Assalamu Alaykum
I was born into a Buddhist family and have been seriously considering/researching Islam for the past two months. During this time, I’ve been learning about Islam in whatever ways I can and I’ve also been consistently praying the five daily prayers.
I recently found out that because I haven’t formally taken my shahada yet, my salah isn’t considered valid in the same way as the salah of a Muslim. This honestly discouraged me quite a lot, because I’ve been putting so much effort into praying consistently.
There have been moments where I’ve sincerely said the shahada alone in my room, but I’ve always thought of a “proper” shahada as something I should do with witnesses, preferably at a mosque.
I genuinely want to take my shahada, but I’m scared.
What if I take my shahada and then eventually stop praying consistently? What if I abandon salah altogether? Right now I’m already starting to feel less motivated after finding out that my prayers weren’t technically valid before becoming Muslim.
Part of me feels like I should wait until I’m completely sure that I can maintain salah consistently before taking my shahada.
For those who reverted, did you ever have this fear before taking your shahada? How did you deal with it?
And is it true that the shahada has to be taken in front of witnesses or in a mosque, or can it be valid if someone sincerely says it alone?
I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from reverts who have gone through something similar. JazakAllahu khairan.
