The shahada has two parts: that there is no deity but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. The first part is the oldest message in scripture. This page sets the Islamic texts first, then the passages in the earlier scriptures that say the same thing in their own words.
What it is in Islam
The Quran states the testimony, and the Prophet (ﷺ) made it the first thing a person is called to.
“Allah witnesses that there is no deity except Him, and [so do] the angels and those of knowledge - [that He is] maintaining [creation] in justice. There is no deity except Him, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.”
“So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women. And Allah knows of your movement and your resting place.”
“Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”
“Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: Islam is based on (the following) five (principles): 1. To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ). 2. To offer the (compulsory congregational) prayers dutifully and perfectly. 3. To pay Zakat (i.e. obligatory charity) . 4. To perform Hajj. (i.e. Pilgrimage to Mecca) 5. To observe fast during the month of Ramadan.”
Narrated by Ibn Umar. English as shown on sunnah.com.
“Invite the people to testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and I am Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ), and if they obey you to do so”
The Prophet (ﷺ) sends Mu‘adh to Yemen and tells him to begin with this testimony. Narrated by Ibn Abbas. English as shown on sunnah.com.
“It is narrated on the authority of ‘Uthman that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said. He who died knowing (fully well) that there is no god but Allah entered Paradise.”
Narrated by Uthman. English as shown on sunnah.com.
In the earlier scriptures
Passages are the King James Version unless marked otherwise. Each carries a tag: a close parallel, a shared principle, or an interpretation (Muslim or traditional), which is a reading we offer as a reading and not as a proven fact.
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:”
The Shema, the central line of the Torah’s creed. It is the same claim as the first half of the shahada: one God and no other.
“I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:”
God speaks in the first person and rules out any other.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
The first of the Ten Commandments. The Quran gives the same command to every messenger (21:25).
“Hear, O Yishraʾel: Shema our God is one Shema. And you shall love Shema your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”
Translation by Florentin and Tal (Open Book Publishers, 2024). The translation writes the divine name as “Shema”, the Samaritan way of saying “the Name”.
The Samaritan Torah has the same Shema. Here the line reads “our God is one”, with the divine name in place of the LORD.
“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:”
Jesus is asked which commandment is first. He answers with Deuteronomy 6:4, which makes the Shema the first commandment on his own lips.
“And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:”
A scribe agrees with Jesus and puts it in his own words.
“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”
Jesus turns a title of praise back to God alone.
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
Jesus calls the Father “the only true God” and speaks of himself as sent. Muslims read this as the shape of the shahada: one God, and a messenger he sent.
Interpretation: Christians read this verse inside the doctrine of the Trinity. We offer it only as a shared pattern of words, not as agreement on who Jesus is.
Where this page stands: the Hebrew Bible, the Samaritan Torah and the Gospels agree with the first half of the shahada in plain words. The second half, the messengership of Muhammad (ﷺ), is not in these passages, and we do not pretend it is.
Where the scriptures differ
Some passages in the Gospels are read by Christians as teaching that Jesus is God or the Son in a divine sense. Islam rejects that reading. We show the passage as Christians read it, then the Quran’s own words.
“I and my Father are one.”
Many Christians read “I and my Father are one” as teaching that Jesus is God. Islam does not read it that way. The Quran gives his own words as the command to worship God alone.
“Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. … I said not to them except what You commanded me - to worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord.”
Allah questions Jesus on the Day of Judgment, and Jesus answers.
“Say, ‘He is Allah, [who is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, Nor is there to Him any equivalent.’”
“The Messiah, son of Mary, was not but a messenger; [other] messengers have passed on before him. And his mother was a supporter of truth. They both used to eat food. Look how We make clear to them the signs; then look how they are deluded.”
Sources
Quran (Sahih International, via api.alquran.cloud; links go to quran.com)
Hadith (English from sunnah.com)
Hebrew Bible and New Testament (King James Version, text via bible-api.com; links go to BibleGateway)
Samaritan Pentateuch