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I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

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    hc18's Avatar Limited Member
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    I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

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    Hello,

    I am a 19 year old woman who has been raised by very devout Catholics. However, in the past year, I have been learning about the Muslim faith and have found more solace in reading about it than I ever did in my Catholic faith. However, I speak NO arabic and this is, in a way, putting me off I suppose because I know all prayers are recited in Arabic as well as the Quran being written in arabic (I have begun to read the english translation, however, I know that it doesn't necessarily give the same effect. My two questions for you are:

    1) What is some advice you could give me to further my knowledge before I convert? and
    2) Does me not knowing Arabic matter in the long run?

    Also as another note, I am planning on taking an Arabic course this summer at my college and I have Muslim friends who speak Arabic who have offered to help me practice.

    Thank you for your help,
    Harley
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    lvrge's Avatar Limited Member
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    Hello Harley

    Great to hear that you've been interested in Islam

    My personal advice would be to take it slow and easy, if you do decide to convert, your are not expected to learn Arabic and every prayer like in a fortnight, but rather it's a learning curve, where you slowly start to pick up the prayers and get to know some Islamic terms and phrases, and day by day you will definitely get better.

    Regarding the 5 pillars of Islam, taking shahadah is in Arabic but is simple, 2nd one is prayers and like I said you will get there slowly by learning. 3/4th are charity and fasting and they don't really require a lot of Arabic as it's just actions, lastly it's Hajj, which again comes after time, when you start to learn how to pray etc.

    So my overall advice is not to worry so much on the Arabic language aspect as your intentions and actions are key. You will slowly pick up prayer and with the help of your Muslim friends, you will learn much faster.

    Hope I have gave some insight into your query.
    May Allah give you Hidayat (guidance) and shower his mercy upon you
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    Hamza Asadullah's Avatar Moderator
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    format_quote Originally Posted by hc18 View Post
    Hello,

    I am a 19 year old woman who has been raised by very devout Catholics. However, in the past year, I have been learning about the Muslim faith and have found more solace in reading about it than I ever did in my Catholic faith. However, I speak NO arabic and this is, in a way, putting me off I suppose because I know all prayers are recited in Arabic as well as the Quran being written in arabic (I have begun to read the english translation, however, I know that it doesn't necessarily give the same effect. My two questions for you are:

    1) What is some advice you could give me to further my knowledge before I convert? and
    2) Does me not knowing Arabic matter in the long run?

    Also as another note, I am planning on taking an Arabic course this summer at my college and I have Muslim friends who speak Arabic who have offered to help me practice.

    Thank you for your help,
    Harley
    Greetings dear sister,

    Most of us here do not speak Arabic but can only read it and have memorised little parts of the Quran. So there is absolutely nothing to worry about in that regard. A good friend of mine was worried about the very same thing before he converted but now he says that he did not know why he ever worried as Allah makes it easy for us to learn to read and memorise parts of the Quran even though it is not our primary language.

    With regards to learning then sister learning is an ongoing process so what I would advise you to do is that if you accept the oneness of God and that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah and that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) is the last Messenger along a line of Prophets and Messengers since the first Prophet Adam (Peace be upon him), then you must not delay in making the proclamation of faith (Shahada) as our enemy Satan looks for many excuses for us to delay the most important thing of all which is to proclaim faith in the one who created until he puts enough doubts in us to deter us from accepting the truth or death over takes us.

    So my sister do not delay as that is what our enemy wants. After you have accepted faith then no doubt you will get the necessary help with learning and memorising and will find many other sisters to befriend who will also help you along your journey by the will and help of Allah.

    Please also refer to the following thread for Islamic resources and learning:

    Very useful Islamic Information for Reverts

    If you need any help or advice then we are here for you and you can be a part of our little community online. So please do not hesitate to ask or participate.

    May Allah enable you to accept the shahada and make you of great benefit to the Ummah. Ameen
    Last edited by Hamza Asadullah; 08-28-2017 at 07:03 PM.
    I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    How to get through Hardships & trials in life:

    https://www.islamicboard.com/advice-...mp-trials.html

    How to overcome Waswas (insinuating whispers of shaythan) in Worship:

    https://www.islamicboard.com/advice-...d-worship.html

    10 Steps to Increasing Imaan & getting closer to Allah:

    https://www.islamicboard.com/manners...d-version.html

    https://www.islamicboard.com/manners...ser-allah.html
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    eesa the kiwi's Avatar Full Member
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    format_quote Originally Posted by hc18 View Post
    Hello,

    I am a 19 year old woman who has been raised by very devout Catholics. However, in the past year, I have been learning about the Muslim faith and have found more solace in reading about it than I ever did in my Catholic faith. However, I speak NO arabic and this is, in a way, putting me off I suppose because I know all prayers are recited in Arabic as well as the Quran being written in arabic (I have begun to read the english translation, however, I know that it doesn't necessarily give the same effect. My two questions for you are:

    1) What is some advice you could give me to further my knowledge before I convert? and
    2) Does me not knowing Arabic matter in the long run?

    Also as another note, I am planning on taking an Arabic course this summer at my college and I have Muslim friends who speak Arabic who have offered to help me practice.

    Thank you for your help,
    Harley
    Hi Harley

    I'm a convert to Islam myself and don't know Arabic, in fact a larde percentage of the Muslim world does not understand Arabic either

    Don't let this phase you. If you have any questions about Islam or converting please don't hesitate to hit us up

    Also have a look at this site www.islamreligion.com they have a bunch of good articles about islam and a live chat q&a for you to ask questions
    | Likes Umm Abed liked this post
    I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    “Allah gave you a gift of 86,000 seconds today, have you used one to say ‘Alhamdulilah"
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    Hello! Here are some resources I hope will help you.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKblG-Zoagk
    http://islam1.org/how_to_pray/index.htm
    http://www.howdoipray.com/howdoipray/Home/
    http://www.islamcan.com/salat/duas/index.shtml

    Biography of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) podcast series, started from the bottom
    http://www.qalaminstitute.org/seerah/#.WaTIusiGMdV

    Some English speaking speakers (they start with a Arabic supplication then speak in English)
    Yasmin Mogahed
    Nouman Ali Khan
    Abdul Nasir Jangda
    Omar Suleiman
    Yusha Evans
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    talibilm's Avatar Full Member
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    format_quote Originally Posted by hc18 View Post
    Hello,

    I am a 19 year old woman who has been raised by very devout Catholics. However, in the past year, I have been learning about the Muslim faith and have found more solace in reading about it than I ever did in my Catholic faith. However, I speak NO arabic and this is, in a way, putting me off I suppose because I know all prayers are recited in Arabic as well as the Quran being written in arabic (I have begun to read the english translation, however, I know that it doesn't necessarily give the same effect. My two questions for you are:

    1) What is some advice you could give me to further my knowledge before I convert? and
    2) Does me not knowing Arabic matter in the long run?

    Also as another note, I am planning on taking an Arabic course this summer at my college and I have Muslim friends who speak Arabic who have offered to help me practice.

    Thank you for your help,
    Harley

    Peace & greetings to those who seek guidance to their Creator.

    Welcome Sister and here is a thread which also share important info on conversion to Islam like every other good post by members here.

    What should a new convert to Islam know?

    kindly go through the links there .
    Last edited by talibilm; 09-03-2017 at 05:53 AM.
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    cinnamonrolls1's Avatar Full Member
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    hey sis, you can learn the arabic for prayers of youtube videos or online pretty easily.
    As for not knowing Arabic remember that there are lots of Muslims/muslim countries in the world that dont speak arabic-Indonesia(the country with the most muslims),Malaysia,Pakistan,Bangladesh,India,Bosnia n muslims etc. Arabic is not the be all. Allah Swt knows that you are trying your hardest. Take it in baby steps-don't try and do everything overnight. I wish you the best!
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    YahyaAE's Avatar Full Member
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    Arabic is helpful for Quranic recitation and for studying hadith, but beyond that you don't need to know the language. Even here in the Middle East, even though most of the population are Muslim, most people speak English. There are even Arabs here who don't speak Arabic (but thats because they grew up in the West)

    Don't let the language thing be a deterrent. It's almost irrelevant.
    I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

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    SeekersElite's Avatar Full Member
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    Never border about your inability to speak Arabic. Everything in Islam is so easy and simple. Becoming a Muslim means obeying the five pillars of Islam, and among these pillars, there is nothing like "You must speak Arabic". Everything is a process. All you need to do is to be steadfast the process.

    Maybe this article may help: Must I know Islam well before I can be a good Muslim?

    Jazakallah Khairan Katheeran
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    Umm Malik's Avatar Full Member
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    aassalamoalaykum and welcome Harley
    there are a lot of Muslim who don't know Arabic and this is not a problem
    because you can learn it gradually
    but converting is the most important thing especially if you feel like you feel like you are sure about your decision and you are ready to be a Muslim.
    as for Arabic you can take courses and take your time in learn it and Allah will reward your effort
    I am here If you need help because Arabic is my mother language.
    welcome again bewen us
    your sister Maryam
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    Yahya8's Avatar Limited Member
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    I converted and didn't know Arabic. Youll pick it up on the way insaallah
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    IslamLife00's Avatar Full Member
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    It's been over 3 mths since you posted. Have you said your shahada? If you no longer have doubt, don't delay it.

    The rest you can learn. Allah has guided you to Islam, He will make it easy for you to learn Arabic inshaAllah
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    If you feel the call to convert, then by all means, do it and the rest will come.

    "Allah intends for you ease, and does not want to make things difficult for you" [2:185]; and "Allah does not want to place you in difficulty" [5:6]

    There are resources online that will help you learn salah. I started with a sheet of paper in front of me, praying in english, until I eventually memorized enough to do it all in Arabic. Take it slow and know that you are rewarded for your sincere efforts. Try not to burn out, like I did, spending hours reading different scholarly opinions on obscure points of doctrine. Pray, cultivate your relationship with Allah (swt), read the Quran, and the rest will come.

    Alhamdulillah, Islam is so amazing when you open yourself up to it. I'm getting mushy just thinking about it. I converted from strict Christianity and I have never felt closer to my Creator. May Allah (swt) guide you.
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    talibilm's Avatar Full Member
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    most of us here do not speak arabic too but we are muslims
    I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    My Sect : No Sect

    My Aqeedha : Aqeedha of Sahabas as in http://legacy.quran.com/112

    Just a Muslim with Glorious Quran and (hadith) sunnah as my guide as in verse 41:33 '' And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, "Indeed, I am of the Muslims."
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    Ümit's Avatar Full Member
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    Yeah...do not worry about Arabic. I am also a Muslim and do not know Arabic at all.
    In your daily 5x per day prayers you need to recite some verses in Arabic from memory, but since the Quran is built up poetically, it is pretty easy to memorize, even if you do not understand it.

    You can memorize those in time...no need to rush it. and if you are interested you can look up their translations.
    Most of others things, you can do in your own language. that would be no problem.
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    space's Avatar Full Member
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    Same here, myself am a non-arab speaking member.. we need to learn Arabic in order to understand Quran and Sunnah properly.. there is no obligation to learn it in order to use in daily life, otherwise it sounds shauvinistic.. all the prophets who came before Muhammad(s.a.w) did not know Arabic language, so? Some people even claim that human beings will speak Arabic in the afterlife which is absolutely nonsense
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    Mahir Adnan's Avatar Full Member
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    1) What is some advice you could give me to further my knowledge before I convert? and
    2) Does me not knowing Arabic matter in the long run?
    1) https://abdurrahmanorg.files.wordpre...baanah-com.pdf
    2) at least learn sura fatiha & 4 other suras which seem easy for you

    ...
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    Learn at least al fatiha and a couple other short surahs for salah.

    Sent from my [device_name] using IslamicBoard mobile app
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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    format_quote Originally Posted by space View Post
    Same here, myself am a non-arab speaking member.. we need to learn Arabic in order to understand Quran and Sunnah properly.. there is no obligation to learn it in order to use in daily life, otherwise it sounds shauvinistic.. all the prophets who came before Muhammad(s.a.w) did not know Arabic language, so? Some people even claim that human beings will speak Arabic in the afterlife which is absolutely nonsense
    What a strange claim

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    Re: I'm considering converting, but don't speak Arabic!

    format_quote Originally Posted by cinnamonrolls1 View Post
    What a strange claim

    Sent from my [device_name] using IslamicBoard mobile app

    elaborate please about my "strange claim"
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