Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, which is followed by more than 1.8 Billion people around the world. It means that every one in four individuals in the world claims to be a Muslim. Interestingly, most Muslims live outside the Middle East, the hub of Islam.
Like many other major religions, Islam teaches that there is only one God in the universe who is omnipotent, merciful, and worthy of worship. The teachings of Islam are revealed in the form of the Holy Book, Quran. Accordingly, Quran offers guidance to Muslims on every aspect of life. Muslims can also seek guidance from the sayings of Muhammad, the last prophet of God.
Conversion to Islam is a straightforward process, which does not have any major restriction. In fact, anyone can accept Islam without going to a specific place; meeting someone; or attending a special ceremony. Conversion is more of a soul-searching process rather than taking part in a ritual. As a prerequisite, one must also detach oneself from the countless myths on Islam publicized by the media, western societies, and a few so-called Islamic scholars.
The Conversion Process
For a Muslim revert, converting to Islam is easier than most other religions. The only thing one has to do is to recite “Shahada”, which is a testimony of faith declaring that a person believes in only one true God, “Allah”, and Muhammad is the last messenger of God. In order to accept Islam, one has to believe in one God and his last messenger, Muhammad.
When converting, the “Shahada” is spoken in the Arabic language, which is recited as, “La-ilaha-illa-Allah, Muhammad-rasoolu-Allah”. The first part of the testimony, “La-ilaha-illa-Allah“, means that there is no true deity but God. In literal sense, it also means that no one is worthy of worship but Allah, and God has no partners or son. Basically, the first part of “Shahada” also confirms that there is only one God in the universe who is omnipotent, and no one else can claim to be a God.
The second part of the testimony “Muhammad-rasoolu-Allah” means that Muhammad is the prophet of God. It also means that a Muslim must believe that there is no prophet after Muhammad.
Saying the “Shahada” also means that Muslim revert understands that Holy Quran is the last Holy Book of God revealed to his last messenger, Muhammad. Similarly, Muslims must believe that Allah has sent several messengers before Muhammad such as Jesus and Moses. Accordingly, a Muslim must also believe in the Judgment Day and Angels.
Why it’s easy to convert to the Islamic Religion?
Unlike the myths circling around in western societies, converting to Islam is very easy because conversion is possible without anyone’s help. It means that an individual can recite the “Shahada” alone if he believes in the basic belief described above. However, Muslim clerics always advise that is much better to say the “Shahada” in the presence of a Muslim cleric or other Muslims because they can not only help the new convert understand Islamic studies, but also assist them with the newfound faith.
There is yet another reason why Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. Islam puts no restrictions on the method of conversion except saying and believing in “Shahada”. As such, there is simply no pre-condition to conversion. Potential converts are not required to change their original names, which mean that they can keep their full names throughout their lives. Likewise, no one has to learn any word of Arabic, beforehand. As described earlier, no one needs to be informed of the conversion. Anyone can convert to Islam without even knowing any Muslim. Even if someone has committed many sins, they can just recite “Shahada”, and join the new faith.
The Spiritual Journey in Islam
Just before reciting “Shahada”, and after reciting it, every new convert goes through a spiritual journey that has psychological and theoretical aspects. The psychological aspects are inherent in considering the weight of the decision to convert to Islam and keeping oneself away from the Islam portrayed by popular media. The theoretical aspects start after the conversion as a new convert begins to understand Quran and pray to God.
The spiritual journey in Islam begins even before the Shahada. Since, anyone can become a Muslim in just a few seconds; conversion to Islam is actually a conversion of the Soul. It means that anyone thinking of converting to Islam must think about the gravity of the decision. To become a true steadfast Muslim, one has to change the entire lifestyle. Changing the lifestyle means that the conversion will definitely affect the relationship with others. As a result, any aspirant Muslim must be ready to submit to Allah without any excuse.
Another part of this spiritual journey is the realization that Islam is not what is portrayed by the media, different sects, and the Muslim clerics in the Middle East. In fact, Islam is not defined by Islamic culture and religious traditions. Instead, Islamic studies are simple teaching with basic rules for guidance. Therefore, new converts will need to learn Islam step-by-step on the path to spiritual journey without following a strictly defined path prescribed by different factions and media outlets. Of course, Quran talks about theories of original sin and other events, but it leaves the interpretation to the reader. It means that new converts must take guidance from many different sources, but they must craft their own path to understanding Islam – Islam, which is devoid of the prejudice of fellow human beings and sects. Guidance from various sources is also necessary because anyone can became an Islamic scholar, unlike ordained priest, in Christianity.
The second part of the spiritual journey is a practical aspect of understanding Quran and praying to God five times a day because Allah is the only one worthy of worship. Without understanding Quran and saying regular prayers, the “Shahada” is no more than a recitation of ordinary words. When it comes to Quran, a Muslim must try to understand it because it provides guidance on almost every aspect of human life. After reading the Quran, it becomes apparent that there are very clear instructions from Quran on how to spend one’s life. However, experts believe that interpretation of the many verses of Quran such as the explanation of original sin should be done after consulting expert scholars. The fact that there is no ordained priest, one should continue to debate with different Islamic scholars if they are not sure about the meaning because Muslims consider Quran as the true word of God that has not changed even slightly since it was first revealed to Muhammad.
Regarding praying to Allah, devout Muslims must pray five times a day. It is necessary because Muslim believe that prayer is a gift of God, which offers human beings the opportunity to thank Allah, and ask for his forgiveness. Theoretically, Muslim converts should start learning Arabic verses for prayer as soon as they can. As with everything in Islam, there are no such demands as learning the prayer quickly. Muslim converts can take their time by memorizing prayer verses in their native language so they are able to recite it in Arabic at a later stage. In fact, Islam encourages its followers to say prayers in the form of congregation inside a Mosque, every day. Praying in a group help converts learn Arabic verses quickly with the help of fellow Muslims.
