I just converted to Islam. What do I do first?
A staged plan: the shahādah, the first prayer, the first Ramadan, the first ʿĪd — and what the classical scholars said to the new Muslims among the ṣaḥābah.
10 passages from 9 books in the library
For someone new to Islam, the classical scholars counsel a gentle, staged beginning rather than plunging into difficult matters. Al-Ghazali, in the Book of Knowledge, compares shielding a beginner from premature doubts to keeping a new Muslim from situations that could unsettle a still-young faith — protect the foundation first. In the Book of Belief he treats the Shahada as the threshold act, something one must utter, not merely know to be obligatory. The practical sequence — the testimony, then prayer, then Ramadan — follows from grounding belief before depth.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 9 books by Imam al-Ghazali and Ibn Battuta — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Preventing a beginner from engaging with doubts is akin to preventing a new Muslim from mingling"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"If it is goods with no profit, it is returned, and the owner cannot compel the agent to convert"
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"sought to convert the people after his conversion, and the tale of Judge Majdal Din with him."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"pace, but if seen, they revert to their humility. They do not remember God to renew humility"
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"if observed by a religious person, they revert to calmness and bow their head for fear of"
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
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"In the lands of Malabar, it is customary for everything recovered from a shipwreck to revert"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"the Shahada, knowing its obligation but not uttering it. This abstention could be likened"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"general principles. In such situations, doubt arises and one should revert to continuity"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
-
"It is understood that they might have accepted Islam. So how do we know they are cursed?"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
-
"It is beyond the capability of someone in a certain situation to revert to firm belief"
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