Shahadah – Declaration of Iman
Shahadah – Declaration of Iman
Fundamentals of Belief included in Amantu
“Amantu” is an Arabic word meaning “I believed”. There are six fundamental beliefs included in Amantu. It is recorded in Sahih Bukhari* that when Prophet Muhammed ﷺ was asked what is belief, he said: “Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in the Divine Decree (al-qadr), both its good and its evil.”
Hence Amantu comprises of:
- Belief in Allah
“Amantu billahi” means I believed in Allah. This entails belief in the Oneness of God. It is the most important article of faith, termed as Tawheed.
What is Tawheed – Tawheed is the foundation of Islam. It is to believe that there is no God but Allah. To believe in His Oneness and to know that He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. A Muslim believes that Allah has no partners, and He is above all imperfections.
- To believe in His angels
Allah created angels from light before He created mankind. The Quran mentions some of the angels and the duties assigned to them. The greatest of the angels is Jibrael, who conveyed Allah’s messages to His prophets. There are numerous other angels, all performing their tasks in complete submission to Allah.
- To believe in His books
From time to time, Allah revealed His Divine Books through His messengers, for the guidance of mankind. The Quran was revealed upon Muhammed, Torah upon Mosa, Injil (Gospel) upon Isa and Zaboor (Psalms) upon Dawood, in addition to the scrolls of Ibrahim. Amongst all these revealed books the Quran is the only divine revelation still in its original form.
- To believe in His prophets
One of the articles of faith is to believe in all the prophets from Adam till Muhammed ﷺ. It is mentioned in the Quran in Surah Anam, 6:89
Those are the ones to whom We gave the Book, and judgement and prophethood.
God sent His message and practical instructions through His prophets for the benefit of humanity. Every prophet came with the same message of Tawheed and submission to Allah.
- To believe in the Day of Judgement (life after death)
Belief in Day of Judgement entails belief in life after death. Muslims believe that life on earth is a test, and it will come to an end. After death, each person will be resurrected and held accountable for his beliefs and deeds. Those rewarded shall enter Paradise, those punished shall be in Hell Fire.
- To believe in Destiny (Qadar)
Qadr means that Allah has preordained everything that takes place in the universe according to His prior knowledge and His wisdom.
It is recorded in Tirmizi*** that Prophet ﷺ said: “No slave of Allah will truly believe until he believes in al Qadr, its good and evil, and until he realises that what has befallen him was not going to miss him and that which missed him was not going to befall him.”
