Salam alaykum,
Pleas i need advise about a new convert. A friend just got married to Christian lady and alhamdulilah, she's ready to do Islam. But they're getting different advises from people on how she'll become a Muslim.
My question is: Is it enough for her to pronounce the shahadah and have the intention of becoming a Muslimah or she has to undergo the ritual birth before she can start observing salah and other obligations?

Salam Alaekun

May Allah accepts the Ibadah of our new sister coming into the fold of Islam. This reminds me of a sister that reverted to Islam through Allah and me years ago. She declared the Shadah first and I handed her over to sisters for the ritual bath.

If anyone has a real desire to be a Muslim and has full conviction and strong belief that Islam is the true religion of God, then, all one needs to do is pronounce the `Shahaada', the testimony of faith, without further delay. The `Shahaada' is the first and most important of the five pillars of Islam.

With the pronunciation of this testimony, or `Shahaada', with sincere belief and conviction, one enters the fold of Islam.

Upon entering the fold of Islam purely for the Pleasure of God, all of one's previous sins are forgiven, and one starts a new life of piety and righteousness. The Prophet said to a person who had placed the condition upon the Prophet in accepting Islam that God would forgive his sins:

`Do you not know that accepting Islam destroys all sins which come before it?' (Saheeh Muslim)

When one accepts Islam, they in essence repent from the ways and beliefs of their previous life. One need not be overburdened by sins committed before their acceptance, but if the sin involved usurping a right of another human, such as stealing, then they should strive their utmost to return what was wrongly taken. The person's record is clean, and it is as if he was just born from his mother's womb. One should try as much as possible to keep his records clean and strive to do as many good deeds as possible.

If One Wants To Convert To Islam, Then What Needs To Be Learnt After The Shahadah?
The term in Arabic for convert is Aslam. When Muslim scholars speak about conversion they say wal kafir idha aslama. In the Qur'an the term "repentance" (Tawbah) is also used:

", But if they (the pagans, polytheists) repent, and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity, then open the way for them, " (9:5).

There are several steps to be discussed regarding the process:

How To Become A Muslim

For the common unbeliever to become a Muslim, he/she must pronounce the two statements of the Shahadah: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger." A person who has previously believed in Judaism or Christianity has to add[/b]: "[b]And I bear witness that Jesus is the servant of Allah, His Messenger, and His word which He gave to Mary, and a spirit from Him." This expression is to signify a rejection of both the Jewish misconception and derogation of Jesus, and the Christian misconception and exaggeration of his position.

The Prophet (s.A.w.) said: "Whoever testified that there is no god but Allah, alone, without partners with him, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, and His word which He has thrown into Mary, and a spirit from Him, and that Paradise is true and that Hell is true - Allah will let him enter Paradise with what action he did." (Bukhari, Muslim)

Witnesses To Conversion

From a religious point of view, there is no need for any witnesses to a conversion, but for a person from a non-Muslim background to be known as a Muslim, he or she must officially register their acceptance of Islam so as to be treated as a Muslim in all aspects of life, such as civic and personal matters. This is especially important in non-Muslim countries: I am aware of the case of an elderly, hospitalised brother who embraced Islam sometime before passing away. Nearly all his visitors during this period were Muslims, but because his conversion was not recorded officially, his body was handed over to his immediate family who carried out the funeral procedures according to non-Islamic ways.

Ghusl

Once the Shahadah has been pronounced the new convert becomes subject to the rules of Islam. If the new Muslim is an adult, male or female, Ghusl is obligatory to enable the person to perform his or her prayers. It is not permitted, when a person comes to announce his conversion, to ask him or her to go and perform Ghusl first; this means delaying his conversion, and no-one knows what may happen during this delay.

Abu Hanifah (r.a.) says that there is no obligation on the convert to perform Ghusl because Allah (s.w.t.) says:

"Say to the unbelievers, if (now) they desist (from unbelief), their past would be forgiven them, "(8:38).

Many people embraced Islam and the Prophet (s.A.w.) did not ask them to take a bath. When Amr Ibn al-'As accepted Islam, the Messenger of Allah said to him:

"Did you not know that Islam wipes away what happened before, and repentance wipes out what was before."

The explanation to this apparent contradiction is that Allah will forgive sins according to a person's rights. The obligation to perform Ghusl comes after conversion, to enable the new convert to offer his or her prayers. When Qays Ibn Asim accepted Islam, the Prophet (s.A.w.) asked him to take a bath.

Circumcision

The male convert should be circumcised, as this is part of the natural manners recommended in Islam. If circumcision would pose any risk to health it may be delayed until the person is fitter and more able to cope with it. The scholars refer to the example of Prophet Ibrahim (a.s.) who circumcised himself at the age of eighty. Some Muslim scholars would not accept an uncircumcised person leading prayers. Incidentally, there is no requirement of circumcision for females in Islam.

Shaving The Head, Removing Bodily Hair

It is recommended for the new convert to shave his head (men only) and to remove body hair from the armpits and the private parts (both sexes). It is reported that Kulayb came to the Prophet to declare his Islam, and to one he told him to shave his hair, and to another convert he said:

"Clean off the hair which grew while you were a disbeliever, and circumcise yourself."

Changing The Name

If the name is an ordinary one according to the culture of the person accepting Islam, there is no need to change it. But if it has a meaning which is objectionable on Islamic grounds (such as Abd al-Masih, the servant of the Messiah), it has to be changed.

Family Matters

If the convert is in a marriage which is not acceptable in Islamic law, it is automatically nullified when he accepts Islam. For example marriage to a blood relative who is actually prohibited for marriage (Mahram) is of course null and void. If a man was married to two sisters, on accepting Islam he would have to choose between them. If a Muslim convert's wife remains a Jew or Christian, the marriage remains valid, but if she is of any other religion, the marriage is nullified.

Underage children become Muslim once one of the parents accepts Islam. Adult children are free to choose.

Wills And Inheritance

A difference of religion prevents inheritance; a Muslim cannot inherit from a non-Muslim or vice versa. Inheritance here refers to cases where a person dies in the state (without having made a will) and the estate is distributed to heirs according to the law of the land. According to Islamic law, a Muslim cannot inherit from a non-Muslim relative in this manner.

Wills, on the other hand, do make a difference: a Muslim may accept what has been left to him in a will by a non-Muslim relative. A Muslim with non-Muslim relatives may leave up to one-third of his estate to them in his will, but the other two-thirds must go to Muslim relatives.

May Allah guides us on the right way.

Jazakallah khayran. I really appreciate this. Even I, have gained a lot. Now, can I get any good Islamic site where this kind of information is? I want to send it to the lady's husband.
Secondly, please I need advise on how to encourage the sister more. She still wears weave-on, paints her nails etc and I don't want to seem to be rushing her and at the same time, I'm wishing she gets things right ASAP. I feel so concerned because the husband is so busy and she even complained that he's not patient enough in teaching her.

What is a "ritual bath"? Another corruption of water baptism in christendom?

babs787:

For the common unbeliever to become a Muslim, he/she must pronounce the two statements of the Shahadah: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger." A person who has previously believed in Judaism or Christianity has to add[/b]: "[b]And I bear witness that Jesus is the servant of Allah, His Messenger, and His word which He gave to Mary, and a spirit from Him." This expression is to signify a rejection of both the Jewish misconception and derogation of Jesus, and the Christian misconception and exaggeration of his position.

this portion intrigued me a lot. Why the EMPHASIS on REJECTING the Lordship of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, the sacrifice of His blood for one to become a muslim? What if someone was a past Ogun worshipper? Is there a special renunciation that must be undertaken or is this rejection of the gospel another sinister but clear indication that islam is nothing but a repudiation of christianity really?

please davidylan, don't corrupt this thread.

(i) God is One. He has neither a partner, nor a son or daughter. He is One in the true sense of the word that has no room for the concept of trinity, or for any other form of camouflage monotheism or a disguised polytheism.

(ii) The Holy Prophet Muhammad, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, is the last Messenger of Allah after whom no messenger or prophet of Allah (in any sense of the word) will come.

(iii) The Holy Qur'an is the last of the divine books revealed on the Holy Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, and all its contents are true.

(iv) The life Hereafter is the eternal life one has to live after his death where he will have to face the fate of his good and evil deeds.

(v) All the teachings given by the Holy Qur'an or by the Holy Prophet, Salla-Allahu alayhi wa sallam, in absolute and unambiguous terms are true and acceptable.

Once a person accepts all these fundamental beliefs as true, both verbally and in his heart, he becomes a Muslim.

Mukina, jazakillah khayran. Did u get my other request?
Secondly, please I need advise on how to encourage the sister more. She still wears weave-on, paints her nails etc and I don't want to seem to be rushing her and at the same time, I'm wishing she gets things right ASAP. I feel so concerned because the husband is so busy and she even complained that he's not patient enough in teaching her.

Salam

Secondly, please I need advise on how to encourage the sister more. She still wears weave-on, paints her nails etc and I don't want to seem to be rushing her and at the same time, I'm wishing she gets things right ASAP. I feel so concerned because the husband is so busy and she even complained that he's not patient enough in teaching her.

You dont have to rush her so that it wont be as if they are forcing her to revert and her husband needs to exercise lots of patient. Get her islamic books to read, just like 'the Ideal Muslimah' and she would love it.

It took many years for the holy prophet to preach the oneness of God, just like Moses too. Introduce muslim sisters and let her be friends to her. When she starts moving with them, she would know what is right from wrong. Also, let her establish regular prayer and by doing that, she would be dropping some things gradually because she would know that, Allah would frowns at this if she does that.

Just like how Allah touched a christian through me; when Allah touched her heart, she declared the Shahadah, I handed her over to muslim sisters for the bath.

When we saw later, she told me that she wouldnt be wearing Hijab cos she would feel somehow in it but I had to calm her down, gave her materials to read. If I had told her that look, thats what Allah want and if you dont do it like that, it would be a sin. She would feel bad thinking Islam is a religion of compulsion and not giving her freedom. But Alhamdulillah, she is now a full fledged Muslimah, knowledgeable and she has been introducing people to Islam because I made her learn some facts about the religion she came from. You must also let her know that Islam does not lay hardship on Muslims and let know that there is enjoyment in Islam as well.

May Allah make it easy for her and please do let me know how it goes.

Maa Salam

May ALLAH increase our knowldge.

Jazakallah khayran. Now, U remind me of that book, 'Ideal Muslimah'. Very good indeed, it helped me too a lot.

Asalam alaykum,

The sister is still in Islam but I can say her growth is rather slow. Her husband isn't helping matters at all as he is not really encouraging her, but insha Allah, she'll improve.

And so I use this opportunity to plead to you, our men, please and please, encourage your wives to practise Islam the pristine way. Don't discourage a wife who wants to wear the hijab. Don't say she won't blend with your social class or give other such excuses. A husband's discouragement is worse than that of 10 outsiders. Remember, you'll be accountable for your household on the day of reckoning.

I am particularly happy about this blissful news. I wish they understand the tenets of islam and follow suite. As regards her coverings, i wish it could be a stage-wise approach so that she doesn't bored along the line. How she can establish her solat from time to time should be paramount now. This will also assist a lot to cover her hair at least, five times a day. After this, the issue of scarf, hijab, etc can be introduced after regularly observing Solat. Other basic pillars of islam should follow suite in order to make things easy for her. As rightly suggested by colleagues, she should start moving with people of the same faith 'wakunu ma'a sodiqeen'. As regards books, i don't know if books available in our store in Nigeria will be easily seen there. They include: 1. Muslim character by M. Alghazali. 2 Solution to youth problem by ali alchowdhry. These two books will assist the issue of Hijab and islamic conducts generally. 3. Introduction to Islam by Ali Tantawi, 4. Pillars of islam and iman by jamil

Jazakallah khayran. I've given her the first book sometime ago. I haven't read the others myself. I'll try looking for them.

They include: 1. Muslim character by M. Alghazali. 2 Solution to youth problem by ali alchowdhry. These two books will assist the issue of Hijab and islamic conducts generally. 3. Introduction to Islam by Ali Tantawi, 4. Pillars of islam and iman by jamil

I have read the first two books and they are very ok.

@zayhal, if i got married to u or any other muslim lady, will i go through this coversion process?

@zayhal, if i got married to u or any other muslim lady, will i go through this coversion process?

Thanks to Babs for your input but I have to disagree with you on 2 things
In Islam is not mandatory to be cir cumsized it is only a sunna and a convert is not oblige to do it after taking Shahada
the second thing marriage between Muslim and non Muslim it is(halal) permissible for a Muslim to marry a Christian or Jewish women
therefore is (ha ram) prohibited for Muslim women to marry non Muslim period but the prophet in some cases like the one of Hind bint utbata
the wife of abu suffyan ibn Harb who converted to Islam before her husband the prophet ask her to stay in her marriage
so based on that some scholars advice that  new converts who were married to a non Muslim before Islam have the choice to stay in that marriage if they want
Also to enter Islam and be Muslim you need only to take Shahada and accept it in your heart
you have to say Ashhadu An La ilaha Illa Allahu wa Ashhadu Anna Muhameden ABDUHU wa rasuluhu (I bear witness that  there is no God but Allah and Mohamed is his servant and Messenger)at that time you become Muslim but don't forget that the act of Shahada is only one of the five pillars so you have to pray  give zakat (charity) Fast Ramadan go to hajj if you have the means  but don't forget that in Islam a Muslim  can upgrade to be a Mumin and Mumin can upgrade to be a Muhsin
Rabbi chrah li sadri wa yassir li amri wa ahlul ukdeten min lisani yafkahu kawli

@david since you talk about non sense let me show you the real non sense
It amazes me when someone who believes in the "holy trinity'' can even talk about  non sense 
We all know the ''holy trinity'' consisting of the father the son and the holy spirit I am asking are all part of one ''godhead'' or else are different manifestations for the same thing ? that has always sounded like a lot non sense to me and I can't found ''godhead'' anywhere in the bible so what the authority for this ?
christians are muddled about what Jesus was sometimes he is the son of god other time he is god himself there is also the holy ghost who is he ? was he Jesus before arrived on earth ? and the big non sense is that every one thinks after a bad act or sin Jesus will wipe the sins without non accountability whatsoever

zubeyr:

@david since you talk about non sense let me show you the real non sense
It amazes me when someone who believes in the "holy trinity'' can even talk about  non sense 
We all know the ''holy trinity'' consisting of the father the son and the holy spirit I am asking are all part of one ''godhead'' or else are different manifestations for the same thing ? that has always sounded like a lot non sense to me and I can't found ''godhead'' anywhere in the bible so what the authority for this ?
christians are muddled about what Jesus was sometimes he is the son of god other time he is god himself there is also the holy ghost who is he ? was he Jesus before arrived on earth ? and the big non sense is that every one thinks after a bad act or sin Jesus will wipe the sins without non accountability whatsoever

yawn. Why wont zubyer answer my ques? Obviously he himself has no clue as to why allah made such a foolish error in judgement.

But oh well, the understandable muslim tactic . . . when you cant defend yourself grab the bible and make noise largely out of ignorance.

If you cant find "godhead" in the bible then i plead with you to get glasses or see an eye doc.

The reason forbidding Muslim woman from marrying a non Muslim is that a Christian or Jewish man believes only in his prophet and doesn't believe in the prophet Mohamed or any of other prophets before him
Also the reason for authorizing Muslim man to marry a Christian or Jewish woman is because the Muslim man believes in all prophets include Jesus and Moses peace upon them so there is no problem in this matter because he still believes and respect her prophet

It is obvious that if others non Muslims believe in all Prophets they would be Muslims
Muslims are the only people who believe in the Prophety of Mohamed Jesus and Moses
Sometimes it hard to explain the obvious to someone who either in denial to accept the truth or lack the brain to get it
Bottom line the issue is not about the husbands but more about the wives
Islam has always been protective of the welfare and rights of women and therefore it is unacceptable to expose a Muslim women to the authority of a husband who doesn't believe in Allah and his Messenger and confuse about a shady trinity

The Prophets don't belong to the Jews they belong to Allah and so the whole universe Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world people are converting to Islam in record number if you are ready to become Muslim let me know and I will help you say the Shahada and get over your confusion about the trinity and Jesus Christ who won't be able to wipe your sins or save you while you think he is the son of God or even God himself

you seem ignorant of some basic knowledge and won't waste more time debating you FYI all the prophets have been sent by Almighty Allah
Allah He is the First and the Last the Evident and the Immanent when was nothing Allah was and when there will be nothing He will be

You should not fritter away your words and time as well because of davidylan, whatever you should make it available for him as a trust  will neglect and not to imbibe it better for you to quit from having deliberations with the dude. Hope that you are sensitive that Qur'an has mentioned for a kind of people (like davidylan and the likes) that are unable to understand the expressions of trust, below is the excerpts from the holy Book regarding to that,

002.006 As to those who reject Faith, it is the same to them whether thou warn them or do not warn them; they will
Not believe.
002.007 God hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they
(Incur).
002.008 Of the people there are some who say: "We believe in God and the Last Day;" but they do not (really) believe.
002.009 Fain would they deceive Allah and those who believe, but they only deceive themselves, and realize (it) not!
002.010 In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease: And grievous is the penalty they (incur),

zubeyr:

you seem ignorant of some basic knowledge and won't waste more time debating you FYI all the prophets have been sent by Almighty Allah
Allah He is the First and the Last the Evident and the Immanent when was nothing Allah was and when there will be nothing He will be

@Davidylan: « #22 on: September 26, 2010, 04:18 AM »
[Quote]Quote from: zubeyr on September 26, 2010, 03:59 AM
It is obvious that if others non Muslims believe in all Prophets they would be Muslims
Muslims are the only people who believe in the Prophety of Mohamed Jesus and Moses
Sometimes it hard to explain the obvious to someone who either in denial to accept the truth or lack the brain to get it
Bottom line the issue is not about the husbands but more about the wives
Islam has always been protective of the welfare and rights of women and therefore it is unacceptable to expose a Muslim women to the authority of a husband who doesn't believe in Allah and his Messenger and confuse about a shady trinity

Pls you mind leaving the jews to keep their prophets? I know islam is quite empty but i never knew it would come to blatantly stealing prophets too. Surely allah can create his own no? Quite a confused and unplanned "god" he's turned out to be.[/Quote]Davidylan; lets deal with why Muslim woman MUST not marry a non Muslims man is that Allah Almighty Commands it in the Quran. This is enough, since we are, as muslims must obey Allah the Almighty.

Now as to the Jews with their prophets; Was Noah a Jew? Were any prophet up to Joseph (AS), who his father Israel prostrated his face to, a Jew? The answer is no. If after this time of Joseph we say a prophet from say Moses all the way to Jesus was a Jew, we meant it as his ethnicity and not as his religion. The Jewish religion is separate from ethnicity, because not all ethnic Jews practice Judaism as a religion. And not all Jews by religion are ethnic jews.

In your own mind, the father of faith, Abraham was not a jew neither by religion nor ethnicity. If you ever say anywhere he bopped his head against any wall, let us know, since we already know that he was ethnically from the city of Ur in Iraq.

Davidylan ignorantly forgot that if he stuck with Jews, ethnically and religiously, the Bible spoke about Pharaoh and Egyptians and Hebrew and Sodom and Gommorrah people who are not Jews (Jew is a word derived from Judah who was one of the sons of Jacob. Judah as an identity never came up until The Initial nation of Israel, after the death of King Solomon (AS), was torn into two states; New Israel and Judea. Davidylan, since you are the resident Biblical scholar here, please give us the correct details if I am wrong in my statement, in parenthesis). Maybe you davidylan should tell the yahweh to create His own victims instead of using Coptic africans as guinea pigs. Afterall, there are tremendous crowd of bad eggs among the jews; they killed Prophet John who you said Baptized Jesus, though Jews dont practice "Baptism". The jews even went ahead and killed yahweh according to you, davidylan when yahweh came on earth. Poor God that became god. You are similar in worship in my eye with iron god worshiper, because your god by the death of him as Jesus is very unqualified to be worshiped at all.







[Quote]davidylan (m): « #24 on: September 26, 2010, 04:07 PM »
[Quote]Quote from: zubeyr on September 26, 2010, 02:13 PM
The Prophets don't belong to the Jews they belong to Allah and so the whole universe Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world people are converting to Islam in record number if you are ready to become Muslim let me know and I will help you say the Shahada and get over your confusion about the trinity and Jesus Christ who won't be able to wipe your sins or save you while you think he is the son of God or even God himself

this is absurd and dishonest. These prophets existed thousands of yrs BEFORE allah was known. They were JEWS and were sent EXCLUSIVELY to JEWS . . . you know the same jews that allah hates and commands muslims to destroy? What a fraud allah is . . . he shld create his own prophets and stop stealing.[/Quote]It is absurd to imagine that before the history of the Jews (sons and daughters of Jacob (Israel) (AS)), that the arabs who existed before Abraham migrated from Ur of Iraq, dont call The Creator: Allah. Am sure before Christianity, according to davidylan's thinking the Yorubas dont call The Creator Olorun. This man davidylan must be very naive or so christianity driven that he lost all manners of reasoning, or worse, both or even more. The whole of the Bible story is around the land of the arabs, that am sure Yahweh before he came down as Jesus must have killed after killing all the first borns of anything except trees in Egypt, then drowned all the soldiers of Egypt, leaving them defenceless, making the wives widows, the children ophans, the parents childrenless (Davidylan how do you like Jesus in heaven so far?), while after crossing the red sea heap mayhem on all the arab city states along the route to Cannan, for 40 years (Thats a long time men, 2 generations; a score is a generation and thats 20 years); The jebusite, the people of Jericho, Amalekites, the Hettities, etc. Surprising that this Jesus was so indiscriminating that he even said they should cut down trees, in some places so that nothing is left to remind anyone of the people who lived there (evil at its worst).

And as to the Universal Creator; Is there a creator other than God? Yes according to Jews and christians. The Jews say God is theirs, exclusively and we non Jews dont have God and their Creator is not our's. The Christians say that their Creator, though is the same as that of the Jews, but he had change to 3; son father and ghost. But the jews and christians have something in common: They are children of God, though some of them will enter hell, right from their own books I make this assertion.

The Muslim is different: God is One and He alone creates, all things, including man; believers and non believers and not a father, or blood relation of anyone.[/quote]

@ Muslims,

Why don't u just ignore every irritating post and continue with a nice thread without derailing.
If u continue replying every post then u wont achieve that aim of the thread.

alimat 2:

@ Muslims,

Why don't u just ignore every irritating post and continue with a nice thread without derailing.
If u continue replying every post then u wont achieve that aim of the thread.

SECONDED.

alimat 2:

@ Muslims,

Why don't u just ignore every irritating post and continue with a nice thread without derailing.
If u continue replying every post then u wont achieve that aim of the thread.

Absolutely right, !

zayhal:
Asalam alaykum,

The sister is still in Islam but I can say her growth is rather slow. Her husband isn't helping matters at all as he is not really encouraging her, but insha Allah, she'll improve.

And so I use this opportunity to plead to you, our men, please and please, encourage your wives to practise Islam the pristine way. Don't discourage a wife who wants to wear the hijab. Don't say she won't blend with your social class or give other such excuses. A husband's discouragement is worse than that of 10 outsiders. Remember, you'll be accountable for your household on the day of reckoning.

Assslaamualaykumwarahmatullaahiwabarakaatu
what is the situation of the sister presently?I hope she is still within thr folds of Islam