The declaration of faith is what is needed to enter
into Islam. It consists of two parts. The first is:
“I testify there is no god but Allah.”
Allah (pronounced: Allaah) is the Arabic word
for God. It is the same word used by Jewish and Christian Arabs to refer
to God. The most literal meaning of the declaration is not the intended
one, as there are many things human beings worship instead of the One
God. The true meaning is: “I testify there is none worthy of
worship but Allah.” This statement combines negation and
affirmation. It denies the right of anything in creation to be
worshipped, and it affirms that right for the Creator. The concept of
worship is probably more comprehensive in Islam than in any other
religion. It includes devotional rituals, but it also includes all
transactions between individuals and groups. It also includes emotional
states and actions of the heart, such as love, hate, hope, fear, etc. In
fact, every action that pleases God is considered an act of worship in
Islam.
The second part of the declaration of faith is:
“I testify that Muhammad is the
[final] Messenger of God.”
Without it, implementing the first part of the
declaration of faith becomes very difficult. The Quran says,
“You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of
conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day and who
remembers Allah profusely.”1
Following the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) has been
made a litmus test for the love of God:
“Say: ‘If you do love Allah, follow me: Allah will
love you and forgive you your sins; for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful.’”2
Accepting the rules revealed by God through
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has also been made a test of true faith;
“But no, by your Lord, they can have no (real)
Faith, until they make you judge in all disputes between them, and find
in their souls no resistance against your decisions, but accept them
with the fullest conviction.”3
Merits of the Declaration of Faith
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said, “Whoever bears
witness that none is worthy of worship but Allah, and that Muhammad
is His slave and Messenger, and that Jesus is the slave of Allah and the
son of a woman who was His slave, and His word that He cast into Mary,
and a soul from Him, and that Paradise is real and that Hell is real,
Allah will enter him into Paradise by any of its eight doors he wishes
[according to his actions].”4
On one occasion the Prophet (pbuh) was sitting in
a garden. He told one of his Companions, “Take these sandals of
mine. When you meet anyone outside this garden who testifies that there
is no god but Allah, being sure of it in his heart, give him glad
tidings of Paradise.”5
On another occasion Allah’s Messenger (pbuh)
said, “Allah has prohibited from the Fire of Hell anyone who says,
‘There is none worthy of worship except Allah,’ seeking thereby the
pleasure of Allah.”6
The Necessity of Declaring One’s Faith
These and other statements of the Prophet (pbuh)
have led scholars to conclude that a person who believes that this
declaration is true must declare it in front of witnesses to become a
Muslim. Knowledge and acceptance in the heart are conditions for the
validity of the declaration, but knowledge and acceptance without the
declaration would not save a person from Hell if there were no threat of
physical harm to prevent him from declaring it.
If a person would be endangered by making his or
her faith known, he/she has the option of keeping it a secret. One of
the Companions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was tortured and forced
to denounce Muhammad and praise the gods of the idol worshippers
upon pain of death. When he was released, he came to the Prophet crying.
When he had explained to him what had happened, the Prophet asked him,
“How did you find your heart while you were saying those things?” He
replied that his heart was content with Islam and that he hated what he
was forced to say. The Prophet instructed him that if he were placed in
the same situation again that he should again say what his tormenters
demanded of him to save himself. It was about him that the following
verse of Qur’an was revealed:
“Anyone who, after accepting faith in Allah, utters
disbelief - except one who does so under compulsion, his heart remaining
firm in Faith - but those who open their hearts to disbelief, the wrath
of Allah is on them, and they will have a dreadful penalty.”7
One of the prominent reasons that Islam requires
a person to declare his/her faith is that a new convert needs the
support and help of the community to help his faith grow and stabilize.
When a person is a very new Muslim, his/her friends and family are
likely to be displeased with the change. They will raise questions and
doubts about Islam in the mind of the new convert to try to shake
his/her faith. They may even try to draw the convert into behavior
condemned by Islam just so that his faith will weaken through sinning.
Everyone also has a personal devil to raise doubts and temptations. If
the Muslim community knows that the person is a new Muslim, they have a
responsibility to make him/her feel welcome and to help him/her through
some of the problems of transition.
Another implication of the declaration of faith is that a
believer should have an open personality without hidden agendas. People
should know who you are and what you stand for. Life is a struggle
between good and evil. The struggle goes on in each person’s heart, but
it also goes on between people who align themselves with good, more or
less, and people who align themselves with evil, more or less. Each of
us needs to try to identify the truth, struggle to live by it and help
others to find it and live by it. This doesn’t mean that you shove your
beliefs down other’s throats, but one has a responsibility to share
beneficial knowledge with those who don’t know.
