The shahada is the Islamic declaration of faith: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." Saying it sincerely is how a person becomes Muslim. It is the first of the five pillars of Islam, and Muslims repeat it many times every day in prayer.
The word shahada (شهادة) means "testimony" or "bearing witness." In a single sentence it sums up the two foundations of Islam: worship belongs to God alone, and the way to worship Him is shown by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This guide explains the Arabic text, what each word means, where it comes from in the Quran, and why it appears on some flags.
Key takeaways
- The shahada has two halves, and both appear in the Quran: "there is no deity except Allah" (Quran 47:19) and "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" (Quran 48:29).
- The Prophet named the testimony of faith first among the five things Islam is built on, in a hadith recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari 8.
- A hadith in Sahih Muslim 26 says that whoever dies knowing there is no god but Allah will enter Paradise.
- Muslims recite the shahada inside every prayer, in the sitting called tashahhud, using wording recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari 831.
- Later scholars summarized what makes the testimony sincere in a list of "conditions," most often counted as seven, drawn from the Quran and hadith.
What is the shahada in Arabic and English?
Here is the shahada in three forms: Arabic script, transliteration and English translation.
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ
Transliteration: Ash-hadu an la ilaha illa-llah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulu-llah.
English: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
A shorter form without "I bear witness" is also common: La ilaha illa-llah, Muhammadun rasulu-llah. In South Asia this is often called the Kalima (kalimah tayyibah, "the good word"), and children learn it as the "first kalima." Both forms carry the same meaning.
What does the shahada mean, word by word?
Each word in the shahada carries weight. This table breaks it down.
| Arabic (transliterated) | Literal meaning | What it conveys |
|---|---|---|
| Ash-hadu | I bear witness | A personal, informed testimony, not a guess |
| an | that | Introduces the statement being testified |
| la | no / there is no | Negates every false object of worship |
| ilaha | god, deity | Anything that is worshipped, obeyed or adored as ultimate |
| illa | except | Makes the single exception |
| Allah | God | The one true God, Creator of all |
| wa | and | Joins the second testimony |
| anna Muhammadan | that Muhammad | Names the person being affirmed |
| rasulu | messenger | One sent by God with a message |
| llah | of Allah | The One who sent him |
The structure is worth noticing. The first half begins with a denial, "no god," before it affirms "except Allah." Scholars describe this as clearing the ground before building: a person first rejects everything else that people worship, then devotes worship to God alone.
Where is the shahada in the Quran?
The shahada does not appear as one combined sentence in the Quran, but both of its halves do. The first half is the central message of the whole book:
So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women. And Allah knows of your movement and your resting place.
The Quran also presents God Himself as the first witness to this truth, followed by the angels and people of knowledge (Quran 3:18). This is one reason Muslims see the shahada as joining a testimony that already exists, rather than inventing one. Ash-Shahid, "the Witness," is one of the Names of Allah.
The second half appears word for word at the start of a verse in Surah al-Fath:
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in prayer], seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure.
The two halves of the shahada
"There is no god but Allah": the oneness of God
The first half is a statement of tawhid (tawhid, توحيد), the oneness of God. It means God has no partner, no child and no equal, and that prayer, hope, fear and devotion belong to Him alone. Surah al-Ikhlas expresses the same idea in four short verses, and our guide on what tawheed is covers it in depth. God's names Al-Ahad, "the One," and Al-Wahid, "the Only One," point to the same truth.
"Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah": following the Prophet
The second half affirms that Muhammad, born in Makkah around 570 CE, was sent by God as His final messenger. Accepting this means accepting the Quran he brought and taking his example, called the Sunnah, as the model for how to worship and live. The Quran calls him "an excellent pattern" for anyone who hopes in God (Quran 33:21). You can read more in our short biography of the Prophet Muhammad.
The two halves belong together. Belief in one God gives the shahada its purpose, and the Prophet's teaching gives it a practical shape.
Why is the shahada the first pillar of Islam?
The Prophet said Islam is built on five things, beginning with testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, followed by prayer, zakat, Hajj and fasting in Ramadan (Sahih al-Bukhari 8). The other four pillars are acts of worship. The shahada is the belief that gives them meaning. Our guide to the five pillars of Islam explains each one.
When the Prophet sent his companion Mu'adh ibn Jabal to Yemen, he told him to invite people first to this testimony, and only after they accepted it to teach them the five daily prayers (Sahih al-Bukhari 1395). Belief comes first; practice is built on it.
The shahada also stays with a Muslim for life. It is said in the call to prayer, in the tashahhud of every prayer, and ideally at the end of life. In a hadith graded authentic by al-Albani, the Prophet said that a person whose last words are "There is no god but Allah" will enter Paradise (Sunan Abi Dawud 3116). This is why Muslim families gently remind a dying relative of these words.
What are the seven conditions of the shahada?
Scholars teach that the shahada is more than a sound made by the tongue. To show what a sincere testimony includes, later scholars gathered the Quran's and hadith's teachings into a list of "conditions." The best-known version counts seven and was popularized by the 20th-century Saudi scholar Hafiz al-Hakami in his teaching poem Sullam al-Wusul. Some teachers list eight or nine by splitting or adding items.
| Condition | Arabic term | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | 'ilm | Understanding what the words deny and affirm |
| Certainty | yaqin | Believing it without doubt |
| Acceptance | qabul | Accepting it in the heart, not rejecting it out of pride |
| Submission | inqiyad | Acting on it, not just agreeing in theory |
| Truthfulness | sidq | Meaning it, as opposed to saying it insincerely |
| Sincerity | ikhlas | Saying it for God, not for worldly gain |
| Love | mahabbah | Loving God, His messenger and what the testimony stands for |
These conditions are a teaching tool, not a test a new Muslim has to pass before saying the words. Scholars stress that a person who says the shahada sincerely is a Muslim, and that knowledge and practice grow over time. Our step-by-step guide on how to convert to Islam explains the practical side.
Do Shia Muslims say the same shahada?
Yes. Sunni and Shia Muslims share the same two-part testimony, and either form makes a person Muslim. Many Shia Muslims add a phrase affirming Ali ibn Abi Talib as the friend of God (Aliyyun waliyyu-llah) after the shahada in the call to prayer. Most Shia jurists hold that this phrase is not part of the call to prayer itself, though saying it is recommended or permitted, and it is not required to become Muslim. Our guide to Sunni vs Shia sets out the wider differences.
The shahada on flags and in art
Because the shahada sums up the faith, it has long been written in calligraphy on mosque walls, manuscripts and coins. It also appears on a small number of flags, which explains why people search for the "shahada flag."
| Flag | How the shahada appears |
|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | White script on a green field, above a sword |
| Afghanistan (Taliban government) | Black script on a white field, used as the de facto national flag since August 2021 |
| Somaliland (self-declared, not internationally recognized) | White script on the green top stripe |
Because the flags carry God's name, Saudi Arabia does not fly its flag at half-mast, according to the Wikipedia article on the flag of Saudi Arabia.
Why extremist groups use it, and why most Muslims reject that use
Militant groups such as ISIS have printed the shahada on black banners to claim religious legitimacy. For many people in the West, those images are the first time they see the words. Mainstream Muslims see this as a misuse of a sacred phrase. In September 2014, more than 120 Muslim scholars signed the open Letter to Baghdadi, rejecting ISIS's claims point by point from Islamic law and texts.
The shahada itself is a statement of belief about God, not a political slogan. The Quran is clear that faith cannot be forced: "There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion" (Quran 2:256). For more on this, see our guide on whether Islam is a religion of peace.
Read the verses of the shahada on Quran Universe
You can read both halves of the shahada in context on Quran Universe: Surah Muhammad, verse 19 and Surah al-Fath, verse 29. Each verse page has the Arabic text, word-by-word meaning, the Sahih International translation and Tafsir Ibn Kathir. For the bigger picture of what Muslims believe about God, read Who is Allah?.
Frequently asked questions
What is the shahada?
The shahada is the Islamic declaration of faith: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." It is the first of the five pillars of Islam. Saying it sincerely, with understanding and belief, is how a person enters Islam, and Muslims repeat it in every prayer.
What is the meaning of the shahada?
The shahada means that nothing deserves worship except the one God, Allah, and that Muhammad was sent by God as His messenger. The first half expresses tawhid, the oneness of God. The second half commits the believer to following the Quran and the example of the Prophet Muhammad in how to worship and live.
How do you say the shahada in Arabic?
In Arabic the shahada is: Ash-hadu an la ilaha illa-llah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulu-llah. It means "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." A shorter form, La ilaha illa-llah, Muhammadun rasulu-llah, has the same meaning.
Is the shahada in the Quran?
Both halves of the shahada are in the Quran, though not as one sentence. "There is no deity except Allah" appears in Quran 47:19 and in similar words elsewhere, such as 37:35. "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" opens Quran 48:29. The combined wording comes from the Prophet's teaching, recorded in hadith collections such as Sahih al-Bukhari.
What are the 7 conditions of the shahada?
The seven conditions most often taught are knowledge, certainty, acceptance, submission, truthfulness, sincerity and love. Later scholars, notably Hafiz al-Hakami, compiled them from the Quran and hadith to explain what a sincere testimony involves. They describe a mature faith; they are not a test someone must pass before saying the shahada.
Why is the shahada on the Saudi flag?
Saudi Arabia places the shahada on its flag to show that the state identifies with Islam. Because the flag carries God's name, it is not flown at half-mast. The flags of Afghanistan under the Taliban and of self-declared Somaliland also carry the shahada. Its use by extremist groups is rejected by mainstream Muslim scholars.