Final Words for the New Muslim
Chapter 9 of A Guide for the New Muslim: honest advice for the road ahead.
“Guide us to the straight path.” (Quran 1:6)
A study-guide summary of a chapter of A Guide for the New Muslim by Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo.
A wonderful new phase
You have started a new chapter and received the greatest blessing a person can. Many converts nevertheless find that old habits, friends, and surroundings still pull. Keep your original goal in front of you: the pleasure of your Lord.
Do not fight alone.
The author warns that no new Muslim should try to resist every temptation by themselves. Find a good mosque, a good friend or a teacher to be with, and have people to turn to.
Be patient with the community.
There is no official church in Islam, and not every mosque can assign someone to guide you. Do not expect perfect behavior from every Muslim, as you will meet the pious and the careless, the knowledgeable and the uninformed. Remember that Muslims are human and that you have shortcomings too. Do not judge Islam by its followers. Judge it by its sources.
Expect trials.
Everyone who follows this path will be tested. Prepare yourself mentally for hardship, and measure it against the reward of Paradise.
Keep learning and keep asking.
Attend talks at the mosque, read reliable books, and keep studying. Above all, ask Allah, again and again, to keep you on the straight path, which is what Muslims do in every single prayer.
In short: You are not expected to be perfect. You are expected to keep going.
This page summarizes the chapter in our own words. For the author’s full text, download the complete PDF.