.................continued from part (12)
Obligations of the Syahadah
The acceptance and testimony of the syahadah in the true sense sets the Muslim duty-bound. The syahadah carries responsibility-tag with it, which the Muslim has to oblige. The obligation of the syahadah are as follows:
1. To utter the syahadah. As a statement of being a Muslim, the person has to utter the syahadah, or say it verbally. This obligation is well exemplified by a hadith narrated by Bukhari and Muslim stating that when Abu Talib, the uncle of the prophet s.a.w. who took care of his well being since childhood, was dying, the Prophet urged him to utter the kalimah:لا إله إلا الله
2. To have iman. Once the the two verses of the syahadah had been testified, they must be followed by iman, which is the unshakeable belief in the precepts of iman as laid down in part (7). The perfect iman must have the complete acceptance and submission in the heart, utterance of submission by the tongue and obedience on the injuctions by the deeds.
3. Perform the pillars of Islam. There is a hadith which says Islam is built on five tenets; the syahadah, the five daily prayers, fasting in the month of Ramadhan, zakat and haj. When the syahadah has already been uttered, the four remaining pillars will have to be erected. Therefore all Muslims must adhere to the task of performing the remaining four pillars.
...........to be continued
