A Short guide

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A SHORT GUIDE FOR CONVERTS TO ISLAM

The Affirmation of Faith which is made at the Conversion

Ceremony by a new Convert is, ASH-HADU ALLA ILAHA

ILLALLAH WA-ASH-HADU ANNA MUHAMMADAR

RASULULLAH: meaning: I Declare that there is no otherGod but Allah, and I Declare that Muhammad is Allahs

Messenger.

When you have made this affirmation of Faith, sincerely

believing what you declare, you are a Muslim,-recognised

by Allah and by the Muslim community.

You have accepted Islam as your religion. Your choice

is a wise one, for the religion of Islam was revealed by Allah

to the Prophet Muhammad, more than 1426 years ago, and

the Prophet Muhammad passed it on to all men & women,

through the Holy Quran.

Now that you have become a Muslim it is your duty to

learn and understand the teaching of Islam.


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By carrying out the teaching of Islam in your daily life

you will become a good Muslim, and you will find peace of

mind.

Part 1

Knowledge about the religion of Islam is usually tought

in two parts: (a) Belief, & (b) observance or application.

There are six articles of the Muslim Faith: they are,

1. Belief in Allah, the one-ness of God.

2. Belief in the Angels.

3. Belief in the Holy Books.

4. Belief in all the Prophets.

5. Belief in the Day of Judgement and in the Life to

Come.

6. Belief the everything, both good & evil, is the Will

of Allah.


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Some details about the Articles of Faith:

1. Belief in the One-ness of ALLAH.

Muslims call the One God ALLAH.

Muslims believe that ALLAH is the Creator of all things,

and is all powerful all knowing, He is presenteverywhere, He is merciful and forgiving, and He hears

the prayers of every Muslim.

2. Belief in the Angels: Muslims believe that the Angels

carry out ALLAHs commands. They are ageless,

sexless and are usually invisible. Some Angels record

the good and evil done by human beings.

3. Belief in the Holy Books. Muslims believe that the

Quran contains ALLAHs Revelation, which was

received, from time to time, by the Prophet Muhammad

and was written down during his life time, and has never

been altered. Muslim also believe in order revelations

given by ALLAH TO EARLIER Prophets. Some of

these revelations were included in the Bible.


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4. Belief in the Prophets. Muslims believe that Muhammad

was the last Prophet sent by Allah, but that there were

earlier Prophets, including Ibrahim, Daud, Musa, Noah

and Jesus. All the Prophets were human being, who

delivered ALLAHS message to the men and women

of their time and then died.

5. Belief in the Day of Judgement and in the Resurrection.

Muslims believe that this world will come to an end,

and that everyone will then be raised from the dead,

and will be judged according to his or her good or bad

deeds in this world.

But it will not be our mortal bodies which will be raised:

it will be our Souls. These will be judged, and those

who have done good will be rewarded by a future life

of eternal happiness. Those who have done much evil

will be punished.

6. Belief in Predestination.

Muslims believe that ALLAH knows everything that

has happened, that is happening and that will happen in

the future. Muslims believe that everything which

happens in this world is the Will of Allah.


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Part 2

A Muslim puts his belief or Faith into action under five

major headings: These are often called the Five Pillars of

Islam.

1. To make the Affirmation for Faith in Allah, the One

God, and in Muhammad, His Messenger.

2. To Pray to Allah five times a day.

3. To Pay Zakat-the Muslim Poor Tax, payable by every

adult Muslim if possible.

4. To Fast during the Month of Ramadan each year.

5. To make the Pilgrimage to Mecca, if possible.

Some details about the Five Pillars of Islam:

1. The Affirmation of Faith is also part of the Muslim Call

to Prayer, which is repeated from every Mosque, five

times a day.


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2. Praying to Allah Five Times a Day:

Muslims are required to repeat a number of short prayers

in Arabic five times a day, and to accompany these

prayers with simple movements of the body, standing,

sitting and kneeling.

The times of the daily prayers, which have Arabic

names, are as follows:

1. SUBUH: at dawn or early in the morning: 2 Rakaat.

2. ZOHOR: at midday or early afternoon: 4 Rakaat.

3. ASAR: late afternoon: 4 Rakaat.

4. MAGHRIB: at sunset: 3 Rakaat.

5. ISHA: at night, before going to bed: 4 Rakaat.

Daily Prayers open a channel of communication

between a Muslim and ALLAH. In Islam there is noone else to whom a Muslim addresses his or her prayers.

These prayers also serve as a form of moral discipline,

since Muslim prayers must be offered at certain definite

times. A Muslim can add his own prayers to ALLAH,

in his own language, after he has repeated the set prayers

in Arabic.


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3. Fasting during the Month of Ramadan. A Muslim who

has reached Puberty and is in good health and of sound

mind, is required to abstain form eating and drinking

from just before sunrise, (about 5 a.m. in Malaysia),

until sunset, every day during the month of Ramadan,

the ninth month in the Muslim calendar. This abstentionincludes smoking and sexual intercourse during the

hours of daylight.

4. Giving Zakat- a Muslim religious tithe or tax.

Adult Muslims are required to pay a religious tax, once

a year. The money is mainly used to assist the poor.

Zakat is and Arabic word meaning Purify and by

paying a small percentage (about 2 percent) of the

capital and profit that a Muslim has accumulated during

the past year, he purifies his financial activities. Zakat

is usually paid, in Malaysia, to the Religious Affairs

Department in the State where the individual lives.

5. The Pilgrimage to Mecca.

Mecca is the birth place of Islam and Muslims face

towards Mecca every time they pray to Allah.


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Muslims are encouraged to make the Pilgrimage to

Mecca once during their life time, if they can afford to

do so.

The Pilgrimage is made during the month of Zulhijjah-

the twelfth month in the Muslim calendar, and hundreds

of thousands of Muslims from all over the worldassemble in Mecca at that time.

* * *

When you meet another Muslim he may greet you with

the words Assalamualaikum: meaning Peace be with

you. to which you should reply: Waalaikum salam, (and

with you also).

Just before a Muslim begins any good and lawful act it

is commendable if he says, Bismillahir rahmanir rahim

which means In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the

Merciful.


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A SHORT GUIDE

FOR

CONVERTS TO ISLAM


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A SHORT GUIDEfor

CONVERTS TO ISLAM


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First published 1986

Second published 2005

Third published 2009

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced by any means,

nor transmitted, nor translated into any language without

the written permission of Head of Department, Jabatan

Kemajuan Islam Malaysia, Blok D9, Aras 4, Kompleks D,

Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, 62519 Putrajaya.

ISBN

983-042-248-8

Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia

Blok D7 & D9, Kompleks D,

Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,

62519 Putrajaya.

www.islam.gov.my

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A Short guide