Where do we start?
Being a sidekick to my mom, assisting in teaching to reverts, I always tried to listen to feedback. The Young Moulana of the people we were teaching told me that out of all the subjects to learn about in Islam, It's best to start with Aqeedah. The structure... the skeleton of things, if you will. When things get rough, we always reduce to the skeleton staff, don't we? The most important things to keep the function going. I will never forget a quote from Wayne Gretzky, a sportsman who said something along the lines of: The more hectic the situation gets, the more you trust your basics.
Aqeedah is the "what" subject. All other subjects like Fiqh, History, Akhlaq, and many others collectively contribute to the "when, where, how, possibly why etc" all these subjects are ongoing... and we decide how we are going to keep learning them, with Allah's guidance along the way of course, through our spiritual teachers.
Who am I? I am your fellow student. I've always been that fellow student you could ask to explain things to you, when the teacher said something you missed or whatever the case may...
So let's start:
What is Islam?
1. The Shahadah... being a witness and proclaiming that There is none worthy of worship, except Allah and that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the messenger of Allah. This is first and foremost what we as Muslims stand for.
2. Salaah.... the 5 daily prayers....
3. Zakaah... the yearly tax of 2.5% on those eligible to pay.
4. Saum (Fasting)... done in the month of Ramadhaan.
5. Hajj ( the greater Pilgramage) done at least once in your lifetime, if you are by the means.
What is Imaan?
1. Belief in Allah,...
2. His Angels
3. His Books
4. His Messengers
5. The Last Day
6. The existence of Good and Evil
What is Ihsan?
Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him... and if you are unable to see Him, know that He sees you.
I will encourage you to find a teacher that you resonate with and to sit in their class, online is good, being physically in their presence is even better.
The full story of the Hadith Jibreel is not completed in this blog... This is just a taste and a fellow student's explanation. I urge you to seek out the full story from a trusted Shaykh.
The Prophet (pbuh) was sitting with his companions and a stranger walked up towards them with no dust or signs on travel on him. He sat down close to the Prophet (pbuh) knee to knee... He took a breath and started to ask some questions.....
;)
May Allah forgive my faults, and May He guide us on our quest for knowledge...
....and Allah Knows Best