In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
All praise is for Allah and may His peace and blessings be
bestowed upon our Prophet Muhammad, as well as his family and companions. To
proceed: Allah created mankind to worship Him as the Most High says: {I did not
create the Jinn or mankind except to worship me}. One does not worship Allah
except by what He legislated and revealed to His messengers. They were the ones
who fully explained to their people what was legislated for the servants to perform
since worshiping Allah with acts that He did not legislate is invalid.
Allah completed the prophet hood of the messengers with the last
messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and He made it compulsory
for all of mankind to follow him. The Most High says: {Say: O People! Indeed I
am a messenger of Allah sent to all of you.} Therefore whoever does not believe in Muhammad
as the final messenger sent to mankind is a disbeliever. The religion of
Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is Islam and Allah will not accept
any other religion. The Most High says: {Whoever seeks another religion besides
Islam, then it will never be accepted of him and in the hereafter he will be
from the losers.}
Islam is the religion revealed to Muhammad, peace and
blessings be upon him, and it consists of five pillars: the attestation that
there is nothing worthy of worship except for Allah and that Muhammad is the
messenger of Allah, the establishment of five daily prayers, the payment of
alms, fasting in the month of Ramadan, and pilgrimage to the sacred house of
Allah for the one who is able to do so.
The person who wishes to convert to Islam first proclaims
the two attestations of faith, then begins to practice the aforementioned
pillars based on the following examples:
First, the person says verbally, “I bear witness that there
is nothing worthy of worship except for Allah, and that Muhammad is the
messenger of Allah.”
Second, the person prays five daily prayers –the early Morning
Prayer, the Noon Prayer, the Afternoon Prayer, the Sunset Prayer, and the
Evening Prayer. One preforms these prayers daily and nightly for the rest of
one’s lifetime. The early Morning Prayer consists of two units of worship, the
Noon Prayer consists of four units of worship, the Afternoon Prayer consists of
four units of worship, the Sunset Prayer consists of three units of worship,
and the Evening Prayer consists of four units of worship. The person does not
pray until first having performed ablution which is structured upon washing the
entire face, the hands up to the elbows, wiping over the head, and the feet up
to the ankles utilizing clean water.
Third, if a person has earned a significant amount of wealth
that is beyond one’s means, then one gives 2.5% of one’s earnings as alms to
the poor and those in need once a year. If a person does not earn beyond one’s
means, then the payment of alms is not obligatory for one to pay.
Fourth, one must fast during the month of Ramadan which is
the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. One refrains from eating, drinking, and
sexual intercourse from sunrise until sunset.
Fifth, if one has the financial and physical means, then one
should travel to perform the pilgrimage to the house of Allah, once in one’s
lifetime. However, if one has the financial means, but not the physical means,
whether due to age or a permanent illness, then one can entrust another to
perform on their behalf.
The sins that the new Muslim should avoid are the following:
First, one does not associate any partners with Allah in any
of its forms when worshipping Allah as it is considered only to be done for
Him. Such examples are supplicating to dead people, slaughtering animals for
them, and swearing to an oath using their names.
Second, one does not commit religious acts of innovations
which are acts of worship that were not revealed to the messenger Muhammad,
peace and blessings be upon him, based on his statement: (Whoever does an act
that has not been commanded by Allah will have it rejected), which means Allah
will not accept it.
Third, one does not engage in dealing with interest,
gambling, bribery, lying during business transactions, in addition to selling
impermissible products and making a profit from them.
Fourth, one does not engage in sexual intercourse unless one
is married and one does not engage in homosexuality.
Fifth, one does not drink alcohol, eat pork, and eat meat
slaughtered to false gods or dead animal flesh.
Sixth, one does not marry the non-Muslim women except for
the People of the Book.
Seventh, one should divorce his non-Muslim wife unless she is
from the People of the Book. But if she converts with her husband or converts
during the divorce period, they can remain married.
Eighth, if circumcision will not harm the new male Muslim
convert, then he should have it performed by a Muslim physician.
Ninth, if one cannot emigrate from the non-Muslim lands to
the lands of Islam, then one should remain in one’s land while adhering to the
religion of Islam.
Written by Saalih bin Fawzaan al-Fawzaan, member of the
Organization of Major Scholars in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on 03/19/1433
A.H. corresponding to 01/01/2012 and translated by Thomas Maldonado on 12/29/2012.
