The Inseparable Testimony

"I Bear Witness That There Is No God but Allah, And I Bear Witness That Muhammad Is the Messenger of Allah"

By these few words a man's life changes completely, it turns you from one manner to another and from a state to another, it gives you the power of faith, it brings you to be a believer and a "Muslim", these words are called "Al Shahada" or testimony.

Muslim's Profession of Faith

The Shahada (Testimony) is the Muslim's profession of faith and the first of the ‘Five Pillars’ of Islam. The shahada is to testify to two things:

(a) Nothing deserves worship except God (Allah).

The first part of this testimony states that God has the exclusive right to be worshiped inwardly and outwardly, by one’s heart and limbs.  In Islamic doctrine, not only can no one be worshiped apart from Him, but also no one else can be worshiped along with Him.  He has no partners or associates in worship. Worship, in its comprehensive sense and all its aspects, is for Him alone.  God’s right to be worshiped is the essential meaning of Islam’s testimony of faith: Lā ‘ilāha ‘illā llāh. 

A person becomes Muslim by testifying to the divine right to worship.  It is the main idea of Islamic belief in God, even all of Islam.  It considered the central message of all prophets and messengers sent by God - the message of Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Moses, the Hebrew prophets, Jesus, and Muhammad, may God exalt their mention. For instance, Moses declared:

“Hear, O Israel the Lord our God is one Lord.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

Jesus repeated the same message 1500 years later when he said:

“The first of all the commandments is, “Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord.” (Mark 12:29)

…and reminded Satan:

“Away from me, Satan!  For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” (Matthew 4:10)

Finally, the call of Muhammad, some 600 years after Jesus, reverberated across the hills of Mecca, ‘and your God is One God: there is no god but He.’ (Quran 2:163).  All the prophets declared clearly:

“Worship God!  You have no other god but Him.” (Quran 7:59, 7:73; 11:50, 11:84; 23:32)

However, by a mere verbal profession alone, one does not become a complete Muslim.  To become a complete Muslim one has to carry out in practice the instruction given by Prophet Muhammad as ordained by God.  This brings us to the second part of the testimony.

(b)  Muhammad is the Messenger of God (Allah).

Prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca in Arabia in the year 570 CE.  His ancestry goes back to Ishmael, a son of Prophet Abraham.  The second part of the confession of faith asserts that he is not only a prophet but also a messenger of God, a higher role also played by Moses and Jesus before him.  Like all prophets before him, he was a human being, but chosen by God to convey His message to all humanity rather than one tribe or nation from among the many that exist.  For Muslims, Muhammad brought the last and final revelation.  In accepting Muhammad as the “last of the prophets,” they believe that his prophecy confirms and completes all of the revealed messages, beginning with that of Adam.  In addition, Muhammad serves as the preeminent role model through his life example.  The believer’s effort to follow Muhammad’s example reflects the emphasis of Islam on practice and action.

A person becomes a Muslim by leaving all that contradicts the meaning of the following Testimony of Faith, believing in the heart and declaring with the tongue:

"No one is God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah"

A person can become Muslim, as aforementioned in the solitude of a forest or in a crowded subway; he does not need to go to a mosque or have Muslims' witness to his profession. Allah knows the hearts of His creation. However, when he becomes Muslim he may declare his belief to some fellow Muslims so he is known as a Muslim among the people.

A Muslim is simply one who bears witness and testifies, “Nothing deserves worship except Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah” One becomes a Muslim by making this simple declaration.

Every Muslim must recite it at least once in a lifetime with a full understanding of its meaning and with an assent of the heart.  Muslims say this when they wake up in the morning, and before they go to sleep at night. Muslims repeat it five times in the call to prayer in every mosque. 

Many people, ignorant of Islam, have misconceived notions about the word "Allah", used by Muslims to denote God. Allah is the proper name for God in Arabic, just as "Elah", or often "Elohim", is the proper name for God in Aramaic mentioned in the Old Testament.  Allah is also His personal name in Islam, as "Yahweh" is His personal name in Judaism. Arabic speaking Jews and Christians also refer to the Supreme Being as "Allah".

There are seven critical conditions of the "Shahadah", without them, it is considered meaningless:

1     Al-`Ilm: Knowledge of the meaning of the Shahadah, its negation and affirmation.

2     Al-Yaqeen: Certainty – perfect knowledge of it, that counteracts suspicion and doubt.

3     Al-Ikhlaas: Sincerity which negates shirk( polytheism)

4     Al-Sidq: Truthfulness that permits neither falsehood nor hypocrisy.

5     Al-Mahabbah: Love of the Shahadah and its meaning, and being happy with it.

6     Al-Inqiad: Submission to its rightful requirements, which are the duties that must be performed with sincerity to God (alone) seeking His pleasure.

7     Al-Qubool: Acceptance that contradicts rejection

By Fatma Dawood

References:

www.islamreligion.com/articles/193

www.understandingislam.com/index.php?news=91

www.sunna.info/Lessons/islam_338.html

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahada