The Shahada is the Muslim declaration of belief in the unity of God and in Muhammad as his last Prophet. The recitation of the Shahada is one of the Five Pillars of Islam for Muslims and is said daily.
The Shahada is also the Muslim profession of faith, which states: “There is no god but God; Muhammad is the Prophet of God.” The Shahada is the first of the Five Pillars of Islam. It must be recited by every Muslim at least once in their lifetime, aloud, correctly, and deliberately, with a complete understanding of its meaning and with an affirmation of the heart.
1. What is the Shahada in Islam?
The Shahada is a word of confession that in Arabic means “testimony”or “witness.” The Shahada is the first pillar of Islam and is the Islamic creed which states that:
- “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger [or prophet] of Allah.”
The Shahada is a statement that all Muslims must make within religious mythology, and anyone who cannot make this statement cannot be considered a true Muslim. This confession, spoken before two Muslim witnesses, is all that is required to become a Muslim. The Shahada is repeated at each of the five daily prayer times required by Islam.
- The first part of the Shahada confession affirms that Allah is one, therefore polytheism and the Christian doctrine of the Trinity are denied.
- The second part of the confession asserts that Allah’s primary communication to humanity is through Muhammad; therefore, Jesus and the Bible are relegated to a lesser status.
In Shi’a Islamic practice, the Shahada has a third phrase: “Ali is the wali of Allah.” Wali could literally be translated as “guardian” or “protector,” but it is commonly used to refer to a Muslim saint or “friend of Allah.” Shiite Muslims consider Ali (Muhammad’s son-in-law) to be Muhammad’s rightful successor, a point that Sunni Muslims reject.
The Shahada is commonly found on flags of Muslim countries, as well as on the flags of the Taliban, ISIS, and Hamas.
2. Origin
Although both statements of the Shahada are present in the Quran (e.g., 37:35 and 48:29), they are not found there side by side as in the Shahada formula. Versions of both phrases began to appear on coins and monumental architecture in the late 7th century, suggesting that it had not been officially established as a ritual statement of faith until then.
An inscription on the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem reads: “There is no god but God alone; He has no partner with Him; Muhammad is the messenger of God.” Another variant appears on coins minted after the reign of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, the fifth Umayyad caliph, which reads: “Muhammad is the servant of God and His messenger.”
Although it is unclear when the Shahada first came into common use among Muslims, it is clear that the sentiments it expresses were part of the Quran and Islamic doctrine from the earliest period.
3. Terminology and meaning
The first appearance of “god” in lowercase is a translation of the Arabic word ilah, while the second and third appearances of “God” in uppercase are translations of the Arabic word Allah.
The noun sahadah, from the verbal root sahida meaning “to observe, to testify, to bear witness,” is translated as “testimony” in both the everyday and legal senses. The Islamic creed is also called, in the dual form, sahadatan, which literally means “two testimonies.” The expression al-sahid (The Witness) is used in the Quran as one of the “titles of God.”
In Sunni Islam, the Shahada has two parts: ilaha illa llah, which translates as “There is no god but God,”and muḥammadun rasulu llah, which translates as“Muhammad is the messenger of God,”sometimes referred to as the first Shahada and the second Shahada. The first statement of the Shahada is also known as the tahlil.
4. Recitation
The recitation of the Shahada is the most common declaration of faith for Muslims. In Sunni Islam, it is counted as the first of the Five Pillars of Islam, while Shia Twelvers and Ismailis also have the Shahada as one of their pillars of faith.
It is whispered by the father into the ear of a newborn child, and it is whispered into the ear of a dying person. The five canonical daily prayers include a recitation of the Shahada. The recitation of the Shahada in front of witnesses is also the first and only formal step in conversion to Islam.
This occasion often attracts more than the two witnesses required and sometimes includes a celebration to welcome the convert to their new faith. In accordance with the central importance of the notion of intention in Islamic doctrine, the recitation of the Shahada must reflect an understanding of its importance and sincere sincerity.
Intention is what distinguishes acts of devotion from mundane acts and a simple reading of the Shahada from invoking it as a ritual activity.
5. In Sufism
The Shahada has traditionally been recited in the Sufi ceremony of dhikr (” remembrance“), a ritual that resembles the mantras found in many other religious traditions and Hindu symbols. During the ceremony, the Shahada may be repeated thousands of times, sometimes in the abbreviated form of the first phrase where the word Allah is replaced by huwa (He). The chanting of the Shahada sometimes provides a rhythmic background for singing.
6. In architecture and art
The Shahada appears as an architectural element in Islamic buildings around the world, such as those in Jerusalem, Cairo, and Istanbul.
European art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance shows a fascination with Middle Eastern motifs in general and Arabic script in particular, as indicated by its use, without concern for its content, in painting, architecture, and book illustrations.
In his triptych of Saint Giovenale, the Italian Renaissance artist Masaccio copied the entire Shahada, written backwards, in the halo of the Madonna.
7. Used on flags
The Shahada is found on some Islamic flags. In 1902, ibn Saud, leader of the House of Saud and future founder of Saudi Arabia, added a sword to this flag. The modern flag of Saudi Arabia was introduced in 1973. The flag of Somaliland has a horizontal stripe of green, white, and red with the Shahada inscribed in white on the green stripe.
Between 1997 and 2001, the Taliban used a white flag with the Shahada inscribed in black as the flag of their Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The various black jihadist flags used by Islamic insurgents since the 2000s have often followed this example. The Shahada written on a green background has been used by Hamas supporters since approximately 2000.
The 2004 draft constitution of Afghanistan proposed a flag with the Shahada in white script centered on a red background. In 2006, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant designed its flag using the Shahada phrase written in white on a black background.
The font used is supposedly similar to the font used as a seal in the original letters written on behalf of Muhammad.
8. Beliefs and statements
The Shahada has been written on the walls of mosques, in public places, and in the homes of Muslims. It is written in beautiful calligraphy in a spiral pattern and reminds Muslims that nothing should come between them and their prayer to God and that He alone should be worshipped. They received this message through Muhammad, their prophet, and the Quran.
The Shahada exclusively recites the following:
- “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”
Therefore, the Islamic religion is monotheistic, which means that they believe in one God. This means that they cannot worship false idols, nor can they give up their time to become rich or powerful.
Before the coming of Muhammad, the Shahadah would have read:
- “There is no God but Allah, and Abraham is a messenger of God.”
To become Muslims, all they must do is repeat the Shahada three times in front of Muslim witnesses. They must completely believe what they say, understand it, and speak with true sincerity.
Muslims believe that death should be welcomed, as it is inevitable in our lives and we should not fear or resist it. When a Muslim knows that he will die soon, he will position himself in the direction of the qibla, the Kaaba in Mecca, and say the Shahada aloud so that these will be the last words he utters in his life. They will pause on these words, knowing that Allah will be with them and that they have done the best they could during their years.
The Shahadah is also the first thing they hear in their lives, as when they are born, their parents lean toward them and say it. They would say it constantly to their child so that they would grow up with strong religious beliefs.
9. Representation
The current representation among some English-speaking Muslims, but without a historical tradition, is:
[I bear witness that] there is no one worthy of worship except God, and [I bear witness that] Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
This version is an interpretation rather than a translation, as the words “worthy of worship” are not present in Arabic.
A single honest recitation of the Shahada in Arabic is all that is required for a person to become a Muslim according to most traditional schools.
