18. HOW TO BECOME A MUSLIM
Every religion has its own requirements for conversion: If someone wants to become Jewish, he or she needs to be able to pledge all of the following:
1) To enter the ‘eternal covenant’ between God and the people of Israel and to become a Jew of his or her own free wil.
2) To accept Judaism to the exclusion of all other religious faiths and practices, which means to deny the prophethood of Jesus and Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) and to deny the revelations that God sent to humankind through them.
3) To pledge undivided loyalty to Judaism and to the Jewish people under all circumstances.
4) To commit to learning the Torah and Jewish knowledge.
5) To raise his or her children as Jews.
To be a Christian one must:
1) Believe that God (Allah) has a partner, a mother, and a son.
2) Believe that every new-born baby is born sinful.
3) Believe that God became a man and descended to the earth to die for the sins of the people.
4) Deny the prophethood of Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) publicly.
5) Deny that the Qur’an is revelation from Allah.
However, to become a Muslim is simple:
1) Bear witness that no one deserves worship except Allah (disown all false gods)
2) Bear witness that Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) is His messenger
3) Believe in all the six articles of faith
4) Worship Allah as taught by Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him).
Hence, becoming a Muslim is a simple and easy process. If anyone has a real desire to be a Muslim and has full belief that Islam is the true religion of God, all he needs to do is to pronounce the shahâdah, the testimony of faith. Pronunciation of this testimony with a sincere heart enters the person into the folds of Islam. It is the main gate to Islam.
Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) said: <<Whoever testifies that there is none worthy of being worshipped but Allah, Who has no partner, and that Muhammad is His slave and Prophet, and that Jesus is the slave of Allah, 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, Allah will eventually admit him into paradise, according to his deeds.>> (Bukhari)
The first part of the testimony consists of the most important word of truth that Allah has ever revealed to His noble prophets, “There is nothing divine or worthy of being worshipped except for Allah.” He has stated in the Holy Qur’an: {And We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that: There is no deity except Me, so worship Me.} (Qur’an 21: 25)
Bearing this testimony implies that all forms of worship, whether it is praying, fasting, invoking, seeking refuge in, and offering an animal as sacrifice, must be directed to Allah and to Him alone. Directing any form of worship to other than Allah (whether it is an angel, a messenger, Jesus, Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him), a saint, an idol, the sun, the moon, or a tree) is considered to be a contradiction to the fundamental message of not only Islam, but of all the prophets; it is an unforgivable sin in the hereafter unless one repents before death.
The second part of the testimony means that Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) is the slave and the chosen messenger of Allah. This implies that a true Muslim obeys and follows the commands of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) as mentioned in the collections of his Hadith. One must believe in what he has said, practice his teachings and avoid what he has forbidden as the Hadith were, in fact, revelations and inspirations conveyed to him by Allah.
As mentioned earlier, Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) was sent in order to practically implement the Qur’an in his saying, deeds, legislation as well as all the other facets of life. ‘Â’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him), when asked about his character, replied:
<<His character was that of the Qur’an.>> (Muslim and Abu Dâwood)
Hence, to truly adhere to the second part of the shahâdah is to follow his example in all walks of life. Allah has mentioned: {Say, [O Muhammad]: If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.} (Qur’an 3: 31)
A true Muslim must try to mold his or her life and character and emulate the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him), as he was a living example for humans to follow. Allah has said to His Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him): {And indeed, you are of a great moral character.} (Qur’an 68: 4)
Allah has also said to all people: {There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the last day and [who] remembers Allah often.} (Qur’an 33: 21)
Upon entering the folds of Islam, all of one’s previous sins are forgiven; one starts a new life of piety and righteousness since he or she, in essence, has repented from the ways and beliefs of their previous life. The Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) said to a person, who had placed the condition upon the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) in accepting Islam that Allah would forgive his sins: <<Do you not know that accepting Islam destroys all sins which come before it?>> (Muslim)
As soon as a person accepts Islam, he or she will be free of all the sins committed before his or her acceptance. The person’s record will be wiped clean, and it will be as if he or she was born that very day. One should try as much as possible to keep his or her records clean and strive to do as many good deeds as possible; the more he or she does the more he or she will be elevated in paradise.
It shall be emphasized again that accepting Islam does not mean to turn one’s back on the messages of previous prophets (peace be upon them all). Indeed, it is a fulfilment of those messages. Therefore, if you are a Jew or a Christian accepting Islam and following Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) is a fulfilment of the messages which Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them) brought.
However, rejecting Islam means to turn one’s back not only on Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) but also to his preceding prophets (Moses and Jesus). This is actually a clear violation of their messages, which diminishes one’s hope of paradise in the hereafter.
It is now up to you to decide your own future home. Wish you all the best!
Source: (THE PURPOSE OF CREATION)
Compiled by Majed S. Al-Rassi
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