IFSA - What is Shahada?

What is Shahada?

There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger "There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger."

The Shahada is the gnosis of God and all his messenger(s). It is to accept the one and only Almighty Creator and his last messenger Mohammed (peace upon him). The concept of one God is called Tawheed.

This Tawheed was also revealed in the Quran permanently and its essence is formulated in the Surah (Section) 112 Al-Ikhlas (Chapter of purity):

"Say, he is Allah the one and only. Allah the eternal. He neither gives birth nor is he born. And there is none like him."

The actual strength of the Shahada at the time of the Prophet was the rejection of any other polytheistic Gods or statues as objects of worship which was far spread and common. Another aspect is the rejection of God being a father or having become flesh.

It also meant swearing allegiance to the Prophet Mohammed as the present, current and last Prophet of a chain of prophets proclaiming the same message as the one before him, Jesus (peace upon him) and all the other prophets before.

By declaring the Shahada one accepts Islam as his/her religion and recognizes the true nature of the own self, which is being a Muslim (being righteous).

The basic Shahada can be declared in many forms and its recitation is also used as a form of meditation or remembrance of Allah called Dhikr. It is also called the Kalma. The first Kalma is the basic Shahada at the top and the second Kalma is:

"I witness that there is no God but Allah and I witness that Mohammed is his servant and messenger."

This is said at least twice during the call to prayer, the Adhan and at least three times during the prayer. This second Kalma was ordered after the ascension of the Prophet to the seventh heaven alongside with the command of 5 daily prayers. It stresses the fact that Mohammed is still only a servant of Allah although he had accomplished great things, all of which were done with the permission and support of Allah.

The faith is strengthened tremendously through the Shahada and Allah guides towards truth. One can rely upon him and one finds comfort and assurance in him and his power. So the third Kalma is:

"There is no God but Allah, alone without associates. To him belongs all sovereignty and Praise and he is wholly above everything, fully capable. How perfect Allah is and all praise is for Allah and there is no other God but Allah (to be worshipped). Allah is the greatest and there is no Power nor Might accept with Allah the Most High the Supreme."

Apart from the Kalma there are many other supplications for all situations in life that the Prophet used to say in good and bad situations. They help during trials reminding of Allah and save from arrogance and forgetting Allah in good times.

Praising Allah can be done by mentioning his greatness in all possible ways and usually there are three main ways: "Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Allahhuakbar", which means, "How perfect Allah is, all praise be to Allah, Allah is the greatest".

One can also study the 99 main names and attributes given to Allah by himself in the Quran, describing his nature, such as Most Gracious and Most Merciful. All Surahs of the Quran start with "In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful"

Declaring the Shahada faithfully with an honest heart cleanses from all sins again and again and accepting Islam saves from eternal torture and secures, in combination with good deeds, eternal bliss.

Introduction for Non-Muslims

What is Shahada?