الرئيسية
المنتديات
الانتساب : 
العمر : 
المساهمات : 
نقاط التميز
All praise be to Allah, the Lord of the universe. May peace and
blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad, His last messenger.
The purpose of this hand-out is to correct a false idea spread among
those willing to adopt Islam as their faith. Some people have a
wrong
notion that entering into the Islamic fold requires
an announcement from
the concerned person in the presence
of high ranking scholars or shaikhs
or reporting this act
to courts of justice or other authorities. It is
also
thought that the act of accepting Islam, should, as a condition, have
a certificate issued by the authorities, as evidence to that
effect.
We wish to clarify that the whole matter is very
easy and that none of
these conditions or obligations are
required. For Allah, Almighty, is
above all comprehension
and knows well the secrets of all hearts.
Nevertheless,
those who are going to adopt Islam as their religion are
advised to register themselves as Muslims with the concerned
governmental
agency, as this procedure may facilitate for
them many matters including
the possibility of performing
Hajj (Pilgrimage) and Umrah.
If anyone has a real desire
to be a Muslim and has full conviction and
strong belief
that Islam is the true religion ordained by Allah for all
human-beings, then, one should pronounce the "Shahada", the testimony of
faith, without further delay. The Holy Qur'an is explicit
on this regard
as Allah states:
"The
Religion in the sight of Allah is Islam." (Qur'an 3:19)
In
another verse of the Holy Qur'an, Allah states:
"If
anyone desires a religion other than Islam (Submission to Allah),
Never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be
in the
ranks of those who have lost (their selves in the
hell fire)."(Qur'an
3:85)
In addition, Islam
is the only religion prevailing over all other
religions.
Allah states in the Holy Qur'an:
"To thee We sent the
Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that
came
before it, and guarding it in safety:..." (Qur'an 5:48)
Mohammad, the Prophet of Allah (Peace and blessing of Allah be upon
him), said:
"The superstructure of Islam is raised
on five (pillars): testifying
that there is no God (none
truely to be worshiped) but Allah, and that
Mohammad is
the messenger of Allah, performing the prayer, paying the
Zakah (poor-due), fasting the month of Ramadan, and performing Hadj".
The Shahada can be declared as follows:
"ASH-HADU
ANLA ELAHA ILLA-ALLAH WA ASH-HADU ANNA MOHAMMADAN RASUL-ALLAH".
The English translation is:
"I bear
witness that there is no deity (none truly to be worshipped)
but, Allah, and I bear witness that Mohammad is the messenger of
Allah",
However, it would not be sufficient
for anyone to only utter this
testimony oraly either in
private or in public; but rather, he should
believe in it
by heart with a firm conviction and unshakeable faith. If
one is truly sincere and complies with the teachings of Islam in all his
life, he will find himself a new born person.
This will move him to strive more and more to improve his character
and
draw nearer to perfection. The light of the living
faith will fill his
heart until he becomes the embodiment
of that faith.
What would be next after declaring oneself a
Muslim? One should then
know the real concept underlying
this testimony which means the Oneness of
Allah and meet
its requirements. One must behave accordingly, applying
this true faith to every thing one speaks or does.
What do
the words of the "Shahada" signify? The significant point which
every Muslim must know very well is the truth that there is no God
(deity)
to be worshipped other than Allah. He - glory be
to Him - is the only true
God, Who alone deserves to be
worshipped, since He is the Giver of life
and Sustainer
and Nourisher of mankind and all creation with His unlimited
bounties. Man must worship Allah, Who alone is worthy of worship.
The second part of the Shahada (i.e., Wa ash-hadu anna Mohammadan
rasul-Allah)
means that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is the
servant and chosen messenger of
Allah. No one must have
two opinions about this matter. In fact the Muslim
has to
obey the commands of the Prophet (PBUH), to believe him in what he
has said, to practice his teachings, to avoid what he has
forbidden, and
to worship Allah alone according to the
message revealed to him, for all
the teachings of the
Prophet were in fact revelations and inspirations
conveyed
to him by Allah.
What is the meaning of worship? It
simply means rendering sincere
service, showing reverence
for Allah. In a deeper shade of meaning, it
implies total
submission and complete obedience to Allah's commandments
both in utterances and actions of man whether explicit or implicit.
Worship fall into two categories:
Visible (manifest or outward)
Invisible (concealed or
inward)
Visible worship includes acts such as uttering the
two parts of the "Shahada",
performing prayers, giving
Zakah (the poor-due), recitation of the Holy
Qur'an,
supplication, adoring Allah by praising Him, purifying our bodies
before prayers, etc.
This type of worship is
associated with movement of the parts of the
human body.
Invisible worship is to believe in Allah, in the Day of Judgment
(in
the Hereafter), in the Angels, in the Books of Allah,
in the Prophets of
Allah, in the Divine Decree of destiny
(that good and bad are determined
by Allah alone).
This type of worship does not involve movement of parts of the
body but
it surely has bearing on one's heart which
subsequently affects one's way
of life.
It
should be borne in mind that any worship not dedicated to Allah
alone will be rejected as one form of polytheism and this causes
apostasy
from the Islamic fold.
The next
step for a newly revert to Islam is to purify himself by
taking a complete bath. He should then resolve to comply with the
principles and rules of Islam in their entirety. He should disown
all
forms of polytheism and false beliefs. He should
reject evil and be
righteous. Such rejection of evil and
being righteous is one of the
equisites of the motto of
Islam - that is, Laa Ilaha Illallah.
Allah states in the
Holy Qur'an:
"... whoever rejects evil and believes in
Allah hath grasped the most
trustworthy Hand-hold, that
never breaks..." (Qur'an 2:256).
We have to consider that
when we declare from our heart that "there is
no god
(deity) worthy to be worshipped but Allah", it implies on our part
love, devotion, faith and obedience to the rules of Islamic
legislations
which are legally binding on all Muslims. It
is a requirement of "there is
no god worthy to be
worshipped but Allah" to love for the sake of Allah
and to
reject for the sake of Allah.
This is the firmest anchor
of belief which materialize the meaning of
"AL WALA" and
"AL BARA". It means that a Muslim should love and be loyal
to his Muslim brothers. He should, as a practice, dissociate himself
completely from the unbelievers and refuse to be influenced by
them, both
in worldly and religious matters.
We conclude with a humble prayer to Allah that may He cleanse the
hearts and souls of those who are genuine seekers of truth and may
He
bless the community of believers. Aameen.
This is an amended
copy of "HOW TO BECOME A MUSLIM"
originally prepared &
published by Cooperative Office for Call and
Guidance -
Riyadh.
