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

  • Thread starter Thread starter hc18
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 32
  • Views Views 24K
H

hc18

Limited Member
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Gender
Female
Religion
Christianity
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
 
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
 
hc18 said:
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
Click to expand...

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:
hc18 said:
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
Click to expand...

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
 
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
 
hc18 said:
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
Click to expand...


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:
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,Bosnian 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!
 
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:p)

Don't let the language thing be a deterrent. It's almost irrelevant.
 
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
 
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
 
I converted and didn't know Arabic. Youll pick it up on the way insaallah
 
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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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
 
space said:
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
Click to expand...
What a strange claim

Sent from my [device_name] using IslamicBoard mobile app
 

Similar Threads

Back
Top