Becoming a Muslim

Becoming a Muslim requires a very simple act, but the meaning behind it is very deep.

You have to believe that there is only one God, Allah, who created the entire universe, and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is his final messenger on earth.

If you recite this, with total sincerity, in front of two witnesses, you have become a Muslim. It really is as simple as that.

Muslims call this recitation the Shahadah, and refer to it as the first Pillar of Islam.

And if you become a Muslim by converting (some Muslims would say "reverting") to Islam your fellow Muslims will accept you as if you had been born a Muslim.

Submitting to God

Becoming a Muslim takes you into a new world.

It's a world in which you are intensely aware of your relationship with Allah, and aware that everything in the world exists because Allah chose that it should.

This gives life a whole new meaning, it lifts many responsibilities, and replaces them with the single aim of living life in the way that Allah wants you to live it.

So when you become a Muslim you have to live Allah's way. Every moment of your life has to follow Allah's will. Every choice you make must be the choice that would please Allah.

This may sound pretty constricting to people brought up in cultures that put more emphasis on the individual and what they want. A Muslim would disagree.

Beyond Belief, 4 February 2002

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Part of the family

Muslims think of themselves as members of one family, called the Ummah. It's a family of all Muslims, and not just of all Muslims around the world, but of all Muslims who ever existed.

Constantly in touch with Allah

Once a Muslim has accepted Allah as the one and only God, they have to establish a constant link with God in their everyday lives - prayer is perhaps the best way to do that, and prayer is the second Pillar of Islam.

If it's possible, a Muslim should pray five times a day, at set times, and facing Mecca. You can pray almost anywhere.

In mosques men and women pray separately; in some mosques this is done with the men at the front and the women behind, in other mosques there are separate rooms for men and women.