Prophethood – This is the belief in all the prophets sent by...

Prophethood – This is the belief in all the prophets sent by God and their uniform message of guidance. Imamat – This is the belief in maintainers and protectors of religion appointed by God, particularly the twelve appointed after the death of (saw), including the Imam of our time. (as) Resurrection – This is the belief in a life after death, including a Judgment Day and punishment or reward in hell or heaven.

Similarly, there are ten branches of religion (Furoo e deen) that are considered the major components of Islamic practice. These are salaat (the daily prayer), sawm (fasting), hajj (pilgrimage), zakat (tax on wealth), khums (tax on money), Jihad (struggle), amr bil ma’ruf (enjoining good), nahi ‘anil munkar (forbidding evil), tawalla [loving the Prophet and his family (as)], and tabarra [disassociating with the enemies of the Prophet and his family (as)].

Prayer The first major obligation once you become Muslim is the daily prayer. Most converts are very eager and stressed about knowing how to perform it correctly immediately. Following are some basic instructions to get you started with the daily prayer. You can hold this if necessary for awhile until you start to memorize things. When you get the chance, meet with someone who already knows the prayer and they can help you with the Arabic and little details, God willing.

In the meantime, try to pray with concentration and when you prostrate place your forehead on soil, rock, wood, or blank paper. The five daily prayers are as follows: Morning prayer is two rakaats (cycles) performed approximately 70 minutes prior to sunrise.

Noon-ish prayer is 4 rakaats performed just after true noon (when the sun reaches the highest point in its path across the sky, or passes from the eastern half into the western half of the sky.) Afternoon prayer is 4 rakaats performed anytime between the noon prayer and the evening prayer, with its ideal time when an object’s afternoon shadow just becomes longer than the object itself.

Evening prayer is 3 rakaats performed roughly 15 minutes to half an hour after sunset, when redness has left the western half of the sky. And the night prayer is 4 rakaats performed after the evening prayer ideally when twilight is over, which is usually about one and a half hours after sunset. Prior to praying you should perform wudhu , the ritual ablution. This is done by washing your hands with water, then covering the face with water from the top down.