Answer to the question: "Do new Muslims have to abandon their former pleasures and activities?"

Allah wants His servants to lead the most beautiful life. In the Qur'an, Allah gives the news that believers will lead a beautiful life, for:

	Anyone who acts rightly, male or female, being a believer, We will give them a good life and will recompense them according to the best of what they did. (Surat an-Nahl, 97)

In the Qur'an believers are encouraged to use lawful and clean things:

	O you who believe. Do not make unlawful the good things that Allah has made lawful for you, and do not overstep the limits. Allah does not love people who overstep the limits. (Surat al-Ma'ida, 87)

As long as people observe the limits set by Allah, the Qur'an does not prohibit them from socializing, enjoying the art and aesthetics, being lively and extrovert. The things considered to be unlawful by the Qur'an are obvious, as are the Prophet's (pbuh) exemplary life and advice. Apart from these, the Qur'an condemns the laying down of new judgments, as the following verses indicate:

	Do not say about what your lying tongues describe: "This is lawful and this is unlawful," inventing lies against Allah. Those who invent lies against Allah are not successful. (Surat an-Nahl, 116) Wear fine clothing in every mosque and eat and drink, but do not be profligate. He does not love the profligate. Say: "Who has forbidden the fine clothing that Allah has produced for His servants and the good kinds of provision?" Say: "On the Day of Resurrection, such things will be exclusively for those who had faith during their life in the world." In this way, We make the Signs clear for people who know. (Surat al-A'raf, 31-32)

Those who lack true faith in Allah benefit from Allah's blessings as well as the believers. This is the point where the differences between believers and unbelievers emerge. Unbelievers feel a strong attachment to favors bestowed upon them (e.g., money or property), forget to remember Allah, and feel ungrateful for His blessings. On the other hand, believers, who are aware that they are from Allah, use these blessings for Allah's cause in the best way and draw nearer to Him. The Qur'an sets the following criterion for this issue:

	Seek the abode of the Hereafter with what Allah has given you, without forgetting your portion of the world. And do good, as Allah has been good to you. And do not seek to cause corruption in the land, for Allah does not love corrupters. (Surat al-Qasas, 77)

Briefly, a believer who embraces the Quranic morality and the sunnah of our Prophet (pbuh), is always very clean, noble, good humored, joyful, pleasant, well mannered, extrovert, moderate and appreciates art and aesthetics. These characteristics were obvious in our Prophet's (pbuh) and his companions' lives.

However, apart from all of these, remember that as people adopt the Qur'an's values and make them an integral part of their lives and assume more of the believers' attributes, they will acknowledge the existence of very different tastes and pleasures. For members of a society that does not live by the religion, for instance, the greatest pleasure in life is to enjoy themselves. Believers however, have more noble and permanent pleasures, such as striving to earn Allah's good pleasure, conveying Allah's message to people, communicating the beauties of the Qur'an's morality to people, and carrying out an intellectual struggle against unbelievers.

As people experience more strongly the morality of a believer described in the Qur'an, they see that the real pleasures attained through sincere faith are incomparably superior to those enjoyed by unbelievers.