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Asalamu alikum

Starting point for one who wants to enter Islam

All praises be to Allah, the Lord of the Universe. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon Muhammad, His last Messenger. Some common questions that are asked by those interested in becoming Muslim are: 1. How do I start in the Islam 2 Will I be welcomed or ignored as I was previously a Christian, Jew, Hindu etc. 3 Should I wait and learn more before becoming a Muslim 4 Do I need to go to the Mosque to become a Muslim 5 Do I need need do a course to become a Muslim or obtain a certificate. Dear reader on behalf of all the members of muslimconverts.com I welcome you to Islam. It always brings Muslims great joy when they hear of anyone converting to Islam. They want to rush to tell their friends and family about this  wonderful news. Muslims always love to hear how others converted to Islam. So for sure you will be greatly welcomed to Islam. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him welcomed  even those people who had previously fought him and  killed his loved ones. These people later on were to  become the heroes of Islam. So no matter what your background and no matter what you may have done or said to Muslims or others, you should rest assured that you will be welcomed with open arms. Islam is for the whole of humanity. Islam unites together people of different colours, languages, races. and nationalities into one brotherhood. Allah says: "Indeed the Believers are but brothers." [Quran 4 9:10] So you will be our brother or sisters in Islam when you convert to Islam So now dear brother/Sister to be let me describe to you the starting point for one who wants to enter Islam. The starting point   is to pronounce the Shahaadatayn (Declaration of Faith).   The Shahadah can be declared as follows: “ASH-HADU ANLA ELAHA ILLA-ALLAH WA ASH-HADU ANNA MOHAMMADAN RASUL-ALLAH”. The English translation is: "I bear witness that there is no deity worthy to be worshipped but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger." The shahadah  is the dividing line between unbelief (kufr) and Islaam. It is also called the kalimah (word). Whoever says it with truthfulness will enter the Gardens of Paradise It is [a kalimah] that Allaah Himself has testified to, as have the angels and those who possess knowledge from amongst His creation. Allaah the Most High said: "Allaah bears witness that none has the right to be worshiped except Him; as do the angels and those who possess knowledge. He maintains His creation upon justice. None has the right to be worshiped except Him, the All-Mighty, All-Wise." [Soorah Aal-’Imraan 3:18] Allaah said: "We did not send any Messenger before you, except that We revealed to him that none has the right to be worshiped except Me; so worship Me." [Soorah al-Anbiyaa 21:25] Allaah the Exalted also said: "He sends down the angels with the revelation of His commands to whosoever of His slaves that He wills, saying: Warn mankind that none has the right to be worshiped except Me. So fear Me [by keeping away from sin and disobedience]." [Soorah an-Nahl 16:2] Ibn ‘Uyaynah, (radhiyallahu anhu) said: "Allaah has not bestowed any favour upon His slaves greater than the favour of them realizing laa ilaaha ilallaah.Indeed laa ilaaha illallaah is to the people of Paradise, what cool water is to the people of this world." ( Related by Ibn Rajab in Kalimatul-Ikhlaas (p.53) Allah has stated in the Holy Qur'an: "... whoever disbelieves in false deities and believes in Allah, hath grasped the most trustworthy handhold, that will never break..." (2:256) And Allaah the Most High said: "He it is that has strengthened you with His help and with the Believers. And moreover, He has united their hearts with love and affection. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts with love and affection. However, Allaah has united them. Indeed Allaah is the All-Mighty, All-Wise." [Soorah al-Anfaal 8:62- 63].  And Allaah the Most High said: "And remember the favor of Allaah upon you, for you were once enemies to one another but He joined your hearts together in love, so that by His Grace you became brothers." [Soorah Aal-’Imraan 3:103] Abdullah bin Amr reported that the Messenger of Allah said:" A man will be brought along to the balances on the Day of Resurrection, and there will be brought out for him ninety nine scrolls, every scroll of them stretching (when unrolled) as far as an eye can reach, in which are written his sins and his guilty acts, and they will be put in one pan of the Balances. Then a small card will be brought out on which is written the Testimony of Faith: There is no true god except Allah, and Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, which will be put in the other pan, and it will outweigh all his wrongdoing." This means that if a person professes the testimony of faith fulfilling its conditions, Allah forgives his sins regardless of how many sins he may have committed.   It is a concise declaration that contains few letters; light upon the tongue, yet heavy in the scales. Allaah’s Messenger Peace be upon him said: "Moses said: 0 my Lord! Teach me something by which I can remember You and supplicate to You. Allaah said: 0 Moses! say laa ilaaha ilallaah. Moses said: 0 my Lord! All Your slaves say this. Allaah said: 0 Moses! If the seven heavens and all that they contain, other than Me, and the seven earths were placed in one scale, and laa ilaaha ilallaah were put in the other, then laa ilaaha illallaah would outweigh them all." (Reported by Ibn Hibbaan in his Saheeh (no.2324) and al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak (1/528). A further indication as to how weighty this kalimah is in the scales can be seen from what at-Tirmidhee reports and declares to be sound - as well as an-Nasaa’ee, and al-Haakim who said that it is authentic according to the criterion of Muslim - from Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr, from the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam, who said: ‘A person from my ummah will be summoned in front of everyone on the Day of Resurrection. Ninety-nine scrolls will be unfurled for him, each scroll extending as far as the eye can see. Then it will be said: Do you deny any of this [i.e. your bad deeds]? So the man will reply: No, 0 Lord. Then it will be said: Do you have any excuse or any good deed? The man, in a state of terror, will answer: No. It will then be said: Rather, you do have some good deeds and no injustice will befall you this Day. So a parchment will be taken out for him, upon which there will be the testification of laa ilaaha illallaah and the testification that Muhammad is the Slave and Messenger of Allaah. The man will say: 0 Lord, what is this parchment in comparison to those scrolls! It will be said to him: No injustice shall befall you. The scrolls will then be placed in one of the scales and the parchment in the other; the scrolls will be light in weight, whereas the parchment will be heavy.”( Reported by at-Tirmidhee (no.2641), from ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr radhiyallahu anhu. It was declared to be saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaanee in as-Saheehah (no.135). the first part of the Shahadah has two pillars: The first pillar is the pillar of negation (nafee), whilst the second is the pillar of affirmation (ithbaat). What is meant by negation is to negate divinity and worship (ilaahiyyah) for anything except Allaah, the Most High. What is meant by affirmation is to affirm divinity and worship only for Allaah the Most Perfect; for it is He alone that is the true Deity. So whatever else is taken by the unbelievers as deities to be worshiped are in fact all false and futile: That is because Allaah is the true Deity to be worshiped, and whatever else they invoke besides Him is vain falsehood. [Soorah al-Hajj 22:62] Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim said: The significance of laa ilaaha illaltaah in affirming divinity and worship for only Allaah is far greater than just saying that Allaah is an ilaah. This is because the saying that Allaah is an ilaah does not negate divinity and worship to other than Allaah. This is different to the saying: laa ilaaha illallaah; which obligates restricting divinity and worship to only Allaah.   The second part of the "Shahada" i.e. "Wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh" means that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the servant and chosen messenger of Allah. No one should be in any doubt about this matter. In fact, the Muslim has to obey the commands of the Prophet (PBUH), to believe in what he has said, to follow his Teachings, to avoid what he has forbidden, and to worship A11ah alone according to the message revealed to him. What is the meaning of worship? It simply means rendering sincere service; showing reverence for Allah. In a deeper shade of meaning, it implies total submission and complete obedience to Allah's Commandments both in utterances and actions, whether explicit or implicit and in private or public.