Shahada- Testifying the Truth

The Importance of The Shahada In Islam

Imagine if you were the star witness in a big court case. The entire jury has been waiting to hear your testimony. The defendant’s guilt or innocence rides on your statements. When you are called up to the witness stand, everyone pays attention, and assumes your words are true. To enter Islam, the Shahada plays a similar role.

The Meaning of the Shahada

The word shahada actually means to testify or to bear witness. There are actually two parts to the shahada which when taken together is often called the Shahadatayn, meaning “two testimonies.” The full shahadatayn requires a statement testifying to Allah’s monotheistic qualities and another statement testifying that Prophet Mohammad is the messenger of Allah. 
Here are both parts of the shahada in English and Arabic. 
Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illallah 
“I bear witness that there is no god except Allah” 
Wa ash-hadu Anna Muhammadan rasulullah 
“And I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” 

There is No God Except Allah.

The accurate meaning of “laa ilaaha illallah” would be “There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.” Using this phrase, we make it perfectly clear that we are not going to worship anything else besides Allah. We are not only declaring that Allah is the one and only true God of all, we are also stating we will only worship Him and reject everything that even remotely compromises that worship. 
The second part of the shahadah deals with our understanding of the status of Prophet Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him. In order for a person to be Muslim, they must accept the second part of the shahada along with the first part of the shahada. A person cannot be Muslim if they only believe in the oneness of Allah, but do not accept that Muhammad was the Messenger of Allah. When a person testifies that Muhammad was also Allah’s messenger, they are also accepting the message he came with, that being the Quran. 
"la illah ha illala" is pronounced daily in:

· The call to prayer.
· At the beginning of their prayers
· During Tashahhud.
· During times of 'zikir': before and after prayers, in the late evening and also in the early mornings.
· This 'Kalimah' that Allah send all His Messengers.
· About it and its obligations will people be questioned?
· The first question in the grave will be about this 'Kalimah’.
· It is the key to Al-Jannah.
· It is what the Muslims are commanded to invite to Islam - as it was established in the Hadith of Muadz when he was sent to Yemen to call the people to Islam.
The Messenger of Allah SAW said: "You are going to encounter with a people of the Book, so let the first thing you call them with the proclamation of 'la ilaha ill Allah' (There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah)..." [Al-Bukhari]. 

Shahada is also one of the pillars of Islam. Shahada is the statement that you say when you first want to enter Islam. Shahada is also a type of zikr, we should say the shahada often, to keep our faith strong.