Rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's article Sunni Islam’s Real Shahadah.

Rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's article
Sunni Islam’s Real Shahadah

In this rebuttal of mine I will merely post the 'meat' of Shamoun's article which is relevant with the title of his article, not his red herrings.

He Wrote

Narrated 'Ubada:

The Prophet said, "If anyone TESTIFIES that None has the right to be worshipped but Allah Alone Who has no partners, and that Muhammad is His Slave and His Apostle, and that Jesus is Allah's Slave and His Apostle and His Word which He bestowed on Mary and a Spirit from Him, and that Paradise is true, and Hell is true, Allah will admit him into Paradise with the deeds which he had done even if those deeds were few." (Junada, the sub-narrator said, " 'Ubada added, 'Such a person can enter Paradise through any of its eight gates he likes.") (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 644 <http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/055.sbt.html>)

It is narrated on the authority of Ubadah b. t that the messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) observed: HE WHO SAID: "There is no god but Allah, He is One and there is no associate with Him, that Muhammad is his servant and His messenger, that Christ is servant and the son of His slave-girl and he (Christ) His word which He communicated to Mary and is His Spirit, that Paradise is a fact and Hell is a fact," Allah would make him (he who affirms these truths enter Paradise through any one of its eight doors which he would like. (Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Number 0043 <http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/001.smt.html>)

The foregoing shows that Sunni Islam’s REAL and COMPLETE Shahadah must include a profession of faith in Jesus’ special relationship to God, i.e. that every Muslim must bear witness, testify that Jesus is the servant of God, the Word of God, and the Spirit of God. It must also include a profession of belief in heaven and hell. In other words, Sunni Islam’s Shahadah would look something like this:

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.
I bear witness that Muhammad is his slave and messenger.
I bear witness that Jesus is his Servant, Word, Spirit, and the son of his slave-girl.
And I bear witness Paradise and Hell are true/real.

It is interesting to note that, according to Karen Armstrong, there even were certain Sufi Muslims whose Shahdahah didn't mention Muhammad, but Jesus!

The ulema were beginning to distinguish Islam sharply from other religions, seeing it as the one, true faith, but Sufis by and large remained true to the Koranic vision of the unity of all rightly guided religion. Jesus, for example, was revered by many Sufis as the prophet of the interior life. Some even amended the Shahadah, the profession of faith, to say: "There is no god but al-Lah and Jesus is His Messenger," which was technically correct but intentionally provocative. (Armstrong, A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam [First Ballantine Books Edition, September 1994], p. 225)

So Sunni Muslims, why are you hiding this piece of information from people, especially from those whom you seek to convert? And, in light of the various formulations of the Shahadah found within the Sunni collections of hadith, which one is the REAL testimony which a person is required to profess in order to become an orthodox Sunni Muslim?

My Response

Well I found the last part of Shamoun's article very funny indeed. Note how he accuses all Sunni Muslims of hiding this shahada, maybe Shamoun should change his profession now to a detective?

To begin with, the shahada is bearing witness that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger.

Secondly, Shamoun is very wrong when he says Sunni Muslims are hiding this piece of information. I myself have heard several shahadas in which the new convert pronounces the shahada which Shamoun brought up! Many Muslims confess that Jesus is just a servant, and Allah's word and spirit when taking the shahada so Shamoun is wrong, no one is hiding anything.

So now I ask Shamoun something, ' why did you just falsely accuse all Sunni Muslims of hiding the shahada you showed when in fact many pronounce it'? Shamoun must apologize for making a false statement like that, he should not be so quick in accusing others in the future or it will fall flat on his face again like it just did.

Thirdly, Shamoun exposes himself again. Shamoun claims Muslims are hiding this information yet he is quoting from Muslim websites!!!!!! He is quoting from one of the main english translated hadith websites, hillarious! So Sam is now guilty of intentionally lying, since how can Sunni Muslims be hiding this information when he is quoting a Sunni Muslim website? If the Sunni Muslims were hiding this information then how is he able to quote it? So Shamoun just exposed himself as a liar, typical missionary I must say.

I suggest that Shamoun chooses his words more carefully next time when he seeks to attack his counter-parts in case it backfires very badly. :)