Converting to Islam

[~kiyah~ 14]

Certainly in no way is a piece of paper certifying you have taken Shahada is what makes you Muslim...this is between you and Allah. I originally said my Shahada in front of 2 Muslim friends.

I had to provide my certificate of Shahada to get merried in Morocco...even though I had been Muslimah for over 2 years, it was still required to get married in Morocco since I am a foreigner. So, I had to take my Shahada all over again which I did at the mosque, they gave me the certificate, meshi mushkil.

However, when the Adoul was preparing our marriage certificate, he had me say Shahada in front of him and both Muslim witnesses who officially witnessed our marriage. He also asked questions like how long I have been Muslim, why I converted, what are the 5 pillars, etc. I thought it was a bit strange, but meshi mushkil...I was happy to oblige.

Now that we are making plans to go to Hajj one day insh'allah, I am really happy I have my certificate on paper. It is currently framed and hanging on the same wall as our original marriage certificate.

~Kiyah~

[balmytigeress 0]

Did I read somewhere that you need that piece of paper to go on Hajj? Since only Muslims are allowed, I guess it would make some sense to require something that says you are Muslim.

As for praying in Arabic....all I've memorized so far (converted June 2006) is al-fatiha and some random words and phrases. I don't learn new words easily so I can only pray (haha?) that my prayers are accepted until I'm able to learn enough Arabic to pray "Properly." IMH(but not learned)O the ideal is to able to pray in Arabic, but since very many Muslims do not know Arabic, and some do not live near other Muslims, sincere prayer in their own language is enough until they are able to learn the Arabic. Isn't it better to have the intention and be trying, than to be mired down in language lessons and unable to start?

From what I've seen and read...Islam is easy, people make it complicated.

BT

[Nasturtium 500]

Balmy-- if you come from a non-muslim country (where your religion isn't listed on your ID), then you have to get a paper from your Imam saying you're muslim and send that with your papers for Hajj.

[deemabrouk 0]

Did I read somewhere that you need that piece of paper to go on Hajj? Since only Muslims are allowed, I guess it would make some sense to require something that says you are Muslim.

As for praying in Arabic....all I've memorized so far (converted June 2006) is al-fatiha and some random words and phrases. I don't learn new words easily so I can only pray (haha?) that my prayers are accepted until I'm able to learn enough Arabic to pray "Properly." IMH(but not learned)O the ideal is to able to pray in Arabic, but since very many Muslims do not know Arabic, and some do not live near other Muslims, sincere prayer in their own language is enough until they are able to learn the Arabic. Isn't it better to have the intention and be trying, than to be mired down in language lessons and unable to start?

From what I've seen and read...Islam is easy, people make it complicated.

BT

of course.. you are 100% right... when I First converted..everyone always said Do your best.. and inshallah God would accept your prayers cause your intentions a good.. Everyone fumbles and messes up at first - it is normal.

[doodlebug 3]

Just a random thought.....I wonder if these places that make you pray in front of them before they issue you the certificate want to make sure you're not Shia? I never knew that they prayed differently but when I was talking to a guy from Iran who works on my floor he said he prays in Farsi, so I asked my husband and he said they pray in a different way than us. Maybe that makes a difference or something. Do Shia's go to Hajj or do they not believe in that?

[ya falaha! 0]

Shi'a are Muslim. Why would they want to see if you're not Shi'a? Shi'a have a different way of doing things but they're still Muslim. They don't pray to Satan or anything.

[doodlebug 3]

Shi'a are Muslim. Why would they want to see if you're not Shi'a? Shi'a have a different way of doing things but they're still Muslim. They don't pray to Satan or anything.

I thought maybe they put the type of muslim on the certificate. Also I was asking about Hajj since maybe it makes a difference if they don't do Hajj. Just spitballin' here.

[mybackpages 0]

Shi'a are Muslim. Why would they want to see if you're not Shi'a? Shi'a have a different way of doing things but they're still Muslim. They don't pray to Satan or anything.

I thought maybe they put the type of muslim on the certificate. Also I was asking about Hajj since maybe it makes a difference if they don't do Hajj. Just spitballin' here.

Shi'ias do do hajj and the difference in prayers is minor. There are minor differences in prayers in the sunni schools as well- slight differences in the placement of hands and feet - things like this.

Some sunnis do have a huge problems with Shi'ias however praying in the same mosque.

[doodlebug 3]

Shi'a are Muslim. Why would they want to see if you're not Shi'a? Shi'a have a different way of doing things but they're still Muslim. They don't pray to Satan or anything.

I thought maybe they put the type of muslim on the certificate. Also I was asking about Hajj since maybe it makes a difference if they don't do Hajj. Just spitballin' here.

Shi'ias do do hajj and the difference in prayers is minor. There are minor differences in prayers in the sunni schools as well- slight differences in the placement of hands and feet - things like this.

Some sunnis do have a huge problems with Shi'ias however praying in the same mosque.

Oh that's interesting. I work with a guy from Iran and he told me he doesn't know any arabic at all and that where he's from they all pray in Farsi. I mean I can understand someone here not learning arabic *maybe* and praying in English if they're really adamant about it but in Iran to have it commonplace to pray in Farsi I thought it was strange. I asked my husband and he said that it is because they are Shia and that they don't read the Quran either. Of course that's just what he says and I have never looked into it. Just thought it was interesting.

Edited March 30, 2007 by doodlebug

[rclouse 0]

I mean I can understand someone here not learning arabic *maybe* and praying in English if they're really adamant about it but in Iran to have it commonplace to pray in Farsi I thought it was strange. I asked my husband and he said that it is because they are Shia and that they don't read the Quran either. Of course that's just what he says and I have never looked into it. Just thought it was interesting.

Ummmm... Iranians are not Arabs, and their native language is not Arabic, it's.... Farsi. So yeah, they'll naturally want to pray in Farsi.

And it's difficult for anyone not fluent in Arabic to read the Koran; all the rest of us get is a translation.

[Henia 11]

Esalaam

Well after reading this thread...all I have to say is: oooooooooooooooook!

So here is my own 2cents:

I converted twice if you will, frist time in Europe saying the chahada to myself as I read through theQuran, but my offical conversion/reversion was in front my Muslim friends and 2 imams in the US. I receieved no offical documentation for it. With my first husband, a Muslim the imams (plural) who married us asked me only if I am a Muslim and why? They did not ask for any documentation or information of my conversion. Years down the line, marrying my current husband here in Algerie... I spoke with the imam about the nikah and about Islam breifly. He did not ask me once about my conversion and no documentation was required to prove that I am a Muslim.

When we registered for our marriage(legal) they did ask my religion, to write it down. And the police officer casually asked about my religion but it was only for his own curiousity.

Anywho that my 2cents here! Allah Ma3'ak!

[doodlebug 3]

I mean I can understand someone here not learning arabic *maybe* and praying in English if they're really adamant about it but in Iran to have it commonplace to pray in Farsi I thought it was strange. I asked my husband and he said that it is because they are Shia and that they don't read the Quran either. Of course that's just what he says and I have never looked into it. Just thought it was interesting.

Ummmm... Iranians are not Arabs, and their native language is not Arabic, it's.... Farsi. So yeah, they'll naturally want to pray in Farsi.

And it's difficult for anyone not fluent in Arabic to read the Koran; all the rest of us get is a translation.

Ummmm.....I'm American and I'm not Arab, and my native language is not Arabic, it's.....English. So yeah, I naturally wanted to pray in English but guess what, I was told to pray in .....Arabic, so I took to the books and learned what I needed to learn like the majority of non ARabic speaking muslims.

I realize how difficult it is to read the Quran which is why I have a translation. Is it that difficult for it to be translated into Farsi? From what I heard that is not why the Shia don't go by the Quran.

[peezey 0]

I mean I can understand someone here not learning arabic *maybe* and praying in English if they're really adamant about it but in Iran to have it commonplace to pray in Farsi I thought it was strange. I asked my husband and he said that it is because they are Shia and that they don't read the Quran either. Of course that's just what he says and I have never looked into it. Just thought it was interesting.

Ummmm... Iranians are not Arabs, and their native language is not Arabic, it's.... Farsi. So yeah, they'll naturally want to pray in Farsi.

And it's difficult for anyone not fluent in Arabic to read the Koran; all the rest of us get is a translation.

Ummmm.....I'm American and I'm not Arab, and my native language is not Arabic, it's.....English. So yeah, I naturally wanted to pray in English but guess what, I was told to pray in .....Arabic, so I took to the books and learned what I needed to learn like the majority of non ARabic speaking muslims.

I realize how difficult it is to read the Quran which is why I have a translation. Is it that difficult for it to be translated into Farsi? From what I heard that is not why the Shia don't go by the Quran.

It is totally false shi'a do not "go by" the qu'ran. They absolutely do. There are differences in interpretations of some surah, between sunni and shi'a. Obviously there is the difference of succession. There are dozens of holy sites in Iran to which millions make pilgrimages every year. There are renowned Islamic universities in Iran as well.

God revealed the qu'ran in Arabic because he was revealing it to an arab. Non-Arabs are not compelled to learn arabic to be Muslim or understand the qu'ran.

[Caladan 19]

Perhaps the 'requirement' to learn Arabic is due not to a belief that God only answers prayers in Arabic, but that since Arabic is the original language of the religion, it's best to read it in the original if you're coming from a tradition that isn't familiar with it (i.e., the U.S.) rather than sorting through translations. (And convenient, since the original language is still a living language.) Iran has millions of Muslims and a long tradition of having lots of Muslims, so it's not really surprising that they wouldn't be learning Arabic.

Are the conversion requirements really that low? No one should need to be a scholar, but how do you avoid ending up with lots of Muslims who don't know anything about Islam if they don't have classes first? Is there study required after conversion?

[Together4ever 1]

Perhaps the 'requirement' to learn Arabic is due not to a belief that God only answers prayers in Arabic, but that since Arabic is the original language of the religion, it's best to read it in the original if you're coming from a tradition that isn't familiar with it (i.e., the U.S.) rather than sorting through translations. (And convenient, since the original language is still a living language.) Iran has millions of Muslims and a long tradition of having lots of Muslims, so it's not really surprising that they wouldn't be learning Arabic.

Are the conversion requirements really that low? No one should need to be a scholar, but how do you avoid ending up with lots of Muslims who don't know anything about Islam if they don't have classes first? Is there study required after conversion?

Google the meaning of the term "Muslim" and it should answer your question.