The word "Muslim" literally means a person who submits to the will of God, regardless of their background.
Converting to Islam is a very easy process and can be done online in privacy, or you can also do it in the presence of other Muslims. If you have a real desire to be a Muslim and believe that Islam is the true religion of God, then, all you need to do is say the "Shahada" (Declaration of Faith). The "Shahada" is the 1st of the five pillars of Islam.
As soon as you say the Shahada and believe in it sincerely, you immediately enter the fold of Islam and have become a Muslim!
As soon as you convert to Islam for the sake of God, Allah forgives ALL of your previous sins and you begin a new life with a clean slate, as if you had been reborn!
As soon as you accept Islam, it is an automatic repentance from your previous beliefs and ways. Your record is now clean and you should try to keep your record clean as much as possible.
The Declaration of Faith (Shahada)
The Declaration of Faith (Shahada)
To convert to Islam and become a Muslim, all you need to do is say the below testimony with conviction and understanding its meaning:
"Ash Shadoo an La ilaha illa Allah, Wa Ash Shadoo ana Muhammadan rasoolu Allah."
which means:
"I bare witness that there is no true god except God (Allah), and I bare witness that Muhammad is the (Final) Messenger of God."
Allah says that the second you pronounce (say) your declaration of faith, He wipes away ALL of the sins that you have ever committed in your life no matter how great or small the sin was so that you start your life from that moment, reborn and without sin.
Isn't that an excellent deal?
Well, Allah will Not only wipe away all of your sins. Rather, He will transform all of those sins into rewards and give them back to you, so not only do you start your life from that moment without.
It is up to you to keep away from sin so that you can retain your high status in Islam.
Do you want to know what the last person to get into paradise gets?
The last person into paradise is a person that hasn't done any good deeds in his life but he believes in the declaration of faith ie "Ash Shadoo an La ilaha illa Allah, Wa Ash Shadoo ana Muhammadan rasoolu Allah".... If I told you that you would get a whole country to yourself, for you to keep, would that make you happy? What about the whole Earth? Well, the last person to get into paradise will get 10 times this Earth and everything in it in size!!!
Can you imagine owning real estate that is 10 times the size of this Earth?
Well, that's the LAST person on level 1 in the paradise
It is up to us to try and achieve the highest level in Paradise and that should always be your goal i.e. by doing good deeds.
The ones who are most deserving of your good deeds are your parents and helping your parents will earn you the highest rewards so serve them well.
We only get 1 chance at life so use it wisely because we do not know when it will be our turn to die and once we die, that's it, we will NOT have a chance to try again.
Allah said that if the son of Adam (ie all human beings) came to Me with sins mounting to the sky, without associating any partners with Me and they asked me to forgive them, I would forgive them.
Remember, don't try to do everything at once because it will be overwhelming for you. Take everything in steps.
Taking a Bath:
The very moment a person embraces Islam is doubtless the greatest moment in his life, for it signifies his real birth through which he has come to understand the real reason behind his existence in this life. Now that he has entered the fold of Islam, he is recommended to take a bath (ghusl), washing his entire body with water. Just as he has cleansed his soul of such things as associating partners with Allah in worship (shirk) and committing sins, he is recommended to cleanse his body by taking a bath.
Sincere Repentance
Repentance (tawbah) means “sincerely turning to Allah”, and a repentant person is one who gives up sins and unbelief and turns to Allah in repentance.
A Muslim needs to repent and seek Allah’s forgiveness at practically all stages of his life.
Showing Gratefulness to Allah for His Guidance
A Muslim owes Allah the Almighty a great debt of gratitude for helping him repent of the sins he has committed and for guiding him to the truth. The following are the best things a Muslim can possibly do to express gratitude to Allah for such blessings:
1-Holding Fast to Islam and Patiently Enduring Hardships that Come One’s Way
It goes without saying that if a person has a priceless treasure, he will undoubtedly do his best to protect it. Islam is undeniably the best gift to mankind, for it is not a mere set of abstract ideology, nor is it a hobby which a person may practice whenever he feels like it;
2- Doing One’s Best to Call to Islam with Wisdom and fair Admonition
Engaging in da‛wah work (calling others to Islam) is undoubtedly one of the best ways of expressing gratitude to Allah as well as one of the most effective means to remain constant in faith. If a person recovers from a life-threatening disease which has caused him a great deal of suffering and misery after discovering the right cure for his disease, he will certainly spread such a remedy amongst people, particularly amongst his relatives and closest friends.
Hopefully this video will be beneficial