Becoming Muslim

How do I become a Muslim?

Becoming a Muslim actually is a lot easier compared to getting a visa or a passport! You become a Muslim when you accept that there is no god to be worshipped except Allah and Muhammad is His Final Messenger. The Noble Qur’an and the traditions of the Prophet (PBUH) will be the bass of a Muslim’s efforts to achieve the good life here and salvation in the Hereafter.

Do I have to register?

As proof of your status as a Muslim is required for certain things such as marriage or applying for a Hajj visa, it is better to register your testimony of faith. You may do this in a mosque or with the appropriate organization in your country. A certificate from the appropriate authority is the formal proof of your Muslim identity.

Do I have to change my name?

There is no requirement in Islam to change your name when you embrace Islam. However, it is better for you to have a Muslim name as well as it will be easier for others to identify you as a Muslim. Choose a name that reflects your desire to lead a life in the way of Allah. According to a tradition of the Prophet (PBUH), the best names in the sight of Allah are Abdullah (slave of Allah) and Abdul Rahman (Slave of The Merciful).

What is the difference between ‘born Muslim’ and those who embraced Islam?

In Islam, there is no difference whatsoever between born Muslims and those who embraced Islam. In Islam, the believers are differentiated only on the level of their piety. When a person embraces Islam, he becomes a Muslim. All believers are brothers and sisters in Islam.You become a Muslim by the Mercy of The Almighty.

Is a male required to circumcise to become a Muslim?

Circumcision is a tradition of the Prophet (PBUH). It is mentioned as fitra or a rule of cleanliness. It is obligatory for Muslims to follow the tradition of the Prophet (PBUH). It is exempted if it poses a health risk.

Do I have to stop eating pork meat immediately?

Not just pork meat. Those embracing Islam must ensure that their food consumption conforms to what is accepted as ‘pure’ in Islam. It is not just pork meat and intoxicants that are prohibited in Islam. The rule is that, all food consumed must be halal.

What is halal food?

Halal means permitted or lawful. Haram means prohibited or unlawful. To be halal, food products must be clean, pure and safe for consumption. In Islam, halal and haram apply not only to food products but to all aspects of life.

Do I have to learn Arabic?

The original is the word of Allah. It is not mandatory to know Arabic to become a Muslim. As The Qur’an is recited during prayers, one has to memorize a few chapters. The shortest chapter only has three verses. Learning Arabic will be an advantage as there is big difference between reading the translations of The Qur’an and the original text in Arabic.

Do I have to perform the daily prayers and other obligatory duties in Islam immediately after becoming a Muslim?

Allah knows what is in your heart. Obligatory duties in Islam are not “chores” that are performed reluctantly, but a part of the joy of submission to Allah The Merciful. They must be performed without delay in the spirit of gratitude to Allah The Merciful for the blessings that each of us has been given. Remember that you perform these duties not to please others but to submit to Allah The Merciful Who knows what is in your heart.

Motivations Of Life

The most difficult person to FACE in life is yourself.
A GRATEFUL heart is the cure for loneliness.
Do not judge the FUTURE by the past.
Never stop reaching for the GOAL in front.
Hold on to your BELIEF, then you will overcome difficulties.

TRIVIALITIES* can accumulate to an important episode.

Kind DEEDS can bring good returns.
DREAM is our motivation in life.
WISDOM is to understand that the world is ever-changing.
SINCERITY is a natural spring of water.
Danger brings us TRUE friends.
SMILE is the first step of a new life.

Our Fajr Double Advantage

The key to spiritual and material success for Muslims!

"Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise" - a famous maxim coined by the American scientist, writer and inventor, Benjamin Franklin.  And he was not alone in these beliefs.  The writer Samuel Johnson also warned that "nobody who does not rise early will ever do any good".

This is not just opinion but proven scientific fact.  A study by researchers at Brigham Young University in Provo in the American state of Utah found that:

    "students who habitually go to bed late and sleep late the next day have lower grade point averages (GPAs) than students with early-to-bed and early-to-rise sleeping habits.  The later students slept in the morning, the lower their grades tended to be.  Out of all the factors studied, weekday and weekend wakeup times had the strongest association with students' GPAs. Each hour over the average that students slept in on weekdays was associated with a 0.13-point drop on the GPA (0.0-4.0 scale)."
    Source: Journal of American College Health 2000; 49: 125-130

Of course, we Muslims are well used to getting up not just at the crack of dawn but actually half an hour before it to begin the day with the ritual worship of fajr salat (and even earlier in Ramadan before starting the day's fast).


Spiritual Success

What are the spiritual blessings of fajr salat?

According to a hadith recorded in Sahih Muslim, prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) stated that the action which is dearest to God is salat at its proper times.  On another occasion prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) also said to his companions:

"The five set prayers may be compared to a stream of fresh water, flowing in front of your house, into which you plunge five times each day. Do you think that would leave any dirt on your body?' When they replied: 'None at all!' Mohammed (Peace be upon him) said: 'Indeed the five prayers remove sins, just as water removes dirt." 
(Bukhari, Muslim)

And once while standing beside a tree in autumn, he stated:

"When a Muslim observes his salat with due attention and devotion, he sheds his sins just like this tree is shedding its leaves." (Ahmad)

Moreover, in the Quran we are told that prostrating (in salat) brings us closer to God (96:1).

Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) also tells us that fajr salat along with isha is particularly rich in blessings:

"If people only knew what blessings are in the fajr and isha prayers, they would come to them, even if they had to crawl."
(Bukhari and Muslim)

And according to Utham, (RA), prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) said:

"To perform the dawn prayer, [fajr], in congregation is like keeping vigil throughout the night." (Muslim).


Material Success

In Surah 23, ayats 1-2 of the Quran we learn that:

"Certainly the believers have succeeded, those who offer salat with devotion."

Spiritual success certainly.  But as Muslims we are also called upon not just to earn spiritual blessings for the next world but also to be materially successful in this one.  Despite the obvious call to work hard and make the most of our abilities demonstrated in the parable of the talents, the Christian West has often had an ambiguous attitude towards wealth, sometimes glorifying poverty and misinterpreting Jesus's gospel statement that "love of money is the root of all evil" to mean that money itself is the root of all evil.  As a Muslim, I am more inclined to agree with the playwright George Bernard Shaw who is reported to have said that "lack of money is the root of all evil".

[Shaw was an admirer of prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) and in the 1936 book The Genuine Islam referred to him as "the wonderful man" and "the saviour of humanity".]

Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) himself stated:

"There will dawn a time over people when the destruction of a man will be at the hands of his wife, parents, and children. They will humiliate him because of his poverty and will make such demands which will induce him to engage in such activities (to gain more money) which will finally destroy his religion."
- Baihaqi. Narrated by Ibn Mas'ood (RA) and Abu Hurairah (RA)

The other side of the coin, so to speak, is:

"How excellent is the wealth of the Muslim".
- Sahih Bukhari hadith 4.95 Narrated by Abu Said Al Khudri (RA)

It is wealth which enables us to take care of our families, keep on the straight path and avoid doing wrong in order to make ends meet.  It is wealth which enables us to meet our obligation to pay Zakat.  It is wealth which enables us to help others and contribute to Dawah through additional charity.  It is wealth which enables us to meet our obligation to go on Hajj.

It was wealthy Muslim traders who peacefully spread Islam throughout West Africa and the areas we now know as Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.  And if we look at the first generation of Muslims, we find the shining example of Abdur-Rahman Ibn Awl.  The eighth person to embrace Islam, he migrated twice to Abyssinia.  Abdur-Rahman distinguished himself in both the battles of Badr and Uhud, suffering more than twenty wounds at the latter.  Then starting with nothing, he went on to achieve tremendous success as a merchant, becoming the richest of the companions.  From his great wealth, Abdur-Rahman financed the Muslim armies, contributed to the upkeep of the family of Mohammed (Peace be upon him) after the prophet's death and was universally renowned for his fabulous generosity.

So how can we turn getting up for Fajr to our material advantage?  Certainly not by slinking back into bed again and snuggling up for another few hours.  As prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) said:

"The most excellent jihad is that for the conquest of self." (Bukhari)

In the context of fajr, what this means is, once up, stay up!  Stay up and do something useful.  Work on your goals.  If you don't have any, set some.  Decide what you want to achieve in life.  Devise a plan to make those goals a reality then take action.  You will be amazed at what you can get done in those few quiet hours when most of the rest of the world is still asleep.  You can organise your day, learn a language, work on your degree course or get fit by going jogging in the coolness of the morning.

You can also turn staying up after fajr to your career advantage by driving into work earlier, beating the traffic then packing so much productive work into the next hour without interruption because no one is there to pop into your office and the phone hasn't started ringing yet.

A further fajr advantage is that along the way you can listen on cassette to the wisdom and inspiration of motivational and business speakers.  We spend hundreds of ours commuting in our cars every year, by some estimates the equivalent to two full terms of university tuition.  Put this time to good use, especially first thing in the morning when you are relaxed and driving on a virtually empty road, when you are bright and fresh and can best take it all in.  Turn your car into a university on wheels.

Each of our lives is different, but you know how to apply these ideas to your own situation.

Take action now!

"Ah, that's too hard", I hear you say.  Well God assures us in the Quran that:

"We do not lay a burden on anyone beyond his capacity." (Quran: 23:62)

It is possible to turn these early hours to great advantage.  It's desirable and it's beneficial.  We are obliged to get up for fajr anyway.  From this we derive a spiritual advantage.  Let's stay up and get to work.  Why have just one type of advantage when we can have two - spiritual and material.  As Muslims we are uniquely placed.  The next fajr is less than 24 hours from now.  First thing tomorrow morning make sure that you take advantage of your fajr double advantage.

[Author's footnote: After working on other tasks, I started this article at 6 am and have just finished it at 8.20.  Now for a day's work!]