welcome back to the mailbag of the dean
show with you Dr bow Phillips and we try
to deal with some of your questions uh
question I have for you here today oh
for me um answering for you uh I just
became Muslim a year ago but still
haven't established the five daily
prayers well
actually when you become a Muslim you
needed to start it right away
unfortunately sometimes people are a bit
neglectful in this you know they take
their time said okay you got to learn
some Arabic to be able to say the
prayers and learn the the movements etc
etc so it drags on but actually when you
accept Islam you should start praying
immediately the very next prayer or the
prayer of the time in which you accepted
Islam you should go and pray it you
prayed along with other Muslims and you
start the process of learning you know
that because that you need to be doing
that right from the very beginning so it
doesn't drag on like what has happened
with you so I mean what you need to do
you need to go down to your local mosque
um speak with the Imam get somebody to
work with you you know um on a daily
basis you come in for your daily prayers
with those that you're able to pray in
the mosque and you know work with some
people you need help try to do it on
your own it's difficult and that's
probably why you're where you are right
now so Reach Out get help the community
commun is there for you and I'm sure
you'll find easily find many people will
be willing to help
you um you went on to say I'm having a
hard time adjusting my life okay
adjusting life since uh 20 years you've
been doing your own thing now you want
to try to do God's thing okay it's
natural doing your own thing you felt
Freedom you you do when you felt like it
well now God's thing requires you to do
things in an organized way I mean what
we have to understand here is that what
God ask you in your life is for your
betterment you know it's it's it's God's
thing he's the one who's prescribed it
but it's really for us because whether
we do it or we don't whether we adjust
our lives to what God has commanded or
not this doesn't benefit God in any way
this is for our own benefit so that's
why it's important for us to work on
getting online getting in line you know
so uh my advice is just to
stop and think for a minute you know why
is God asking me to do these things
accept in your heart that it is for my
own benefit I need to do it right I need
to do it because that's what's really
right for me you know and if I'm going
to be a Muslim then I should be a real
Muslim not a Muslim in name you know as
we have many Muslims in name who were
born into Islam or they accept Islam but
they accept the wrong Islam or wrong you
know understanding of Islam or they want
to do their own thing like you like
you've expressed you know you're faced
with that struggle we want to do God's
thing we want to do the right thing so
it's going to take a certain amount of
sacrifice and reality is that anything
that's good in our lives we have to work
for we have to struggle for we have to
make effort for and the religion the
guidelines for the whole of Our Lives
naturally we're going to have to make
some efforts here too you know if
there's no effort involved it's just a
lip service you know we say I'm Muslim
that's it you know alhamdulillah
wonderful but we're not doing anything
then obviously we're not really
practicing Islam we're just talking
Islam so what we want to do is to make
Islam real in our lives you know and to
live the principles so that's my basic
advice um I would say to you try to be
around the Muslims you know because
sometimes people accept Islam then they
you know are left on their own or they
go off on their own and say okay I'm
I'll deal with it and you know and then
they end up being surrounded back into
their old environment surrounded by
non-muslims who are not going to support
and help you to grow in Islam so that's
why it's very important you know that
you reach out you be with the Muslims
you know as the prophet may God's peace
and blessing be upon him had said that
you know the community is like a flock
of sheep together where there people
guiding it the shepherd gu guiding it
and that stray sheep the one who doesn't
stay with the flock and goes off is an
easy prey for the Wolves I mean that's
Satan you know you off by yourself you
know Satan will get to you and mess up
your your good intention that you had in
accepting Islam initially and leave you
hanging out there you know maybe you'll
end up you know going back to what you
were doing and Etc so stick with the
community very very
important with that my dear viewers I
hope this uh answer has helped to
Enlighten you somewhat and especially
you who asked the question I'm sure
there's probably more like you out there
um and we hope to see you at some other
point in time in some of the other
programs yeah you may write to me if you
want further information also at Bilal
17 Bilal philips.com I'll try to answer
you know any further questions you might
have otherwise you know you can visit my
website and gather uh other information
from there belal philips.com
okay take care God be with you