The ‘Shahada’ in Arabic means ‘witness’ or testimony.’ The ‘Shahada’ is made of two parts:
The first part is made of four words in Arabic: La ilaha il-Allah. The four simple words of Arabic contain a profound meaning and consists of two parts: a negation and an affirmation.
The first part, La ilaha (there is no true god), negates the existence of any and all false gods. The word ilah means ‘god,’ an object or worship, and could refer to any being, belief, concept, or superstition which is taken as an object of devotion and worship out of fear and love. Sheer ignorance leads some people to worship the heavenly bodies, nature, fire, prophets, saints and religious men as gods, obeying them as God should have been obeyed. But, ‘ilah,’ as the Quran pointedly mentions in 25:43 can also refer to desires of the soul. Complete surrender to base desires and passions is to worship them as gods. Pride and vanity can be my god, making me totally selfish and causing me to trample on others.
The Shahada distinguishes between other-than-God and God Himself. The Shahada says ‘No’ to the world, the self, our ego, and everything else that sets itself up as a little god for our devotion and worship and the Shahada says ‘Yes’ to Allah, the true God. The Shahada denies divinity to “other-than-God” and restores it to its true source – God.
The Shahada is not only doctrine, but it is also practice, or the key to practice. Its truth is assimilated and to be lived. That is why when we speak of the Islamic Creed - the Shahada - we do not speak of an abstract concept, but of the way in which men and women order their whole lives, their waking and their sleeping, their work and their rest, the words they use in speech and the gestures they make in loving one another, the planting of a seed, and the reaping of a crop, and the life and death of all creatures.
The second part of the Shahada, il-Allah, means ‘except God.’ It emphasizes that only Allah, the Arabic name of God, deserves to be worshipped and obeyed.
The Shahada punctuates the entire life of a Muslim by bringing it back to the unity of God. It is repeated in the ears of the newborn infants, a man in his deathbed makes himself say it while those around him remind him to make it his last words. It is proclaimed by the muezzins who summon the faithful five times a day to prayer. It is recited frequently and fervently by Muslims during other rites.
Rightfully called the ‘key to Paradise,’ the Shahada is not to be uttered as meaningless words, but with certain ‘conditions’ that serve as a self-check for a person’s understanding and commitment.
One, you should know the simple, straightforward meaning of the words La-ilaha il-Allah. The words mean that only God (Allah in Arabic) deserves worship.
Two, you need to be sure about the meaning of these words. Your heart should not doubt the simple meaning of the most powerful words in your life. One thing that confuses an average westerner about a typical Muslim is that he is not confused. Certainty is out of fashion in the West, particularly in matters of religion. Remember: the fact that there are blind people in the world does not extinguish the light.
Three, you should willingly accept the Shahada with your tongue and your heart. You need to allow the Shahada to influence you and steer the course of your life. Your willingly acceptance is another way of you saying that you won’t let arrogance or envy come on your from God and His Prophet.
Forth, you will not merely comply by liking the message, but live it out physically. This simple point is the essence of all Islam, you will try your best to submit and live a life of compliance with God’s instructions despite all your human weaknesses. It includes consulting the pattern of life left by Prophet Muhammad to emulate. When you will fall short, as we all do, you know you have a Loving, King, and Forgiving God who will forgive you when you return to Him.
Five, you will say the Shahada truthfully without any hint of dishonesty. You will mean it with all your heart, not in an attempt to fool anyone.
Six, your uttering of the Shahada will be for the love of God. You will say the most powerful words gifted to you by God for the sake of God and not the sake of a created being.
Seven, love matters. Your Shahada should be a labor of your love for the God who loves you more than your mother or any other human being ever will in your life. There is no faith without true love. God must be above and beyond all other love in your life.
Eight, you will stick to the Shahada until death and it will be your motto until the last moments of your life.