Assalamu Alaikum,

eXis, I am a new revert.  I have been in Islam for about two months now.  Alhamdulillah.  At the time I reverted, I didn't know much about Islam but I was positive that Allah (swt) wanted me to return to my true faith.  When I accepted Islam, I simply felt that I had finally come home.  Since then, I have read the entire Qur'an once and have read much of the hadith.  Every time I come upon an issue that is difficult for me to understand or grasp, I stop and ask Allah (swt) to guide me, and every time, He leads me to the information I need in order to continue on my path in Islam. 

I, too, have depended on the internet for support and guidance from time to time and for the most part it has been a most wonderful learning experience.  In doing research on the internet, I came across a book titled Islam in Focus by Hammudah Abdalti.  I was able to download the entire book as a pdf file so that I could read it in its entirety.  It has really been helpful in giving me a firm grasp of the over-all structure of the life of a person in Islam. 

As others have already pointed out, it is not necessary for a new muslim to be able to do everything that is required of them from the moment they accept Islam.  I study several hours everyday and I can honestly say that the more I study, the more I know that Islam is the right path for me to be on even though there are things I have yet to learn or do.  I know that what is most important for me is to embrace Islam with a true heart (to honestly believe and have faith) and to continue studying so that I continue to grow in Islam.  I know that if those two things are in place, Allah (swt) will bless me and guide me for He is Most Gracious and Most Merciful to those who seek His guidance.

Here is a web site that you may find interesting:  http://www.harunyahya.com/index.php

Allahu Akbar

Wa Alaikum Assalam

Assalamu Alaikum,

I am a sister revert. It was also difficult for me to remember the Arabic
in my daily prayers. What I did was write the transliteration down on a
piece of paper and kept it with me when I prayed. If I had to, I'd keep my
eyes down always but look at the paper if I forgot what the next words
were in Arabic. If you keep doing this, before you know it you'll be doing
salaat without the help of the paper. Just remember that at times you
may feel overwhelmed and feel there is too much to learn, but do it at a
pace that is comfortable for you and Allah (swt) will guide you. Just don't
give up and put your trust in Him. All Muslims, whether reverts or those
born into Muslim families, are learning new things everyday and we all
want to do better in our prayers, daily lives, etc. so we are all in it
together. May Allah (swt) guide you and bless you.

Peace,
J.R.

Salam to all,

Br. AhmadJoyia makes another good point!

I agree. Some of the information referenced was to point you in the right direction (such as tahir and najis info). This is not to minimize the importance, however, the reasoning, logic and conceptual foundation of religion is more important.

I picked these particular subjects because you indicated in your original post that you were looking for info on the practical aspects of Islam. YOU SAID " there is a lot about understanding Islam as a theology, but not much about practiciing Islam as a young man."  However, in Islam (as in all other things), theory and practice " walk hand in hand", and practice without understanding or understanding without practice are useless.

Salam

.... One more thing,

If you have questions on issues of Shariah (or Fiqh, Islamic Law), you should either reference the website of an Islamic scholar, or, ask for references from a scholar if your question is answered by a non-scholar.

If you have questions on the meaning of Quran (Tafseer), again, this needs to be answered by a scholar or scholarly reference, however, if it is a verse of obvious meaning (which you probably won't have a question about), then this is not as important.

If you have specific questions, I will try to find you the answer (inshahAllah).

Salam (again)