Hi, so I've always been wanting now for years to fast during Ramadan but I've been told I cannot do it correctly, unless I read and pray in arabic but I can't read or talk arabic. I'm 19 and I feel like it's been left too long, I want to start praying and do it correctly. Can I pray, and read the quran in english for Ramadan? Or pray in arabic and learn beforehand what I'm saying? What do I do? Please help me!
I’m answering this question assuming you’re already a Muslim (as your question suggests).
A lot of people face the dilemma of wanting to practice Islam (after years of not practicing or never practicing) but then find themselves unable to perform prayer (Salah) properly or recite the Qur’an. But whoever told you to refrain from an obligatory command of God is completely wrong. Rather they should have encouraged you to do both, to learn prayer and fast. May Allah protect us,.
Alhamdulillah you have a good few weeks before Ramadan. Enough time for some to learn the Prayer insha’Allah. The best thing for you to do is strive your best to learn as much as you can before Ramadan. However not knowing the full prayer or being unable to speak Arabic is not a pre-requisite to fasting! If Arabic was then 3/4’s of the Muslim population would not fast! No, rather you learnt what needs to be learnt in the Arabic language (i.e. the components of the prayer) and that is sufficient.
The first thing you should try to learn are the movements within the prayer. If you know and have learnt this, then the priority should be given to learn Surat-Al Fatiha (the first chapter of the Qur’an). Once you have learnt this then bit by bit learn the other components of the prayer (e.g. what to say when bowing, and when prostrating etc.) Again, to clarify, if you are unable to completely learn your prayer by Ramadan it DOES NOT MEAN YOU DON’T FAST. Allah can see that you are trying, and to not fast is to just commit another sin on top of not praying. It’s illogical. Furthermore, Ramadan is a month where if one fasts, he/she can get close to his/her Lord and be forgiven for his/her sins, but this is dependent upon whether one fasts or not, so don’t miss out on the reward!
Al-Fatiha: You can hear this online here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTK29C7KouE
http://poeticislam.tumblr.com/post/16525116597
Sheikh Raed teaching al-Fatiha:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws2aXg0tcUM
If you repeat these words everyday then you should learn it in no time!
Here is a video and also a website teaching all the components of the prayer,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F78eFQ_Nw-Y
http://www.kalamullah.com/salaah.html
May Allah reward you for your sincerity and make things easy for you!