How to Become Muslim
The process involved in becoming Muslim is very simple. Once a person has decided that he or she is ready, all they must do is recite the ‘Shahadah’. This is the ‘declaration of faith’, and must be read in Arabic:
Ash-hadu anna laa ilāha illa Allāh, wa Muḥammad(un) rasūl Allāh
The meaning of this statement is:
I testify that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Conditions
According to most traditional scholars, a single honest recitation of the Shahadah in Arabic is all that is required for a person to become a Muslim. Others hold that there are seven conditions that need to be met if the declaration is not to be meaningless:
• Al-`Ilm: Knowledge of the meaning of the Shahadah, its negation and affirmation.
• Al-Yaqeen: Certainty – knowledge of it that counteracts suspicion and doubt.
• Al-Ikhlaas: Sincerity which negates shirk.
• Al-Sidq: Truthfulness that permits neither falsehood nor hypocrisy.
• Al-Mahabbah: Love of the Shahadah and its meaning, and being happy with it.
• Al-Inqiad: Submission to its rightful requirements, which are the duties that must be performed with sincerity to God (alone) seeking His pleasure.
• Al-Qubool: Acceptance that contradicts rejection.
Shahadah in Qur’an
“Verily, the believers are only those who truly believe in Allah and His Messenger, and then doubt not”
(Quran 49:15).
Shahadah in Hadith
Muhammad, the Prophet of God (peace be upon him), said:
“Whoever testifies that there in none worthy of being worshipped but God, Who has no partner, and that Muhammad is His servant and Prophet, and that Jesus is the servant of God, His Prophet, and His word which He bestowed in Mary and a spirit created from Him; and that Paradise (Heaven) is true, and that the Hellfire is true, God will eventually admit him into Paradise, according to his deeds.”
(Saheeh Al-Bukhari)
“Anyone testifies that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, truthfully from his heart, Allah would forbid his admittance to the Fire.”
(Muslim)
Significance of the Shahadah
The significance of the Shahadah cannot be overstated. It is the moment at which one leaves one’s previous life behind and embarks on a journey of faith. All sins are forgiven, and you start afresh as a new born. For ‘born Muslims’ the Shahadah is repeated daily in prayers, and is a constant reminder of the fundamental basis of their faith.
It is worth thinking carefully about the meaning of the Shahadah and its implications. The first part, ‘Ash-hadu anna laa ilāha illa Allāh’, is really two parts. You assert that you believe in God and that there is no other ‘god’. The meaning of ‘god’ in this sense is not restricted to deities, like Thor, but refers to anything that a person obeys, such as money or his ego. To become Muslim then is to declare your belief that no other being or thing is worthy of worship, or bears any comparison to God.
The second part of the Shahadah, Muḥammad(un) rasūl Allāh’, ‘Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’ also has a number of implications. To accept that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the messenger of Allah is to accept his message in its entirety. This means believing in the Qur’an as the Word (i.e. the message) of God, and obeying the prophet’s commands, rulings and example (collectively known as the ‘ahadith’). It is a brief statement, but its meaning will reverberate through the rest of the life of the one who utters it.
Some Muslims say that if you intend to become Muslim you should wait until you are in the presence of an Imam or Shaykh, or at a mosque. This is not the case; you should do it as soon as you have decided that you are a believer. You can always repeat it more ceremonially later on.
Video
Shaykh Yusuf Estes talks about Shahadah
A brother reads Shahadah in the mosque
