Shahadah — bearing witness · The essentials of Islam

In a minute

The Shahadah is the first pillar and the doorway to the rest. It is one sentence:

أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللّٰهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ ٱللّٰهِ

Ashhadu an la ilaha illa'llah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasulu'llah.

"I bear witness that there is no god but God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God."

The first half is about God: there is nothing worthy of worship except the One God. The second half is about guidance: God has shown the way through His messenger, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him).

What it is and how it's lived

Becoming Muslim. A person becomes Muslim by sincerely saying the Shahadah, believing it in their heart. There is no fee and no ceremony required. Many people say it in front of two witnesses at a mosque, but what counts before God is sincerity. The Qur'an is clear that faith cannot be forced: "There is no compulsion in religion" (2:256).
Every day. The Shahadah is in the adhan (the call to prayer), heard five times a day from mosques around the world. It is recited in every prayer, in the sitting called the tashahhud.
From first breath to last. It is customary to whisper the call to prayer into a newborn baby's ear, so the first words they hear contain the Shahadah. Muslims hope it will be their last words too. The Prophet said that someone whose last words are "There is no god but God" will enter Paradise (paraphrased; Sunan Abi Dawud 3116).
A raised finger. In the sitting part of the prayer, many Muslims raise the right index finger when they reach the words of witness: a quiet gesture of one.

Its inner meaning

La ilaha illa'llah has two movements: a "no" and a "yes". First it clears away everything people can end up worshipping: money, status, fame, fear, even the self. Then it affirms the One who alone deserves worship. This is Tawhid, the oneness of God, the centre of Islam.

The second half, Muhammadun rasulu'llah, means accepting that God has not left people to guess. He sent messengers, and Muslims follow the example (Sunnah) of the last of them.

To "bear witness" is more than to say. A witness is someone who has seen. Scholars teach that the Shahadah should be held with knowledge, certainty, sincerity, truthfulness, love and acceptance, and lived out in action.

Key verses

"Allah (Himself) is Witness that there is no God save Him. And the angels and the men of learning (too are witness). Maintaining His creation in justice, there is no God save Him the Almighty, the Wise." (Qur'an 3:18, Pickthall)

"So know (O Muhammad) that there is no God save Allah, and ask forgiveness for thy sin and for believing men and believing women." (Qur'an 47:19, Pickthall)

Arabic (47:19, opening): فَٱعْلَمْ أَنَّهُۥ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ

"And We sent no messenger before thee but We inspired him, (saying): There is no God save Me (Allah), so worship Me." (Qur'an 21:25, Pickthall)

"Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets; and Allah is ever Aware of all things." (Qur'an 33:40, Pickthall)

Note on wording: in the Shahadah, "ilah" means a god, anything worshipped. Pickthall (1930) renders it "God" or "god", so "there is no God save Him" means: nothing is worthy of worship except Allah.

From the Prophet (peace be upon him)

Islam is built on five, beginning with the testimony that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is His messenger (paraphrased; Sahih al-Bukhari 8, Sahih Muslim 16).
When the Prophet sent his companion Mu'adh to Yemen, he told him to begin by inviting people to this testimony; then to teach them the prayer; then the charity taken from the wealthy and given to the poor (paraphrased; Sahih al-Bukhari 1395).

Common misunderstandings, answered gently

"Allah is a different god." Allah is the Arabic word for God, used by Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews too; Arabic Bibles say Allah. Muslims believe they worship the God of Abraham. How Jews and Christians understand that is for them to say, in their own words.
"You have to be born Muslim." Anyone can say the Shahadah sincerely. Muslims believe every child is born with a natural awareness of God (fitrah).
"Muslims worship Muhammad." No. The second half of the Shahadah calls him God's messenger. Muslims love and honour him deeply, and send blessings on him, but worship belongs to God alone. That is why Islam forbids pictures of him or of any prophet.

Sunni and Shia

Sunni and Shia Muslims share the same two-part Shahadah. In the call to prayer, many Shia Muslims add a further line honouring Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law, as God's friend (wali). Their scholars describe it as recommended, not as part of the required testimony.

Reflection

What "small gods" — things we give our time, fear or hope to — might the first word, "no", ask us to clear away?

In the other traditions

Judaism: the Shema ("Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one", Deuteronomy 6:4) is said morning and evening, and traditionally as a person's last words.
Christianity: Christians profess their faith in the creeds; the Nicene Creed begins "I believe in one God", and baptism is the moment of entry.

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