Welcome. What the Shahada actually did
Your first day as a Muslim, explained without the jargon.
If you said, with meaning, ash-hadu an la ilaha illa Allah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasul Allah, you are a Muslim. That is it. There is no further ceremony, no paperwork, no waiting period.
The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said that entering Islam wipes out whatever came before it. Whatever you did in the life you lived until today, it is behind you. You start at zero in the best sense of the word.
“Islam wipes away whatever came before it.”— Sahih Muslim 121
Two things to understand today about what you actually said.
The first half: there is no god but Allah
This is not a statement about the number of gods out there. Almost nobody today walks around worshipping statues. What the line is actually saying is that nothing else deserves the place in your life that only Allah deserves. Not money. Not another person. Not your desires. Not your reputation. Allah alone.
The second half: Muhammad is the messenger of Allah
Accepting him as the messenger means accepting that the way he lived, the way he worshipped, the way he treated people, is the working model. You will learn what that looks like over the next four weeks. You do not need to know it all today.
A few things that will come up
- You do not need to change your name. Many reverts take an Arabic name later and many do not. Both are fine.
- You do not need to speak Arabic. The Quran was revealed in Arabic and you will pick up some of it, but Islam is for everyone on earth.
- You will mess up. Every Muslim does. The way back is to turn to Allah and try again. That is built into the religion, not a workaround.
One thing worth saying up front. If you grew up with an idea of Islam from the news or from a bad teacher, set that down for thirty days. What you will read here is Islam the way it is actually taught by the majority of scholars and practised by over a billion people. The Islam of Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, the four schools of law, and the quiet Muslim next door who you never noticed.
Before you sleep, say alhamdulillah, which means all praise belongs to Allah. Say it once, out loud, quietly. That is the task.
- [1]Sahih Muslim 121. Amr ibn al-As narrated that the Prophet said Islam wipes away what came before.
- [2]Jami at-Tirmidhi 2499. Every son of Adam is a sinner, and the best of sinners are those who repent.