Q59 :What are the procedures and requirements if
one wishes to convert to Islam?
A59 : The adoption of the religion of Islam is
very simple. Nothing is required except a declaration by the person
concerned that he believes in Allah as the only God and in Muhammad
(peace be upon him) as His messenger. What this declaration actually
means is an acceptance that worship can be offered only to Allah and
that the authority to legislate rests solely with Allah. Man’s position
is to obey and implement Allah’s laws, whatever they are. Should the
law of any authority, government, parliament, society or tribal council
clash with Allah’s laws then the latter must be implemented without any
question. The Prophet says what may be translated as follows: “No
creature may be obeyed in what constitutes disobedience of the
Creator.” Now, how do we know Allah’s legislation? The second half of
our declaration provides the answer to this question. Our
acknowledgment of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as Allah’s
messenger means that we accept him as the man through whom Allah has
conveyed to us the code of legislation He wants us to implement in our
lives for our own benefit. It is through Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) that the Qur’an has been sent down to us as the book
containing the divine constitution for human life. Prophet Muhammad’s
own pronouncements serve as an explanatory memorandum for the Qur’an,
providing the details of what the Qur’an may state in general terms,
and giving us guidance on how to implement the Qur’an in our lives.
Thus, obedience to Allah necessitates obedience to His messenger.
Indeed, Allah netmands us: “Whatever the messenger gives you, accept
it, and whatever he forbids you, refrain from it.”(59;7) Thus the
declaration means that Allah is the only God to be worshipped, that
obedience to Him and submission to His law is an essential part of
worshipping Him and that Muhammad (peace be upon him), His messenger,
is the one who has taught us how to worship Allah and conveyed to us
His laws. Anyone who makes this declaration, fully convinced of it, is
a Muslim. The Arabic wording of the declaration is: “Ashhadu an la
ilaha illallah, wa Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasolullah.” This
translates as follows: “I testify that there is no deity save Allah and
I further testify that Muhammad is His messenger.” Once this
declaration is made by anyone, in full consciousness of its
significance, then the person making it benetes a Muslim. Anyone who is
embracing Islam is required, however, to have full ablution, that is, a
netplete bath at the time he makes the declaration. This is a gesture
which symbolizes washing off all one’s past misdeeds. No Muslim is held
accountable for any thing he or she did before adopting Islam. When
one benetes a Muslim, one is required to do all the things Muslims do
and to refrain from all those things which are not allowed to be done.
This should not prove difficult as many people do observe Islamic
teachings throughout the world. It requires, however, a fair measure of
determination to conduct one’s life in the manner which is sure to win
Allah’s pleasure. To give a brief sketch of what is required of a
Muslim, we mention the five pillars upon which the structure of Islam
is built. The first is the declaration we have already mentioned.
Secondly, a Muslim must attend regularly to his or her prayers. These
have a specific form which must be learned. A Muslim prays five times
every day of his life. This may sound quite a heavy burden but hardly
any practicing Muslims finds that prayers interfere with his work. What
is required here is a reasonable amount of adaptability. Prayers are
invaluable in maintaining one’s consciousness of Allah and reminding
one of the need to obey His netmandments at all times and in all
situations. Thirdly, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk throughout the
lunar month of Ramadhan. When they fast, Muslims abstain from food,
drink and sex. Fasting is a great exercise of self-discipline and it is
greatly beneficial to the individual and to the netmunity. Fourthly,
Muslims who own more than the equivalent of 634 gm. of silver are
required to give away every year a portion of their wealth, not less
than 2.5 percent, to the poor. Eight class of people may benefit from
this share which is termed zakah, or purifying alms. When we remember
that this payment share is imposed on capital, not on innete, we
realize that the amount raised is substantial and it goes a long way
toward wiping out poverty. The last pillar of our religion is
pilgrimage, which must be performed by those who have the physical and
financial ability to do it. The requirement is to offer pilgrimage at
least once in one’s lifetime. A Muslim must also refrain from all
sinful acts such as murder, adultery, drinking, lying, stealing and all
corruption generally. Islam is a religion of serious morality and
strict discipline. So, a Muslim must always weigh up his actions before
doing them and avoid all kinds of sin. Should he yield to temptation
and netmit a sin, he should repent and pray for Allah’s forgiveness.
According to Islam, all Muslims are equal and should be treated
equally. The Prophet has emphasized this on many occasions and Allah
lays down the only criterion of distinction among Muslims. He says in
the Qur’an: “The noblest among you, in the sight of Allah, is the most
God-fearing.” (49;13). Yet people may not live up to this very
important requirement. Family or tribal or national considerations may
lead to different modes of discrimination. Islam shuns such practices.
It is often the case, however, that people’s practices fall short of
their ideals. We have, therefore, to distinguish between what Islam
lays down and what Muslims do. A point which is often raised by
readers is that which concerns one’s family. This is a tricky question
which I am attempting to explain. Obviously, there is no problem when
both man and wife make the same decision together. Their children
should be brought up as Muslims. If the children are of age, they
should not be forced to follow their parents’ example but they should
be encouraged to learn about Islam and make their own decision.
Problems arise, however, when either husband or wife decides to go for
it alone and embraces Islam. It is always to be remembered that Islam
lays down that the adoption of faith must nete through personal
conviction. No netpulsion or pressure should be exercised on one’s
partner. That does not preclude wise counsel and friendly persuasion.
When such caring efforts go in vain then one has to make up one’s
decision according to one’s own circumstances. The easiest of these
cases is when the husband decides to adopt Islam but his wife decides
to stick to her own religion which happens to be either Christianity or
Judaism. Islam has enough netmon grounds with these two divine
religions to allow marriages between Muslim men and Christian or Jewish
women. It only asks the husband in such a marriage to bring up his
children in the same way as all Muslim parents bring up their children.
There is, therefore, no reason for a new convert to Islam to divorce or
separate from his Christian or Jewish wife. They may continue to live
together for the rest of their lives. When the wife follows any
religion other than these two, or if she does not believe in Allah at
all, then the marriage is automatically nullified. Allah netmands us in
Qur’an: “Do no hold on to your marriages with unbelieving women.”
(60;10). This is because the family is of prime importance as the basic
unit of society. It is the mother who looks after the children who, in
turn, form the future generation. An unbelieving mother cannot be
trusted to enhance in her children the natural tendency to believe in
Allah. As we say in Arabic; “He who has not got something cannot give
it to others.” Should the wife only decide to benete a Muslim, her
marriage to her non-Muslim husband is considered null and void the
moment she makes the declaration which makes her a Muslim. This ruling
applies whether the husband is a Christian or a Jew or a follower of
any other belief. There is no disagreement among the various schools of
thought as to the nullity of the marriage if only the wife adopts
Islam. Some, however, enforce an immediate separation for a period
equivalent to a divorcee’s waiting period (nearly three months), before
the marriage is declared null and void. The idea here is that in any
family the man is the master. He is in charge of the house and the
protector of his wife and children. For a Muslim woman to be in such a
relationship with an unbeliever is not acceptable. This question has
been the subject of a great deal of discussion in recent years as more
and more people adopt Islam and the problem benetes increasingly
netmon. The fact remains that no one has nete up with a different
ruling supported by the Qur’an or by some pronouncements of the
Prophet. Allah declares in the Qur’an on the question of relationship
between believing women who have recently accepted Islam and
unbelievers: “They (the women) are not lawful to them in marriage nor
they (i.e. the unbelieving men) are lawful to them (as husbands).” It
is an established rule of Islam that no ruling made by Allah in the
Qur’an or by an authentic pronouncement of the Prophet may be
challenged by any argument, no matter how logical it may sound. For
Allah has taught us what remains best for us in all ages and societies.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )