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1.1: The Holy Quran

The religion of Islam is summarised in the two phrases: la ilaha ill-Allah (there is no God but Allah) and Muhammad-ur rasul Allah (Muhammad is the messenger of Allah). By affirming these two precepts, a person enters the fellowship of Islam.

These two constituents do not occur together in the Holy Quran, as they do in the Kalima, but each is a constant theme of the Quran:

“Know that there is no God but Allah.” (47:19)

and

“Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” (48:29)

The Quran also says: “Believe in Allah and His messengers.” (4:171)

As regards who is a Muslim, the Quran says:

1. “Say: It is revealed to me that your God is one God. Will you then be Muslims?” (21:108)

2. “Say: We believe in Allah and in that which has been revealed to us, and in that which was revealed to Abraham and Ismael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and in that which was given to Moses and Jesus, and in that which was given to the Prophets from their Lord. We do not make any distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims.” (2:136)

3. “And when I revealed to the disciples, saying, Believe in Me and My messenger, they said: We believe, and bear witness that we are Muslims.” (5:111)

4. “The desert Arabs say, ‘We have faith’. Say to them: ‘You do not have faith, but rather say, we are Muslims — faith has not yet entered your hearts’.” (49:14)

5. “Do not say 'you are not a believer' to a person who says assalamu alaikum to you.” (4:94)

1.2: How the Holy Prophet converted people to Islam

1. “Ibn Umar reported that the messenger of Allah, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, said: Islam is based on five things — testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, keeping up prayer, giving in charity (Zakaat), the Pilgrimage (hajj), and fasting in Ramadaan.”
   (Bukhari, Book of Faith; Book 2, ch. 1; p. 90 of edition used)

   Note: In this hadith, the Kalima is counted as one of the five fundamentals. The basic foundation is the Kalima, the other fundamentals being based upon it.

2. “Ibn Abbas related that the Holy Prophet sent Mu‘az to Yemen [as governor], and instructed him: Invite the people to testify that there is no god but Allah, and that I am the messenger of Allah; if they accept this, tell them that Allah has made obligatory for them five prayers daily; if they accept that, tell them that Allah has made obligatory upon them to give in charity, which is taken from their rich and given to their poor.”
   (Bukhari, Book of Zakaat; Book 24, ch. 1)

3. “When the time of Abu Talib’s death approached, the messenger of Allah, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, came to him and found with him Abu Jahl Ibn Hisham and Abdullah Ibn Abi al-Mughira. The messenger of Allah said to Abu Talib: O uncle! say ‘There is no god but Allah’, I shall bear witness for you to Allah about this.

   “Then Abu Jahl and Abdullah Ibn Abi Umayyah said: O Abu Talib! will you turn away from the religion of Abdul Muttalib? The messenger of Allah continued to put this Kalima to him, and the other two kept on repeating what they had said, until Abu Talib said his last words to them, that he followed the religion of Abdul Muttalib, and he refused to say, There is no god but Allah.”
   (Bukhari, Book of Funerals; Book 23, ch. 81; vol. i, p. 511)

   “Abu Bakr said: O messenger of Allah, what is salvation? The Holy Prophet said: He who accepts the Kalima which I put before my uncle [Abu Talib], but which he rejected, that is the means of salvation.”
   (Mishkat al-Masabih, Book of Faith, ch. 1, sec. 3)

4. “Anas reported that the Holy Prophet said: There is no one who testifies truly from his heart that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, but Allah prohibits for him the fire of hell.”
   (Mishkat al-Masabih, Book of Faith, ch. 1, sec. 1)

5. “It is reported from Abu Huraira that the Prophet, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, sent riders towards Najd. They brought a man of the Bani Hanifa, whose name was Sumama Ibn Usal, and tied him to one of the pillars of the mosque. Then the Holy Prophet came out to him and said: Untie Sumama. The man went to a date-tree close to the mosque, had a bath, came back into the mosque, and said: I testify that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger.”
   (Bukhari, Book of Prayer; Book 8, ch. 75; vol. i, p. 243)

6. Abu Zarr related: “I said to him [Holy Prophet]: Present Islam to me. So when he presented it, I became a Muslim there and then. He said to me: ‘Abu Zarr! Keep this matter a secret, and return to your land. When you hear of our triumph, then come.’ I said: ‘By Him Who sent you with the truth, I shall shout about this to them.’ So he [Abu Zarr] went to the mosque, and the Quraish were there. He said: O people of Quraish! I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.”
   (Bukhari, Kitab al-Manaqib; Book 61, ch. 9; vol. ii, p. 335)

7. In the well-known story of the conversion of Umar to Islam, given in Shibli’s famous biography of the Holy Prophet Seerat an-nabi, it is related that when Umar became convinced of the truth of the Quran, he declared his conversion to Islam by crying out: “I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”
   (Seerat an-Nabi, vol. i, pp. 225-226)

8. When Abdullah Ibn Salam heard of the arrival of the Holy Prophet in Madina, he went to see him and said: “I want to ask you three things which only prophets know about.” The Holy Prophet answered his questions. The account then runs:

   “He [Abdullah] said: I testify that you are the messenger of Allah. He then said: O messenger of Allah! the Jews are a people who slander; if they find out about my becoming a Muslim before you ask them about me, they will slander me. So when the Jews came, Abdullah went inside the house. The messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: What sort of a man is your Abdullah Ibn Salam? They said: He is our most learned scholar, son of the most learned one, and he is the best of us, son of the best one. The Holy Prophet said: What if you see that he has become a Muslim? They said: May God save him from this! Then Abdullah came to them and said: I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. They said: He is the worst one of us, son of the worst one. And they began to deprecate him.”
   (Bukhari, Book of Prophets; Book 60, ch. 1; vol. ii, p. 253)

9. “It is related from Abu Salama that his mother had expressed a dying wish that a Muslim slave-girl should be freed on her behalf. So he asked the Holy Prophet about it and wondered if he should set free a black slave-girl from the city of Nobiyya whom he owned. The Holy Prophet said: Bring her here. When she came, he said to her: Who is your Lord? She said: Allah. He said: Who am I? She said: The messenger of Allah. He said: Go and free her, she is a believer.”
   (Tarjuman al-Sunna, vol. ii, p. 128)

10. Abu Huraira related that he asked the Holy Prophet to pray for the guidance of his mother. He prayed: O Allah! grant guidance to Abu Huraira’s mother. Abu Huraira then relates:

    “I then left, being pleased because of the prayer of the messenger of Allah, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him. When I approached the door of my house, it was closed. My mother, hearing the sound of my footsteps, called out: Stay where you are, Abu Huraira. I could hear the sound of splashing water. She had a bath, put on her upper garment, and hurried with the head-covering. Then she opened the door and said: O Abu Huraira! I testify that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. I rushed back to the messenger of Allah, shedding tears of joy. He praised Allah, and spoke well of her.”
    (Muslim, Book of Virtues, vol. vi, pp. 163-164)

11. “Baraida Ibn al-Hasib related that one day they were sitting with the Holy Prophet when he said to his companions: Let us go and visit our sick Jewish neighbour. So when the Holy Prophet went in to see him, he found him near to death. He asked him how he was, and then said to him: Testify that there is no god but Allah, and that I am the messenger of Allah. The Jew looked at his father, who did not speak. [The Holy Prophet then repeated his question]. The father said: Testify to it. So the boy said: I testify that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. The Holy Prophet said: Praise be to Allah Who, through me, saved this man from the fire of hell.”
    (Bukhari, Book of Funerals. See also Mishkat, kitab-ul-fitn, ch. Names of the Holy Prophet, Sec. 3, see v. 3, pp. 134-135)

12. While the Holy Prophet was asleep under a tree, a desert Arab came upon him with a sword. The account continues:

    “He [the bedouin] said: Who can save you from me now? The Holy Prophet said: Allah. The sword fell from his hand. The Holy Prophet picked it up and said: Who can save you from me now? The man said: Be a better wielder of the sword [the meaning is: Forgive me]. The Holy Prophet said: Do you testify that there is no god but Allah and that I am the messenger of Allah? He said: No, but I promise that I shall not fight you nor side with those who fight you. So the Holy Prophet let him go.”
    (Mishkat al-Masabih, ch. Reliance on God and Patience, Sec. 3)

13. A man came to the Holy Prophet while a battle was going on. He said: Shall I first fight the unbelievers and then become a Muslim, or first become a Muslim and then fight? The Holy Prophet said: Become a Muslim first, then fight. The man said: I testify that there is no god but Allah, and that you are His servant and messenger. He then went and fought until he was killed.
    (Tuhfat al-Akhyar, p. 394)

14. Adi Ibn Hatim, a Companion of the Holy Prophet, related: The Holy Prophet, seeing me, said: Adi, why do you run from la ilaha ill-Allah [There is no god but Allah]? Is there anyone other than Allah worthy of being worshipped? Why do you refrain from saying Allahu Akbur? Is there anyone greater than Allah? These words made such an impression upon me that I immediately recited the Kalima and became a Muslim.
    (Tafsir Ibn Kasir, Urdu, under verse 1:5)

1.3: Muslim authorities on ‘Who is a Muslim’

1. Abu Bakr

When Abu Bakr became the first Caliph, he wrote a letter to certain apostate tribes, explaining how he became a Muslim:

“I praise the true God, besides whom there is none to be worshipped. I declare that Allah is One, without partner, and Muhammad is His servant and messenger. We affirm the message of Allah which he brought us. He who denies it, is a kafir.”
(Tarikh Tabari, Urdu translation, vol. i, part iv, p. 38)

2. How apostate tribe became Muslim

When the tribe of Abdul Qais became apostate upon the death of the Holy Prophet, one member of this tribe gathered them and brought them back to Islam. He announced:

“Muhammad has died, as did the previous prophets die. I declare that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.”

His tribe said:

“We too testify that there is no god but Allah, and certainly Muhammad is His servant and messenger.”

3. Imam Ghazali (d. 1111 C.E.)

Ghazali, one of Islam’s greatest philosophers, wrote:

1. “He who says, ‘There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger’, with the tongue but does not confirm it in his heart, there is no doubt that in the Hereafter he shall be included among the unbelievers, and shall enter hell. But there is also no doubt that, so far as affairs of this world are concerned, the religious and secular authorities shall include him among the Muslims because it is not known what is in his heart, and we are obliged to accept what is on his tongue.”
   (Ihya al-Ulum, p. 97)

2. In his biography of Ghazali, Maulana Shibi writes:

   “What were Islamic doctrines according to Ghazali? The principle of Islam is only two sentences: There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. However, in explaining the details of these, differences arose and many sects sprang up.”
   (Al-Ghazali by Shibli, p. 102)

4. Imam Ibn Taimiyya (d. 1327 C.E.)

The Imam, an eminent theologian, considered as the mujaddid of his time, writes:

“The proof of someone’s Islam should be based upon something which can be known to all alike. If this had been determined by the knowledge possessed by the messenger of God, then all the hypocrites would have been included in the disbelievers. If they had been killed on this basis, they would have got an opportunity to discredit Islam by saying that the Holy Prophet killed his own friends. Hence, the mere confession of the Kalima by tongue was made the criterion of embracing Islam, and the commencement and the end of war against disbelievers was made dependent on just this Kalima.”
(Kitab-ul-Iman, p. 172 as referred to in Tarjuman al-Sunna, footnote, vol. i, p. 471, Delhi, 1948)

5. Shah Wali-ullah of Delhi (d. 1763 C.E.)

Shah Wali-ullah, a world-renowned Indian Muslim scholar, theologian and philosopher, acknowledged by all Muslims of India and Pakistan today, wrote:

“When the commandments were formalised by the Shari‘ah, the word iman (faith) came to be applied to the ‘two testimonies’, and the word kufr (unbelief) to the denial of these two. Bearing this terminology in mind, we can say that iman is to acknowledge with the tongue, and kufr is to deny these two with the tongue.”
(Al-Khair al-Kasir, p. 440, published in Karachi)

6. Another view from Shah Wali-ullah

“The Holy Prophet has described faith as being of two kinds. One is that upon which depend the commands relating to this world, such as the sanctity of life and property, and which is to do with matters of outward obedience. The Holy Prophet Muhammad has said: ‘I am commanded to fight people till they testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger, say prayers and give in charity; and when they do this, they have security of life and property from me.’ And as to inward disbelief, Allah will call them to account for that. The Holy Prophet said: ‘He who prays our prayer, takes our qibla for his qibla, and eats our slaughtered meat, he is a Muslim for whom is the covenant [of protection] of Allah and His messenger; so do not violate the covenant of Allah.’ And the Holy Prophet said: ‘Three things are the basis of our faith: he who says the Kalima with his tongue, do not call him kafir, for any sin, nor expel him from Islam for any misconduct’.”
(Hujjat-ullah al-Baligha, vol. i, ch. The second type of belief, p. 322)

7. Imam Raghib’s Mufradat

In the standard dictionary of the Holy Quran, the Mufradat of Imam Raghib, Islam is defined as follows:

“According to the Shari‘ah, there are two grades of [a person’s commitment to] Islam. One [extent of professing] Islam is below the level of faith, and that is confession with the tongue and reciting the Kalima. That assures protection of life. In this case, the question of the correctness of belief does not arise. The Quranic verse pointing to this grade of Islam is: ‘The desert Arabs say, We have faith. Tell them, You do not have faith, you should just say we are Muslims.’

“The other grade of Islam is that which is above the level of faith, and that is that, besides professing the Kalima with the tongue, there should be faith in the heart and the person should show fidelity in practice and submit to the decrees of God. This grade of Islam is referred to in the following mention of Abraham: ‘When his Lord said to him, submit, he said, I submit to the Lord of the worlds.’ And it is referred to in the following: ‘Surely the religion with God is Islam’.”
(Mufradat of Raghib)

8. Lisan al-Hukam

The author of the classical Lisan al-Hukam wrote:

“It is written that if an atheist, or an idol worshipper, or one who believes in gods besides the One God, were to merely say, There is no god but Allah, he enters Islam. Or if he were to say, I believe Muhammad to be the messenger of God, he enters Islam. This is because the deniers of Islam refrain from saying these two formulae. Hence if he were to declare even one of these two commandments, he would be taken out of the category called non-Muslim, and would be considered as a Muslim.”
(Lisan al-Hukam, p. 204)

9. Imam Shafi‘i

Shafi‘i, founder of one of the four schools of jurisprudence in Sunni Islam, related the following:

“It was reported to Umar, the second Caliph, regarding a certain man that he was not a believer at heart, but merely a Muslim in the outward sense. Umar asked him: ‘Is it not true that you are only outwardly a Muslim, and not really a Muslim, and your only reason for embracing Islam is to gain Islamic rights?’ He asked Umar: ‘Sir, does Islam deprive those people of their rights who follow Islam only in the outward sense, and does it leave no way for them?’ Umar said: ‘Islam has left a way for them’, and then said nothing further.”
(Kitab al-Um, vol. vi, p. 154)

10. Sharh Fiqh Akbar

In this authoritative work of Islamic law, Imam Abu Mansur writes:

“He who wishes to be from among the community of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, must say with his tongue, There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and affirm its meaning in his heart. He is then a Muslim, even though he may not know about the duties and prohibitions.”
(p. 34 of the edition published by Da’irat al-Mu‘arif of Egypt)

11. Sayyid Muhammad Ismail Shaheed (d. 1831 C.E.)

This famous Muslim religious and military leader of North-West India converted two Sikhs to Islam as follows. The account is taken from his biography by the well-known modern writer Abul Hasan Ali Nadawi.

“During his stay in Panjtar, two Sikh spies came to meet Shah Ismail Shaheed. He asked them the reason for their coming. They said that they had come only to meet him. He said: ‘You are our guests, stay as long as you like.’ After about ten days, they said one day: ‘Sir, we have stayed with you for so many days, listened to what you say, and we find you to exceed what we had heard from people regarding your praiseworthy qualities and likeable morals. We much admire your way and religion and we would like you to instruct us in it.’ The Sayyid was very pleased, and immediately got them to recite the Kalima and become Muslims.”
(Jab Iman ki Bahar A’ee, Lucknow, India, 1974, pp. 139-140)

12. The Preaching of Islam

This is a renowned history book giving an accurate account of the spread of Islam, written in the late nineteenth century by the eminent orientalist Sir Thomas Arnold. It is much popular in the Muslim world, and is available in Urdu as Da‘wat-i Islam. The author quotes a reply written by the Shaikh al-Islam of Constantinople in 1888 to an enquirer who wanted to become a Muslim. The reply said:

“In reality, the basis of Islam is that one should believe God to be one, and believe in the apostleship of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. That is, one should believe this in the heart, and profess it in words such as those of the Kalima: There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger. Any person professing this Kalima becomes a Muslim, without having to obtain anyone’s approval. If, as you have written in your letter, you accept the Kalima, i.e. you confess that there is only one God, and Muhammad is His messenger, you are a Muslim, and you do not need our approval.”
(Da‘wat-i Islam, edition published in Karachi, 1979, Appendix iv, p. 350)

13. ‘Roman Princes embrace Islam’

In Dawat-i Islam, under the above heading it is recorded:

“To embrace Islam, all that was required was to confess the Kalima: There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”
(ibid., pp. 143-144; see also The Preaching of Islam, English edition, reprinted by Renaissance Publishing House, Delhi, 1984, p. 160)

14. ‘Simplicity of embracing Islam’

In the same work it is written:

“The most important of all the reasons for the success of the propagation of Islam is the simplicity of the Kalima of Islam: There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. These are the only two points which a convert to Islam must profess. It is not found anywhere in the history of the theology of Islam that the Ulama of Islam devised some complicated and intricate formulation, in place of this clear Kalima, for the guidance of the masses.”
(ibid., p. 319; see also The Preaching of Islam, op. cit., p. 413)

15. Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (d. 1943)

This famous theologian, a leading Deoband scholar of early this century, related:

“I once went to Jaunpur at the request of a butcher, and stayed as his guest. There I received a letter containing a poem, saying four things about me. ... The third one was: ‘You are a kafir’. ... I need not say anything about this third point because I do not have to discuss the past state as to whether I was a kafir or a Muslim. At this time I recite the Kalima in front of everyone: I testify that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. So now I am a Muslim.”
(Majalis Hakim al-Ummat, compiled by Maulavi Mufti Muhammad Shafi, one-time Head Mufti of Pakistan, published by Darul Isha‘at, Karachi, 1974, pp. 196, 197)

16. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (d. 1958)

He was a Muslim theologian, scholar and author of this century in India, who also held high political and ministerial posts in the republic of India. In his well-known Urdu commentary of the Quran, he writes:

“Here we draw attention to just one thing. What Islam has made as the basic expression of its teaching is known to everyone — Ashhadu an la ilaha ill Allah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammad-an abdu-hu wa rasulu-hu. That is, I confess that there is none to be worshipped besides God and I confess that Muhammad is the servant of God and His messenger.”
(Tarjuman al-Quran, Delhi, 1931, vol. i, p. 119)

17. Maulana Shibli (d. 1914)

Shibli, a renowned Indian Muslim scholar, writer and historian of Islam, wrote in his book on theology and philosophy:

“The principles that form the basis of Islam are Tauheed [belief in the Unity of God] and Nubuwwah [belief in the prophethood of the Holy Prophet Muhammad]. Whoever said La ilaha ill-Allah, he entered the garden [of Islam]. This is Islam — simple, clear and short. This simplicity is Islam’s mark of distinction as compared to other religions, and a European scholar has expressed his opinion about this simplicity in the following words: If a Christian thinker will cast a look at the lengthy and complicated beliefs of his religion, he will exclaim, Why could not my religion be so clear and simple that I could be a believer by declaring [something as simple as] belief in one God and His messenger Muhammad. In fact, these were the only two statements by reciting which, and by expressing belief in which, a kafir became a Muslim, a wicked became a righteous, a vicious one became auspicious, and a reprobate became a chosen one.”
(Ilm-ul-kalam aur Al-kalam, Karachi, 1976, p. 273)

18. Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani

This modern theologian writes:

“The word Muslim means only that one included in it claims to belong to Islam, and reads the holy Kalima: There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”
(Khutbat Sadarat, p. 15)

19. Qari Muhammad Tayyib

The head of the Jami‘a Qasimiyya, Darul ‘Ulum, Deoband, India, wrote:

“Hence, in introducing a convert into Islam, he can be required to recite the Kalima Tayyiba or the Kalima Shahada. In either case, he shall enter Islam.”
(Kalima Tayyiba, Deoband, 1369 A.H., p. 66)

20. Maulavi Muhammad Yusuf Banori

The Shaikh al-hadith (chief scholar of Hadith) at the Jami‘a Islamiyya in Dabhail, writes:

“It is regrettable to know that today a new trouble is rearing its head in an astonishing manner. That is, the Kalima of Islam, There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger, which is the basic tenet of the Islamic religion and the line of demarcation between unbelief and Islam, is now the subject of debate.”
(ibid., pp. 2-3)

21. Dr Sir Muhammad Iqbal (d. 1938 C.E.)

This great poet-philosopher of Muslim India, and a national hero of Pakistan, writes:

“Once, under the influence of some spiritual urge, the Holy Prophet Muhammad told one of his companions: ‘Go and tell people that whoever in his life even once says with his tongue, there is no god but Allah, he should know that he shall enter paradise.’ The Holy Prophet purposely omitted the second constituent of the Kalima, i.e. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, without professing which a person cannot be a Muslim, and he considered just the confession of the Unity of God to be sufficient.”
(Khilafat Islamia, Lahore, 1923, pp. 9-10)

22. Sayyid Abul Ala Maudoodi (d. 1979 C.E.)

Maulana Maudoodi is the best known religious leader of Pakistan, and founder of the powerful Jama‘at-i Islami political party.

1. In a compilation of his sermons, he wrote:

   “Brothers-in-Islam! You know that a man enters the pale of Islam by reciting a certain sentence. And even that sentence is not very long but a few words: There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. Expressing these words by tongue, a person changes altogether. He was a kafir, and is now a Muslim. He was impure and is now pure.”
   (Khutbut-i Maudoodi, Pathankot, India, 1940, p. 24)

2. “In these hadith, the Holy Prophet has explained the constitutional law of Islam. And that is that when a person professes the unity of God and the apostleship of the Holy Prophet, he enters the fold of Islam and becomes a citizen of the Islamic state. As to whether he is a true believer or not, only God can judge that. We are not permitted to judge it because of the [Holy Prophet’s] words: ‘I have not been commanded to cut open people’s hearts and search their inner selves.’ Security of life and property is established by the mere confession of unity and apostleship.”
   (Tafhimat, Pathankot, India, 1942, p. 164)

3. “Every person knows that the confession of the oneness of God (tauhid) and the prophethood of the Holy Prophet (risalat) is given the name faith (Iman). If a person confesses this, the legal requirement to enter the pale of Islam is fulfilled, and he deserves to be treated as one of the Muslims.”
   (Tahrik Islam Ki Ikhlaqi Bunyaden, i.e. Moral basis of the Islamic Movement, p. 39)

23. Ghulam Ahmad Pervez

This well-known present-day Pakistani Muslim thinker, author, and founder of the institute Idara Tulu‘-i-Islam, writes in his Urdu commentary of the Holy Quran:

“It has been made essential that every person who wishes to enter this order [Islam] should affirm two points. One is la ilaha ill-Allah — I testify that there is none except Allah to bow to. Secondly, ash-hadu anna Muhammad-an abdu-hu wa rasuluh — Muhammad, who takes the central place in this order, is the servant and messenger of Allah.”
(Mu‘arif al-Quran, vol. iv, p. 613)

24. Chaudhary Afzal Haque

The President of the Ahrar Muslim political movement in India before partition writes:

“Whatever degree of knowledge one has about Islam, one should convey that to non-Muslims. One should not think that one has only little knowledge. The knowledge of Islam is only a few words, by understanding which a person enters Islam. Besides Allah there is none worthy of worship — no jinn, man, tomb or cemetery — and Muhammad is the apostle of Allah. By just this, the doors of righteousness open for man, the polluted became pure, and the wicked became good.”
(Khutbut Ahrar, Lahore, 1944, p. 61)

25. Daily Azad, organ of the Ahrar:

“As long as a person strictly adheres to the two basic principles of Islam, i.e. tauhid and risalat [oneness of God, and prophethood of Muhammad], no cleric or priest can expel him from the pale of Islam, regardless of how erroneous and misguided that person’s views about the interpretation of the Quran and the Shari‘ah may be.”
(23 May 1952)

26. Sayyid Abu Zarr Bukhari

Son of the well-known Ata-Ullah Shah Bukhari, and head of the committee of the Ahrar, said in an interview:

“We believe it to be wrong to use our positions of issuing religious verdicts in order to unlawfully expel a person from the fold of Islam. No one has the right to call kafir those people who are claiming with their own tongues to be Muslims.”
(Daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Lahore, 12 March 1969, front page)

27. Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi (a leader of the Jama‘at Islami):

“The basis of Islam is the Kalima: There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”
(Haqiqat-i Shirk, preface, p. 5)

28. Dr Israr Ahmad

He is a well-known scholar of the Holy Quran in Pakistan who frequently writes on Islam in the newspapers. He writes:

“Only that person in this world will be called a Muslim who professes with the tongue and expresses the Kalima Shahadat.”
(Nabi Akram sey hamaray taluqaat ki bunyadain, Lahore, 1978, p. 6)

29. Muhammad Rafiq, M.A., M.Ed., Cadet College, Kohat, Pakistan:

“17 — What is the Kalima Tayyiba?

“Answer — In the Kalima Tayyiba, a person professes with his tongue, and affirms with his heart, the unity of God and the apostleship of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, and he joins the brotherhood of Islam. The Kalima Tayyiba is: La ilaha ill-Allah, Muhammad-ur Rasul Allah, i.e. he says that there is none to be worshipped except Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”
(Iman-o-‘Amal, Lahore, 1968, pp. 19-20)

30. Mr Qadir-ud-Din, ex-chief Justice, West Pakistan High Court

He said in a newspaper interview:

“It is fortunate that all sects are united upon God, Muhammad, the Quran and worship. This is the basis of the faith. Because of this, the definition of Muslim given from the very beginning is that it is he who affirms with the tongue, and the heart and soul, that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. In the time of the Holy Prophet himself, this was the very sign of a Muslim, and by accepting this Kalima from the heart, and affirming with the tongue, the greatest unbeliever became a Muslim.”
(Daily Jang, Karachi, 16 May 1976)

1. Islam and Contemporary Society — Islamic Council of Europe

This is a collection of papers by various present-day Muslim scholars, published in 1982 by the Islamic Council of Europe (Longman Publishers, London). The article Islam and the Pillars of its Faith by Dr Ebrahim El-Khouly (pp. 47-61) begins as follows:

“By this expression Islam is visualised as a building borne on five pillars. The primary pillar is testification to the unity of God, which is the foundation and source of Islamic principles, values, provisions and systems that direct society and all affairs in life. Other pillars surround this basic centre point: Prayer ... Community wealth tax (Zakah) ... fasting ... the pilgrimage ... All five pillars stand on the firm foundation of God being the Lord of all creation, and men being His servants.” (p. 47)

“The choice of the word Shahada (testification) to express belief in God and the prophethood of Muhammad means that the believer must declare his belief, just as a witness declares his testimony. Concealing a testimony in worldly matters is sinful: concealing the Shahada deprives a person of being regarded as a Muslim until he declares it.” (p. 49)

2. Islam, its meaning and message — Khurshid Ahmad

This book is edited by Khurshid Ahmad, who was at the time of publication Director-General of the Islamic Foundation, Leicester, England. He has often spoken out against the Ahmadiyya Movement, and was a witness against us in this court case. Writing in the second chapter, Islam: Basic Principles and Characteristics, Khurshid Ahmad says:

“A man joins the faith of Islam by honestly believing in and professing faith in the unity of God and the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him). Both these beliefs are epitomised in the Kalima:
La ilaha ill-Allahu Muhammad-ur Rasul-ullah (‘There is no god except Allah, Muhammad is His prophet’).
“The first part of this Kalima presents the concept of Tawhid (unity of God) and its second part affirms the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him).”
(Islam, its meaning and message, Islamic Foundation, Leicester, England, 1975, page 29)

1.4: Holy Prophet on Practical Signs of a Muslim

In the Holy Prophet Muhammad’s life-time, when Islam started spreading fast, there was sometimes doubt as to whether a certain convert was sincere in his profession of Islam or not. The Holy Prophet, therefore, taught his followers that if they find some particular characteristic in a person’s behaviour (e.g. Muslim manner of prayer, saying assalamu alaikum as greeting), they should take him to be a Muslim. Below we quote hadith which show Muslims how to tell a Muslim by his actions.

1. Abu Huraira reported that a man came and questioned the Prophet. He said: “O Muhammad, inform me what is Islam?” The Prophet said: “Islam is that you should worship Allah alone and do not associate anyone with Him, keep up prayer, give in charity (Zakaat), perform the Pilgrimage (Hajj) to Makka and fast during Ramadaan.”

   He asked, “If I do all this, will I become a Muslim?” The Prophet said: “Yes.”
   (Sunan Nasa’i, vol. iii, p. 366 of edition used)

2. Umar related that the Angel Gabriel came to the Holy Prophet and said: “O Muhammad, tell me what Islam is?” The Holy Prophet said:

   “Islam is that you testify that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, and keep up prayer, give in charity (Zakaat), fast in Ramadaan, and perform the Pilgrimage (Hajj) if you are able to.”
   (Muslim, Book of Faith, p. 76 of edition used)

3. “A man said to Ibn Umar: Why do you not do jihad? He said: I heard the messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say, Islam is based on five things: Testifying that there is no god but Allah, keeping up prayer, giving in charity, the Pilgrimage, and fasting in Ramadaan.”
   (Muslim, Book of Faith, vol. i, p. 93)

4. Anas related that a man came to the Holy Prophet and said: “Your emissary came to us, and said that you claim that Allah has sent you.” The Holy Prophet replied: “He spoke the truth.” He said: “The emissary asserted that five daily prayers have been made obligatory for us.” The Holy Prophet replied: “He spoke the truth.” The man said: “Has Allah commanded you this?” The Holy Prophet said “Yes.” [The man then questioned the Holy Prophet about charity, fasting and Pilgrimage, in the same way]. The man then turned to go, saying: “By Him Who sent you, I shall do no more or less than this.” The Holy Prophet said: “If he spoke the truth, he shall enter paradise.”
   (Muslim, Book of Faith, vol. i, pp. 86-87)

5. The Holy Prophet said: “Whoever says prayers as we do, and faces our Qibla, and eats the meat slaughtered by us, he is a Muslim, for whom is the covenant of God and the covenant of the messenger of God, so violate not the covenant of God.”
   (Bukhari, Book of Prayer; Book 8, ch. 28; vol. i, p. 222)

6. The Holy Prophet said: “Whoever testifies that there is no god but Allah, and faces our Qibla, and prays as we pray, and eats the meat slaughtered by us, he is a Muslim who has the rights of a Muslim and the duties of a Muslim.”
   (Bukhari, Book of Prayer; ibid.)

7. Not only in books of Hadith accepted by the Ahl Sunna, but also in the collections accepted by the Shiahs a very similar definition of a Muslim is given. Ali, the fourth Caliph, announced during his rule:

   “He who faces our Qibla, and eats the meat slaughtered by us, and believes in our Prophet, and testifies our testimony [i.e. the Kalima], and enters our religion, we shall apply to him the law of the Quran and the Islamic limitations, and no such person shall be superior to another one [in rights].”
   (Faruh Kafi, vol. iii, Book of rejection, p. 166)

8. A man spoke very impertinently to the Holy Prophet. The account continues:

   “Khalid Ibn Walid said: O messenger of Allah, shall I strike off his neck? The Holy Prophet said: No, maybe he says his prayers [i.e. is a Muslim]. Khalid said: Many performers of prayer there are who say with their tongues that which is not in their hearts. The Holy Prophet said: I have not been commanded to open out people’s hearts and cut open their insides [to see what is their intention].”
   (Bukhari, Book of Expeditions; Book 64, ch. 63; vol. ii, p. 657)

9. “Usama related: The Holy Prophet sent us on an expedition against the Huraqa. We attacked them in the morning and defeated them. I and a man from among the Ansar found one of their men. When we surrounded him he said: There is no god but Allah. The Ansari stopped at this, but I hit the man with my spear till I killed him. When we returned and this news reached the Holy Prophet, he said: Usama, you killed him after he said, ‘There is no god but Allah?’ I said: He was trying to save his life. But the Holy Prophet kept on repeating this till I began to wish that I had not become a Muslim before that day.”
   (Bukhari, Book of Expeditions, ch. The sending of Usama to the Huraqa; Book 64, ch. 47)

   This shows that a recital of the Kalima is sufficient for a person to be regarded as a Muslim. The Holy Prophet’s repetition of his reprimand, even after Usama’s explanation, shows that even if there is reason to suspect that a person is insincere in his profession of the Kalima, he is still to be regarded as a Muslim.

10. “Ibn Abbas related that a man of the Banu Sulaim tribe passed by a party of the Companions of the Holy Prophet [on an expedition], and he had his goats with him. He offered salaam [assalamu alaikum] to them. ... They said, He has offered salaam to save himself. So they stopped and killed him, and took his goats. They brought these to the Holy Prophet, so Allah revealed: ‘O you who believe! When you go forth [to fight] in the way of Allah, make investigations, and do not say to anyone who offers you assalamu alaikum, You are not a believer’.”
    (Tirmizi, ch. Tafsir al-Quran under Sura 4; see Arabic-Urdu edition of Maulana Badi-uz-Zaman, Muhammad Ali publisher, Karachi, vol. ii, p. 416; see also Bukhari, Book of Commentary on the Quran; Book 65, ch. 18 under Sura 4; vol. ii, p. 764)

1.5: The Prohibition of Takfir

Takfir or the condemnation of a Muslim by another Muslim as a kafir is strictly prohibited in the Quran, the Hadith, and the writings of many eminent Muslim authorities.

According to the Quran, if a person says assalamu alaikum to us to indicate that he is a Muslim, we cannot say to him “you are not a believer.” (4:94)

The second thing we learn from this verse is that if, from among a non-Muslim people, a person addresses us by assalamu alaikum, that is sufficient proof that he is a Muslim. When such incidents took place during the Holy Prophet’s life-time, sometimes it was suspected by some Muslims that such a person was not sincere. But the Holy Prophet would say to them: “Did you tear open his heart to see what was in it?”

Thirdly, the verse cited above goes on to say: “You yourselves were like this before.” That is, you too embraced Islam in this way, so what was sufficient for you is sufficient for them.

1. “Ibn Umar related that the Holy Prophet said: If a Muslim calls another kafir, then if he is a kafir let it be so; otherwise, he [the caller] is himself a kafir.”
   (Abu Dawud, Book of Sunna, edition published by Quran Mahal, Karachi, vol. iii, p. 484)

2. “Abu Zarr reported that the Holy Prophet said: No man accuses another man of being a sinner, or of being a kafir, but it reflects back on him if the other is not as he called him.”
   (Bukhari, Book of Ethics; Book 78, ch. 44)

   The teaching contained in these hadith is meant to stop Muslims from dubbing each other as sinners and kafirs.

3. “Withhold [your tongues] from those who say ‘There is no god but Allah’ — do not call them kafir. Whoever calls a reciter of ‘There is no god but Allah’ as a kafir, is nearer to being a kafir himself.”
   (Tabarani, reported from Ibn Umar)

4. “Call not the people of your Qibla [i.e. those who face the Ka‘ba in Makka for prayer] as kafir.”
   (Al-Nihaya of Ibn Athir, vol. iv, p. 187)

5. “Nothing expels a man from faith except the denial of that by which he entered into it [i.e. the Kalima].”
   (Majma‘ az-Zawa’id, vol. i, p. 43)

6. “Three things are the basis of faith. [One is] to withhold from one who says ‘There is no god but Allah’ — do not call him kafir for any sin, nor expel him from Islam for any misconduct.”
   (Abu Dawud, Book of Jihad, 15:33)

7. “Whoever attributes kufr [unbelief] to a believer, he is like his murderer.”
   (Tirmizi, ch. Iman (Faith); see Arabic-Urdu edition cited earlier, vol. ii, p. 213. See also Bukhari, Book of Ethics; Book 78, ch. 44)

Takfir of Muslims is also prohibited in the standard, classical works of Islamic law (fiqh) and creed (‘aqa’id) accepted by the Ahl as-Sunna.

1. “And among the doctrines of the Ahl as-Sunna is that none of the people of the Qibla can be called kafir.”
   (Sharh ‘Aqa’id Nasfi, p. 121)

2. Regarding Imam Abu Hanifa, the founder of the Hanafi system of Islamic law, which has more followers than any other system in Islam, it is written:

   1. “He did not call as kafir anyone from among the people of the Qibla.”
      (Sharh Mawaqif, fifth part)

   2. He said: “Nothing expels a man from faith except the denial of that which made him enter it.”
      (Rad al-Mukhtar, vol. iii, p. 310)

3. “It is extremely serious to expel a Muslim from the faith.”
   (Sharh Shifa, vol. ii, p. 500)

4. “A ruling of takfir against a Muslim should not be given if it is possible to interpret his words in a favourable manner.”
   (Rad al-Mukhtar, Book of Jihad, ch. on Apostasy)

5. “As for statements of takfir found in books of rulings (fatwa), these are not proof if the authors are unknown and the arguments are missing, because in matters of faith, beliefs depend on conclusive proof, and the takfir of a Muslim is attended with troubles of all sorts.”
   (Sharh Fiqh Akbar, by Mulla Ali Qari)

6. Allama Sayyid Jalal-ud-Din wrote:

   “The takfir of people of the Qibla is itself an act of unbelief.”
   (Dala’il al-Masa’il)

7. Ibn Abu Hamra, a saint, wrote:

   “It has already been stated that the rule of the Ahl Sunna is that they do not call kafir, or consider as going to hell eternally, anyone who is of the people of the Qibla.”

8. “The Imams have made it clear that if there is any ground for not issuing takfir, a ruling of takfir should not be made, even if that ground is weak.”
   (Raf al-ishtiba ‘an ‘ibarat al-ishtiba, p. 4, published in Egypt)

9. “Some prejudiced persons from the Asharis call the Hanbalis as kafir, and some Hanbalis call the Asharis as kafir. But their calling each other kafir is not right because the belief of the trustworthy Imams of the Hanafis, Shafi‘is, Hanbalis, and the Asharis, is that none of the people of the Qibla can be called a kafir.”
   (Miftah Dar as-Sa‘ada wa Misbak as-Sayyida, vol. i, p. 46)

10. “The generality of the theologians and the jurists are agreed that none of the people of the Qibla can be called a kafir.”
    (Al-Mawaqif, printed in Cairo, p. 600)

11. The famous eighteenth century saint of Delhi, Khawaja Mir Dard (d. 1785 C.E.), wrote:

    “We do not call kafir anyone of the people of the Qibla, even though he may be following falsehood or novel beliefs in most matters, because the acceptance of the oneness of God, and the affirmation of the prophethood of Muhammad, and the turning to the Qibla, do not expel them from faith as such. So he would be of those who follow later inventions and falsehood from among the Muslims. The Holy Prophet said: ‘Withhold in the matter of the people of the Qibla, that you do not call them kafir’.”
    (‘Ilm al-Kitab, p. 75)

1. Mulla Ali Qari in Sharh Fiqh Akbar

“They say regarding the issue of kufr that if there are ninety-nine reasons for considering someone as kafir, and only one reason against it, the mufti and the judge is bound to act according to that one reason for negating the kufr.”
(p. 146)

2. Sayyid Muhammad Abidin

“If there are many reasons in any matter for the application of kufr [considering someone as kafir], and one reason for its negation, the judge must incline towards the reason which negates takfir, giving the Muslim the benefit of the doubt.”
(Sil al-Hisan al-Hindi, p. 45)

3. Husain Ahmad Madani

This well-known Deobandi theologian of this century has written in his autobiography Naqsh-i Hayat:

“All great scholars are unanimous in holding that if, out of hundred ingredients of the belief of some Muslim, ninety-nine are those of unbelief, and merely one of true Islamic faith, it is not allowed to call him kafir, nor does his life or property become violable. In fact, Hazrat Gangohi [a founder of Deoband religious school] clearly states in his Anwar al-Qulub that the saying of the jurists about ninety-nine grounds does not set a limit, and that if 999 out of a thousand points in the belief of a Muslim are unbelief (kufr) and only one is true belief, even then he cannot be called kafir.”
(Naqsh-i Hayat, Bait-ut-Tauhid, Karachi, 1953, vol. i. p. 126)

4. Sayyid Abul Ala Maudoodi (d. 1979)

He wrote in his well-known journal Tarjuman al-Quran:

“The aim of these injunctions is that there should be as much caution in calling a Muslim kafir as there is in pronouncing a death sentence against someone. In fact, this matter is even more serious because by killing a person there is no risk of one becoming a kafir, but this risk does exist if one calls a Muslim kafir if that man is not really a kafir. Should there even be an iota of Islamic belief in that man’s heart, the slander of kufr shall reflect back upon the accuser. Hence, he who has fear of God in his heart, and has some realisation of the great danger of being involved in kufr, shall never dare call a Muslim kafir until he has carried out a thorough enquiry and fully ascertained that such a person was a kafir. There is so much caution in this regard that if there is a man whose conduct clearly shows insincerity, and whose condition is openly showing that he is not a Muslim at heart, if even he recites the Kalima with his tongue, it is not allowed to call him kafir and treat him as a kafir.”
(Tarjuman al-Quran, issue for month of Jumadi al-Awwal, 1355 A.H., circa 1936, vol. viii, p. 5)

1.6: A Mu’awwil cannot be called Kafir

(A mu’awwil is a person who places an interpretation on some words of the Quran, or on a religious injunction, which is different from the commonly-accepted interpretation).

1. Imam Razi

This great classical commentator of the Quran writes in his renowned commentary:

“Those who interpret differently cannot be called kafir.”
(Tafsir Kabir, Part I, p. 172)

2. Imam Shafi‘i (d. 820)

One of the four great founders of Islamic jurisprudence, he said:

“I do not call kafir those who, by error, interpret differently from the obvious meaning.”
(Shawahid al-Haq by Shaikh Yusuf Ibn Ismail, p. 125)

3. Imam Shaukani

“The ulama are agreed that he who denies the ordinary meaning, and resorts to interpretation, cannot be called kafir, or a sinner.”

4. Allama Ibn Hajar

Commenting on the internecine warfare between two groups of the Companions of the Holy Prophet during the reign of the fourth Caliph, he said:

“The Companions cannot be expelled from Islam due to this fighting. Both groups are equal in this. There is no sin or defect in either one of them because we have shown that each of the two did an interpretation [of a Quranic command] such that neither interpretation could definitely be called wrong.”
(Al-Asaleeb al-Badia by Shaikh Yusuf ibn Ismail, p. 68)

5. Abdul Wahhab Shi‘rani

He wrote as follows:

1. “Some ulama have dared call the mu’awwil as kafir, but the majority are opposed to this ruling.”
   (Al-Yawaqit wal-Jawahir, Part II, p. 111)

2. “The argument of those who say that the mu’awwils cannot be called kafir is that because they have recited the Kalima, ‘There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah’, their honour, life and property are protected, and we do not find any evidence that an error of interpretation amounts to kufr.” (ibid.)

3. “Abul Mahasin al-Rawayani and other ulama of Baghdad say that no one belonging to the religion of Islam can be called kafir because the Holy Prophet has said that he who says prayers as we do, and faces our Qibla, and eats our slaughtered meat, he has the same rights and obligations as we do.” (ibid., p. 112)