Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear questioner, we commend your pursuit of knowledge and your keenness to know about Islam and to become a Muslim. May Allah guide you to the best and illuminate your heart to accept the truth!
Responding to the question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states,
I commend you for your desire to know more about Islam. I also pray that Allah will strengthen your resolve to follow the straight path.
It is important for you to know that Islam is a simple religion which has no complicated dogmas or rituals. There are virtually no rituals of initiation into Islam other than your determination to attest the truth of the message and proclaim it. Let me briefly explain these steps:
1- Call the Imam of the Mosque or the Islamic center in your area and make an appointment for the purpose of taking the shahadah or testimony of faith. If there is no mosque, you can call upon some Muslims and they will arrange a meeting for you.
2- Before proceeding, take a bath and change into clean clothes.
3- Once you have sincerely testified to the Oneness of Allah and that Muhammad is His messenger, you need to perform the prayers.
4- You can do so by looking in a book and reading from it. Until such time that you have learned to say the basic prayers in Arabic, you can do so in English.
5- Do not try to do everything at once. Go slowly and know that Allah will help you and make things easy for you.
The following are a few titles which will be of benefit to you:
1- A Complete Idiot’s Guide to Islam by Yahya Emerick.
2- Islam in Focus by Hammudah Abdul Ati.
3- Selected Prayers by Dr. Jamal Badawi.
I pray to Allah to guide your steps and grant you strength and commitment-Ameen.
Allah Almighty knows best.