In this article we will explain how to convert to Islam and how to become a Muslim.

Converting to Islam is easy and the benefits are immense. You do not need to know Arabic to become a Muslim. We are a specialist site dedicated to helping people who are thinking of converting to Islam.

Some people are often worried if they will be allowed to become Muslim due to a variety of reasons such as having tattoos, having had a wild past, being a single mother, being from a certain country or race, being young in age and various other reasons.  Rest assured that none of this matters. If you believe in Islam you can become a Muslim

Islam is for the whole of humanity  and Islam unites together people of different colours, languages, races. and nationalities into one brotherhood. Allah says: “Indeed the Believers (believers in Islam) are but brothers.” [Quran 4 9:10]

Therefore anybody can who believes Islam is the true religion of God can become a Muslim.

To convert to Islam all you have to do is say with sincere conviction the following sentence:

“I bear witness that there is no God worthy to be worshiped but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the  Messenger of Allah” 

The above sentence should also be said in Arabic.

 In Arabic it is “Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illaallaah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan-ar-rasool ullaah”

This is called the declaration of Faith or the Shahadah.

It is better to do your conversion with another Muslim either in a Masjid (Mosque) or with an Islamic website such as ours.

When someone converts to Islam with us on the phone or whatsapp or Skype. I say the words of the Shahadah in English and the person repeats after me. Then I say a word or two of the Shahadah (declaration of faith) in Arabic and  the person repeats after me until it is all done. That is how easy it is and you do not have to know any Arabic.

Most Masjids and other Muslims who help sisters and brothers convert to Islam begin with the Arabic first and then the English. I prefer to start with the English first, so that the one converting actually knows what they are about to say in  Arabic.

When a person is convinced that Islam is the true religion of God they should not delay their conversion.

We are given a certain lifespan. We do not know when that life span will end. It may end this very minute even. Therefore a person should convert first and then work on becoming  the best Muslim he or she can be.

Some of you will find certain aspects of Islam difficult at first. For instance some New Muslim sisters find it difficult to wear Hijab at first. However with time they  eventually grow in their Islam and are now wearing the full Islamic dress. They are now encouraging other Muslimahs to wear full Islamic dress. Some were vegetarian before they became Muslim.

So Please do not worry about any barriers you may have. Become Muslims and you will see those barriers crashing down as you grow in your religion.

From the Emails I received  I noticed some women have delayed their conversion  because of menstruation. It does not matter if a woman is menstruating. You can say your Shahadah even when you are menstruating.  

  If you wish to convert at a Masjid then my advice would be contact the Masjid. They should tell you to come as soon as possible. After speaking to you, if they are confident that you do not need to know anything more, they should do your conversion right away.

Many Masjids are not good at replying to phones nor emails (or even picking their phones up) or so it is usually better just to go there in person. Most  are only open during the prayer times. Since their is a large time frame to perform each prayer it is difficult to say what exact time each will be open.

However, the Maghrib prayers start a few minutes after the sun has set so the Masjid should be open around that time.

Benefits of converting to Islam

Converting to Islam means you are believing and worshiping God instead of objects or beings that God has created.

You also have a direct relationship with God and can start to discover your purpose of life in this world.

Any past sins or mistakes you may have done before converting to Islam will be forgiven and you will start with a clean record.

The greatest reward is that a Muslim is promised eternal paradise (heaven).

What if I mess up after I convert to Islam

We are all human beings and prone to doing mistakes. Allah (God) is the most forgiving and Allah loves a Muslim who turns to Allah in sincere repentance if he or she commits a sin. This shows that the person believes in God and believes in a God who is very forgiving.

By sincere repentance it means that you are sincerely sorry for the sin you committed and you have a sincere intension not to commit that sin again. You may fall into the same sin again and you have to again make sincere repentance.

There are several conditions of the Shahadah and several things that can invalidate ones Islam so a person should know these so that he can be adhere to those conditions and not fall into those things which invalidate a persons Shahadah. I have explained these in another article

What are the Conditions and invalidators of the Shahadah

Converting to Islam and living as a Muslim must be done step by step

When you have converted to Islam the next step is to do a few Purifications and then learn how to pray and several other things which are explained in our New Muslims guide

If you have any questions or need assistance please email us by using the below email form below

If you are thinking of converting to the religion of Islam and becoming a Muslim then the following articles will explain in detail how to convert to a Muslims and provide answers to common questions asked by those thinking of becoming Muslim

Converting to a Muslim is very easy. All you need to do is say the declaration of faith called the Shahadah at a Masjid or with an Islamic website. The words of the Shahadah and how to perform the shahadah at the Masjid (Mosque) or with an Islamic website are both explained in detail on the following article in are How to become a Muslim

• Can anyone become Muslim? Does it matter what age or colour I am?
• I have a wild past can I become Muslim?
• I have tattoos can I still become a Muslim?
• There are no Masjids (Mosques) and no Muslims in my town. What to do?
• I want to embrace Islam but have been advised to wait. Should you wait?

• I want to become Muslim but I am afraid of hurting my parents. What should I do?
• How to tell parents that you have converted to Islam
• Do I have to change my name?
• How do I change my name?
• Afraid of wearing Hijab

• Starting point of one who wants to Convert to Islam
• Diary of a convert to Islam. First Week As a Muslim

Purifications and Ghusl for a New Muslim

 
Once a person has said Shahadah and thus converted to a Muslim she or he should do the following purifications.

1. A female convert Muslim should trim her nails short, shave the hair under her armpits and pubic hair (for those below puberty they will not have such hairs so they can just shorted their nails).

2. A male convert Muslim should trim his nails short, shave the hair under his armpits, pubic hair and shave the hair on his head (and later get circumcised as soon as possible)
(for those below puberty they will not have such hairs so they can just shorted their nails).

Narrated by Abu Dawood (356) which says that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded a kaafir man who had become Muslim, “Shave off the hair of kufr and get circumcised.” (Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood; see also al-Mughni, 1/276; Sharh al- Umdah by Shaykh al-Islam, 1/350)

Step 2 Ghusl

After you have done the above you should take perform Ghusl.

Ghusl is a special kind of body washing. After having done Ghusl you should wear clean pure cloths.

By clean it is meant they should be free from impurity such as urine, feces and dog saliva.
Also note that hairs under the armpits and pubic hair should not be aloud to grow for longer than 40 days.

How to perform the Ghusl

1 Have Intention inside ones heart/mind that you are performing Ghusl (It should be in your heart/mind and not verbal said)
2 Say Bismillah (which means in the name of Allah)
(do this outside bathroom if your bathroom has a toilet in it as we should not mention Allah’s name in were there is a tiolet/lavatory )
3 Wash the right hand up to and including the wrists. Make sure to while rub and rub between the fingers of the hand. And thus make sure no part of the hand is left dry. Three times
Then do the same with the left hand. (also three times)

4 Wash off any impurities off the private parts.
 5 Wash the right hand up to and including the wrists. Make sure to while rub and rub between the fingers of the hand. And thus make sure no part of the hand is left dry. Three times
Then do the same with the left hand. (also three times)

6 Make a cup with the right hand then from this hand take water into your mouth and swirl it inside the mouth and then expel out of mouth. then sniff remaining water from the cupped right hand and sniff water into the nose and then blow the water out and using the left hand remove the water from your nose. Do this three times

Some people rinse the mouth first three times and then rinse the nose three times

However the first method is the most authentic.

7 Wash the face three times, from the hairline to the jawbone and chin, and from start of the ear to start of the ear.

 A man (with a beard) should wash the hair of his beard by taking a handful of water and entering it below his chin and rubbing it through his beard and passing the wet fingers through the beard.

8  Wash the right arm up to and including the elbow. Three times.
The arm extends from the fingertips, including the nails, to the lower part of the upper arm. It is essential to remove anything stuck to the hands before washing them, such as dough, mud, paint, nail polish etc, that could prevent the water from reaching the skin.

 Do the same with the LEFT ARM . Three times  

9 Pour water over the head Three times down to the roots of the hairs. rubbing the roots of the hair with the wet fingers
10 Pour water liberally over the entire body, beginning with the right side and then the left side and rubbing the body with hands. Ensuring that no part of the body is untouched by water
11  Move away from area were you did ghusl and Wash the right feet up to and including the ankles, three times,
 You should enter the water between the toes with your little finger and then wash the feet (note not wipe feet but wash them) and make sure and make sure you wash the sole of the foot and the heals. Make sure no parts of the foot is left dry

Wash the left foot same as the right foot. Three times

Note. You can make notes on the sequence of these steps on paper and put the paper in a plastic bag or laminate. Then take it with you to the bathroom. This will be much easier for you.

12  Then say the following Duas (supplications) for Wudhu when outside the bathroom (if bathroom has a toilet inside it)
Ashhadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wahdahu laa shareeka lah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasooluhu.

( I bear witness that there is no god except Allah alone, with no partner or associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.)

Allaahumm ajalni min al-tawwaabeena wajalni min al-mutatahhireena  

( O Allah, make me one of those who repent and make me one of those who purify themselves)

Note. You can just read these from a piece of paper.   This will be easier for you.

Step 3 Clean pure Clothing

You should wear clean pure cloths. A Muslims cloths and body should always be free from urine, faeces and dog saliva.

Step 4. You should try to perform a 2 Rakkah voluntary prayer or if the prayer is due then perform that.

We have prepared easy to follow prayer guides for New Muslims so try to learn from them. to pray is explained in this following article  
  Prayer Guides for New Muslims

Step 5 Live As a Muslim

You should now try your best to live according to Islam.

You cannot learn every thing at once. So try to learn and do things in the right order as instructed  on our  New Muslims guide
 
Please also note that once one says the Shahadah, he or she starts with a blank slate. No matter how bad the person sinned before embracing Islam he or she is forgiven. So their is no need to worry about past sins. You are sinless and pure. Now you can build start to build your new record of deeds.

But we are human beings and as human beings we are not perfect and we tend to mess up from time to time. Whenever we do mess up we need to make sincere repentance and ask Allah for forgiveness. This and many other issues specific to converts are explained  in the convert issues section .

It is very important that you go through that section of the website and when you encounter problems to get expert advice by email us.

Unlike many others, we are specialised in dealing with matters related to converts because we have been doing this work for 20 years and helped many converts.

 Challenges that New Muslims face and tips on how to deal with various challenges