A new Muslim wants to learn the religion .

My
questions involves many things..i am a very new convert an at first i
was praying all prays as best i could (i dont know arabic)someone told
me i should only speak in arabic ...so in the end i have stopped
praying ..i think of allah many times in the day ..an follow the
teachings ..but some things i know are wrong i cannot stop ..since
allah called me i have improved my life immensley an am happier than i
have been in a very long time ...i used to be drunk every day ..now i
almost dont drink at all ..i used to gamble all my money ..now i almost
dont gamble at all .....when i do do these wrong things i can feel it
is wrong an dont want to go back to my old ways ...i can feel allah is
guiding me in ways i dont understand ..i dont feel guilty i just feel
why am i doing this ....i have asked a few muslim people i work with an
even a person i met online to teach me to pray properly an help me in
other ways ..but because i am australian they dont feel i am being
serious about being muslim ..so they have been reluctent..i am not a
good person i think ..but i am much better than i have been an with his
help an guidence i know i will succeed ..there are many things for me
to learn ...please give me your advise ......should i keep trying by
myself ..or continue to seek help from other muslims evn though they
seem not to want to .

Praise be to Allaah.

Praise
be to Allaah first and last, and thanks be to Him always. He blesses
whomsoever He will with guidance, and deprives whomsoever He will of
happiness. He saves His slave from misguidance and supports His close
friends until the Hour begins.

My dear Muslim brother, congratulations on
your being blessed with guidance. We ask Allaah to make you steadfast until death.

It
was a great achievement when you decided to embrace Islam and give up
the misguidance in which you had grown up and the shirk [association of
others with Allaah] which is forbidden. We welcome you as a new brother
in Islam and we welcome you as a visitor to this site.

First
of all, we would remind you that in this world man passes through great
tests and trials, which require him to be patient and steadfast, and to
stand firm until death.

“O man! Verily, you are returning towards your Lord with your deeds and actions (good or bad),
a sure returning, and you will meet (the results of your deeds which you did)”

[al-Inshiqaaq 84:6 – interpretation of the
meaning]

One
of the trials with which Allaah tests His slaves is the enjoining of
obligations and duties such as prayer, fasting, zakaah, Hajj and other
acts of worship, and the things that He forbids them to do such as
lying, cheating, adultery, homosexuality and all other forbidden
things, so as to see the sincere believer who obeys the commands of
Allaah, so that He may admit him to Paradise, and the liar and
hypocrite who does not obey Allaah, so that He may send him to
Hell.

Try to do your best to learn what Allaah
commands, and do it, and what He forbids, and avoid it.

There
are many commands, and many prohibitions, and it is impossible to list
them or explain them all in one place. But we refer you to what is
mentioned in this site of ours of questions that deal with the
teachings of Islam, so you can look at it and read what it says, and
may Allaah benefit you thereby.

With
regard to what you mention in your question about having to learn
Arabic, this is true, but you do not have to learn the whole language,
rather just what you need for religious purposes. See question no. 6524.
The fact that you do not know Arabic does not justify your not praying,
because you can learn what you need for prayer in a short period of
time, and until you learn it you should still continue to pray
regularly on time, and pray according to what you are able to do.
“Allaah burdens not a person beyond his scope” [al-Baqarah
2:286].

With regard to how to pray, you will find the
answer to that on this site, under Question no. 13340. See also
8580, 2427,
11040.

Finally
we advise you to look for an Islamic Centre in your city, and to keep
company with Muslims who practise their religion. Do not forget to read
trustworthy websites, and try to benefit from them as much as you can.
We will also be happy to help you and others like you who are looking
for things that will benefit them, and we will offer whatever advice we
can, so keep in touch with us. May Allaah protect you and take care of
you.

» A Christian wants to become Muslim and is asking about the prayer.