Islamic Beliefs and Practices

Step 0: 

Say, There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger

 

Step 1:

Firm up the concepts of Islamic Beliefs. All the Islamic Practices are invalid without accepting the 5 Beliefs below. Ask questions to yourself and until it make sense don’t move on

  1. Oneness of GOD
  2. Divine Justice
  3. Prophethood
  4. Divine Leadership
  5. Day of Judgement

Recommended Reading:

https://www.al-islam.org/principles-faith-usul-al-din-husayn-wahid-khorasani

 

Step 2:

Develop some love for God. This is best done by talking to him using supplications. We can talk to God however we want but the people who were appointed by God as guides for humans have given a lot of examples on how to talk to God and asking him to fulfil your needs

Recommended Reading:

https://www.al-islam.org/sahifa-al-kamilah-al-sajjadiyya-imam-ali-zayn-al-abidin

 

Step 3:

Start to learn about Rights and Responsibilities of yourself on others. We all know what good deeds are however as a religion Islam has defined in detail what to look for and what to avoid when dealing with others

Recommended Reading:

https://www.al-islam.org/treatise-rights-risalat-al-huquq-imam-ali-zayn-al-abidin

 

Step 4:

Once we realise that we are God’s creation, our duty towards God is to ensure we don’t do anything that has been prohibited by Him and be very mindful of our actions. This is also to comply with our belief on the Day of Judgement when all our actions will be reviewed

Recommended Reading:

https://www.al-islam.org/greater-sins-volume-1-sayyid-abdul-husayn-dastghaib-shirazi

https://www.al-islam.org/greater-sins-volume-2-sayyid-abdul-husayn-dastghaib-shirazi

 

Step 5:

After understanding the above beliefs and purifying ourselves, now we are ready to perform some actions. The most important of them is the daily prayers. Start as little as possible and gradually build up to doing the 5 obligatory prayers in the prescribed manner. Then move on to Fasting and others practices

Recommended Reading:

https://www.al-islam.org/principles-faith-usul-al-din-ayatullah-al-udhma-shaykh-husayn-vahid-khorasani/branches-faith-furu-al

 

Step 6:

Islam started on Day 1 with the appointment of Prophet Adam as the first messenger of God on Earth, prophethood lasted until Prophet Muhammad. Then Imamat started and still continues. Islamic History helps to understand how the religion progressed over time and came to us today and also how it will last until the Day of Judgement

Recommended Reading:

https://www.al-islam.org/islam-faith-practice-history-sayyid-muhammad-rizvi

https://www.al-islam.org/glimpses-nahjul-balagha-murtadha-mutahhari

 

Step 7:

Quran is the divine holy book for Muslims. Its a comprehensive book with a lot of information, laws, history etc. Once you have understood the basics from above. Reading the Quran will make more sense. Quran was revealed in Arabic and has remained as it is since the last 1400 years. Translations are available in almost all languages which is the best way to understand the word of God as a starting point to cover all areas of life for a common person. However those who want to learn more are recommended to learn Arabic. Try to read from one translator rather than comparing translators at this stage as this requires further understanding of the Quranic concepts

Recommended Reading:

https://quran.al-islam.org/

Recitation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=963kSvgX7Zw

 

Short videos on Ethics

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1PszuZUrX_xo_DroXsKsBg/videos