4

I've seen on youtube videos of shahada but some shahada are

Ashhadu an laa ilaaha illa-llah wa ashhadu anna muhammadan rasulullah
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ

and some other shahada are

Ashhadu an laa ilaaha illa-llah was ashhadu anna muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluhu
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ

I don't know which one is the right one ?

1
  • They are both correct and both have occurred in ahadith. You can say both of them one after the other, and also realize that one is inclusive of the meaning of the other.
    – UmH
    Commented Jul 15, 2022 at 14:55

1 Answer 1

3

Both are correct. Understanding the meaning is important because faith is belief in the heart and expression upon the tongue and action upon the limbs.

First one: I testify that there is no God but Allah. And I testify that Muhammed(ﷺ) is the messenger of Allah.

Second one: I testify that there is no God but Allah. And I testify that Muhammed(ﷺ) is his(Allah) slave and his(Allah) messenger.

Umar ibn al-Khattab reported: We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, one day when a man appeared with very white clothes and very black hair. There were no signs of travel on him and we did not recognize him. He sat down in front of the Prophet and rested his knees by his knees and placed his hands on his thighs. The man said, “O Muhammad, tell me about Islam.” The Prophet said, “Islam is to testify there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to establish prayer, to give charity, to fast the month of Ramadan, and to perform pilgrimage to the House if a way is possible.” The man said, “You have spoken truthfully.” We were surprised that he asked him and said he was truthful. He said, “Tell me about faith.” The Prophet said, “Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, his Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in providence, its good and its evil.” The man said, “You have spoken truthfully. Tell me about excellence.” The Prophet said, “Excellence is to worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He surely sees you.” The man said, “Tell me about the final hour.” The Prophet said, “The one asked does not know more than the one asking.” The man said, “Tell me about its signs.” The Prophet said, “The slave girl will give birth to her mistress and you will see barefoot, naked, and dependent shepherds compete in the construction of tall buildings.” Then, the man returned and I remained. The Prophet said to me, “O Umar, do you know who he was?” I said, “Allah and his messenger know best.” The Prophet said, “Verily, he was Gabriel who came to teach you your religion.” Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 8

11
  • Could you please clarify what do you mean with First one is correct? The second is incorrect or wrong or what?
    – user31217
    Commented Jul 15, 2022 at 12:16
  • So both are correct ?
    – Lina
    Commented Jul 15, 2022 at 12:46
  • Both are fine. But first one is preferable. First one is (Ash hadu an laa ilaha illallah wa ash hadu anna muhammadan rasulullah)
    – Riyaz
    Commented Jul 15, 2022 at 12:59
  • @Riyaz, first one is preferable. Could you please prove why? To my knowledge, Allah Himself called the Prophet (SAW) Abdullah in 72:19, which means slave of Allah. This is what Allah is preferring him to be - a slave of His. Your statement is against Allah's will.
    – user31217
    Commented Jul 15, 2022 at 13:16
  • 1
    @Muslim It is not in contradiction to the Quran, omitting the attribute 'slave of Allah' does not mean that one denies it. There are hundreds of attributes of both Allah and the Prophet which are mentioned in the Quran but are not explicitly mentioned in the shahada. The phrase محمد رسول الله is found as such in the Quran 48:29.
    – UmH
    Commented Jul 15, 2022 at 15:37

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .