Once you believe that Islam and the Quran are the truth, the only step is to declare that belief by stating, “I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” This is called the “Testification of Faith (shahadah)” and is the first pillar of Islam. It is better to inform some Muslims of this even if you are keeping it as a secret. Simply declaring belief in Islam, the Quran, everything that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught, or declaring yourself as a Muslim is sufficient too.

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It’s natural to feel nervous about this. You will usually be met with 2 members of our team online or at our office. They will explain the basic tenets of belief in Islam and take you through the recitation of the testimony of faith in English. There are no special dress requirements for this.

Gift packs and a Certificate of Conversion will automatically be sent out within 28 days.

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No. Absolutely not.  However, the Prophet ﷺ changed some names of his companions that contained extremely negative meanings after they converted to Islam. Islam does not require a person to abandon their roots and culture as long as they do not contradict the principles of the religion. Thus, a person is free to choose what style of dress to wear, for example, and types of food to eat as long as they do not violate something that is prohibited such as exposing nakedness or the consumption of pork. See our article here for a more detailed discussion.

No. However, a certificate adds a nice touch to the event and serves as a reminder to the person after converting. In addition, it acts as proof of the person’s Islam and can prevent complications from arising, especially after death. Sometimes, Muslim countries may require proof of the person’s Islam, e.g. if the person was getting married via Muslim courts in those countries or for entering holy sites.

Our certificates cannot be posted abroad nor issued digitally. For those who do not convert with us, a Certificate of Faith with the current date can be issued.

No. The rules in Saudia Arabia have changed a lot over the years. Some people have been asked in the past but this is no longer the case. However, some travel agents may ask for evidence to prove how long you have been a Muslim.

We can provide you with a “Certificate of Faith” that will have the current date on it, but not a backdated “Certificate of Conversion” because we did not witness your conversion.

However, if you have the witnesses who were present when you converted, you can add them on a Certificate of “Conversion” with the date you said your shahadah. We will need to verify the ID of all parties before processing this.

In an ideal world, we would prefer not to use any of these labels, but we feel that the term “Convert to Islam” best describes the person who has taken on Islam as their religion, however, you may see these words used by us and others due to their widespread use in the Muslim community. The label “New Muslim” could not be applied to someone who has been Muslim for 5 years, or even 3 or 4. Likewise, if someone converts to Christianity, for example, we would not say, “New Christian”. As for the term “Revert” we feel that it is a loaded term as well as being theologically and linguistically inaccurate. This is because revert, in this context, means to go back to one’s previous religion so could only be applied to the one who was already Muslim, left Islam, and then came back to Islam. There is no precedence of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, his companions, nor any Islamic scholar who came after them using any term similar to it in Arabic. For more detail, read our article here.

No. None of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ or Islamic scholars who came after them ever said this. This is due to a misunderstanding of the hadith, “There is no newborn except that they are born on the primordial state (Al-Fitrah), and its parents make it a Jew or a Christian or a Zoroastrian.”[1] This does not mean that the child is born as a Muslim, rather, that it is born with a “clean slate”. Also, the term “Muslim” has a very specific definition meaning the one who has believed in and affirmed everything the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ came with. Since this is not possible for a minor to do, it is incorrect to label them as Muslims unless their parents are Muslims. The Prophet ﷺ was also asked about whether the children of disbelievers will be saved if they die young and he replied, “Allah, when he created them, knows best what they would have done.”[2]

[1] Al-Bukhari (1358), Muslim (2658).

[2] Al-Bukhari (1383), Muslim (2660)

We are adherents of mainstream orthodox Islam (Sunni Islam). Our team and volunteers may have their own specific beliefs and practices within Sunni Islam but our policy is one of complete non-partisanship. We recognise that converts come from various groups, schools of thought, and ideologies. We also believe that new converts should be given the space to explore various views and make their own decisions, which is inevitable anyway. Our role is merely to provide a nurturing environment without promoting any agendas and to adhere to the discussion of the areas that all Muslims agree upon and unite us as a community.

Any people from the Muslim community that may work with us or for us do not necessarily reflect our views as an organisation. Furthermore, New Beginnings does not endorse any of the personal views or behaviour of guests, volunteers, employees, or authors of articles on any platform whatsoever.