Becoming a Muslim is a simple process.

Saying these simple words, with conviction, enters one into the religion of Islam. This statement is known as the Testimony of Faith.

In Arabic: “Ashhadu An La Ilaha IllAllah, Wa Ashhadu Anna Muhammad Rasulu Allah.”

English meaning: "I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God."

Islam means submission to the will of The Almighty God, (The God=Allah in Arabic). It is about living one’s life in full submission and obedience to the laws and guidance of the Almighty God.

A Muslim is the one who submits his will to the Will of the Almighty God. A Muslim is the one who follows Islam.

Allah is the name referred to in Arabic. It simply means the One and Only God. Allah is not just a Muslim, Arab or any Ethnic God but the One Who is Unique and Unseen to this world and is the God of the entire Universe. The God of the entire creation. He does not have any son, daughter or any partners in His divinity and only He alone deserves to be worshipped.

Islam is a prophetic faith. Almighty God has sent long series of Prophets right from the beginning since man first set foot on this earth, to guide mankind.

The key guidance is that we must only worship God alone and not worship any false gods.

All the Prophets and to name a few such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad as the final messenger (may peace be upon them) came with the same message, to worship the One true God only and not to worship false gods.

In short, Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final prophet of God.

God sent revelations with these Prophets like The Torah to Moses, The Psalms to David, The Gospel to Jesus and The Quran as the last and final revelation to Muhammad- Peace be Upon them.

In short, the Quran is final revelation from the Almighty to God to guide mankind.

Allah says in the Glorious Qur’an,“He has forbidden you only dead animals, and blood, and the swine, and that which is slaughtered as a sacrifice for other than God.” (Qur’an 2:173)

Sometimes we may never know or understand why God has ordained some things andprohibited others. In the case of pork, no specific reason for the prohibition is given except in Qur’an 6: 145 when God says, about the flesh of swine (pig), “for that surely is impure”.

A Muslim submits to God’s commands willingly, without needing to know the reason behind the divine rule.

The Qur’an (last and final revelation of Almighty God) is the only known world scripture to explicitly limit polygamy and place strict restrictions upon its practice:

“… marry women of your choice, two or three or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with them, then only one.” (Qur’an 4:3).

Different people have different levels of modesty.

In Islam, the standard of modesty is set by Almighty God Himself. Allah says in the Qur’an in chapter number 24, verse number 30:

“Say to the believing man, that he should lower his gaze and guard his modesty”.

Allah first speaks about the modesty for the man and then for the woman. Whenever a manlooks at a woman, before any inappropriate thoughts come to his mind, he should lower his gaze.

All the prophets were chosen from amongst their own people to deliver the message. The books revealed to each prophet were in the language of the people to whom they were revealed.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was an Arab.

If the Quran had been sent down to him (peace be upon him) in any another language, he would not have understood it. How could he have explained something as a prophet that he could not understand himself?

As mentioned in question number 4, Jesus (peace be upon him) is the prophet of God. The Quran reveals his miraculous birth from virgin Mary (Mariam). The Quran also confirms the miracles performed by Jesus (peace be upon him) by the permission of God. Like all other prophets of God, he also came with the same message, to worship One True God.

We believe in the return of Jesus (peace be upon him) as one of the major signs of the end of this world.

No. To worship anything at all besides the One True God is seen as the most heinous sin the sight of Almighty God.

The Kaaba is the house in the city of Mecca. It is simply a direction that all Muslims around the world face to perform their prayers in a unified way to the One God. To worship anything at all besides the One True God is seen as the most heinous sin the sight of Almighty God.

Absolutely not. There are no racial privileges in Islam by birth, status or skin colour. Everyone one is equal in the sight of Almighty God. The only distinction is one’s level of faith and piety of which the judge is only Almighty God Himself.

Islam has two sources of information.

1. The Quran - The word of God.

2. The Sunnah - The authentic teachings of prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

This is the only way to follow Islam. Every practice of a Muslim has to be supported by the evidence from these sources. Anything outside these sources is classed as an innovation and deviation. Thus, there is only one Islam. The way of the prophet and his companions. What Islam does have is different school of thoughts which is not same as a sect.

There are 5 Pillars of Islam.

1. Declaration of Faith (Shahada).

To believe and utter, “There is none worthy of worship but God-(Allah) alone, and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Messenger of God”

2. Performing five daily Prayers (Salat)

3. Charity to needy and poor based on ones’ savings for one year (Zakat)

4. Fasting in the month of Ramadan (Sawm)

5. Pilgrimage to Mecca if one has physical and financial means (Hajj)

1. Belief in One True God- worship Him only.

2. Belief in Angels created by God.

3. Belief in all the books revealed by God - (Torah, Dabur, Injeel and the Quran).

4. Belief in all of God's Prophets (peace be upon them).

5. Belief in the Day of Judgement.

6. Belief in Destiny - pre-decreed by God.

Halal is simply what is made permissible by the Almighty God. It may be our practice in faith, our conduct and food or drink.

Haram is anything that is made forbidden by the Almighty God.

Islam is about total submission to the will of Almighty God. The code of dressing for men and women are set according to the divine standards. Wearing a head scarf and covering of the body by loose clothing for a woman is the standard set by the Almighty God. Muslims simply obey their creator in submission and put their trust in Him that whatever He has ordained for them is most beneficial for them. There is also a dress code for men.