Question
What is the Shahada of the Muslims? What do they say in it?
Answer
The Shahadah (lit: ‘declaration, bearing witness’) is a term which is generally used for the proclamation of the Islamic faith.
The Arabic words of the Shahadah and their translation in the English language are given below:
أشهد ألا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمد رسول الله
I declare that there is no god, except the one God and that Muhammad is a messenger of God.
When a person makes the above declaration, with the serious intent of his heart, then he/she becomes a Muslim.
The ‘Shahadah’, as one can easily see, is in fact a declaration of the two foundations of the Islamic faith: the declaration of the belief that there is only one God and that Muhammad (pbuh) is a true messenger of God. All other beliefs and practices in the Muslim faith are directly related to these two foundations, which are covered in the Shahadah.
I hope this helps.
Regards
August 25, 2001