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I just converted to Islam. What do I do first?

A staged plan: the shahādah, the first prayer, the first Ramadan, the first ʿĪd — and what the classical scholars said to the new Muslims among the ṣaḥābah.

10 passages from 4 books in the library

For someone new to Islam, the classical scholars counsel a gentle, staged beginning rather than plunging into difficult matters. Al-Ghazali, in the Book of Knowledge, compares shielding a beginner from premature doubts to keeping a new Muslim from situations that could unsettle a still-young faith — protect the foundation first. In the Book of Belief he treats the Shahada as the threshold act, something one must utter, not merely know to be obligatory. The practical sequence — the testimony, then prayer, then Ramadan — follows from grounding belief before depth.

Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.

Where the answer comes from

The classical approach.

These passages are drawn from 4 books by Ibn Kathir and Imam al-Ghazali — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.

Read them closely. If a passage doesn't sit right, open the full book in the library and listen to the chapter around it. Context in the classical tradition is everything.

Cover of Umar ibn al-Khattab
Umar ibn al-Khattab
Ibn Kathir · Timeless Classics

14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir → · Provenance →

  1. "Abu Nasr ibn Makula said: He accepted Islam, then apostatized, then accepted Islam, and his Islam was good; and he was counted as equal to a thousand horsemen. Among his verses from the days of his apostasy and his claim to prophethood, on the killing of his companions by the Muslims: What do you think of the people, when you kill them, are they not men, even if they have not accepted Islam?"

  2. "Ibn Awf ibn al-Ahwas ibn Ja'far ibn Kilab ibn Rabi'a ibn Amir ibn Sa'sa'a al-Amiri al-Kilabi. He accepted Islam in the year of the Conquest and was present at Hunayn, and was given that day a hundred camels to win his heart. He used to live in Tihama, and was a noble, obeyed among his people. He apostatized in the days of al-Siddiq, who sent a detachment against him, and he was routed; then he accepted Islam and his Islam was good. He came as a delegate to Umar in his caliphate, and came to Damascus seeking an inheritance of his there."

  3. "She was the first woman to kill a man of the idolaters. There is disagreement about the Islam of the other paternal aunts of the Prophet, God's peace and blessings be upon him. It is said: Arwa and Atika accepted Islam. Ibn al-Athir and our teacher Abu Abdullah al-Dhahabi the Hafiz said: The correct view is that none of them accepted Islam but her."

Cover of Uthman ibn Affan
Uthman ibn Affan
Ibn Kathir · Timeless Classics

14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir → · Provenance →

  1. "I have neither committed adultery nor stolen, in the Age of Ignorance or in Islam; I have not been perverse, nor coveted, since I accepted Islam; I have not touched my private parts with my right hand since I pledged allegiance with it to the Messenger of God, God's peace and blessings be upon him; I gathered the Qur'an in the time of the Messenger of God, God's peace and blessings be upon him; and no Friday has come upon me since I accepted Islam without my freeing a slave in it, unless I could not find one that Friday, in which case I would make it up the following Friday." Ya'qub ibn Sufyan related it from Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr, from Ibn Lahi'a, who said:"

  2. "Then he accepted Islam in the year of the Conquest; he met the Messenger of God, God's peace and blessings be upon him, at al-Juhfa and returned with him, and was present at the Conquest. It is said that he had accepted Islam before that, but stayed in Mecca with the permission of the Prophet, God's peace and blessings be upon him, as the hadith relates; and God knows best."

  3. "God's peace and blessings be upon him"; and that he used to free a slave every Friday, and if he was unable, he freed two the next Friday. His freedman Humran said: Uthman bathed every day from the time he accepted Islam, may God be pleased with him. Another Hadith: Al-Mughira's Three Choices The Imam Ahmad said: Ali ibn Ayyash told us: al-Walid ibn Muslim told us: al-Awza'i informed us, from Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, that he related to him from al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba, that he went in to Uthman while he was besieged and said: "You are the Imam of the community, and what you see has befallen you. I put before you three courses; choose one of them."

Cover of Volume 1 — From Creation to Mūsā
Volume 1 — From Creation to Mūsā
Ibn Kathir · Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya

14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir → · Provenance →

  1. "a statement of non-acceptance. Allah knows best, but if Pharaoh were returned to the world, he would revert to his former ways. As Allah informed about the disbelievers when they face the fire, they say, if only we could be sent back, we would not deny the signs of our Lord and be among the believers. Allah says, nay, it has become apparent to them what they used to conceal before. And if they were returned, they would surely revert to what they were forbidden, and indeed they are liars. Regarding the verse, so today we will save you in your body that you may be a sign for those after you. Ibn Abbas and others said some among the children of Israel"

  2. "inquired if she had a devil with her to which he replied, yes. She asked if every human had one and he confirmed, yes, even me, but my Lord assisted me against him until he accepted Islam. Abu Huraira narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, indeed the believer takes hold of his devil just as one of you takes hold of his camel during travel. This means that the believer overcomes and overpowers his devil, much like subduing a stray camel. Regarding Iblis, Allah says in Surah Al-A'raf, because you have put me in error I will sit for them on your straight path. Then I will come to them from their front and their back and from"

  3. "his companion from the devils. When asked if this included him he confirmed, yes, but Allah helped me against him and he accepted Islam. Aisha, the wife of the Prophet, peace be upon him, shared an account where she felt jealous one night when the Prophet left her place. Upon his return he asked, what is wrong with you O Aisha? Are you jealous? She replied, how can one like me not be jealous over one like you? The Prophet then asked, did your devil take hold of you? Aisha inquired if she had a devil with her to which he replied, yes. She asked if every human had one and he confirmed, yes, even me, but my Lord assisted me against him"

Cover of Book 28: Condemnation of Status and Showing Off
Book 28: Condemnation of Status and Showing Off
Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din

11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali → · Provenance →

  1. "An ostentatious person might quicken their pace for personal needs, but if observed by a religious person, they revert to calmness and bow their head for fear of being attributed with hastiness and lack of dignity. When unseen, they return to their haste, but if seen, they revert to their humility. They do not remember God to renew humility in His presence, but due to someone watching, fearing others might not believe they are among the devout and righteous."

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Grounded in the Qurʾān, authentic Sunnah, and the four madhāhib. Sourced answers. Never a fatwā — for personal matters, ask a qualified imam. How these answers are made →

The whole road

Every stop of the thirty-year journey, on one map — with the passage from the Riḥla for each: Ibn Baṭṭūṭa's route, mapped →

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