The shahadah

DanyalSAC

Junior Member
Asalaamu alaikum

I've been curious about a few things concerning the shahadah. I know nobody on this page is a shaykh but maybe we can discover a few answers together inshallah...

First: If a child is born to Muslim parents and strays, say in his or her teens they are influenced by their peers and stop praying, drink alcohol, etc. but then repent and return to the deen, do they have to take the shahadah? Or does the fact that they born and raised as Muslims mean its not required?

Secondly: This is something I've seen before, even here on this board...if a person converts to Islam and states the shahadah in public, but then later recants and goes back their previous beliefs and then a couple years later wants to re-embrace Islam, do they take the shahadah again? And if they do, are their sins "wiped out" again as they were the first time?

I have always been under the impression that once you've taken the shahadah you're a Muslim, and if you've fallen away and return you must make up the prayers you've missed, that there is no real "do overs". Am I right?
 

Hajjerr

He is Dhul-Jalali Wal-Ikram
salam aleikum wa rahmatulahy wa barakatuh

What i feel as a revert muslim, is that while you say and belive that there is no God but Allah and Mohammed, peace be upon him, is His messanger, you are muslim, but when you associate partners with Allah, by no means you are stille muslim, the words of sahada are not in your heart anymore...so how can they stille be available..

what i want to say is that not the words said in public or alone that make the difference, but if we belive or not in them, in the most important and precious teaching of islam...

may the brothers and sisters with more knowledge help you find your answer, inchallah

may Allah guide us all

:salam2:
 

inquizator

Junior Member
Alykum Salam

I can understand one falling away and drinking, drugging and garbage like that when they're young and dumb, but to recant the belief WOW, that's difficult for me to believe.

Once one knows the truth (Shahada) I find it difficult to understand recanting the Truth b/c there is but one single Truth....."There exists NO God but Allah(SWT) and Muhammad(pbum) IS the Messanger of Allah(SWT)"

I make Shahada every time I pray.

I have no idea if one's sins are forgiven when they revert and made Shahada in public or private.
If they couple anyone or anything with Allah(SWT) it's serious stuff and believe the only sin not forgiven.
Drinking or drugging is 100% falling away from the Straight Path but Allah(SWT) forgives whom he pleases.
As long as we're alive, there's still a chance.

Someone with more knowledge than me will have to answer your question.
I only have an opinion...sorry
 

Aapa

Mirajmom
Assalaam walaikum,

For question one if you are asking is there a formal ceremony. I do not know of such. For those who are born Muslim when they start to practice the faith there is no formal re-birth ( sorry for the word..I am trying to describe a process ).
The Believer enters the body of other Believers. There is no need to expose the sins. There is a need to be humble and actively repent. The asking for forgiveness..Istighfar and the repentance..Tawba is what is suggested.

And it is written in the Quran that a person can not go back and forth.“Those who disbelieve after their believing, then increase in disbelief, their repentance is not accepted, and these are they that go astray” (3:90).

We can not play games with our Creator. We have knowledge that we are accountable for ourselves.
 

sabina isa

Junior Member
:salam2:

One more detail in regards to the first question. It is said in Quran that we have given shahadah even before coming to life (7:172). Also prophet Muhammed s.a.w.s said that each and every one is born muslim in their natural birth (fitrah), it is family and society that makes them jews, christian or any other religion.
My thoughts, that is confirmed even by these pertaining religions that they have ceremonies to testify and confirm this hadith. Indeed society and family need a way of changing this fitrah, and they polish with names as "rebirth".
My one cent, muslim kids need not redeclare shahadah (we do this in every dua and prayer anyway), but repent and make up for their slips in the past.

We salam
 

DanyalSAC

Junior Member
Alykum Salam

I can understand one falling away and drinking, drugging and garbage like that when they're young and dumb, but to recant the belief WOW, that's difficult for me to believe.

Once one knows the truth (Shahada) I find it difficult to understand recanting the Truth b/c there is but one single Truth....."There exists NO God but Allah(SWT) and Muhammad(pbum) IS the Messanger of Allah(SWT)"

I make Shahada every time I pray.

I have no idea if one's sins are forgiven when they revert and made Shahada in public or private.
If they couple anyone or anything with Allah(SWT) it's serious stuff and believe the only sin not forgiven.
Drinking or drugging is 100% falling away from the Straight Path but Allah(SWT) forgives whom he pleases.
As long as we're alive, there's still a chance.

Someone with more knowledge than me will have to answer your question.
I only have an opinion...sorry

I was told that when a person takes shahadah the sins of their previous life were wiped away. Is this not true?
 

yasak80

Junior Member
Assalamu aleykum brother
If a person converted to islam All sins are erased inshaallah. and he starts his life equal to born muslim baby:) zero sin mashallah like a excepted hajji.

So convert people and born muslims are equal.

If a person drinks he is a still muslim. But he is a sinner ( fasik : sinner in a public)
if a person do not pray he is still muslim , but he is a sinner.

But there are some sins which makes people disbeliver. they are called KUFR or kufur
( and also shirk:Shirk means attributing partners to Allahu ta'ala)
( may Allah protect us........)

Whoever falls into disbelief, rewards of all of his acts of worship will become null and void. If he repents, they will not be returned. ( one of the kufr is rejecting one ayah of the Quran for example, may Allah protect us)
you can search it from your honest sources.

As you said there is no sheikh here...
we are trying and improving ourselves.

http://www.myreligionislam.com/detail.asp?Aid=6015
 

DanyalSAC

Junior Member
Basically the point I am trying to get across is this: I see many reverts who take shahadah, live as a Muslim for a bit and then decide to go back to their old lives.

Then, after a couple years, they take shahadah again because they think doing so again will wipe their sins away again. Its like a "get out of jail free" card, over and over. I disagree with this. I personally feel that if a person takes shahadah ONCE they are Muslim and if they recant - then return to Islam - they have to make up the prayers they deliberately skipped during their days of apostasy. That's how I look at it.

Case in point, on this very website someone posted that they had accepted Islam (had taken shahadah) and then turned away, but now they were ready to come back and was gong to take shahadah again. The replies from the TTI congregation were a bit surprising - everyone was cheering this person on and encouraging them to "take shahadah, do it now before its too late". They already HAD taken shahadah. I thought that this was a case of repentance, not "re-converting". The Catholics think they get wiped clean when they make confession once or twice a month. We have some Muslims who think the same thing if they just make shahadah over and over.

Am I making sense here?
 

Aapa

Mirajmom
Assalaam walaikum,

Is this what you are looking for:

Those who believe then disbelieve, then believe again, then disbelieve and then increase in their disbelief -God will never forgive them nor guide them to the path. (IV:137)
 
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