Witnessing (Shahada) That Allah Is One and Muhammad Is His Messenger

WITNESSING (SHAHADA) THAT ALLAH IS ONE AND MUHAMMAD IS HIS MESSENGER

This statement of faith must be declared publicly. It should be a genuine

belief which includes all the above articles of faith. The witnessing of the

Oneness of Allah is the rejection of any form of deity other than Allah, and

the witnessing that Muhammad is His Messenger is the acceptance of him being

chosen by Allah to convey His message of Islam to all humanity and to deliver

it from the darkness of ignorance into the light of belief in, and knowledge

of, the Creator. The statement of Shahada in arabic is:

Ashhadu Alla Ilaha Illa AllahWa Ashhadu Anna Muhammad Rasulu Allah

An English translation would be:

I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Messenger

Shahadah (Declaration of Faith)

A Muslim expresses his/her faith (Iman) in the followingwords:

Ash-hadu anla ilaha illal-Lahu Wahdahu la Sharika Lahu

wa-ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu

The English translation of the Shahadah is as follows:

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship

except Allah, the One, without any partner. And I bear

witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger.

The declaration of faith consists of two distinct parts,

i.e., the absolute belief in the Unity of Allah (God)

and the belief in the Holy Prophet Muhammad as a mortal

human being and the Messenger of Allah.

Islam's fundamental belief is the Unity of God. All

other beliefs hang on this belief. Therefore the

acknowledgement and 'bearing witness' of this is the key

to the Muslim faith. Unless this is observed one cannot

be a Muslim. A Muslim accepts Allah as the only God, and

only Master, Lord and Ruler with no partner sharing in

any way His Being, Powers and Attributes. He is One; He

is Unique; He is not the father of any one, nor He has

or had any father. He is Almighty and Self-Sustaining.

He is there forever, and will be there forever.

A Muslim believes in Allah as the Ruler and must not

disobey Him. In fact everything that exists in the

universe obeys Him. He is the Fashioner of all the

Universes that may exist.

The belief in the Prophet Muhammad (on whom be peace) as

the servant and Messenger of Allah completes one’s

faith. The Holy Prophet was the greatest of all the

Prophets of Allah, yet he was only a human being with no

share in Divinity. This is a very important belief that

keeps Muslims from associating partners with Allah. This

part of the Declaration of Faith where reinforces the

first part of Allah being the only Supreme Being with no

partners also establishes the absolute authority of the

Holy Prophet as the Messenger of Allah, who must be

obeyed as well in all the matters of faith. The Holy

Prophet is the last prophet who brought us the last Book

(the Holy Quran) to be followed. He lived among his

people for a long time and his life is documented in

utmost detail. He lead his followers by example. The way

he lived his life and admonished his followers to live

their lives is called Sunnah of the Holy Prophet. The

second part of the Declaration of Faith makes obeying

and following the advice of the Prophet Muhammad equally

important to the belief in absolute Unity of Allah. This

declaration make one to completely submit to the Will of

Allah and that is why one who declares this belief is

called a Muslim - one who completely submits to the will

of Allah.

Shahadah

The first pillar of Islam is that a Muslim believe and declare his faith by saying the Shahadah (lit. 'witness'), also known as the Kalimah:

La ilaha ila Allah; Muhammadur-rasul Allah. 'There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.'

This declaration contains two parts. The first part refers to God Almighty, the Creator of everything, the Lord of the Worlds; the second part refers to the Messenger, Muhammad (pbuh) a prophet and a human being, who received the revelation through the Archangel Gabriel, and taught it to mankind.

By sincerely uttering the Shahadah the Muslim acknowledges Allah as the sole Creator of all, and the Supreme Authority over everything and everyone in the universe. Consequently the Muslim closes his/her heart and mind to loyalty, devotion and obedience to, trust in, reliance on, and worship of anything or anyone other than Allah. This rejection is not confined merely to pagan gods and goddesses of wood and stone and created by human hands and imaginations; this rejection must extend to all other conceptions, superstitions, ideologies, ways of life, and authority figures that claim supreme devotion, loyalty, trust, love, obedience or worship. This entails, for example, the rejection of belief in such common things as astrology, palm reading, good luck charms, fortune-telling and psychic readings, in addition to praying at shrines or graves of "saints", asking the dead souls to intercede for them with Allah. There are no intercessors in Islam, nor any class of clergy as such; a Muslim prays directly and exclusively to Allah.

Belief in the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) entails belief in the guidance brought by him and contained in his Sunnah (traditions of his sayings and actions), and demands of the Muslim the intention to follow his guidance faithfully. Muhammad (pbuh) was also a human being, a man with feelings and emotions, who ate, drank and slept, and was born and died, like other men. He had a pure and upright nature, extraordinary righteousness, and an unwavering faith in Allah and commitment to Islam, but he was not divine. Muslims do not pray to him, not even as an intercessor, and Muslims abhor the terms "Mohamedan" and "Mohamedanism".

The testimony of faith:

"There is no true god except Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”.

The requirements of this Testimony is the submission and declaration that

Allah is the true God, and that all other deities are false, and are not

capable of neither harming or benefiting, nor do they deserve to be

worshipped. Allah is also the Ruler who has a free hand in the disposal of the affairs of the universe. People must rule by His laws and commands.

It is only the Book of Allah to Whom men should refer their disputes and

affairs. Any judicial decision other that Allah's is a decision based on

ignorance or pre-Islamic era, which entails injustice and deviation. All

legitimate rites of worship must be dedicated to Allah alone.

Among other requirements of the Testimony of Faith is that no one should bow down, or lower his head humbly to anyone, nor supplicate another human asking him to fulfill his needs, for only Allah is capable of fulfilling man's needs.

As for the requirements of the Testimony: 'Muhammad is the Messenger of

Allah', it entails recognition of Muhammad as the true Messenger of Allah.

This Testimony also attests to his veracity, trustworthiness and infallibility

in everything that he related about Allah, the Exalted, about the past, the

future, and the unseen world. Because everything he related is only revelation from Allah.

It is obligatory to obey his commands and to refrain from his prohibitions

because obeying him is in fact obeying Allah. The Prophet, peace be upon him, is the one commissioned by Allah to convey His message, laws, and commands. Therefore, it is not permissible to disobey the Messenger, peace be upon him, for disobeying him means disobeying Allah.