Consensus des écoles
The four Sunni schools (Ḥanafī, Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī) agree on the formula and obligation of the Shahāda as the prerequisite for entering Islam.
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الشَّهَادَةPillar 1 / 5
Shahāda
The testimony of faith
Summary
To testify that there is no deity but Allah and that Muḥammad ﷺ is His Messenger.
- Formula: Ash-hadu an lā ilāha illa-llāh, wa ash-hadu anna Muḥammadan rasūlu-llāh.
- First pillar: the doorway into Islam.
- Affirms the oneness of Allah (tawḥīd) and the prophetic mission.
- Requires sincerity, certainty, knowledge, acceptance and submission.
« Know therefore that there is no deity except Allah… »
Meaning
The Shahāda consists of two inseparable testimonies: the first negates any deity besides Allah, the second affirms Muḥammad ﷺ as the final Prophet. It structures the believer's faith and is the prerequisite of every act of worship.
Conditions of validity
The scholars have enumerated seven conditions for its acceptance:
- 1.Knowledge (al-ʿilm) of its meaning
- 2.Certainty (al-yaqīn) without doubt
- 3.Acceptance (al-qabūl) without rejection
- 4.Submission (al-inqiyād) inwardly and outwardly
- 5.Sincerity (al-ikhlāṣ) free of any shirk
- 6.Truthfulness (aṣ-ṣidq) of heart and tongue
- 7.Love (al-maḥabba) for what it implies
The three dimensions of tawḥīd
The Shahāda affirms the oneness of Allah in three complementary aspects:
- 1.Tawḥīd ar-Rubūbiyya: oneness of Lordship (creation, ownership, governance)
- 2.Tawḥīd al-Ulūhiyya: oneness in worship (worshipping Him alone)
- 3.Tawḥīd al-Asmā' wa-ṣ-Ṣifāt: oneness of Names and Attributes
Daily implications
The Shahāda is recalled many times a day, notably in the tashahhud of prayer. It commits the Muslim to following prophetic guidance, abandoning every form of associationism, and orienting life toward Allah's pleasure.
Prophetic ḥadīths
« Whoever's last words are 'Lā ilāha illa-llāh' will enter Paradise. »
« Islam is built upon five: bearing witness that there is no deity but Allah and that Muḥammad is His Messenger, establishing prayer, paying zakāt, fasting Ramadan, and performing the pilgrimage. »
Views of the legal schools
Overview of the main positions (madhāhib) on certain aspects.
Further reading
Kitāb at-Tawḥīd
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb
A classical reference on divine oneness.
Maʿārij al-Qabūl
Ḥāfiẓ al-Ḥakamī
Detailed exposition of the conditions of the Shahāda.