Shahadah (Declaration of faith)
Conditions for One to Declare Shahadah
There are seven critical conditions of the Shahadah, without which it is considered to be meaningless
- 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.
The Shahadah is not simply saying it with our tongue. We need to adhere to these conditions. If we say the Shahadah sincerely and with honesty, we will not do anything which contradicts with or violates the Shahadah.
The second part of the Shahadah carries the following conditions:
- To believe in the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, and in whatever he told us and conveyed to us
- To obey him in whatever he commanded us to do
- To stay away from or avoid whatever he commanded us not to do
- To follow or emulate him in our ibadah, akhlaq and way of life
- To love him more than we love ourselves, our 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