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The Shahada, also spelled shahadah, (Arabic: الشهادة aš-šahāda audio (help·info) from the verb šahida "to testify") is the Islamic creed. The Shahada is the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Muhammad as his prophet. The declaration reads: laa ilāha illa Allāh, wa Muḥammad(un) rasūl Allāh "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God" in English. This declaration, or statement of faith, is called the Kalima, which literally means "words." Recitation of the Shahadah is the most important of the Five Pillars of Islam for Muslims. Non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam do so by a public recitation of the creed.^[1] Technically the Shi'a do not consider the Shahadah to be a separate pillar, but connect it to the Aqidah.^[2]

[edit] Recitation

audio (help·info)

Arabic text: أشهد أن لا إله إلاَّ الله و أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله Romanization: ʾašhadu ʾanna laa ilāha illa (A)llāh, wa ʾašhadu ʾanna Muḥammada(n) rasūlo (A)llāh

A single honest recitation of the Shahadah in Arabic is all that is required for a person to become a Muslim according to most traditional schools.

In usage the two occurrences of 'ašhadu 'anna (or similar) = "I testify that" or "I bear witness that...", are very often omitted.

[edit] History

A mancus / gold dinar of the king Offa of Mercia, copied from the dinars of the Abbasid Caliphate (774); probably unintentionally, it still includes the Arabic text Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah.

One of the earliest surviving translations of the Shahadah into a foreign language is in Greek, from the reign of al-Walid I (86–96 AH, 705–715 CE): Οὐκ ἔστι[ν θεὸς εἰ μὴ ὁ θεὸς μόνος·] Μααμὲ[τ ἀπόστολος θεοῦ] (Ouk esti[n theos ei mē ho theos monos;] Maame[t apostolos theou]).^[3] "There is no god except for Allah(God) alone; Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah."; i.e. "Allah" is translated as ὁ θεὸς and Muhammad is transliterated as Μααμὲτ.

[edit] Conditions

An Islamic Flag, known as the 'Flag of Islam' ('Alam al-Islam) or 'Flag of Shahada' ('Alam al-Shahada) featuring the first Kalimah, the Shahada, widely used by Muslims. White flags with black lettering symbolically represent 'Dar al-Salam/Islam' and Black flags with white lettering symbolically represent 'Dar al-Harb/Kufr

Muslims believe that the shahadah is without value unless it is earnest. Islamic scholars have therefore developed, based on the data of the Quran and hadith, essential criteria for an expression of the shahadah to be earnest. These criteria are generally divided into seven or eight or nine individual criteria; the varying numbers and orderings are not due to disagreements about what the criteria actually are, but rather different ways of dividing them.^[4]

One such list of seven critical conditions of the shahadah, without which it is considered to be meaningless, are as follows:^{[citation needed]}

• Al-`Ilm: Knowledge of the meaning of the Shahadah, its negation and affirmation.
• Al-Yaqeen: Certainty – perfect knowledge of it that counteracts suspicion and doubt.
• Al-Ikhlaas: Sincerity which negates shirk.
• Al-Sidq: Truthfulness that permits neither falsehood nor hypocrisy.
• Al-Mahabbah: Love of the Shahadah and its meaning, and being happy with it.
• Al-Inqiad: Submission to its rightful requirements, which are the duties that must be performed with sincerity to God (alone) seeking His pleasure.
• Al-Qubool: Acceptance that contradicts rejection.

[edit] Flags

The flag of Saudi Arabia, displaying the Shahadah.

The flag of Afghanistan between 1997-2001, displaying the Shahadah.

The flag of Somaliland, featuring the Shahadah

Several national flags display the Shahadah:

• The flag of Saudi Arabia, on a green background.
• The unrecognized state of Somaliland.
• From 1990 to 1992, the Islamic State of Afghanistan.
• From 1997 to 2001, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, under the rule of the Taliban.
• Per the 2004 draft constitution for Afghanistan, white script centered on a red background.
• The flag of the Supreme Islamic Courts Council of Somalia.

Several other flags display the shahadah, such as the flag of Hamas.

[edit] Turkish national anthem

The Shahadah is referenced in the eighth verse of the Turkish national anthem:

Oh glorious God, the sole wish of my pain-stricken heart is that,

No heathen's hand should ever touch the bosom of my sacred Temples.
These adhans, whose testimonies are the foundations of my religion,
May their noble sound last loud and wide over my eternal homeland.

[edit] Differences

Minaret in Granada displaying the Shahadah in Kufic script

Muslims believe reference to previous prophets as Messengers (rasul), and a few groups (notably certain Sufi mystics) amend the declaration to mention prior prophets whose names are found in the Qur'an.^{[citation needed]}

Sometimes اشهد ان 'ashhadu ‘an = "I witness that" is prefixed to each half of the Shahadah.

Sometimes و wa = "and" is prefixed to the first word of the second half of the Shahada.

Some Shī‘ī Muslims add "and Ali is the wali of God" (wa-‘Aliyun waliyu l-Lāh), but this is not obligatory.

[edit] See also

• Profession (religious)
• Takfir
• Takbir
• Basmala (or Bismillah)
• Kalima
• Six Kalimas
• List of Islamic terms in Arabic
• List of Christian terms in Arabic

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• What is Shahada?
• Six Kalimah in Arabic, English and Urdu
• Six Kalimas The Six Kalimas in Arabic, with English translation and transliteration.
• LivingHalal.com Islamic audio glossary
• AbdurRahman.org
• Audio
  • Basic Form
  • Longer Form