How Does Someone Become a Muslim

Simply by saying with conviction, “La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadur rasoolu Allah,” one converts to Islam and becomes a Muslim .  This saying means “There is no true god (deity) but God (Allah),1 and Muhammad is the Messenger (Prophet) of God.”  The first part, “There is no true god but God,” means that none has the right to be worshipped but God alone, and that God has neither partner nor son.  To be a Muslim, one should also:

*  Believe that the Holy Quran is the literal word of God, revealed by Him.

*  Believe that the Day of Judgment (the Day of Resurrection) is true and will come, as God promised in the Quran.

*  Accept Islam as his or her religion.

*  Not worship anything nor anyone except God.

The Prophet Muhammad  said: {God is more joyful at the repentance of someone when he turns to Him in repentance than one of you would be if he were riding his camel in the wilderness, and it runs away from him, carrying his food and drink, so that he loses all hope of getting it back.  He comes to a tree and lies down in its shade (awaiting death), for he has lost all hope of finding his camel.  Then, while he is in that state (of desperation), suddenly it is there before him!  So he seizes its halter and cries out from the depth of his joy, “O God, You are my servant and I am Your Lord!”  His mistake comes from the intensity of his joy.}2

After that, you must perform a ghusl or called in English the major purification. It’s known in Islamic fiqh that the unbeliever (kafir) is impure, so for the one to complete his transition from the dark to the light he must pure himself by performing a complete ghusl on the base of sharia and the prophet Mohamed Sunnah.

By the acts of the prophet Mohamed reported to us by hadiths, two are followed by Muslims in their daily life to perform a major purification:
The first: Aishah reported: When the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) would take a bath because of sexual defilement, according to the version of Sulaiman, in the beginning he would pour water with his right hand (upon his left hand); and according to the version of Musaddad, he would wash both (hands) pouring water from the vessel upon his right hand. According to the agreed version, he then would wash the private part. He would then perform ablution as he did for prayer, then put his hands in the vessel and made the water go through his hair. When he knew that water had reached the entire surface of the body and cleaned it well, he would pour water upon his head three times. If some water was left, he would pour it also upon himself. – sunan abu dawud, Regarding The Ghusl for Janabah.

The second: Maimunah reported: I placed (the vessel of) water for the Prophet (May peace be upon him) to wash himself because of sexual intercourse. He lowered down the vessel and poured water on his right hand. He then washed it twice or thrice. He then poured water over his private parts and washed them with his left hand. Then he put it on the ground and wiped it. He then rinsed his mouth and snuffed up water, and washed his face and hands. He then poured water over his head and body. Then he moved aside and washed his feet. I handed him a garment, but he began to shake he moved aside and washed his feet. I handed him a garment, but he began to shake off water from his body. I mentioned it to Ibrahim. He said that they (companions) did not think there was any harm in using the garment (to wipe the water), but they disliked its use as a habit.
\nAbu Dawud said: Musaddad said: I asked ‘Abd Allah b. Dawud whether they (the companions) disliked to make it a habit. He replied: it (the tradition) goes in a similar way and I found it in a similar way in this book of mine. – sunan abu dawud, chapter: Regarding The Ghusl for Janabah.

Both of this hadiths tell the right way to perform a ghusl with some difference. But in a general way they are the same, and the interested can do the one he like.

As a result, the steps for a proper purification are as followed:

1.    Start by making niyyah (intention) to perform Ghusl, say bismillah (in the name of Allah) and make the intention to cleanse yourself of impurities.
2.    Wash the right hand up to and including the wrist (and between the fingers) three times and make sure to clean thoroughly, then similarly for the left hand.
3.    Wash the private parts and remove dirt or filth from the body (using your left hand).
4.    Perform Wudu as if for prayer. Ensure that the mouth and nostrils are thoroughly rinsed one time. If sitting on a stool or stone while bathing, then the feet should also be washed when performing Wudu. But if sitting in a muddy place, feet should not be washed at this stage.
5.    Water should be poured over the head three times so that it flows all over the body, ensuring that the roots of hairs and parts not easily reached by water such as the back of the knees are washed thoroughly.
6.    Pour water over both shoulders (starting from the right shoulder). Hands should be passed all over the body when water is poured so that no part of the body is left dry.
7.    Move to a clean spot and wash the feet if not washed during Wudu.

now it’s favorable to pray two ‘rakaat’ and ask for stability in the right way, the way of Islam may Allah forgive all of us.

Footnotes:

(1) As was mentioned previously, the Arabic word Allah means God (the one and only true God who created the whole universe).  This word Allah is a name for God, which is used by Arabic speakers, both Arab Muslims and Arab Christians.  For more details on the word Allah,  

(2) Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #2747, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #6309.