Shahada
The Shahada, also spelled Šehadet ( Arabic: ) (from the verb , "he witnessed"), means "to know and believe without suspicion, as if witnessed"/testification; it is the name of the Islamic creed. The Shahada is the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of Allahu ta'âlâ and acceptance of Muhammad as God's prophet. The declaration reads: lâ ilâha illallâh, Muḥammadur rasûlullâh "There is no deity but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God" in English. The optional addition of Ali –un- vali -ul –lah Ali is the friend/representative/care taker(pl.see Wali) of God" to this is in tradition of the Shia Muslims. This declaration, or statement of faith, is called the Kalima, which literally means "word". Recitation of the Shahadah the "oath/testimony", 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.Farah (1994), p.135 Technically the Shi'a do not consider the Shahadah to be a separate pillar, but connect it to the Aqidah. The complete shahadah cannot be found in the Quran, but comes from hadiths.http://www.albalagh.net/kids/understanding_deen/Shahadah.shtml
Recitation
Arabic text: Romanization: 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. Shia, Fatimid, Ismaili, and Dawoodi Bohra recite the kalema as follows: "Ash-hadu -an-la-ilaha illal-laha, wa ash-hadu anna Mohammad-an Abdo-hu wa Rasulo-uhu wa ash-hadu anna Moulana Ali-un- Waliullah .”, and the complete oath now means: "I bear witness that there is no God but Allah, and I bear witness that Mohammad is Allah's servant and His Messenger and I bear witness that Ali is Allah's ' Wali','representative' ." The last phrase is optional to some shia. They feel that Ali's 'Valayat' is self-evident and need not be declared. However, the greatness of Allah is also taken to be self-evident, but Muslims still declare 'Allaho Akabar' to publicize and confirm/boost their faith. This is the reason Fatemid/Dawoodi Bohra gives for recitation of the phrase regarding Ali.History
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): (Ouk esti theos ei mē ho theos monos; Maame apostolos theou).http://www.islamic-awareness.org/History/Islam/Papyri/enlp1.html "There is no god except for God alone; Muhammad is the Apostle of God."; i.e. "Allah", the Arabic word for "God", is translated as and Muhammad is transliterated as . The right photo shows aux. Qiblah in one of pillars in between masjid (Mosque of Ahmed ibn tulun of Qahira) of Fatemid Caliphate/ Imam’s era of Egypt having engraved in stone the name of 18th Imam Mustansir(1035-1094 A.D.) and the complete Kalema in the same form as above. “La-ilah-a- ill-allah, Mohammad-an- Rasul-ul-lah, Ali-un- Wali-u(A)l-lah(clearly visible).”, The Kalema in the complete form also exist at Gate " Bab-al-Futuh" built by Fatimid minister Badr-al-Jamali (952-975 A.D.)at northen wall of Fatemid Cairo(Photo at right)."Tawhïd", "Nabuwat", "Imāmate"
Its fundamental first phrase ”Lā 'ilaha 'illā llāh” is the foundation stone of Islam, the belief that “there is no god but Allah”. This is the confession of "Tawhïd" = "oneness". The second phrase ”Muħammadun rasūlu llāh” fulfils the requirement that there should be someone to guide in the name of Allah, which tells "Muhammad is Allah’s Rasūl, Nabi, the Messenger, Apostle". This is acceptance of the "Nabuwat" (prophethood) of Muhammad. The Shia /Ismaili/fatemid/ Bohra believe that Nabi Muhammad declared that Ali bin Abu Talib was his successor at a place called “Ghadir al Khumm” (Ref: Hadith of the pond of Khumm )which was required for the continuation of his guidance: that is why he told that ”for whoever I am a ’Moula’ of them Ali is his ‘Moula’”. Hence, the kalma required as further confession the third phrase “Alīyun Waliyu llah” means “Ali is his (Mohammad’s) " Wali", vasi , the "real care taker" stressing the need that for continuation of faith there is requirement of " Wali" which is the one and only "Imam after Imam", which are really taking care of Islam, hence this is also confession of “Imāmat”, Kalema–tut-Shahadat make three Islamic teaching "Tawhïd", "Nabuwat", and "Imāmate" together. In this devotion to Allah, his Nabi Muhammad and Imam are so linked together that these can not be viewed separately. One leads to other and finally to God the Allah almighty.Conditions
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.http://www.islamtomorrow.com/9points.htm One such list of seven critical conditions of the shahadah, without which it is considered to be meaningless, are as follows:.- 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.
- To believe in the Prophet and in whatever he said and conveyed in his message as the seal of the prophets.
- To obey him in whatever he commanded.
- To stay away from or avoid whatever he commanded Muslims not to do.
- To follow or emulate him in our 'ibadah (worship), akhlaq (manners), and way of life.
- To love him more than you love yourself, your family and anything else in this world.
- To understand, practice, and promote his Sunnah in the best way possible, without creating any chaos, enmity or harm.
Flags
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.