Learn all six kalimas: the Arabic, how to say it, what it means and where its words come from. Tap Test me to memorise each one.
The word of purity
Lā ilāha illallāhu Muḥammadur rasūlullāh
There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Its two halves appear in the Quran: "there is no god except Allah" (37:35, 47:19) and "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah" (48:29).
The word of witness
Ashhadu al lā ilāha illallāhu waḥdahū lā sharīka lah, wa ashhadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhū wa rasūluh
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, without any partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger.
A testimony close to this closes the tashahhud in every prayer (Sahih al-Bukhari 831).
The word of glory
سُبْحَانَ اللّٰهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ وَلَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَاللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيْمِ
Subḥānallāhi wal-ḥamdu lillāhi wa lā ilāha illallāhu wallāhu akbar, wa lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāhil-ʿaliyyil-ʿaẓīm
Glory be to Allah, all praise is for Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest. There is no power and no strength except with Allah, the Most High, the Most Great.
The Prophet ﷺ said the four phrases subhanallah, alhamdulillah, la ilaha illallah and Allahu akbar are the most beloved words to Allah (Sahih Muslim 2137).
The word of oneness
لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ يُحْيِيْ وَيُمِيْتُ وَهُوَ حَيٌّ لَّا يَمُوْتُ أَبَدًا أَبَدًا ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ بِيَدِهِ الْخَيْرُ وَهُوَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ
Lā ilāha illallāhu waḥdahū lā sharīka lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-ḥamdu, yuḥyī wa yumītu, wa huwa ḥayyul lā yamūtu abadan abadā, dhul-jalāli wal-ikrām, biyadihil-khayr, wa huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr
There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner. His is the kingdom and His is the praise. He gives life and causes death, and He is Ever-Living and will never die. Owner of majesty and honour. In His hand is all good, and He has power over all things.
Much of it matches the dhikr the Prophet ﷺ taught for entering the market (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3428).
The word of seeking forgiveness
أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللّٰهَ رَبِّيْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ أَذْنَبْتُهُ عَمَدًا أَوْ خَطَأً سِرًّا أَوْ عَلَانِيَةً وَأَتُوْبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الذَّنْبِ الَّذِيْ أَعْلَمُ وَمِنَ الذَّنْبِ الَّذِيْ لَا أَعْلَمُ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوْبِ وَسَتَّارُ الْعُيُوْبِ وَغَفَّارُ الذُّنُوْبِ وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيْمِ
Astaghfirullāha rabbī min kulli dhambin adhnabtuhū ʿamadan aw khaṭaʾan, sirran aw ʿalāniyah, wa atūbu ilayhi minadh-dhambil-ladhī aʿlamu wa minadh-dhambil-ladhī lā aʿlam, innaka anta ʿallāmul-ghuyūbi wa sattārul-ʿuyūbi wa ghaffārudh-dhunūb, wa lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāhil-ʿaliyyil-ʿaẓīm
I seek forgiveness from Allah, my Lord, for every sin I have committed, on purpose or by mistake, in secret or in the open. I turn to Him in repentance from the sin I know and the sin I do not know. You are the Knower of the unseen, the Concealer of faults and the Forgiver of sins. There is no power and no strength except with Allah, the Most High, the Most Great.
The word of rejecting disbelief
اَللّٰهُمَّ إِنِّيْ أَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنْ أَنْ أُشْرِكَ بِكَ شَيْئًا وَّأَنَا أَعْلَمُ بِهٖ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُكَ لِمَا لَا أَعْلَمُ بِهٖ تُبْتُ عَنْهُ وَتَبَرَّأْتُ مِنَ الْكُفْرِ وَالشِّرْكِ وَالْكِذْبِ وَالْغِيْبَةِ وَالْبِدْعَةِ وَالنَّمِيْمَةِ وَالْفَوَاحِشِ وَالْبُهْتَانِ وَالْمَعَاصِيْ كُلِّهَا وَأَسْلَمْتُ وَأَقُوْلُ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ
Allāhumma innī aʿūdhu bika min an ushrika bika shayʾan wa ana aʿlamu bih, wa astaghfiruka limā lā aʿlamu bih, tubtu ʿanhu wa tabarraʾtu minal-kufri wash-shirki wal-kidhbi wal-ghībati wal-bidʿati wan-namīmati wal-fawāḥishi wal-buhtāni wal-maʿāṣī kullihā, wa aslamtu wa aqūlu lā ilāha illallāhu Muḥammadur rasūlullāh
O Allah, I seek refuge in You from knowingly associating anything with You, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I do not know. I repent from it, and I free myself from disbelief, associating partners with You, lying, backbiting, innovation, tale-carrying, indecency, slander and all sins. I submit, and I say: there is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
The opening line is close to a dua the Prophet ﷺ taught Abu Bakr against hidden shirk (al-Adab al-Mufrad 716).
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Guide
The six kalimas are short phrases of faith and remembrance that children in South Asia, and many converts worldwide, learn as the basics of Islam. "Kalima" means "word". Each one puts a core belief into words: the oneness of Allah, the message of the Prophet ﷺ, praise, seeking forgiveness and rejecting disbelief.
The set of six, with these names and in this order, is a teaching tradition from the Indian subcontinent, not a list found in one hadith. But the words themselves come from the Quran and the Sunnah. The first kalima joins two phrases of the Quran. The second is the testimony said in every prayer. The third and fourth are forms of dhikr the Prophet ﷺ praised. Learning them is a good way to learn these words, as long as no one claims the set itself was ordered by the Prophet ﷺ.
A person enters Islam by sincerely bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, believing it in the heart and saying it with the tongue. The exact wording of the second kalima is the most complete form, but any clear statement of the two testimonies is enough. Saying it in Arabic is not a condition for someone who cannot, and no witness or imam is required, though it is good to say it in front of others.1
Children usually learn the first two in a week, and all six in a month or two.
Our teachers will check the Arabic and transliteration on this page before launch. The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Questions
1. Kalima Tayyibah (purity), 2. Kalima Shahadah (witness), 3. Kalima Tamjeed (glory), 4. Kalima Tawheed (oneness), 5. Kalima Istighfar (seeking forgiveness), 6. Kalima Radd-e-Kufr (rejecting disbelief).
"There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." In Arabic: La ilaha illallahu Muhammadur rasulullah.
No. What every Muslim must know and believe is the testimony of faith, the first and second kalimas. The others are valuable dhikr and duas, and good to learn.
The words come from the Quran and hadith, but the set of six with these names is a teaching tradition from South Asia, not a single hadith.
The Shahada: "Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah", which is the core of the second kalima.