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Wish to become a Muslim, but I live in an area where the closest mosque is at least 60 miles away and I have no transportation.

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Askimam.org

I wish to become a Muslim, but I live in an area where the closest mosque is at least 60 miles away and I have no transportation. I also live in a area with a very low Muslim population. I’ve looked around the internet on how to learn the prayers, but none seem to help me out very much. I’m also concerned about Jumu’ah.  Since I can’t go to mosque on friday [or any day for that matter] how should I proceed and how should I go about learning the prayers?

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Salamun ‘Ala Man Ittaba’ al-Huda
(May peace be upon those who follow the straight path).

We are pleased to hear about your desire in accepting Islam. May Allah accept you for true religion of Islam, Ameen.

We would first like to state that to accept Islam there is no official initiation or ceremony one has to go through. One simply has to utter the words of shahada (testimony) and believe in them from his heart. The words of shahada are:

 (Arabic) اشهد ان لا اله الله واشهد ان محمد عبده ورسوله

Ash-Hadu An La Illahi Ilillah Wa Ash-Hadu Ana Muhammadan AbduhuWa Rasulluhu (Transliteration)

I bear testimony that there is no God but Allah and I bear testimony that Muhammad is his slave and messenger. (Translation)

It should also be known that there are five pillars of Islam.

عن ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما قال  : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم ( بني الإسلام على خمس شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمدا رسول الله وإقام الصلاة وإيتاء الزكاة والحج وصوم رمضان ) – صحيح البخارى (Arabic)

Ibn ‘Umar (Radiyallahu ‘Anhu) narrates that the Prophet of Allah (Sallalahu ‘Alayhi Wasallam) said, “The foundation of Islam is upon five pillars; bearing testimony that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah, establishment of Prayers (Salat), Giving alms (Zakat), Pilgrimage (Hajj), Fasting in the month of Ramadan.) (Translation)

It is also incumbent upon a Muslim to believe in all the necessary doctrines of Islam such as:

  • Qur’an is the book of Allah
  • The finality of Prophethood upon Muhammad (Sallalahu ‘Alayhi Wasallam)
  • Life after death
  • Existence of Angels
  • Day of Judgment
  • Existence of Heaven and Hell
  • Unlawfulness of wine and pork

Rad al-Muhtar 4/221) Saeed

فى الدر المختار: ( الراجع عن دين الإسلام وركنها إجراء كلمة الكفر على اللسان بعد الإيمان ) وهو تصديق محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم في جميع ما جاء به عن الله تعالى مما علم مجيئه ضرورة …قال ابن عابدين: ( قوله هو تصديق إلخ ) معنى التصديق قبول القلب ، وإذعانه لما علم بالضرورة أنه من دين محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم بحيث تعلمه العامة من غير افتقار إلى نظر واستدلال كالوحدانية والنبوة والبعث والجزاء ، ووجوب الصلاة والزكاة وحرمة الخمر ونحوها . – رد المحتار

We advice you to contact an Islamic Scholar (Alim) close to you locality or in the surrounding areas and ask him to teach you about the fundamentals of Islam. It is important to learn Islam from authentic scholars. For the time being, you may learn the method of prayers from books that are easily available for purchase such as ‘Talim al-Haq’. It can be purchased from the following website:

http://www.madania.org/english/index.php

You may also visit our website for other information on Islam at http://www.al-inaam.com/.

May Allah Ta’ala make it easy for you and assist you in having the right understanding of Islam, Ameen.

 

And Allah knows best

Wassalam

Ml. Ehzaz Ajmeri,
Student Darul Iftaa

Checked and Approved by:

Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In’aamiyyah

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IMPORTANT NOTICE : 

The Darul Iftaa, Madrasah Inaa’miyya Camperdown takes pleasure in inviting you to its 7th Shariah Compliant Business Campaign Programme. This seminar is designed to empower every Muslim with the Shariah Law of Finance and economics.

Sunday, 18th of May 2008 at the Darul Uloom Musjid-Camperdown. Programme begins at 10.00 am

Original Source Link

This answer was collected from Askimam.org, which is operated under the supervision of Mufti Ebrahim Desai from South Africa.

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