The New Muslim Guide

by Fahd Salem Bahammam

An exposition of all the important information about Islam which a Muslim must not ignore, while focusing on the urgent queries facing new Muslims. The book also answers all their queries and gives them ample support to deal successfully with the various situations they will frequently encounter. Presented in a straightforward style, this guide provides documented information from the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (s).

Genres: Islam, Religion, Nonfiction, Faith

317 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 29, 2012

Reviews

[Judith Smulders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful, concise booklet for new Islamic reverts. I received this from my mosque after pronouncing my shahada and it has been a great aid in these first months as a muslim. Mostly deals with the practical aspects of the faith (wudhu, prayer, dietary guidelines etc.)

My critique lies mostly in how brief Islam and our prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is discussed and that there is little attention to the importance of reading the Quran and Hadith. This seems to be because of the more authoritative approach: with any questions contact your imam. A profound base understanding and love for scripture is key too, in my opinion.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I downloaded the free e-book version of this volume at the recommendation of a close friend who happens to be a Muslim.

It is a worthy effort to cover the basics of Islam for a person who is thinking about or who has just converted to Islam. Though I personally would hope that someone who has come far enough to be seriously considering/have converted to Islam would know, for example, the basic story of how the Qur'an was revealed to Mohammed or the five pillars of Islam. Still, having all the information in one easy to access format is an excellent idea.

I should admit that I've become a little biased due to my Muslim friend being a Qur'anist, so the constant references to ahadith and the sunnah threw me off a little. I tend, now days, to look for the basis of any opinion or ruling in Islam in the Qur'an first and use whatever information is contained therein to judge any hadith on the subject. So in that respect I could have wished for more thorough reporting of the Qur'anic basis for some rulings rather than just a reference to specific hadith. It is also very clearly a book written from the Sunni point of view, with no mention of the Shi'a emphasis on the Ahl al-Bayt.

My one big quibble with the book is that, at least in the electronic version, it could have used a better proofing and some thorough spell checking. There were numerous instances of copy marks that either didn't format correctly on the Kindle, spelling errors were rife, plenty of extraneous punctuation, and there are several sections where the exact same sentences are repeated from one paragraph to the next. There are even a few instances where it looks like a note from someone who was proof reading the text got included in the final copy.

Such as under the section about Islamic clothing, there is what looks like it should have been a subheading that reads 'Two headings combined into one, above', which follows an instance of the doubled copy - in this case there are two entire paragraphs that are repeated immediately after each other. Or, a little earlier, a subheading is 'Proficiency' and right beside it in parentheses it reads 'in the contents page it states Efficiency?'.

Over all I think that the book could only have benefited from a more thorough proofing process.

[Kenneth Salinas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Substance ruined by rhetoric.

I wanted to give the New Muslim Guide three stars, but in good conscience I can't. I will say that if all you want are answers without understanding or consideration of the reasoning for Allah's commands this is the book for you. This glorified propaganda pamphlet in no way distinguishes Islam from its sister Abrahamic faiths, save the muslim preference in ritual style and "worship". A distillation of this guide's message is as follows: Islam is the final, complete and only true faith and means of worshipping Allah by proxy of the dictated revelations given to Muhammad by God and must be adhered to without question or variance despite a complete lack of corroborating witnesses, because Muhammad said so. So basically, the new muslim is instructed to obey, because obedience is equal to fearful, filial, reverence to Allah. Progress in reading the guide is horribly slow due to the continuous duplication of statements, which makes it hard to feel like you're getting anywhere because it's so repetitive, and any advancement in the material seems difficult as the guide keeps saying the same thing over and over again. If one is patient enough and can whether the first half of the indoctrination, the second half of the guide espouses very lofty goals regarding the conduct of the devout muslim. Unless an individual is ready to fully embrace Islam without question I am at a loss to give a positive response as to the merit and worth of this guide to any critical thinker.

[Emily Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a very informative and concise book for all the standard information a new Muslim would need. It is in text book format (without the Q&As thank you 😂) and i found it to be a very good beginner platform to go off of with further questions on each topic if required.

I do feel abit weird about the men in power stuff because there are definitely a lot of relationships that don’t treat the husband as all powerful like this book can suggest so I don’t think I can read any more from this author

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has many sections in this book which is helpful for new Muslims. My only critique is there are many repetitions. Which on one hand is good to remember but on the other hand I would like more variety of quotes or examples. I would also like expansion on points made such as why a woman needs permission from her husband for doing a voluntary fast ECT it leaves me wondering but that will just seek me to find further answers. Not super in-depth but enough to get an understanding of the faith.

[Liam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book for those who may be wondering what Islam entails. Divided into sections that focus on various realms of Muslim Life, from Prayer to Fasting to the Hajj, as well as other sections from Family to Transactions, this allows for an interesting look at the tenets of Islam, and how to live a more Muslim Life. Quite an informative read.

[Seyma Uluköylü · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. My mom brought the printed version when she returned from Hajj and it was a pleasure to read it. It goes over all the basics and was a good revision, but also taught me some new aspects of Islam. I enjoyed reading this vert very much and already recommended it to others :)

[Shahd Al Haj Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this book after finding out that my muslim neighbor has no idea what the islamic prayer looks like. I felt bad for not having the proper language to teach a non-Arab muslim.

Not bad for an introduction.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Includes all the basics you need

[Fatima · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need this book in Dubai Al muteena if anyone have please call me 0558161203

[Laetitia Tiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basics

[Aamir Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for new Muslims.

Very good read. A lot of information. A lot of spelling and grammatical errors, but the message is received inshallah.

[Muskan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knowledgeable 😍♥️

[Shafiq Taliba · Rating 3 out of 5]

NOT a favorite. This is Islam according to conservative Sunni ideology. There were several points where the book makes a claim that it either chooses not to back up or it uses source material that doesn't actually explain the claim. For instance, that Islam has never been at odds with science; the spirit of Islam surely isn't, but plenty of Muslim traditions or contemporary leaders are, over issues looks evolution, blood or organ transplants, abortion, etc. This should at least be assessed if you're going to make that claim, or those people new to the faith may find themselves confused. likewise, many points that are open to interpretation were presented as hard fact, like the difference between a man and woman's awrah. As someone who has studied and practiced Islam for years, I can point out the inconsistencies and take the passages with a grain of salt, but a new Muslim may be lost, confused, or question their decision to convert in the face of what feels like obvious lies or discriminatory practices. Over all, this book gives OK guidance as to the physical acts of worship, but I advise any new Muslim to continue to learn more about their faith.

[Mohammed]

Aslam alukom, I wanna a PDF for this book. because, my friend is living in a place where there is no access to Internet. I would like to send him

with kind regards
Mohammed

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Book for Everyone

[Yaqubkhan29]

best book