It was narrated that Ubaadah ibn al-Saamit said: The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “Whoever says ‘I bear witness that there is no god except Allah alone [with no partner or associate] and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, and that ‘Eesa is the slave of Allah, the son of His maidservant, a Word which He bestowed upon Maryam and a Spirit created by Him, and that Paradise is true and that Hell is true, Allah will admit him through whichever of the eight gates of Paradise he wants.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3252) and Muslim (28).
Al-Qurtubi said in al-Mufhim ‘ala Saheeh Muslim: “It is not sufficient merely to speak the Shahaadatayn. Rather, it is essential to believe it with certainty in one’s heart. This draws attention to the flawed argument of the extreme Murji’ah who say that merely uttering the Shahaadatayn is sufficient to make one a believer. The Ahaadeeth on this subject indicate that this is wrong; Rather, it is a view that is well known to be wrong according to sharee’ah, because it implies a justification of hypocrisy, and judging hypocrites as true believers, which is completely false.”
This hadeeth also indicates the same, in the words “whoever bears witness” because bearing witness can only be valid if it is based on knowledge, certainty, sincerity and honesty. (Fath al-Baari p. 36).
According to Sheikh Muhammad Munajid: “Seven conditions must be fulfilled to bear witness that ‘There is no God but Allah [and Muhammad is His Messenger]’. The Shahadah will not benefit the one who says it unless these conditions are fulfilled.”
1) Knowledge against ignorance: the one who claims to believe in Allah must have the basic knowledge about who Allah is. Allah says:
َفاْعَلْمأَ َّنُھَلاإَِٰلَھإِ َّلا َّاللهُ So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah (Q47:19).
2) Certainty against doubt: accept beyond doubts that Allah is as He describes Himself according to the Quran and the authentic narrations. ِAllah says:
َ ل ْ ی َس َ ك ِ م ْ ث ل ِ ِ ھ َ ش ْ ي ٌ ء ۖ َ و ُ ھ َ و ا ل َّ س ِ م ی ُ ع ا ْ ل َ ب ِص ی ُ ر ﴿ ١ ١ ﴾ قُْل ُھَوَّاللهُأََحٌد﴿١﴾ َّاللهُال َّصَمُد﴿٢﴾َلْمَیلِْدَوَلْمُیوَلْد﴿٣﴾َوَلْمَیُكنل َُّھ ُكفًُواأََحٌد﴿٤﴾
﴾Say, “He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent.” (Q112: 1-4)
Ā’isha said that the Prophet (صلى الله علیھ وسلم) sent a man in charge of an expedition and he would recite for his companions during their prayer, finishing with “Say, He is ,)صلى الله علیھ وسلم God, One.” When they returned they mentioned that to the Prophet and he told them to ask him why he did that. They asked him and he replied, “Because it is a description of the Compassionate One, and I like to recite it.” Then the Prophet صلى الله علیھ وسلم) said, “Tell him that God loves him.” (Bukhārī and Muslim, Sunan An-Nasa’i 993)
3) Acceptance against rejection: This includes accepting all that Allah revealed as the truth and accepting all that was authentically narrated from the messenger of Allah as the truth. Because that is the implication of believing in Allah and His Messenger. Similarly, the one that utters the Shahadah must reject whatever the Qur’an and the authentic narrations negate for Allah and His Messenger.
قُْلإنُكنُتْمُتِح ُّبوَن َّاللهَفا َّتبُعوِنيُیْحبْبُكُم َّاللهَُوَیْغِفْرَلُكْمُذُنوَبُكْمَۗو َّاللهَُغفُوٌر َّرِحیٌم﴿٣١﴾ َِِِ
Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Q3:31)
4) Obedience against disobedience: Obedience is the mark of true belief and a fruit of true love, as indicated by the previous verse mentioned. It is for this reason that in
There is nothing like unto Him (Q42:11)
many verses of the Quran, Allah mentioned belief along with righteous deeds. For example:
إِ َّنال َِّذیَنآَمُنواَوَعِملُواال َّصالَِحا ِتأُوَٰلِئَك ُھْم َخْیُراْلَبِر َّیِة﴿٧﴾
Indeed, they who have believed and done righteous deeds – those are the best of creatures (Q98:8)
5) Sincerity against Shirk: The believer must be sincere in his belief and carry out all his religious rites for Allah’s sake. Any association whether fully or partially, renders the whole act null and void. Allah demands sincerity of purpose in all acts of worship
Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) as stating that Allah the Most High and Exalted said: I am the One, One Who does not stand in need of a partner. If anyone does anything in which he associates anyone else with Me, I shall abandon him with one whom he associates with Allah. (Sahih Muslim 2985)
6) Honesty against lying: A person must be sincere in his belief so that he does not become a hypocrite whose true state with Allah is worse than the believer. Allah mentions their situation in Suratul Baqarah
َوِمَنال َّناسَمنَیقُوُلآَم َّنابا ََِّوباْلَیْوماْلآِخرَوَماُھمبُمْؤِمِنیَن﴿٨﴾ُیَخاِدُعوَن َّاللهَوال َِّذیَنآَمُنوا َِِِِِِ
َوَما َیْخَد ُعوَنإِ َّلاأَنفُ َسُھْم َوَما َی ْشُعُروَن ﴿٩﴾
And of the people are some who say, “We believe in Allah and the Last Day,” but they are not believers.They [think to] deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive [it] not (Q2:8-9)
7) Love against hate: The one that accepts the Shahadah must love and hate for Allah’s sake. This means that when he loves, he does so sincerely for Allah (Because Allah loves such things or people) and when he hates he does so sincerely for Allah (Because Allah hates such things of such a people.
Narrated Abu Hurairah:
that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I inform you about a matter which if you do it, then you will love one another? Spread the Salam among each other.” (Sahih: Jami’ At-Tirmidhi 2688)
This article was written by Dr. Umm Aisha Fatima Mohamad.
