:salam2:
Jazakee Allahu khayran Sister for this thread!!!
This is an advice given by a Brother revert:
Find a good teacher
Islam is truly a blessing and we should all feel overwhelmed with gratitude to Allah for
guiding us to the straight path, the path of real success and peace.
My advice to you as a new Muslim is to find a teacher. In my year and a half
of being Muslim (I’m 28 years old), one of the most important experiences
for me has been the guidance and support of a very knowledgeable and pious
teacher. Islam is a not a religion of self-interpretation. It is a straight
path based on knowledge that must be acquired. It is a lifestyle that has to
be adhered to, and is unfortunately being influenced by many negative
elements, both within and outside Islam. Without a guide, it is difficult to
differentiate the truth of Islam from the created falsehoods that are being
propogated as Islamic teachings.
Although many new Muslims, especially in the US, choose to teach themselves
Islam through books, lectures and videos, there are many pitfalls to doing
this that should be avoided. Without a teacher or a guide, one armed with
the combination of knowledge and experience, the pitfalls of the ego and
desires can confuse and lead us astray quite easily. Self-teaching is a
western phenomenon, and because many of us are brought up in the west, we
assume we can apply our cultural norms to Islam as well. However, Islam is
not of the west, thus, these western norms cannot be applied to it with much
success.
For centuries, classical Islamic education was taught through direct contact
with teachers. This is how wisdom, not just knowledge, was acquired. You
cannot gain wisdom just from reading. Anyone can read and parrot, but how
many can read and apply in the way Allah intends? One of the problems with
the Muslim Ummah today is that there are too many of us reading and
parroting, but not enough applying in the way truly put forth by Allah and
His Messenger (SAW). Put simply, we have stopped learning from those with
knowledge and wisdom. We have stopped becoming students. One of the first
attributes Jabril (AS) (archangel Gabriel) said he would take from the world
by Allah’s command toward the end of time would be humility. This is a sign
of what Jabril (AS) was talking about. It takes humility to be a student and
to give our trust over to someone to teach us, which is why fewer and fewer
are willing to do it.
The easiest way to know the true akhlaq (character) of a teacher is to look
at how he lives. How does he live his life? Does he live the deen or just
talk about it? Does he say one thing and do another? Does he invite you into
his home and show you how to practice Islam, not just tell you? Does he make
five solats a day? These are some ways of knowing the authenticity and
genuineness of a teacher. Unfortunately, in this day and age, many people
claim to be sheikhs and imams, yet have very little knowledge or wisdom of
Islam. So don’t be fooled by titles in your search for a teacher.
I don’t mean to put fear into anyone’s heart on this matter. I have seen,
however, the importance of having guidance and the consequences of what
happens without it. How we learn and are indoctrinated into Islam will
greatly effect our appreciation for it, our love of it, our devotion to it,
and most importantly, our ultimate success or failure with Allah. Knowledge
with wisdom will make you LOVE Islam, not just blindly follow it. So I urge
you to go out and find a good teacher to help you along the path to Allah.
May Allah bless you and guide you further in your journey. Assalamualaikum!
