Salaah as a Beginner

I was meaning to write about this for quite a while, but kept putting it off. Now I thought I’d tackle it this cold, rainy weekend on one of those “off weeks” in the month that women are given! Insha’Allah, I hope that my sharing may be of any help to new Muslims who have just made their Shahada and need to learn the routine of Salaah. In the beginning it can be quite overwhelming with all the Arabic to learn – not to mention the order of postures! That is why it is often advised that reverts learn Salaah before anything else, so that they can begin with little difficulty as soon as they have made the Shahada.

When I reverted in late February, I had only practised Salaah for one week beforehand – and I had happened to have my hayd in that week, too, so didn’t get much in! However, before I knew about the ruling with regards to not making Salaah in this time, I practised by praying Isha for a few consecutive nights. The first time I prayed (having done wudhu from instructions copied down onto paper), I felt so awkward, yet it also felt so right…

I wrote in my journal that first night (15 Feb):

“…my heart has been drawn to Islam and I can’t really help it… oh, God, save me from hell!!! I am terrified of the idea so much, and it makes me feel so miserable.

Yet despite this, I still feel impelled to explore Islam. What ON EARTH IS GOING ON WITH ME???

I actually prayed Isha tonight! The full Muslim Arabic 4 rakahs! On time, with the ritual washing (wudu) beforehand, having swept my floor and put on another black dress and scarf…

Praying the Muslim way tonight, I felt awkward and it felt strange. But oh, how WONDERFUL I felt as well! The most profound feeling of humility and utter littleness before God, one with the earth, head to ground… Oh, it was BEAUTIFUL! I wept afterwards. How could I go to hell for loving God this way?”

A week later, alhamdulillah, I was Muslim, and now it had to be done properly. I had LOTS to learn! The first thing I had done in the week before, was get the instructions for salaah off the Internet. These I copied down on paper in transliterated “English” Arabic, using capital letters large enough to see from a little distance. Then I stuck these sheets of paper to my cupboard door, next to my place of prayer. For a week, I concentrated on learning the Fatihah, as this was used the most, as well as the short praises used in ruku and sudjood (bowing and prostrating). The first thing I memorised were these. On my first visit to the masjid (which I had written an earlier post on), I had to pray with sheets of paper on the floor next to me. By this time I knew the Fatihah well enough to not look at the paper, as well as the two short praises and the salaams. But I didn’t yet know the Tashahhud, Durood (Salawat) or any other Suras.

A week later, I managed to learn my first sura apart from the Fatihah – Sura Ikhlaas ( no. 112). This is a lovely Sura to learn first, as it also affirms the new Faith that Allah is One with no Partner, that He begets not, nor is begotten, and that nothing can be compared to Him. I found it comforting and strengthening to recite when I had a challenging moment with non-Muslims (Sura Kaafiroon is another good one for these times).

Something else to learn, was the niyyahs (intentions) to be said before each salaah (and wudhu amongst other things). With the five fardh (obligatory) salaahs and the sunnah and Witr ones,  that meant that I had to learn 14 differently worded niyyahs! At first I learnt them in English, and when I managed that as well as grasping more Arabic, I tackled the niyyahs in Arabic.

Surprisingly it is not as hard as it looks. Each niyyah has parts, and some of these are repeated in each of the 14 niyyahs. So I broke each one up, and discovered that only part (the middle) of each niyyah was different. Once I could remember the repeated parts at the beginning and end, all I had to do was remember about three or so Arabic words which were unique to each. And, alhamdulillah, I know all 14 now. J

When I began lessons in madrassah, my mualimah reassured me that as a new Muslim learning salaah, I need not worry too much about getting details correct right away. However, it was still overwhelming, especially when I prayed with others who went too fast for me, and got muddled! One week shorly after I reverted, I felt depressed as I had to learn so much that I got overwhelmed with it all. I wondered if I would ever get used to it! It was truly a humbling experience to begin from the bottom on level with little children… Fellow brand-new reverts: know that these feelings do pass soon!

After about three weeks to a month, things started to get more easy. I could remove some of the papers on my cupboard, and as I learned a second short Sura and the Tashahhud and Durood, I could pray anywhere without papers, using what I learned. The new challenge at this time was to learn the finer details of sunnah practices in Salaah, for example, raising the hands when saying “Allahu Akbar” and “Sami Allahu liman hamidah…” By this time I had read about Salaah from three or four different books, which sometimes gave different – and rather confusing – instructions!

I realised that it was often due to the different schools of thought (madh’habs) in Islam. In my area, the Shafi’is prevailed, so I chose this school, but there were also Hanafis as well. After I became aware of the slight differences, I stuck to learning only the Shafi’i way, and I found after research that I liked this school of thought as well. I began to also learn Arabic. Now, after more than three months of practice, Salaah is more easier than before. It becomes second-nature after a while as one goes deeper into it. Of course, I still have a good way to go; I am still learning more Suras pasted up on my cupboard as well as the Qunoot (said by Shafi’i’s in Fajr and Hanafis in Witr). And of course…beginning to learn to recite the Qur’an. I am SO looking forward to this as it will open up so much power to the soul!

If I had to share my personal opinions, I would pass on to any brand-new revert the following tips, which were also given to me:

1. Do not despair when the learning gets overwhelming; soon Allah SWT will make it easier for you.
2. Find some brothers or sisters – and a good teacher! – for support or for asking questions when things get tough. Isolation can also be overwhelming!
3. As my teacher also told me – don’t be hard on yourself when you make mistakes. Take it one step at a time. Learn to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run.
4. Write the Arabic on paper and place it nearby where you can see it when making Salaah. Then you don’t have to worry about holding the papers. This will help you to learn the hand movements in Salaah properly. Just one word of advice: make sure that when you turn to look at it, your chest remains facing the Qiblah otherwise the salaah becomes invalid.
5. Begin by learning the Fatihah and shorter parts more frequently used in Salaah, as well as the posture sequence, then learn two more short Sura’s. After this comes easier, you could read some short Du’a’s after Salaah. In time, this repeated reading of the Du’a’s will cause you to know them by heart, too.
6. Start learning basic Arabic whilst getting acquainted with Salaah, so you can take less time to begin reciting the Qur’an in its original Arabic.
7. And also important: stick to one Madh’hab (School of Thought)! If you don’t know much about them, you can research, but it will probably be best to stick to the one which is the most prevalent in your area. None are better than the others; they are all genuine and valid paths to follow the Sunnah. But chopping and changing between one school and another can create MUCH unnecessary confusion for new Muslims, and it is advised by the Ulama (Religious scholars) to stick to one, as they say that constantly changing between one and another shows a desire to follow one’s own whims. Also, if you commit to one, your imaan is strengthened and you gain more understanding of Islam. Things will be less confusing and you would know who to ask when seeking knowledge and advice from the Ulama.

Salaam

Saadiqah

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