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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 5 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.

Where the answer comes from

The classical approach.

These passages are drawn from 5 books by Ibn Kathir, Imam al-Ghazali, Ibn al-Qayyim, 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.

Read them closely. If a passage doesn't sit right, open the full book in the library and listen to the chapter around it. Context in the classical tradition is everything.

Cover of Volume 1 — From Creation to Mūsā
Volume 1 — From Creation to Mūsā
Ibn Kathir · Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya

14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir → · Provenance →

  1. "a statement of non-acceptance. Allah knows best, but if Pharaoh were returned to the world, he would revert to his former ways. As Allah informed about the disbelievers when they face the fire, they say, if only we could be sent back, we would not deny the signs of our Lord and be among the believers. Allah says, nay, it has become apparent to them what they used to conceal before. And if they were returned, they would surely revert to what they were forbidden, and indeed they are liars. Regarding the verse, so today we will save you in your body that you may be a sign for those after you. Ibn Abbas and others said some among the children of Israel"

  2. "inquired if she had a devil with her to which he replied, yes. She asked if every human had one and he confirmed, yes, even me, but my Lord assisted me against him until he accepted Islam. Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, indeed the believer takes hold of his devil just as one of you takes hold of his camel during travel. This means that the believer overcomes and overpowers his devil, much like subduing a stray camel. Regarding Iblis, Allah says in Surah Al-A'raf, because you have put me in error I will sit for them on your straight path. Then I will come to them from their front and their back and from"

  3. "his companion from the devils. When asked if this included him he confirmed, yes, but Allah helped me against him and he accepted Islam. Aisha, the wife of the Prophet, peace be upon him, shared an account where she felt jealous one night when the Prophet left her place. Upon his return he asked, what is wrong with you O Aisha? Are you jealous? She replied, how can one like me not be jealous over one like you? The Prophet then asked, did your devil take hold of you? Aisha inquired if she had a devil with her to which he replied, yes. She asked if every human had one and he confirmed, yes, even me, but my Lord assisted me against him"

  4. "Satan sits in the paths of the son of Adam. He sits on his way to Islam and says, will you embrace Islam and abandon your religion and the religion of your forefathers? He disobeyed him and accepted Islam. Then he sits on the path to migration and says, will you migrate and leave your land and sky while the example of the emigrant is like the horse tied in a tether? He disobeyed him and migrated. Then he sits on his way to Jihad, which is an exertion of self and wealth and says, will you fight and be killed and your wife will be married and your wealth divided? He disobeyed him and engaged in Jihad. The Prophet continued,"

Cover of Book 28: Condemnation of Status and Showing Off
Book 28: Condemnation of Status and Showing Off
Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din

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 →

  1. "An ostentatious person might quicken their pace for personal needs, but if observed by a religious person, they revert to calmness and bow their head for fear of being attributed with hastiness and lack of dignity. When unseen, they return to their haste, but if seen, they revert to their humility. They do not remember God to renew humility in His presence, but due to someone watching, fearing others might not believe they are among the devout and righteous."

Cover of The Story of Musa
The Story of Musa
Ibn Kathir · Stories of the Prophets

14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir → · Provenance →

  1. "repentance because, and Allah knows best, if Pharaoh were to return to the world, he would revert to his former self. As Allah has informed about the disbelievers, when they see the fire and witness it, they will say, oh, if only we could be returned and not deny the signs of our Lord and be among the believers. Allah said, but what they used to conceal before has become evident to them, and if they were returned, they would return to what they were forbidden, and indeed, they are liars. The statement, so today we will save you in your body that you may be to those who succeed you a sign, was explained by Ibn Abbas and others."

Cover of The Disease and The Cure
The Disease and The Cure
Ibn al-Qayyim · Timeless Classics

14th century · Damascus, Syria
Madārij al-Sālikīn — the classical map of the spiritual journey — and a vast body of work on the soul, love, the traps of the ego, and the nature of the heart.
More on Ibn al-Qayyim → · Provenance →

  1. "immorality. He said, I will marry you. She said, you are a Muslim and I am a Christian and my father will not marry me to you. He told her, I will convert to Christianity and she said, if you do then I will respond. Thus the man converted to Christianity to marry her and he stayed with them in the house. That day, while ascending to a roof in the house, he fell and died, neither achieving her nor retaining his faith. The corruption of homosexuality is considered one of the greatest corruptions and its punishment in this world and the hereafter is among the severest. There is a debate on whether its punishment is harsher than"

  2. "their heart and tongue betray them at the time of dying and transitioning to Allah Almighty. Many witnesses have recounted incidents where the dying could not utter the shahada, even when prompted with, say, there is no deity but Allah. One replied, alas, alas, I cannot say it. Another was told to say, there is no deity but Allah, but instead said, checkmate, I've defeated you, referring to chess pieces. Another, when prompted, quoted a popular old saying, oh, one who asks one day when she's tired, how does one get to Minjab's bathhouse before he passed away? Another person was told, say, there is no deity but Allah,"

Cover of Volume Two: From India to the Lands of the West
Volume Two: From India to the Lands of the West
Ibn Battuta · Rihla — The Travels of Ibn Battuta

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 →

  1. "concerns to the Sultan, who dismissed them saying, leave him alone, this is what God has willed, for he will be the one to kill him. One day, Khusrau Khan informed the Sultan that a group of Indians wanted to convert to Islam. In those lands, it was customary for Indians seeking Islam to be taken to the Sultan, who would robe them in fine garments, adorn them with golden necklaces and bracelets, fitting their status. The Sultan instructed him to bring them, to which Khusrau Khan replied that they were ashamed to enter in daylight due to their kin and religious peers. The Sultan allowed a nighttime audience. Khusrau"

  2. "they rushed in and killed him. The commotion rose at the gate. When the Sultan questioned the noise, Khusrau Khan claimed it was the Indians who came to convert, but Judge Khan blocked them. As the clamor intensified, the Sultan fearful rose to enter the palace, but the door was shut, guards by his side. He knocked, and Khusrau Khan, approaching from behind, seized him. Though the Sultan being stronger, overthrew Khusrau Khan, the Indians entered. Khusrau Khan directed them, pointing, he is above me, kill him, and they complied, severing his head and casting it from the palace roof into the courtyard. Khusrau Khan,"

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Grounded in the Qurʾān, authentic Sunnah, and the four madhāhib. Sourced answers. Never a fatwā — for personal matters, ask a qualified imam. How these answers are made →

The whole road

Every stop of the thirty-year journey, on one map — with the passage from the Riḥla for each: Ibn Baṭṭūṭa's route, mapped →

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