The Shahada can be translated into English as "There is no god but God. Muhammad is the messenger of God."[8] In English, capitalization of a word's initial letter indicates that it is a proper noun; that is, the name of a unique entity. If it is a noun with a lower case initial letter it is a "common noun"; that is a name which is not unique to an entity, but, instead, could apply to a number of members of a set.[9] The orthography of the translation therefore replicates the original Arabic meaning so that god is a common noun and God is a unique proper name.[10]
The noun shahādah (شَهَادَة), from the verb šahida ([ʃa.hi.da]شَهِدَ), from the root š-h-d (ش-ه-د) meaning "to observe, witness, testify", translates as "testimony" in both the everyday and the legal senses.[11][note 2] The Islamic creed is also called, in the dual form, shahādatān (شَهَادَتَان, literally "two testimonies"). The expression al-šahīd (ٱلْشَّهِيد, "the Witness") is used in the Quran as one of the "titles of God".[15]
InSunni Islam, the Shahada has two parts: 'lā ʾilāha ʾillā -llāh' ("There is no deity except God"), and 'muḥammadun rasūlu llāh' ("Muhammad is the Messenger of God"),[16] which are sometimes referred to as the first Shahada and the second Shahada.[17] The first statement of the Shahada is also known as the tahlīl.[18]
In the Quran, the first statement of the Shahadah takes the form lā ʾilāha ʾillā llāh twice (37:35, 47:19), and ʾallāhu lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa (God, there is no deity but Him) much more often.[19] It appears in the shorter form lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa (There is no deity but Him) in many places.[20] It appears in these forms about 30 times in the Quran. It is never attached with the second part, and any mention of Ali, who is particularly important to Shia Muslims, is absent from the Quran.[21]
Islam's monotheistic nature is reflected in the first sentence of the Shahada, which declares belief in the oneness of God and that he is the only entity truly worthy of worship.[17] The second sentence of the Shahada indicates the means by which God has offered guidance to human beings.[22] The verse reminds Muslims that they accept not only the prophecy of Muhammad but also the long line of prophets who preceded him.[22] While the first part is seen as a cosmic truth, the second is specific to Islam, as it is understood that members of the older Abrahamic religions do not view Muhammad as one of their prophets.[22]
The Shahada is a statement of both ritual and worship. In a well-known hadith, Muhammad defines Islam as witnessing that there is no deity but God and that Muhammad is God's Messenger, giving of alms (zakat), performing the ritual prayer, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and making a pilgrimage to the Kaaba: the Five Pillars of Islam are inherent in this declaration of faith.[17][23]
Recitation of the Shahadah is the most common statement of faith for Muslims. Sunnis,[15] Shia Twelvers, as well as Isma'ilis[24] consider it as one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It is whispered by the father into the ear of a newborn child,[15] and it is whispered into the ear of a dying person.[25] The five canonical daily prayers each include a recitation of the Shahada.[22] Recitation of the Shahada is also the only formal step in conversion to Islam.[15] This occasion often attracts witnesses and sometimes includes a celebration to welcome the converts into their new faith.[17] In accordance with the central importance played by the notion of intention (Arabic: نِيَّة, niyyah) in Islamic doctrine, the recitation of the Shahada must reflect understanding of its import and heartfelt sincerity.[26][27] Intention is what differentiates acts of devotion from mundane acts and a simple reading of the Shahada from invoking it as a ritual activity.[26][27]
Though the two statements of the Shahada are both present in the Quran (for instance, 37:35 and 48:29), they are not found there side by side as in the Shahada formula,[16] but are present in the Hadiths.[28][29][30][31] Versions of both phrases began to appear in coins and monumental architecture in the late seventh century, which suggests that it had not been officially established as a ritual statement of faith until then.[16] An inscription in the Dome of the Rock (est. 692) in Jerusalem reads: "There is no deity but God alone; He has no partner with him; Muhammad is the Messenger of God".[16] Another variant appears in coins minted after the reign of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, the fifth Umayyad caliph: "Muhammad is the Servant of God and His messenger".[16] Material evidence from the 690s documents the existence of differing versions of the Shahada in different regions as opposed to what would standardize into a uniform version in later periods.[32] Although it is not clear when the Shahada first came into common use among Muslims, it is clear that the sentiments it expresses were part of the Quran and Islamic doctrine from the earliest period.[16]
The Shahada has been traditionally recited in the Sufi ceremony of dhikr (Arabic: ذِکْر, "remembrance"), a ritual that resembles mantras found in many other religious traditions.[33] During the ceremony, the Shahada may be repeated thousands of times, sometimes in the shortened form of the first phrase where the word 'Allah' ("God") is replaced by 'huwa' ("Him").[33] The chanting of the Shahada sometimes provides a rhythmic background for singing.[34]
The Shahada appears as an architectural element in Islamic buildings around the world, such as those in Jerusalem, Cairo, and Istanbul.[16][35][36]
Late-medieval and Renaissance European art displays a fascination with Middle Eastern motifs in general and the Arabic script in particular, as indicated by its use, without concern for its content, in painting, architecture and book illustrations.[37][38]
The Shahada is found on some Islamic flags. For an example Wahhabis have used the Shahada on their flags since the 18th century.[39] In 1902, Ibn Saud, leader of the House of Saud and the future founder of Saudi Arabia, added a sword to this flag.[39] The modern Flag of Saudi Arabia was introduced in 1973.[40] The Flag of Somaliland has a horizontal strip of green, white and red with the Shahada inscribed in white on the green strip.[41]
^aš-šahādatāni (الشَّهَادَتَانِ, "the two testimonials"); also kalimatu š-šahādati (كَلِمَةُ ٱلشَّهَادَةِ, "the testimonial word")
^The related noun Shahīd ([ʃaˈhiːd]شَهِيد), which is used in the Quran mainly in the sense "witness", has paralleled in its development the Greek martys (μάρτυς) in that it may mean both "witness" and "martyr".[12][13] Similarly, shahāda may also mean "martyrdom" although in modern Arabic the more commonly used word for "martyrdom" is another derivative of the same root, istišhād (ٱسْتِشْهَاد).[14]
^McCants, William (22 September 2015). "How ISIS Got Its Flag". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
