Do I Need to Repeat My Shahada If I Felt Unsure of Faith in Islam for a Brief Period?
Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Question
Out of frustration, I said I don’t believe in Allah and he doesn’t exist, and I stopped praying for a little while, etc. I started praying again after a few weeks. However, I am unsure if I said my shahada – is this something I need to do something about?
Answer
May Allah make our faith and submission to Him firm.
No, you don’t need to repeat the shahada formally. It’s part of the prayer, so your faith was automatically affirmed when you prayed.
You should, however, be very careful about repeating what you did. Your frustration, whether caused by not getting something you wanted or things not going your way, is understandable. Sometimes, the tests we face are complex. However, remember that Allah is more generous than anyone.
If things don’t go your way or what you sought doesn’t come, Allah’s generosity indicates that things didn’t go your way because your benefit lies in not getting what you want. Imagine getting what you desired and causing your entire life to collapse, to the point you wish that thing had never come.
Allah knows more than we do, and His wisdom is infinite. Trust that He has your best interest in mind. That is where the submission comes from, the Believer.
The consequences of disbelief are severe indeed, and there is nothing in this entire universe worth risking death without faith and submission to Allah.
May Allah grant us the perspective that roots our faith and submission to him in the ground of certainty. Amin.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.
