The “Pillars of Islam” and the “Confession of Faith” (shahāda)

Would Muhammad himself have been prepared to condense Islam either into a brief phrase or into a creed? We have seen that apparently he did not desire to do so, either in the Kuran—though the elements of a simple creed are not lacking—or in his diplomatic documents, or, it seems, in his utterances. This is in accordance with his character. We may call him a Prophet, or a politician, or both; he was certainly no religious philosopher. Moreover, the change in his career brought about by the hidjra and its consequences, produced a change in his general attitude.