Islamic Online University

The New Muslim Course - The First Day

Islamic
Online
University
www.iou.edu.gm

 Islamic Online University

The New Muslim Course - The First Day

The New Muslim Course

(The First Day)

By Dr Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips

Letter to the Imam

Module 6

www.iou.edu.gm

 Islamic Online University

The New Muslim Course - The First Day

Letter to the Imam

Since you are a new convert to Islam, it is important for you to get to know your local
Imam, the head of the local mosque, ('masjid', in Arabic). The mosque is a place where
you will be doing many of your prayers, and where you will gain much of your day-to-day
knowledge about Islam. Therefore, it is good to have a formal introduction to the
Imam, so that you may get comfortable in the mosque, and receive his full support.
If people from the center where you have accepted Islam are not going to introduce you
to the Imam, let them write a letter for you addressed to the Imam explaining that you
are a new convert and asking for his help in educating you in Islam. You will then hand it
over to him and he might give you a tour of the mosque, introduce you to other people
who can help you, and inform you of different activities they hold.
It is very likely that you will be learning more about ablution, prayer, and other rituals in
the mosque; and knowing that you are new to Islam, the imam can give you special,
additional time, or assign you someone who can help you out. He can also pair you with
someone from your neighborhood who can go with you to the mosque on a daily basis
(for brothers), or perhaps with someone who can help you with your local needs as a
Muslim.
So the letter to the Imam is a good formal introduction if you dont have someone who
can come with you to the mosque for the first time and introduce you to the Imam;
although a formal introduction would be ideal.
The mosque is an important place, because it is your place of communal worship. Of
course you are allowed to pray at home, if the circumstances require it, or if it is difficult
for you to get to the mosque on a regular basis. But in the end, you want to be
connected to the mosque, because it represents the heart of the community.
Depending on where you live, the community may be scattered around, and the mosque
is the place where everyone goes to worship. Since you have now entered into that
community, it is important to get to know the people there so that you may feel
comfortable, and for them to feel comfortable with you as well; especially in a mosque
which is a neighborhood mosque where all the people know each other. Being new
there, people will wonder who you are and what brought you there. Perhaps they might
be too shy to come up and speak to you. So you should find ways and means to
facilitate your relationships with the people of the mosque that you will be attending on
a regular basis.
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