CHAPTER 1
PREFACE


Behold all that is around you on earth: things, plants, insects, animals, birds and fish...
Don’t you see that they have accurate systems governing and guiding their life?
Behold all that is above you in space: sun, moon, planets, stars, clouds, wind ... etc., aren’t they all functioning properly and accurately and rendering valuable services to our life on earth?
Think of yourself, of your organs, of your numerous and efficient body systems, how they are cooperatively functioning to secure healthful life for you!
Who created all these fantastic things? Who established their accurate systems? Who is controlling this huge and complicated universe?
No one dared so far to claim creating, or being able to create, any single thing, even a hair!!
The Creator and The Sustainer of all these Creatures is One only; if there were more than one there would have been confusion in the heavens and the earth! That One is Allah (the only true God).
It is very logical, then, to acknowledge this fact, to know our Creator and Provider to be grateful to Him, and to submit ourselves and our life to His Wise and Merciful Guidance.
Our Creator has endowed us with intellect to understand and with freedom to choose the right path.
Allah has showed us the right path through his messengers sealed by Mohammad and His Books completed by The Qur’an.
In front of us there are two ways: one is leading to bliss in this life and in the Hereafter that is Islam.
The other is leading to misery and loss in this world, and to eternal punishment in the Hereafter. The choice is ours, what are we going to choose? May Allah guide us into the Right Path! Aameen!

CHAPTER 2

ISLAM WHY? FOR WHOM? WHEN?


Islam.... Why?


Because Islam is the religion chosen by Allah for all humanity.
Because Islam is the religion of all prophets since Adam to Mohammad (Peace be upon them all).
Because Islam is the religion delivered by all Messengers of Allah and Islam is the seal of all heavenly revelations, and
Because Prophet Muhammad – Sallallahu alayhi wasallam – the Messenger of Islam is the last of God’s apostles, and
Because The Qur’an is the last of Allah’s scriptures.
Allah ta’ala (Glory be to Him) says: “Do they seek other than the Deen (Religion) of Allah? While all creatures in the heavens and on earth have, Willingly or unwillingly, bowed to His Will (accepted Islam), and to Him shall they All be brought back,” (The Qur’an 3:83) “If anyone desires a Deen (Religion) other than Islam (submission to Allah) it will never be accepted from him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost (everything) (The Qur’an 3:85).



Islam... for whom?
For every person upon whom Allah has bestowed life and intellect.
For those who can see the blessings of Allah.
For those who can hear the Words of Allah.
For those who can comprehend the signs of Allah.
For those whose hearts are full of love and gratitude to Allah.
For you, for me, and for those whose blessed hearts are open to faith.


Islam ... When?
Now and always.
Obey your heart’s call to faith.
It is your life chance.
A golden chance that might not strike your heart again.
Answer Allah’s call. He summons you.
“But your God is one God, submit your wills to Him (in Islam), and give the good news to those who humble themselves.” [The Qur’an 22:34].

CHAPTER 3
THE GREAT TRIP


If you become convinced that Islam is the true religion,
Seek a trustworthy Islamic authority such as an Islamic Center, a mosque, or an Islamic Organization.
Contact the person in charge and tell him about your wish to embrace Islam.
The person in charge will ask you some questions to know how far you are convinced with Islam.
This pamphlet will provide you with answers for such questions.
Before you reach that honorable occasion, i.e., declaring conversion to Islam, wash the whole of your body with the intention of converting to Islam. It is also recommended for this very special occasion, to shave under-arm and pubic hair, dress up, and apply a pleasant-smelling perfume to the body.

CHAPTER 4
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO DECLARE
YOUR CONVERSlON TO lSLAM?


To achieve this, it is sufficient to say (in Arabic, if possible):
’Ash-hadu ’an la ilaha ’illaal-lah!
Wa ‘ash-hadu ‘an-na Muhammadan rasulul-lah
Wa ‘ash-hadu ‘an-na ‘isa abdul-lahi wa rasuluhu
Bari’tu min kulli dinin yukhalifu dinal-Islam


The meaning of this is as follows:


I bear witness that there is no (true) god except Allah.
And I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger.
And I bear witness that Jesus is the slave and messenger of Allah.
deny and refuse any religion except Islam.


Also you can say:


I (firmly) believe in Allah, His Angels, His scriptures, His Messengers, the Last Day, and in the ability of Allah to will the existence of good or bad.
I promise Allah not to associate with Him (in worship) anyone or anything (whatsoever), and,
I will steadfastly perform Salat (the Five Prayers), and
I will give out Zakat (special Islamic system of charity), and
I will never steal, and
Never commit adultery (or fornication), and
Never illegally kill a person, and
Never disobey Allah.
Praise be to Allah Who has guided me to belief !


Note: The person in charge, in front of whom a new Muslim has announced his conversion to Islam, prays Allah for him with such prayers: Allah may forgive me and you! And Allah may accept (submission) from me and you! O Allah! Accept him with those on whom You did bestow your Grace, of Prophets, the Sincere (lovers of Truth), the Witnesses, and the righteous! What a beautiful Fellowship!

CHAPTER 5
What is Islam?


Islam is (composed of) three (main) areas: Utterance, faith, and deeds.
The utterance was explained in chapter 4.
Faith is to believe in Allah, the Angels, the Heavenly Scriptures, Prophets, the last Day and in the ability of Allah to will the existence of good or bad.
Deeds are: Salat (Prayers), Zakat (Alms-giving), Siyam (Fasting), and Hajj (Pilgrimage).

CHAPTER 6
FAITH IN ALLAH


We believe that Allah is one God, our Lord and the Lord of everything,
Allah is the Creator of everything,
All other than Him are created, and are servants who share nothing with Allah.
Even Angels and Prophets are merely created servants submitting to Allah.
Among them are Jesus and Muhammad (Peace be upon them); both have no trace of deity (godhood).
Allah is the Living Self-Subsisting, Eternal, the First without a beginning and the Last without an end.
He hears everything and sees everything.
He is Most Gracious, Most Merciful, All-Dominating,
He has the Most beautiful Names and the Noblest Attributes.
He has created us out of nothing,
And made us in the best form.
He has given us all graces and bounties.
Hence we are not permitted to worship or submit to any other than Him, whether a favorite Angel or a chosen Prophet!
Whoever directs his prayers, bows or prostrates (in worship), or offers sacrifice to any other than Allah, he is an infidel! and not a Muslim even if he declares that he is a Muslim:



Allah says: “Say: Truly my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are (all) for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds. No partner has He. This I am commanded and I am the first of those who submit to His Will”. [The Qur’an 6:162 -163]
Islam is the religion of Monotheism: it denies the Dualism of Magians and the Trinity of Christians. Islam teaches that Allah is One and only One. No one shares with Him, His Dominion or His Command. He has the Most beautiful Names and the Noblest Attributes:
Allah says: “Say! He is Allah, the One. He is the Most Unique, the Eternal,the Absolute. He neither gives birth, nor is He born. And there is none like unto Him. “ [Al Qur’an 112).

CHAPTER 7
FAITH IN ANGELS


Allah has created Angels to worship Him, to carry out His commands and to be His messengers to His Prophets.
One of the angels is Gabriel who used to bring down Revelation to our Prophet Muhammad 'Alayhis-Salatu was-Salamu (peace be upon him).
Another Angel is Michael who is in charge of rain falling.
A third one is the "Angel of Death" who is in charge of taking the souls of people whose death is due.
Angels are but servants honored by Allah.
Hence we honor them and speak of them respectfully.
But we worship none of them, nor do we take them as Allah's sons or daughters (as infidels claim).
We worship only Allah who created them in this wonderful kind of creation.
Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "And they say: The Most Gracious has begotten a son, Glory be to Him! They are but servants raised to honor. They do not speak before He speaks, and they act (in all things) by His command. He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they offer no intercession except for those whom He accepted, and they stand in awe and reverence of Him. If any of them should say, ‘I am a God besides Him’, such one We should reward with Hell. Thus do We reward those who do wrong”. [The Qur’an 21:26-29]

CHAPTER 8
FAITH IN HOLY SCRIPTURES
Allah has sent down to a number of Messengers, Books in order to proclaim them to mankind.
These Books contain the Words of Allah.
Among them are the Sheets of Ibrahim (Abraham), Taurat revealed to Moosa (Moses), Az-Zabour (psalms) revealed to Dawood (David), The Injil (Gospel) revealed to Isa (Jesus), And The Qur’an sent down to Muhammad, (Peace be upon them all).
Jews and Christians distorted some parts of their Books (Taurat and Injil).
Being the last Book assuredly guarded from corruption, The Qur’an confirms the truth in the previous Books and guards it.
Whatever, in those Books, differs from The Qur’an is corrupted or abrogated.
Allah (Glory be to Him) says: “To you We sent the scripture in truth Confirming the scriptures that came before it, And guarding it...” [The Qur’an 5:48].
Allah revealed The Qur’an in Arabic and has firmly promised to protect. His last Message from all corruption; He says about The Qur’an: “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message, and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)” [The Qur’an 15:9]

CHAPTER 9
FAITH IN PROPHETS


We believe that: Allah chose from among mankind some Prophets to deliver His Guidance.
From among those Prophets He selected Some Messengers.
He sent to the Messengers Laws and commanded them to proclaim these laws and to clarify them to their people.
Some of the great Messengers of Allah were Nooh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Moosa (Moses), Isa (Jesus), and Muhammad (peace be upon them all).
Embracing Islam does not mean to disbelieve in Moosa, Isa, or any other prophet.
Islam teaches you how to believe correctly in all Prophets.
Allah (Glory be to Him) says in The Qur’an: “To you We sent the Scripture in Truth, Confirming the scriptures that came before it, And guarding it...” [The Qur’an 5:48]. Meaning: Clarifying the Truth they distorted.
Allah mentioned’ names of a number of Prophets, He says: “Say you (Muslims): We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Ibrahim, lsma‘il, Isaac, Ya‘qoob (Jacob) and the Tribes, and that which was given to Moosa (Moses), and Isa (Jesus), and that which was given to all Prophets from their Lord. We make no difference between one and another of them, and we submit to Allah (in Islam)” [The Qur‘an 2:136]
The first Prophet was Adam, father of mankind, Alayhis-Salam (Peace be upon him).
Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam ‘Alayhis-Salatu was-Salamu (Peace be upon him) is the Seal (the last) of the prophets. No prophet is to come after him up to the end of this world.
Hence the fact that Islam is the only true religion to remain up to the Last Day.
He is Muhammad son of Abdullah son of Abdul-Muttalib. He is an Arab from (the famous tribe) of The Quraysh, a descendant of Ibrahim (Abraham) and Isma‘il (Ishmael) – Alayhimus-salatu was-salamu – (Peace, and prayers of Allah be upon them).
He was born in Makkah (Mecca) in 571 AD (Known as the Year of the Elephant).
Allah sent Revelation to him when he was 40 years old.
He stayed in Makkah 13 years calling people to (believe in) Allah.
Only a limited number of people believed in him.
After that he emigrated to Al-Madinah and invited its people to believe in Allah, and they accepted.
He became the leader of Makkah in the year 8 AH He died at the age of 63 after the whole of The Qur’an was revealed, and all Arabs embraced Islam.

CHAPTER 10
FAITH IN THE LAST DAY


We believe that there will be another life after this life.
When the determined term of this life comes to an end, Allah will command an Angel to sound the Trumpet and all mankind and all other creatures will die.
Then he (Angel) will sound it again, when, behold, all dead since Adam will stand out of their graves.
Then, Allah will gather all people to account them for what they did:
Those who believed (in Allah), accepted the Messengers (as truthful) and did good deeds (commanded by Allah), Allah will put them in Paradise.
In Paradise, they will enjoy eternal Bliss.
But those who rejected the Messengers and disobeyed Allah’s commands, will be put in Hell.
In Hell Fire, they will be in continuous eternal punishment.
O Allah! We ask Your Paradise and seek refuge with You from Fire of Hell! Aameen!
Allah (Glory be to Him) says: “As for those who had transgressed all bounds; and had preferred the life of this world; the Abode will be Hell-Fire. And for those who had feared of standing in front of their Lord’s (Tribunal); and had restrained (their) souls from lower desires; their Abode will be Paradise.” (The Qur’an 79:37-41)

CHAPTER 11
FAITH IN FATE AND DIVINE DECREE


We believe in the timeless knowledge of Allah and in His power to plan and execute His plans and nothing could happen in His Kingdom against His will.
His knowledge and power are in action and command at all times over His creation.
He is Wise and Merciful and whatever He does must have a meaningful purpose.
If this is established in our minds and hearts, we should accept with good faith all that He does,
Although we may fail to understand it fully, or think it is bad.

CHAPTER 12
IBADAT (RELIGIOUS DEEDS)
Deeds in Islam are of two main categories:
‘Ibadat, these are the rituals, or devotional duties, of worship: Salat, Zakat, Siyam, and Hajj.
Mu’amalat, these include all life activities related to the individual, family, society, or the whole ‘Ummah (Muslim Community at large), political, economic, cultural, legal, ethical…, national or international.
Mu‘amalat when carried out in fulfillment of Allah’s Shari’a (Law) will be a sort of “Worship” in the general sense.
In this pamphlet, Mu’amalat will not be dealt with. You have to consult in each case either a book of Fiqh (Islamic Law) or any well informed Muslim scholar or authority.
The practical Pillars (Foundations) of Islam are Five:

The two Shahadas (Declarations of submission to Allah)
Salat (Prayer)
Zakat (Poor Due)
Siyam (Fasting of Ramadhan)
Hajj (Pilgrimage)

CHAPTER 13
THE TWO SHAHADAS (DECLARATIONS)


Ash-Shahadah means to say, with a firm belief in heart, and mind, the following:
’Ash-hadu ’an Laa ’ilaha ’illal-Lahu,
Wa’ash-hadu ’anna Muhammadan rasulul-Lah.
The meaning of these is:
I bear witness that there is no (true) god except Allah,
and I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger.
These imply two things:
That are deeds must be sincere to God alone.
That we only worship God as Muhammad taught.

CHAPTER 14
SALAT (PRAYER)


We pray five times everyday:
The Fajr (dawn) prayer. Two Rak‘ahs (Units). Its time starts just after dawn and ends at sunrise.
The Dhuhr (noon) prayer. Four Rak‘ahs. Time starts just after sun moves down from its zenith and ends at the midpoint between zenith and sunset.
The Asr (Late afternoon) prayer: Four Rak‘ahs. Time starts after the end of the Dhuhr prayer and ends at sunset.
The Maghrib (Sunset) prayer: Three Rak‘ahs. Time starts just after sunset.
The Isha’ (Evening) prayer: Four Rak‘ahs. Preferable time starts when twilight disappears and ends at midnight.