Islam is based on six articles (or pillars) of faith and five articles of
religion which have been described in Section 2 of this book. Once one
has understood and accepted these principles, one becomes a Muslim by
simply declaring the following:

"Ash’hadu an laa ilaaha illa Allah
wa ash’hadu anna Muhamada
Rrasuulullah.
I bear witness that there is no
deity worthy of worship except
Allah; and Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah."

This statement is called the Shahada in Arabic, which means a pledge and
affirmation of the Faith. It is first said in Arabic and then in the language
which is understood by the new Muslim.

Once one has pronounced the Shahada, one has become a Muslim and
henceforth is committed in belief and action to the articles of faith and
religion.

When a non-Muslim embraces Islam, he or she is actually reverting to his
or her “religion of birth”, because everyone is born a Muslim. That is, at
birth everyone by nature is in full submission to the Will of Allah and has
an inborn awareness of basic morality, (fitrah in Arabic). As one grows up,
it is the parents and the surrounding culture which leads the person to
a particular religion. It is therefore up to the individual to seek the truth
and adopt what is logical and makes sense in matters of faith and religion.