Facts:
- I have said the Shahada (the proclamation of faith) in Arabic three times [The 1st pillar of Islam]
- I know and understand the five pillars of Islam and the Arabic words for them
- I have read the Qur'an on numerous occasions
- I have read Sunna and Hadith
- I have read and written an exegesis on Rumi's poems
- I have fasted during Ramadan; I have also read the ajiza' during Ramadan
- I have taken Arabic classes in Cairo taught by Muslims and have conversed with Muslims in Arabic
- I learned about Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic property law in Cairo taught by Muslim scholars
- I have applied and analyzed Islamic jurisprudential commentary
- I have been to lectures at Al-Azhar; I have been in the mosque and madrasahs at Al-Azhar
- I went into Al-Hussein Mosque, one of the holiest Islamic shrines in Cairo
- I read multiple volumes on and have been taught about the history of Islam and Islamic law
- I know the theological differences between Sufi, Sunni, and Shi'a Muslims
- I know the history of and differences between the four schools of Sunni jurisprudence
- I have taken part in a Sufi dhikr
- I have Al-Jazeera feeds on my Google Reader
- I have read all of Osama bin Laden's published "letters"; I have also read the writings of the core Islamist figures
- I own and display a Qur'an written in Arabic (only) - meaning it is the word of Allah
Aside from being named after Muhammad's grandson and having a non-practicing "Muslim" father, I should be "more Muslim" than Obama. Moreover, Andy Martin and Fox News would certainly brand me a member of al-Qaeda given the texts on my bookshelf and the presence of Al-Jazeera in my feeds.
The foundation of Islam is rooted in the submission to Allah and the very words of the shahada.
http://islamworld.net/docs/become.html
The Shahada can be declared as follows:
"ASH-HADU ANLA ELAHA ILLA-ALLAH WA ASH-HADU ANNA MOHAMMADAN RASUL-ALLAH".
The English translation is:
"I bear witness that there is no deity (none truely to be worshipped) but, Allah, and I bear witness that Mohammad is the messenger of Allah",
However, it would not be sufficient for anyone to only utter this testimony oraly either in private or in public; but rather, he should believe in it by heart with a firm conviction and unshakeable faith. If one is truly sincere and complies with the teachings of Islam in all his life, he will find himself a new born person.
Being a believer isn't some sort of balancing test where the existence of enough facts will tip the scale towards a certain faith.
3 comments:
Did you recite the shahada with the proper intent? If you did, how are you not a Muslim? And if you said it insincerely, why would you do such a thing?
It was said during an Islam class. The entire class said recited the shahada at the behest of the instructer. As I came to know the teacher better later, he jokingly refers converting his classes without their knowledge.
I have to say that is pretty screwed up. Who was the teacher? He should really know better than to trick students into basically converting them. I realize the lack of intent should impair the conversion, but still ... Could you imagine if a teacher had their students take communion without first explaining the implication?
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