When accepting Islam to save your own self from being from the denizens of the Fire, it is commonplace to think—what about my family, my friends, and my colleagues? Or maybe you are just ecstatic at how awesome Islam is–seriously–you just have to tell others about it so they can join the bandwagon. And inviting others to Islam is the mission of Allah’s Messengers, and an extremely praiseworthy act in Islam.

Perhaps you accepted Islam because of something within it that made perfect sense, rather, it made Divine sense to you and Allah guided you through it. If that is the case, that you reasoned Islam to be the Truth, you have every right to desire to show that reasoning to others around you so that the light bulb would illuminate in their minds as well that they be guided. However, it rarely works like that. Yes, if you have some friends who really admire you and may be swayed easily and you know them to have a love for what is true and right, they should be called towards Islam. But don’t be surprised if other people just don’t [want to] see it.

As for parents and other immediate family, they would probably be more attentive and receiving should the same information reach them from any other Muslim source on earth. So in that case, the best way to call them to Islam is through your actions by practicing and displaying a truly Islamic character. Although cultivating such a character takes years to summon, you can never discount any effort along the way, especially in being kind and helpful to your parents in ways they never knew from you or any other siblings, nor even from their own selves with their respective parents. No doubt your family, friends and colleagues will watch you more closely than ever, as if they’re studying you under a microscope, to see how you’re changing, and whether that is positive or negative—according to their own judgment. That will influence how they see Islam.

Like it or not, most people judge religions, not by what its scriptures say, but by the character of its followers, and you know what they’ve heard about Muslims.

My sincere advice to you if you are eager to spread the beautiful message of Islam that has changed your life and filled you with happiness is to learn more about Islam first. Many Muslims, due to lack of knowledge, could not tie ten sentences together about Islam, Allah, or the Prophet ﷺ, without making some egregious mistake.

Even when talking about one’s own self, their past, and what led them to Islam, one should not divulge many or any past sins in detail to those you do not know, since you will be judged by that. In fact, I really recommend waiting at least three or four years as a Muslim before considering posting a video on YouTube for all the world to see, or before giving any lectures about Islam or your conversion.^[1]What always strikes me as odd is that when you’ve been a “new” converted Muslim for over a decade, people are less interested in how you became a Muslim, even though you’ve … Continue reading Frequently, new young Caucasian Muslims are given a lot of attention in their Muslim communities and a microphone shoved in their face as they are looked at, the great white hope.^[2]But as soon as that white convert grows a beard and then suggests that ethnic Muslims have taken their faith for granted and haven’t been practicing properly, that mic will be taken away much … Continue reading

Once when I was in a psych ward, I began telling another adolescent about Islam–this was just a few months after I converted. He said, “If Islam is so great, why are you here?” I couldn’t respond. Simply saying “Islam is perfect, Muslims aren’t”, although true, is a poor excuse.

Only if you previously studied Islam for months or years, to the point that you were ready to start practicing upon shahaadah, only then would you have a good level of knowledge to at least invite your friends and family to Islam. Of course, contact with them in any case is inevitable, and justifying your choice is something you’ll need to be prepared to do, but I would entrust anything beyond that to a local Muslim imam after the distribution of pamphlets, DVDs and web links. There’s no shame in saying, if asked a question, “I respect Islam too much to say anything I’m not certain about, but I refer you to our local spiritual leader…”

I recall performing hajj in 2006. I asked a respected Moroccan student of knowledge who had moved to America to teach, whether I should participate in giving da’wah and teaching people about Islam. On one hand, I was not qualified. On the other hand, there was a shortage of qualified people, and many scholars say, in the absence of qualified individuals, the unqualified must step forth for the good of the Ummah. His response to me was that stepping forth did not necessitate grabbing a microphone and start preaching, but getting busy and studying. Then, eventually, if I keep at it, and if Allah desires to test me, I’ll be forced into it, but I should not accept such a position until others testify to my readiness.

And to be perfectly honestly, I have heard of more conversions to Islam by people who were amazed by Muslim manners than conversions based merely on persuasive information. Yet still, if you share the message of Islam with kindness and confidence, it may be Allah blesses your efforts.

{وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِّمَّن دَعَا إِلَى اللَّـهِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ} ﴿٣٣﴾ سورة فصلت

“Who is better in speech than the one who invites to Allah and lives righteously and says: I am one of the Muslims.” [Quran 41:33]

And Allah knows best.