``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.

``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)

 

``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)

 

``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)

``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)

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)

 

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)

 

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)

``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)

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)

``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)

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)

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)

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)