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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| [IGR] Shahadah: Declaration of faith |
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| Halima |
| 08/03/03 at 11:28:55 |
| Shahadah: Declaration of faith By Ms Tasneem In Islam the term "deen" translated as religion in English has a wider meaning than the common acceptance or understanding of the term. Usually we use it to mean our relationship with Allah and our everyday activity is termed as social or personal. For a Muslim the main purpose of life on earth is worshipping Allah. This does not mean we sit on the prayer mat the entire 24 hours of the day; it means regulating and directing all our actions to please Allah. Therefore, enforcing charity, justice, kindness and honesty in our daily activity is as important as prayer. However, all our activities must have a basis, a foundation and the five pillars of Islam provide that foundation to support, reinforce and invigorate all our actions by giving a definite purpose. These are the five pillars of Islam which we have already talked about. Let us now look at them in detail. It is required by a Muslim to declare La ilahaha illallah Muhammadur Rasool lallah, meaning there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah(Pbuh). It is a method of confirming our belief in the one and only God, Allah. Now you might ask, why do we have to declare our faith, Allah knows what is in our hearts, so surely He knows we have faith in Him? That is indeed true. Allah does know. However, Allah has made it a requirement that if we have faith we must prove it with our action and declaring our faith is one of the methods of proving our faith. At the same time the declaration of the Shahada acts as a testimony or pledge of oath we make with Allah as the witness promising to obey Allah and not to associate partners with Him and by declaring that Muhammad (Pbuh) is the Messenger of Allah, we are pledging or making a promise to follow the way of life of a Muslim. This is very easy to understand when we try to find out why Presidents, Heads of States or Heads of Institutions along with the Officers are required to take a pledge promising to abide or work according to the rules and regulations of the office he/she is about to take and at the same time promising to work devotedly and sincerely. Similarly, the Shahadah is a pledge to follow the principles of Islam and act according to the injunctions with sincerity and devotion. Does making such a promise ever work? Indeed it does. When we read the history of Islam and the story of Prophet Muhammad's(pbuh) companions, we find those men who were corrupt, dishonest idol worshippers had been completely transformed into honest, devoted Muslims overnight by this declaration, such is the power of the Shahadah! When we make a promise, we feel an inner urge to abide by it, the little voice inside us keeps reminding us to keep our promise, we become morally obliged to fulfil it. The obligation of a Muslim after declaring the Shahadah is multiplied to an even greater proportion because we have made the promise to the King of Kings, the Majesty, the Creator of the Universe, the Master of our body, mind and soul; so it is a lifelong appointment as a Muslim and we owe it to ourselves to be committed to it. |
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