwhile. Verily, life is fleeting enjoyment and the hereafter is longer and better!
I'm sure school wasn't perfect everyday, but it was sure worthwhile to get that education
Aww sister/brother, Muslims who were born Muslims live in areas with scarce Muslims. You just have to think about how you're an AGENT OF CHANGE (subhanAllah) the plus side is that you're reaching out to people. You're returning a favor of Allah (swt) allowing guidance to reach you. !
Last edited by transition?; 08-20-2009 at 01:26 AM.
...Now I have moved countries and I don't know other muslims near me
Is it possible for you to visit the local mosque ? May be , u will find some Muslims there . Specially during the blessed Ramadan , Muslims are supossed to spend much time in mosque specially for Tarabi salat.
Christ will never be proud to reject to be a slave to God .....holy Quran, chapter Women , 4: 172
I am writing as I would really like to know how those of you who have reverted to Islam have been doing since converting and what problems you have had to face.
I converted over two years ago and have been very off and on with practicing and I have even had doubts about whether my decision to convert was the right one
At the beginning I was very positive and worked hard to be regular in my prayers and not drink alcohol, etc. Now I have moved countries and I don't know other muslims near me and think if I did, it would help me in growing stronger and becoming a better muslim, which I really am not at the moment
Do you think it is normal to have these experiences? What about your experiences?
Revert or not, we all go through ups and downs, as eeman is rarely constant.
We must struggle with our nafs and against the shaytan every day, but it is a battle we can win.
I am a revert and recently I went through a bit of a down phase. I was still praying my prayers, but I felt empty. I had neglected the sunnah prayers much of the time and the du'a after the prayers, which I had been really good at doing when I first came to Islam.
I found what is helping me to get back into the swing of things is
a) getting excited about Ramadan
b) going to the masjid for as many prayers as possible (especially fajr). This is a HUGE eeman booster.
Trust in Allah and be steadfast. Whatever you do, always pray your prayers, no matter how much you don't feel like praying, because if you get out of that habit, it may be really hard to come back to it.
Everything you do or say your iman either goes up or down,it never stayes still.
To keep your iman up:
1. Seek knowledge,do whatever it takes to have power to knowledge.
Watch lectures etc..
Read the basics of Islam in deteal.
2. Act upon your belief. Once you gain knowledge and you are constant it is easy to act upon your belief.
Have you read the tafsir? Do you know the last days and the next life in deteal?
Once you do, It becomes very easy to act upon your belief.
3. Observe the creation. Everything oround you should remind you of Allah,spw,that he created it.
Learn His 99 beautiful names.
Take this opportunity of Ramadhan to stay away from sin.
I'm a revert. I grew up in a Muslim family but they've been torturing me in everything(praying,fasting,wearing hijab). They still do. I had doubts at the beginning but the basics of Islam(in deteal) cleared it all out for me.
Its tough. I just focus focus focus on my salat. The rest will fall in line inshaAllah.
The toughest part and biggest iman killer for me is the marriage issue and I've indefinitely given up on it because, frankly, it causes me to become bitter and thats not good.
Just increase your knowledge any way possible. The best thing about our deen, to me, is the scholarly aspect of it; coming from Christianity where it is all "just have faith", it was a breath of fresh air to hear "this is what the muslim believes, this is why the muslim believes it, and these are the benefits to such a thing".
Ramadan starts tomorrow night, inshaAllah. Alhamdulillah. The community aspect comes into full effect so use it to know your brothers and sisters. InshaAllah forge some friendships.
Thank you for all your replies and great advice. Rasema, I will definitely look for the tafsir. It is qu'ran commentary if I am not mistaken, right? Are there any in particular I should look for and is there anything online? I noticed that Qutb's commentary was online but alas it is so long and I have also read some criticism about him not following the standard commentaries.
Thank you for all your replies and great advice. Rasema, I will definitely look for the tafsir. It is qu'ran commentary if I am not mistaken, right? Are there any in particular I should look for and is there anything online? I noticed that Qutb's commentary was online but alas it is so long and I have also read some criticism about him not following the standard commentaries.
Thank you
Wa Alaiku Muselam
Thank you sister.
Yes, it's a commentary.There are no Tafsirs of the companions of the Prophet,sallallahu alaihi wa salam. Hadeeths of Prophet's companions, Prophet's hadeeths, and teachings of the Qur'an are used as the basis of Tafsir.
There are a number of different tafsir. The most famous is of Ibn Kathir who was a famous classical scholar. I do not know of any contemporary tafsir works by modern scholars.
This is the one by Ibn Kadhir. Personally, I find it hard to understand but I would like to paste something from it which will help you communicate spiritualy with the creator of the heavens and the Earth and all in between of them.
I'LL PASTE AN EASIER ONE AT THE END OF THE POST.
(Allah, the Exalted, said, `I have divided the prayer (Al-Fatihah) into two halves between Myself and My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks for.' If he says,
[الْحَمْدُ للَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ ]
(All praise and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of existence.)
Allah says, `My servant has praised Me.' When the servant says,
[الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ ]
(The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.)
Allah says, `My servant has glorified Me.' When he says,
[مَـلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ ]
(The Owner of the Day of Recompense.) Allah says, `My servant has glorified Me,' or `My servant has related all matters to Me.' When he says,
[إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ ]
(You (alone) we worship, and You (alone) we ask for help.) Allah says, `This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall acquire what he sought.' When he says,
(Guide us to the straight path. The way of those on whom You have granted Your grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your anger, nor of those who went astray), Allah says, `This is for My servant, and My servant shall acquire what he asked for.').''
These are the words of An-Nasa'i, while both Muslim and An-Nasa'i collected the following wording, "A half of it is for Me and a half for My servant, and My servant shall acquire what he asked for.''
As for your question directed at anyone,I am neither a convert nor a revert,alhumdulilah I was brought up a Muslim.But I may share some of your experiences as I myself suffered much as a Muslim sister living in a foreign country. I have gone through many dilemmas. No one can expect a perfect life anywhere in this life,even the Prophet(peace be upon him) suffered through many hardships caused by many of his own,then why not us? He was also afflicted upon with blackmagic. What is the pillar of this? Your lack of faith in your own religion is increasing the temptation from the Shaitayn. At times like this you must keep your stand as a Muslim. You should have firm belief in your religion. The Shaitayn is taking advantage to seize this opportunity and tempt you out of Islam. Read the Qura'an daily,dhikr Allah the most during the temptations and inshallah you will beat the shaitayn. Allah knows the best.May Allah guide you and bless you on the right path, ameen.
As for your question directed at anyone,I am neither a convert nor a revert,alhumdulilah I was brought up a Muslim.But I may share some of your experiences as I myself suffered much as a Muslim sister living in a foreign country. I have gone through many dilemmas. No one can expect a perfect life anywhere in this life,even the Prophet(peace be upon him) suffered through many hardships caused by many of his own,then why not us? He was also afflicted upon with blackmagic. What is the pillar of this? Your lack of faith in your own religion is increasing the temptation from the Shaitayn. At times like this you must keep your stand as a Muslim. You should have firm belief in your religion. The Shaitayn is taking advantage to seize this opportunity and tempt you out of Islam. Read the Qura'an daily,dhikr Allah the most during the temptations and inshallah you will beat the shaitayn. Allah knows the best.May Allah guide you and bless you on the right path, ameen.
I agree and want to add:
One of the very first things I learned when I reverted.:
"It only takes a few seconds to become a Muslim,but it takes a lifetime to be a Muslim."
Part of being a Muslim is to still be a Muslim after you pass through a rough time. Yes, at times we slip, fall and take three steps back for every step forward. How many times we fall on our fce or get knocked to the ground is of no importance, the winning of the test is we are still Muslims after these hard times.
Anybody can become a Muslim, but it takes a Muslim to stay a Muslim.
Whats the difference between a convert and a revert ?
A convert is a person who changes his religion to one he/she was not in the past. ie a Jew becoming a Hindu
It is impossible for a person to be a convert to Islam. We were all born Muslim although we may have been raised in another faith. When we accept Islam we are returning to the Faith we were born in. Returning home to were we belong, reverting back to Islam. Even though we may not have known we were always Muslim.
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