Words with a meaning.
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ
Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah,
wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasulu Allah.
I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
Learn it in two parts
Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah: I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.
Wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasulu Allah: And I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
Transliteration is an aid. A trusted Muslim can help you pronounce the words and understand the commitment.
Belief comes before a ceremony
To enter Islam, sincerely believe that Allah alone deserves worship and that Muhammad ﷺ is His messenger, and say the testimony of faith with that belief and understanding. It is a conscious commitment; repeating unfamiliar sounds without believing their meaning is not the aim.
No special venue is required
You do not need an imam, a mosque appointment, a certificate, or witnesses for the testimony to be valid. A trusted Muslim or imam can help you understand and pronounce it, and welcome you into a community. A public ceremony or documentation can be useful, but is not a prerequisite.
Convert or revert?
Both words are used for someone entering Islam. “Revert” expresses the Muslim understanding of a return to the natural disposition; “convert” is common everyday language. The important thing is sincere faith, not which word you prefer.
A fresh beginning
An authentic report describes entering Islam as wiping away earlier sins. This is an invitation to hope and responsibility, not a claim that outstanding debts or other people’s rights disappear. Begin worship and learning steadily; you need not know everything first.
Read the sources here
Qur’an buttons open the local text and translation. Hadith and scholarly notes are authored summaries, with the collection or source identified.