This is the point the rest of the site leads to, if you decide you want it. It is one sentence. Saying it, meaning it, is what makes someone a Muslim — there is no ceremony, no paperwork, and no one whose permission you need.
The words
Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah,
wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul Allah.
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah,
and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
It is said in Arabic by custom, and understanding what it means matters more than pronouncing it well. Saying it in your own language, meaning it, is accepted by the scholars. Nobody is going to test your accent.
What it commits you to
Two things, and they are the whole of it.
- That God (﷾) is one, with no partner and nothing like Him.
- And that Muhammad (ﷺ) was His messenger, which means taking what he brought seriously — the prayer, the fast, the rest of it — as things you are now addressed by.
You are not expected to arrive already practising. Nobody does. The obligations begin from here and are learned in order, not all at once. Islam is a complete way of life, and you grow into it one step at a time.
What it does not commit you to
- It does not commit you to changing your name.
- It does not commit you to a culture, a country, or anybody’s politics.
- It does not commit you to a particular mosque, school of law, or scholar.
- It does not require you to be certain about everything, and it does not require you to have stopped having questions.
It does not commit you to cutting anyone off. This site will never tell you to distance yourself from your family. If someone tells you that is required, they are wrong, and you should treat what else they tell you with care.
Your past is forgiven
Whatever you did before, becoming Muslim wipes it away. Amr ibn al-As had been one of the Prophet’s (ﷺ) fiercest enemies. When he came to accept Islam, he drew back his hand from the pledge: he wanted to be sure he would be forgiven first. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked him whether he did not know that Islam wipes out everything that came before it. The Qur’an says the same to those who had opposed the faith: if they stop, their past will be forgiven. Sahih Muslim 121 Qur’an 8:38
And the good you did is not lost. Hakim ibn Hizam asked whether the charity and kindness to family he had done before Islam would count for anything. The Prophet (ﷺ) told him that he had become Muslim with all the good he had done before. You start with a clean record, and you keep the good. Sahih al-Bukhari 1436
More on this: What happens to my past sins if I become Muslim?
Do you need witnesses?
The shahada is between you and God (﷾). It can be said on your own, and it does not become more valid because someone watched.
Witnesses are customary, and are needed for some legal and community purposes later, such as a mosque issuing a certificate for a marriage or a pilgrimage visa. That is paperwork, and it can come later. It is not the thing itself.
What happens next
A first year is worship you have to actually learn, a Ramadan you have not done before, and a drop in attention once the initial welcome fades. The first year page is about exactly that, and the Guides set out wudu, prayer, fasting and the rest, step by step.
A local mosque is the best place to find people who will help, and you can search for one below.