How to give the Shahaadah to the Christians

[Muwaahid]

How to give the Shahadah to the Christians???

How to give Shahadah to a Christian
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Haadee Al-Madkhalee
Question:
Some of the Christians come wanting to accept Al-Islaam, so we have them to say the Shahadah. We say: Say: Ash-hadu An-Laa Ilaha Illa-Allaah wa Ash-hadu Anna Muhammadan Rasool-Allaah wa Ash-hadu An ‘Eesaa Kalimatu-llaah wa Rooh Minhu (I testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah and I testify that ‘Eesaa [Jesus] is the Word of Allaah and a soul from Him [i.e. created by Him]). Some of the people find fault with that and say that we should not have them say this last sentence.
Answer:
Never (would this be incorrect)! As it relates to the Christians this is a must. This is because this destroys what they were upon from falsehood. So it is a must that one urges them to say that ‘Eesaa (Jesus) is the Word of Allaah the Glorified and High and a soul from Him which he gave to Maryam. He is not a son of Allaah, nor is he Allaah, nor is he the third of three (part of a trinity). This is the Shahadah as it relates to the Christian; your action is correct and he who finds fault with this has erred.
Questioner:
They said that it is affirmed that Christians accepted Al-Islaam during the time of the Prophet ﷺ and they would not be urged to say that ‘Eesaa is the Word of Allaah and a soul from Him.
Shaykh:
These (during the time of the Prophet ﷺ) understood the statement, while these people (being asked about) are non-Arabs and it is a must that one clarify to them the affair. This is because the first people, when it was said to them: “Say: ‘Laa Ilaha Illa-Allaah (None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah’ and you will be successful.” They said:


أَجَعَلَ الْآلِهَةَ إِلَهًا وَاحِدًا إِنَّ هَذَا لَشَيْءٌ عُجَابٌ
"Has he made the âliha (gods) (all) into One Ilâh (God - Allâh). Verily, this is a curious thing!" (Sad 38:5)
So the Arabs understood. Now, even the Arabs may be in need of understanding (the meaning). However, the Christian Arab understands the meaning of Laa Ilaha Illa-Allaah due to his pure Arabic language. But this (being asked about) is a non-‘Arab and he is in need of that being clarified for him. The intent in that is to snatch out that which is firmly embedded within his heart from the (belief in) the divinity of Jesus, upon him be blessings and peace.

Translated by Raha ibn Donald Batts
Source: http://ar.miraath.net/audio/4710

 

[theplains]

How to give the Shahadah to the Christians???
that ‘Eesaa (Jesus) is the Word of Allaah the Glorified and High

In Islam, is Jesus the only prophet ever to be referred to as the Word of God?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[جوري]

We are all the word of God- all God has to say is 'be' and it becomes - in the noble Quran the similitude of Jesus is that of Adam!

Even more miraculous as there was no mother but then so many miracles were granted to all prophets all of them sublime in their own way!

 

[MissK]

How to give the Shahadah to the Christians???

Some of the Christians come wanting to accept Al-Islaam, so we have them to say the Shahadah. We say: Say: Ash-hadu An-Laa Ilaha Illa-Allaah wa Ash-hadu Anna Muhammadan Rasool-Allaah wa Ash-hadu An ‘Eesaa Kalimatu-llaah wa Rooh Minhu (I testify that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah and I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah and I testify that ‘Eesaa [Jesus] is the Word of Allaah and a soul from Him [i.e. created by Him]). Some of the people find fault with that and say that we should not have them say this last sentence.
Answer:
Never (would this be incorrect)! As it relates to the Christians this is a must. This is because this destroys what they were upon from falsehood. So it is a must that one urges them to say that ‘Eesaa (Jesus) is the Word of Allaah the Glorified and High and a soul from Him which he gave to Maryam. He is not a son of Allaah, nor is he Allaah, nor is he the third of three (part of a trinity). This is the Shahadah as it relates to the Christian; your action is correct and he who finds fault with this has erred.

1. The Quran doesn't mention all aspects of the Shahada as Sunni Muslims recite it. "God bears witness that there is no god except He, and so do the angels and those who possess knowledge. Truthfully and equitably, there is no god but He, the Almighty, Most Wise" 3:18
Sunni Muslims add "I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah" based on hadith.

2. If one believes in Hadith as a source of "law" then he must ask, Is "and I testify that ‘Eesaa [Jesus] is the Word of Allaah and a soul from Him" found in any hadith concerning Shahada?

3. If one testifies that none deserves worship but Allah, then it is obvious that Jesus does not deserve worship. Maybe that's why the Quran only focuses on the need to recognize Allah as the only one worthy of worship.

4. Who are we bearing witness for? Is it for the other Muslims around us or is it for Allah? Allah is all aware of what is in our hearts. He knows if any "falsehood" in our beliefs has been destroyed or not. He knows if our shahada is pure, so is there a need to say more than "La ilaha il Allah?" If we add more on for the Christians, must we also find something to add for the Hindus, the Jews, the Buddhists, etc?

 

[glo]

"God bears witness that there is no god except He, and so do the angels and those who possess knowledge. Truthfully and equitably, there is no god but He, the Almighty, Most Wise"

Is this the declaration of faith according to the Qu'ran?
I have often heard people mention the Shahadah - but I have never seen this version. If this is the Qu'ranic original, does that mean other versions have been added to?

 

[Insaanah]

Is this the declaration of faith according to the Qu'ran?
I have often heard people mention the Shahadah - but I have never seen this version. If this is the Qu'ranic original, does that mean other versions have been added to?

As you may know glo, Muslims have two sources, the Qur'an and hadeeth. MissK is as yet undecided about her belief in the hadeeth, being a revert.

She has quoted a verse from the Qur'an. It is NOT the shahaadah. When Muslims take shahaadah, we must also bear witness that Muhammad :saws: is the servant of Allah and His messenger. The statement that "There is no God but Allah" is found in the Qur'an in five places, and the statement that Muhammad :saws: is the Messenger of Allah is also found in the Qur'an, however we follow with the Qur'an the teacher Allah sent along with the Qur'an to explain it to us, it's application, and to give us additional instruction from Allah.

 

[MissK]

She has quoted a verse from the Qur'an. It is NOT the shahaadah. When Muslims take shahaadah, we must also bear witness that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His messenger. The statement that "There is no God but Allah" is found in the Qur'an in five places, and the statement that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah is also found in the Qur'an, however we follow with the Qur'an the teacher Allah sent along with the Qur'an to explain it to us, it's application, and to give us additional instruction from Allah.

I'm sorry. I should have said that it doesn't mention the two parts of the Shahada as we know it "together", as one sentence or verse. However, we do receive both of those messages in the Quran. They are reinforced through Hadith. If they are found together, please give me the verse. I have looked for it in the past, with no luck.

Just to clarify, I do believe in the hadith especially those which are in every way in line with the teachings of the Quran. How could I argue with those? But I am unsure of the authenticity of some of hadith which seem strange (to be blunt) or inconsistent.

However, in my last comment, when I referred to "adding on," I wasn't talking about "and Mohammed is the messenger of Allah." I was referring to adding even more than that for Christians. If one chooses to follow the hadith and say the Sunni Shahada, then I would imagine that one would also seek Hadith to justify adding additional words for particular groups of reverts.

 

[ardianto]

Assalamu'alaikum.

Shahaadah is the first pillar in five pillars of Islam. It's contains 'testimony' that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is the only God, and Rasulullah Muhammad Sallalahu Alaihi Wasalam is the prophet of Allah.

Shahaadah is placed at the first in this five pillar of Islam because shahaadah is the gate to entering Islam. And this is the only gate. There is no gate that special for ex-Christian, for ex-Jew, for ex-pagan. Everyone who want to embrace Islam should entering Islam through same gate and say same shahaadah.

Shahaadah should not added with additional 'testimony' or words because it can make this shahaadah invalid.

 

[glo]

She has quoted a verse from the Qur'an. It is NOT the shahaadah. When Muslims take shahaadah, we must also bear witness that Muhammad is the servant of Allah and His messenger.

Thank you. That clarifies it and is what I thought.
The Qu'ran verse alone could be very much agreed on by many non-Muslims too, so making a reference to Muhammad makes it more 'Islamic'.

I love the Qu'ranic verse though. :statisfie Can you tell me which surah it's from?

 

[Aprender]

I love the Qu'ranic verse though. Can you tell me which surah it's from?

Surah 3. The Family of Imran.

 

[Aprender]

Just to clarify, I do believe in the hadith especially those which are in every way in line with the teachings of the Quran. How could I argue with those? But I am unsure of the authenticity of some of hadith which seem strange (to be blunt) or inconsistent.

That's why the hadith have different classifications and the ones that don't fit with the teachings in the Quran are usually thrown out. When I first started studying hadith I almost did not accept Islam because a lot of them were incorrectly translated in the English language and said horrible, horrible things. What's worse is that legitimate Islamic websites were posting these erroneous English translations on the internet for all the world to see and not providing any historical context along with them. After asking questions and speaking with knowledgeable people who also spoke the Arabic language, I got a lot of things cleared up for me and proper translations.

Which is why I think we seriously need to learn Arabic and stop depending on others so much when it comes to matters of this deen.

say the Sunni Shahada

It breaks my heart to read this.

I was referring to adding even more than that for Christians.

Read the biography of the Prophet Muhammad :saws:. In it you will come across some interactions he had with Christians who lived during his time who decided to accept Islam.

 

[MissK]

After asking questions and speaking with knowledgeable people who also spoke the Arabic language, I got a lot of things cleared up for me and proper translations.

The same has happened for me.

It breaks my heart to read this.

Personally, I don't think Shahada should have a distinction based on sects. But unfortunately, there are different sects in Islam and differences between them, even in Shahada.

 

[MissK]

I love the Qu'ranic verse though. Can you tell me which surah it's from?

Qur'an 3:18

 

[MissK]

Read the biography of the Prophet Muhammad . In it you will come across some interactions he had with Christians who lived during his time who decided to accept Islam.

Reading one now, but I would be open to reading others. Any one in particular that you would recommend?