Islam Basic
:salam2: ( Peace be upon you )
Alhamdu lillaah ( Praise to Allah) , I have one more brother/sister in Islam.
I will answer based on my understanding.
1. Prayer ( salaah)
Salaah is one of the principles of Islam after shahadah. This is compulsory practice in Islam no matter your condition , even you can't move your limbs at all. There are 5 times salaah a day. For the complete guide of prayer,
please visit
http://www.abdurrahman.org/salah/index.html
The timing of those 5 prayers different in each places, you can found here:
http://www.islamicity.com/prayerTimes/
I strongly suggest you to read book about basic Islams practice , principles of Islam, and those informations can be found
www.abdurrahman.org
Or you can learn Islam from the mosque nearby your place.
This is important because it will be more easy for you to understand, and there will be direct sample of what we should do in salaah
2. About Ramadhan
It is a month in which Allah the Exalted has commanded us to conduct fasting.
The command is in the Quran Chapter 2 (Al-Baqarah ) verse 183:
يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَتٍ فَمَن كَانَ مِنكُم مَّرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ وَعَلَى الَّذِينَ يُطِيقُونَهُ فِدْيَةٌ طَعَامُ مِسْكِينٍ فَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّهُ وَأَن تَصُومُواْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
"O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may acquire Taqwa.) (184. Fast for a fixed number of days, but if any of you is ill or on a journey, the same number (should be made up) from other days. And as for those who can fast with difficulty, (e.g., an old man), they have (a choice either to fast or) to feed a Miskin (poor person) (for every day). But whoever does good of his own accord, it is better for him. And that you fast is better for you if only you know."
The ramadhan month is in Islamic Calendar ( based on moon) . To find the corresponding date in Gregorian system ( usual calendar ) is your place's scholars. There will be convention about that. I suggest you to come to mosque to consult further.
3. What to do in fasting in Ramadhan?
The fasting starts from dawn prayer time ( Subuh prayer ) till maghrib time. This might be strange to you, so please read Islamic books or nearby mosque.
We are encouraged ( but not compulsory) to eat ( sahr ) before dawn prayer time ( subuh ).
Beside fasting, you should not do anything that abandon your fast, such as eating, drinking, (if you have married, you are not allowed to do sexual activities with your wife/husband during the fasting). You can find more informations about this.
We can break our fast at magrib time ( refer to the link before for prayer times).
During the night of Ramadhan, we are encouraged to live up the night by doing many Islamic deeds such as Taraweeh prayers
Message to you, my brother/sister: Read the Islamic books more often, or consult with the scholars nearby you. Because it is COMPULSORY for every moslem to study the knowledge of ISLAM even your age is very old.
You can ask the tips of being "fresh" moslem for other brothers/sisters here.
AND YOU should make friends with good moslem friends. because they will remind you, share the islamic knowledge with you, and help you during your times.
Allah knows best.
I pray to Allah for your eeman and Islam.
PS : IF you dont understand about Quran, visit the tafsir ( explanation) about that particular verse.
http://www.tafsir.com
or
http://www.qtafsir.com
Useful links:
http://www.abdurrahman.org
http://www.troid.org
