Testimony or Declaration of Faith
The Declaration of Faith [Shahādah]: This consists of the two statements: ‘La ilāha illa’Llah, Muhammadun rasūlu’llah’ [There is no deity worthy to be worshipped except One God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.] All the prophets of God including; Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes , Jesus, and Muhammad (peace be upon them), invited the people to the same thing , to worship The One God without any partners, son or associates.
In order to understand why we must worship Allah (The One God), we must first accept the Oneness of the Lordship of Allah (i.e. Tawhid Ar-Rubiyyah ). This means to believe that there is only One Lord for everything that exists, its Creator, Organizer, Originator, Planner, Sustainer, Authority, Giver of Security, etc . and this is Allah (One God). The belief in the Lordship of One God cannot be separated fromthe act of worshipping the One God (i.e. Tawhid Al-Uluhiyyah). This means to believe that none has right to be worshipped (e.g. praying, invoking, asking for help from the unseen, swearing, sacrificing, pilgrimage, fasting, giving charity, etc.) but Allah.
The final aspect of Tawhid is the Oneness of the Names and Attributes of Allah. This means: 1. We must not name or attribute anything to Allah except with what Allah or His Messenger has named or attributed to Him. 2. None can be named or attributed with the Names or Attributes of Allah such as the Mighty (Al-’Aziz). 3. We must confirm all of Allah’s Names and Attributes stated in His book (The Qur’an) or mentioned through His Messenger Muhammad (pbuh) without changing them or ignoring them completely or twisting the meanings or giving them resemblance to any of the created things. These three aspects of Tawhid are included in the meaning of La ilaha il-Allah (None has the right to be worshipped except Allah). It is essential to follow Allah’s Messenger, Muhammad (pbuh) and it is part of the worship of the One God (Tawhid-al-Uluhiyyah). This is included in the meaning of ’I testify that Muhammad (pbuh) is the Messenger of Allah,’ and this means, ‘None has the right to be followed after Allah’s’ Book (The Qur’an), but Allah’s’ Messenger.’ Allah said: ‘And whatsoever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain from it’. (59:7)
needs explanation about who they are?
message?
“without a partner, son or associate”
decide on a common format for Arabic words – e.g. are they italicised or not?
don’t use “etc” as it seems too informal
make list into bullet points so they stand out more clearly
