In Islam, we have five important things called the Five Pillars of Islam, and the first and most special one is called the Shahada, and Shahada means to say something with your heart and your tongue, and it is the most important sentence that every Muslim believes and says, and the Shahada says: “La ilaha illallah, Muhammadur Rasoolullah”, and this means “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah”, and when we say the Shahada, we are telling everyone that we believe in only one God, and that is Allah, and that we follow Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as our teacher, and the Shahada is the key to being a Muslim, because no one can become a Muslim without saying the Shahada, and we say it not only with our mouth, but we must also believe it in our heart, and do good things with our hands and actions to show that we really mean it, and when a baby is born, the father or grandfather whispers the Shahada in the baby’s ear, so the first words the baby hears are about Allah and His Prophet, and when someone wants to become a Muslim, they say the Shahada with love, and their heart becomes clean, like white paper, and all their bad deeds are forgiven, and Allah becomes very happy with them.
Belief in One God
And when we say the Shahada, we remember that there is no one who made the sun, moon, stars, trees, animals, birds, and people except Allah, and no one can do what Allah does, and He has no partner, no mother, no father, no son, and no helper, and Allah is One and Only, and He is always watching us and helping us, and He is the most powerful and the most kind, and that is why we love Him and worship only Him, and when we say the second part of the Shahada, that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, we are saying that we follow his teachings, because he was the last Prophet, and he showed us how to live a good life, and he told us to pray, be kind, tell the truth, help people, respect parents, and share our things, and he was very loving to children, animals, and even trees.
One Ummah – One Family
And when we say the Shahada, we are joining a big Muslim family all over the world, from Pakistan to Africa, from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia, and from America to India, and we all say the same words and worship the same Allah, and we pray in the same way, and we read the same Quran, and we say the Shahada many times every day, like in the Adhan (the call to prayer), in our Salah (prayer), and even in bedtime du’a, and the Shahada helps us remember who we are and why we are alive, because we are on Earth to worship Allah and do good deeds, and we want to go to Jannah one day, and Jannah is the beautiful home that Allah made for good people, and when we believe in the Shahada and follow it, we are walking on the straight path, called Sirat al-Mustaqeem, and this path takes us to happiness in this life and the next, and we should teach the Shahada to our little brothers and sisters, and we can make a small poster in our room with it, and recite it in the morning and at night, and whenever we feel scared or sad, we can say it and feel better, because Allah is always near, and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) told us that whoever dies with the Shahada on their lips will go to Jannah, and that’s why it is also the last thing we want to say before we return to Allah, and the Shahada is not just for grown-ups, but also for children, and when we say it every day, we become stronger Muslims, and we feel proud to be part of this beautiful religion.
Living the Shahada
And we must never forget the Shahada, and never say anything that is against it, like worshiping anyone other than Allah, or following bad people, because the Shahada is our promise to Allah, and promises are very serious, and when we keep our promise, Allah gives us many rewards, and helps us be kind, smart, honest, and brave, and we can also draw the Shahada in Arabic with colorful markers and learn how to say it slowly and clearly, and we should ask our teacher or parents to help us understand it more, because every time we learn something new about it, our Iman (faith) grows bigger, and our heart becomes softer, and angels come to write good things in our book of deeds, and the Shahada also teaches us to love our Muslim brothers and sisters, and not to fight or say mean things, because we are all one Ummah, and we are all trying to please Allah, and even if someone looks different or speaks another language, if they say the Shahada, they are our brother or sister in Islam, and we should be kind and friendly to them.
The Light of Our Iman
And when we learn about the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), we understand the second part of the Shahada better, because he showed us how to smile, how to be honest, how to share, and how to say “please,” “thank you,” and “I’m sorry,” and when we copy the Prophet’s sunnah, like saying “Bismillah” before eating, and “Alhamdulillah” after drinking, and “Assalamu Alaikum” when we meet, we are following the Shahada, and when we help a friend or say sorry when we make a mistake, we are also following the Shahada, because the Shahada means to live like a Muslim in our heart, in our words, and in our actions, and that is why we must not only say it, but we must also show it by being good, gentle, helpful, and full of love, and sometimes when we are tired or sleepy, we might forget to say it, but we should try our best to remember it, because saying “La ilaha illallah” is like giving water to our soul, and the Prophet (PBUH) said that saying these words again and again makes our hearts clean, and our souls shiny, like a bright light, and that is why some children keep a Shahada card in their pocket or their bag, and some write it on the first page of their notebook, because they love it, and when we learn to love the Shahada, we become good Muslims and Allah helps us in everything we do — in school, in games, at home, and even when we are scared or lost, and if we say “La ilaha illallah,” it becomes our friend and makes us feel safe and happy, and in the hereafter, the Shahada will come and help us when we need it most, so let us say it every day, understand it with our heart, live it with our actions, and teach it with our smile, because the Shahada is not just a sentence — it is the light of our Iman, the key to our Jannah, and the best gift from Allah.