How to become Muslim

What does becoming Muslim involve?

The hadith of Jibril, Sahih Muslim 8, graded sahih, gives the Prophet's description of Islam and iman when asked about them. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that one day a man none of them knew came and sat with the Prophet. Asked about Islam, the Prophet named five things: the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing the prayer, giving zakat, fasting Ramadan, and making Hajj to the House for whoever is able to find a way to it. Zakat is charity from wealth, Hajj is the pilgrimage, and the House is the Kaaba in Makkah.

1AuthenticSahih Muslim 8

Asked about iman, which is faith, he named belief in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and the decree, its good and its bad.

The narration gives these answers in its own words and sets no further conditions, so the detail of each part belongs with the sources and the scholars you trust.

Deciding is personal. Ilmwell does not rule on anyone's faith. The next part sets out what the sources say a person affirms, and what the first steps look like.

How do you convert to Islam?

The report of Thumamah shows one man saying the testimony and describing himself as having become Muslim. In a report narrated by Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, Thumamah ibn Uthal, may Allah be pleased with him, went to some palm trees near the mosque, then entered the mosque and said the testimony in the words shown further down. Later, in Makkah, someone asked whether he had changed religion. He said he had become Muslim with Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah.

2AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 4372

How is the shahada written, and how do you say it?

Shahada, also spelt shahadah, is Arabic for testimony: bearing witness to something you hold true. The Arabic above is the wording of Thumamah's report.

2AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 4372

For the sounds and syllables, see Shahada: meaning, Arabic and context, which goes through each word in turn.

What are the practical first steps?

Take the time each step needs. The positions below are AMJA's, the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America, one scholarly body's recommendations for new Muslims, not Ilmwell's.

1. AMJA holds that the testimony must come with knowledge of its meaning, acceptance of what it implies, and the intention of entering Islam, with distance from everything that contradicts the faith. Start with the word-by-word list in the shahada lesson linked above.
2. AMJA holds that it need not be in Arabic for someone not proficient in it, and prefers saying it in your own language first, then repeating the Arabic after someone if that is no hardship.
3. AMJA says new Muslims should be taught gradually, by need and ability, and that there is no particular timetable for teaching the faith. Two early lessons are How to perform wudu: illustrated steps and How to pray Salah: learn the sequence.

The wider basics are laid out in What is Islam and the five pillars of Islam.

Do you need witnesses or a document?

AMJA holds that announcing Islam publicly, having witnesses to the testimony and producing a document are not conditions for Allah accepting a person's faith. AMJA adds that these are needed for worldly or religious benefits such as marriage, pilgrimage, inheritance and funerals.

If you will need a document for one of those, ask a mosque or a scholar you trust how to get one.

Do you need to bathe or change your name?

AMJA holds that ghusl, the full ritual bath, is not obligatory for a new Muslim. It is only preferred, on the stronger of two opinions, because it is not confirmed that everyone who embraced Islam in the Prophet's time was ordered to make it. The report of Thumamah says he bathed before he entered the mosque. It gives no ruling on bathing for anyone else.

AMJA holds that the default for names is that they are permitted, and that a name need not change unless its meaning is non-Islamic, distasteful or evil.

What does the Quran say about the testimony?

The first half of the testimony, la ilaha illallah, is in Muhammad 47:19, shown below. Al-Fath 48:29 opens with the second half, in the words Muhammad rasulullah.