How Does One Become a Muslim?

One becomes a Muslim by believing in the Two Testifications of Faith (refered to in Arabic as ash-Shahadatayn) and uttering them with the intention of leaving out blasphemy.

What are the Two Testifications of Faith?
The Two Testifications of Faith are:

In English

I bear witness that no one deserves to be worshiped except Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah

In Arabic

أشهدُ أنْ لا إلهَ إلاَّ الله

وأشهدُ أنَّ محمّدًا رسولُ الله

(ASHHADU ALLA ILAHA ILLALLAH, WA ASHHADU ANNA MUHAMMADAR-RASULULLAH)

The non-Muslim embraces Islam by believing in the Two Testifications of Faith and uttering them with the intention of leaving out blasphemy.

1. The first Testification means that no one or thing deserves to be worshipped except God Who is the Creator of everything.

2. The second Testification states that Muhammad the son of ^Abdullah who was born in Makkah about 1400 years ago is a messenger of God. He was sent to convey what God revealed to him so that the humans believe in and work with the Laws he received and brought. He is truthful in all what he conveyed.

The Two Testifications reject the Godhood of anyone or anything other than God. They confirm the Godhood of God only with the acknowledgment of the message of Prophet Muhammad.

The scholars said that it is obligatory upon every mukallaf to know thirteen Attributes of Allah. They are: Existence, Oneness, Eternity, Everlastingness, Non-neediness of others, Power, Will, Knowledge, Hearing, Sight, Life, Speech, and Non-resemblance to the creation. The explanation of these attributes is as follows:

1. Existence: It is obligatory to believe that Allah exists and that there is no doubt in His Existence. He exists without a place. Time does not lapse on Allah.
2. Oneness: Allah is One without any partners. He is One in His Self, His Attributes, and His Actions.
3. Eternity: Allah is Eternal; there is no beginning to His Existence. He has existed since before the creation.
4. Everlastingness: Allah is Everlasting; His existence does not come to an end. He does not perish.
5. Non-neediness of others: Allah does not need any of His creations and they are all in need of Him.
6. Power: Allah has Power over everything.
7. Will: Everything that occurs in this world is by the Will of Allah.
8. Knowledge: Allah knows about all things before they occur.
9. Hearing: Allah hears all what is hearable, without an ear or any other organ.
10. Sight: Allah sees all what is seeable, without a pupil or any other organ.
11. Life: Allah is alive without a soul, skin, or heart. His Life is not similar to ours. He is alive and does not die.
12. Speech: Allah’s Speech is without a tongue or lip. His Speech is not in a language, Arabic or anything else. His Speech does not resemble the speech of the humans.
13. Non-resemblance to the creations: Allah does not resemble the creations.

Allah, the Exalted, created mankind and the jinn and equipped them with the faculty of the mind with which they may know the Creator and discriminate between good, evil, sound, unsound, valid and invalid matters. The mind alone can deduce that this universe, with all its elements, must have a Creator who is Alive and attributed with the perfect attributes and that the Creator does not resemble the created things in any way. However, the mind alone cannot deduce that the name of the Creator is Allah, cannot deduce how to worship Him and cannot deduce what is lawful and what is not.

Allah, the Wise, sent Prophets and Messengers to convey the message of Allah; the purpose of this life, the sets of rules to be lived by and the underlying consequences.

All the Prophets and Messengers were supported by Miracles to substantiate their true claim of Prophethood. The sound mind concludes the truthfulness of the one who claims to be a Prophet when he performs a miracle that others cannot imitate on the grounds of challenging his truthfulness. Abraham was launched into a fervid fire set ablaze and neither he nor his clothes were burnt. Saleh brought out a camel and its offspring from a solid rock. Moses threw his staff on the ground and it turned into a frightening serpent which swallowed the ropes of the sorcerers of Pharaoh. Jesus shaped a bat out of clay and it became alive by the Will of Allah. Muhammad made the moon split into two halves each falling on either side of the mountain. These are only examples of many Miracles that they performed. May Allah raise all of their ranks and reward them greatly for the guidance they provided for us.

Allah, the Exalted, chose the choicest among the men to be Prophets and Messengers. The Wisdom of Allah entailed that all the Prophets and Messengers would be attributed with befitting attributes that enforce their credibility so that they may successfully convey the message from Him. Hence, all the Prophets and Messengers, before and after Prophethood, are trustworthy, truthful, intelligent, beautiful in shape, have beautiful voices, impeccable from committing blasphemy and enormous sins and small mean sins, clear from being inflicted with repelling ailments, clear from vileness, clear from stupidity, clear from lying, clear from cheating and clear from all non befitting attributes.

Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, informed us in his saying which was narrated by Ibn Hibban, that Allah sent 124000 Prophets and Messengers; 313 among them were Messengers. A Messenger is someone who received a new set of laws to convey from Allah, whereas a Prophet is someone who was ordered to follow and convey the set of rules revealed to the Messenger before him or at his time. Hence, every Messenger is a Prophet but not every Prophet is a Messenger.

Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, informed us in his saying which was narrated by al-Bukhari, Muslim and others, that the Prophets are like brothers from the same mother but different fathers. He further explained that their basic creed is one and the same but the laws with which they came differed to some extent. Hence, all the Prophets and Messengers were Muslim and taught that the Creator does not have partners, He is attributed with the perfect attributes, He is clear from all non befitting attributes, He does not resemble the creations in anyway, he is the only One who deserves to be worshipped and that His name is Allah . They also taught that the purpose of this life is to serve as a testing medium that determines in our minds who submits to the order of Allah and worship Him and who does not.

However, the laws differed from one Messenger to another because the Divinely Wisdom entailed that the needs of the people required such differences. At the time of Prophet Adam the institution of marriage required that the brother would marry his non twin sister. At the time of Prophet Seth that rule was abrogated, since the need was no longer standing, and it became prohibited for one to marry his sister per se whether or not his twin sister. The laws of purification, prayers and other differed to some extent from one Prophet to another reflecting the need of the people at the time the abrogation was put into effect.

Only some among all the Messengers and Prophets whom Allah sent to us are mentioned in the Qur’an. Allah told us the tales of some and did not tell us about the tales of the rest.

I shall attempt to write a concise briefing about the tale of each of the following Prophets, may the peace and blessings of Allah be endowed on all of them and may Allah grant us the support of all His Prophets and Messengers:

ADAM (Adam),

SETH (Shith),

ENOCH (Idris),

NOAH (Nuh),

HUD (Hud),

SALIH (Salih),

ABRAHAM (Ibrahim),

LOT (Lut),

ISHMAEL (Isma^il),

ISAAC (Ishaq),

SHU^AYB (Shu^ayb),

JACOB (Ya^qub),

JOSEPH (Yusuf),

BENJAMIN (Binyamin),

JOB (Ayyub),

EZEKIEL (Dhu-l-Kifl)

JONAH (Yunus),

Al-KHADIR (al‑Khadir),

MOSES (Musa),

AARON (Harun),

JOSHUA (Yusha^),

ELIJAH (Ilyas)

ELISHA (Il-Yasa^),

DAVID (Dawud),

SOLOMON (Sulayman),

ZACHARIAS (Zakariyya),

JOHN (Yahya),

JESUS (^Isa),

MUHAMMAD (Muhammad).

I profess that Muhammad is the slave and messenger of Allah and I confirm my conviction about Muhammad and the prophets before him, may Allah raise their ranks, as profoundly elucidated in the Mutamimah of Ibn ^Asakir:

Know, may Allah be merciful to you by guiding you to the acceptable deeds, that our Master Muhammad, the son of ^Abdullah, the son of ^Abdul Muttalib, the son of Hashim, the son of ^Abdu Manaf, the son of Qusayy, the son of Kilab, the son of Murrah, the son of Ka^b, the son of Lu’ayy, the son of Ghalib, the son of Fihr, the son of Malik, the son of an‑Nadr, the son of Kinanah, the son of Khuzaymah, the son of Mudrikah, the son of Ilyas, the son of Mudar, the son of Nizar, the son of Ma^add, the son of ^Adnan—is the slave of Allah, His Messenger, His Prophet, and His Khalil.

He is the best of the entire creation, and the leader of his followers who will have shining faces and illuminated upper arms and lower legs on the Day of Judgment. His Lord sent him to the humans and jinn as a luminous lantern—giving good tidings and warnings, and calling to worship Allah by His Will.

He received the Revelation through the entrusted Jibril who is the head of the honored angels. Allah created them from light. Obedience is inherent in them, and Allah gave them the strength to obey. They do not sleep and they do not get tired. They do not eat or drink. They do not disobey Allah, but rather they perform all what Allah ordered them to do.

His Book is the Wise Dhikr.[1] His laws are straight, truthful, and easy. His nation is the best of the nations. No human has a higher status than his, and no creature can attain his status.

He is the last of the Prophets and their leader, the most knowledgeable among them and the highest in status, the most articulate and the strongest, the most beautiful, brave, courageous, and generous. He had the most signs among them and the most outstanding miracles.

All the prophets were people of merit and patience, belief and certainty, truthfulness and religiosity, chastity and impeccability, intelligence and brilliance, trustworthiness; and conveyance of the Message. The prophets were numerous—the first of them was Adam, peace be upon him, who was created from clay as an unimpaired human in the best of forms. After him among his progeny are: Shith, Idriss, Nuh, Hud, Salih, Shu^ayb, Ibrahim, Lut, Isma^il, Ishaq, Ya^qub, Yusuf, Musa, Harun, Yusha^, Yunus, Ayyub, Dhu-l-Kifl, Ilyas, al-Yasa^, Dawud, Sulayman, Zakariyya, Yahya, ^Isa, al‑Khadir, and many others.

Their religion is one—Islam. They are the best of Allah’s creations. They are alive, praying in their graves. They are al‑wasilah, they intercede on the Day of Judgment, and the intercession of our prophet is the greatest.

The summation of all what was mentioned is included in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam:

<< الإيمان أن تؤمن بالله وملائكته وكتبه ورسله واليوم الاخر والقدر خيره وشره >>

<<The belief is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Day of Judgment, and destiny—what is good and what is evil.>> This hadith is sahih, related by Muslim.

[1] Dhikr here refers to the ayahs of the Qur’an.

Al ^Aqidah Al Murshidah

I begin with the name of Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. I praise Him and I seek His generosity and forgiveness. I humbly ask Him to raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad and protect his nation from what he feared for them. I profess that no one is God except Allah, and I reaffirm my belief about Allah as beautifully stated by the famous Shafi^iyy scholar, Shaykh Fakhrud-Din Ibn ^Asakir, who died in 620 AH:

Allah is the only God in His Dominion. He created the entire world, the upper and lower, the ^Arsh and Kursiyy, the heavens and earth, and what is in them and in between them.

All the creation is subjugated by His Power. No speck moves except by His will.

He has no manager for the creation with Him, and has no partner in Dominion.

He is attributed with Life and His Existence does not come to an end (al-Qayyum). He is not seized by somnolence or sleep.

He is the One Who knows about the unforeseen and what is evidenced by His creation. Nothing on earth or in heaven is hidden from Him. He knows what is on land and in the sea. Not a leaf does fall but He knows about it. There is no grain in the darkness of earth, or anything that is moist or dry except which is inscribed in a clear Book. His Knowledge encompasses everything. He knows the count of all things.

He does whatever He wills. He has the power to do whatever He wills.

To Him is the Dominion and He needs none; To Him belong the Glory and Everlastingness. To Him are the Ruling and the Creating (al-Qada‘). He has the Names of Perfection. No one hinders what He decreed. No one prevents what He gives. He does in His dominion whatever He wills. He rules His creation with whatever He wills.

He does not hope for reward and does not fear punishment. There is no right on Him that is binding, and no one exercises rule over Him.

Every endowment from Him is due to His Generosity and every punishment from Him is just. He is not questioned about what He does, but they are questioned.

He existed before the creation. He is not attributed with a before or an after, an above or a below, a right or a left, an in front of or a behind, a whole or a part.

It must not be said: When was He? Or Where was He? Or How is He? He exists without a place. He created the universe and willed for the existence of time. He is not bound to time and is not designated with place.

His management of one matter does not distract Him from another. Delusions do not apply to Him, and He is not encompassed by the mind. He is not conceivable in the mind. He is not imagined in the self nor pictured in delusions. He is not grasped with delusions or thoughts.

{لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَىْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ}

This ayah means: [Absolutely nothing is like Him and He is attributed with Hearing and Sight.] ]]> https://www.aicp.ca/2007/05/03/water-is-the-first-creation-2/ Thu, 03 May 2007 19:09:04 +0000 http://www.aicp.ca/islamic-lessons/english/water-is-the-first-creation/  

Water is the First Creation
Allah created the heavens, the earths, and the mountains.
Allah created the rivers and the seas.
Allah created the sun, the moon, the stars, and the planets.
Allah created the shrubs, the trees, the humans, and the animals.
The first thing Allah created was water. It is above the heavens. Then Allah
created the Grand ^Arsh.
The ^Arsh is a platform with pillars. It is the largest of the bodies that Allah
created, and it is the ceiling of Paradise.
Allah is the Creator of everything.

The First Human Being, Our Master Adam
After Allah had created the heavens, the earths, the angels, the jinn, the trees,
the birds, and the animals, Allah created our master Adam from soil.
Our master Adam was the first human.
Adam was the first of the prophets and messengers.
Allah created Adam without a father or a mother.
Allah created the angels from light. They are the inhabitants of the seven heavens.
Allah created the jinn from fire. The father of the jinn is Iblis.

Paradise
Allah created Adam in Paradise.
Paradise is above the seven heavens.
Paradise is very big.
Paradise is very beautiful.
Paradise has many trees, rivers, and birds with beautiful sounds. It has all
what one would like.

Paradise and Hell
Allah prepared Paradise for the believers who followed the prophets (may peace
be upon them) and believed them. The pious believers will enter Paradise on
the Day of Judgment without punishment.
Also Allah created Hell for the sinners and the blasphemers who belied the prophets
and did not follow the true Religion. The blasphemers will enter Hell on the
Day of Judgment and they will never go out of it.

Adam Lived in Paradise
Adam (may peace be upon him) lived in Paradise 130 years, eating from its fruits;
drinking from its rivers of water, honey, and milk; and living in it enjoyably
without getting sick, tired, or sad.

Lady Hawwa’ (Eve)
After a period of time Allah created a wife for our master Adam. Her name was
Hawwa’ .
She lived a kind and peaceful life with Adam in Paradise.
She loved her husband and he loved her.

Adam Was Beautiful
Our master Adam was beautiful. He was tall, with an upright body. He was not
like the animals that walk on four legs. He was not ugly.
Hawwa’ was beautiful also. She was tall, with an upright body. She was not ugly.
Adam and Hawwa’ were not naked. They used to wear clothes.

Adam and Hawwa’ and Their Descent to Earth
After Adam and Hawwa’ lived in Paradise for a long period, Allah made them descend
to earth.
They gave birth to many children.
Adam and Hawwa’ started to build and construct things such as homes.
All of their children were Muslim; none of them was a blasphemer.

The Religion of Adam and Hawwa’
Adam and Hawwa’ were Muslim. Each of them loved and worshipped Allah. They used
to pray, fast, and go to Hajj (pilgrimage).
They both had good manners.
Good manners are for one to tolerate the harm, and to be good to people when
talking to them and when dealing with them–whether or not they treat one likewise.

Our Master Adam is a Prophet and a Messenger
When Adam (may peace be upon him) came down to earth, Allah made him a prophet
and a messenger to his wife and offspring, to teach them Tawhid and the prayers.
Tawhid is to know what attributes befit Allah and to know the difference between
the Creator and the created things.
He taught them the basis for good behavior, truthfulness, trust-worthiness,
and sincerity.
An example of good behavior is to be trustful in dealing and not to cheat.
An example of trustworthiness is if someone put money with another person to
safekeep it, that person would give it back.
Sincerity means to be obedient (which means to obey Allah’s orders) hoping for
reward from Allah and not seeking to please people.

Our Master Adam was Articulate
Our master Adam spoke all languages.
Adam was articulate.
He had a beautiful voice.
He knew the names of everything.
Allah, the Exalted, said in the Qur’an:

This Ayah means: [….. and Allah created in Adam the knowledge of the names
of everything.] He used to talk with his children with clear words and not with signs.
Adam knew all the names of the creations such as the name of the sky, the earth,
the sea, the air, the angel, the jinn, and the like.

Adam Plants and Harvests
Allah created in our master Adam the knowledge of the matters of earning a living.
Allah created in Adam the knowledge of how to make the instruments for planting,
like a shovel and a sickle.
Allah created in Adam the knowledge of how to plant seeds, vegetables, and fruits,
and how to harvest.
Allah created in Adam the knowledge of how to make bread out of wheat, and Adam
used to make it well.

Adam Built the Ka^bah
Our master Adam learned how to build.
Adam used to build homes and houses.
He used to make ceilings and doors for them.
He was the first to build the Ka^bah.
During his time, the Aqsa Mosque was built in Palestine.