by adding “Ali is the friend of God” (Ali wali Allah),
which affirms their belief in the preeminence of ali
ibn abi talib (d. 661) as their first imam, in addition
to their belief in God and his prophet. The shahada,
especially the first part, is frequently used by Sufis
in their dhikr rituals. It is also a frequent subject in
Islamic calligraphy, where it is drawn in a variety
of beautiful and elaborate styles. It is frequently dis-
played in Islamic buildings, especially in mosqUes
and shrines, but it may also be posted in homes
and businesses. amUlets and talismans designed to
insure God’s blessing and protection also make use
of the shahada.
The concept of witnessing in Islam encompasses
several additional aspects. In the Quran’s statements
about JUdgment day, evildoers will be condemned
on the testimonies of virtuous people who bear
witness against them (for example Q 4:41, 159).
Witnessing is also required by the sharia in certain
cases of civil and criminal law: financial transac-
tions, wills, divorce, and execution for adultery.
However, the most important meaning of shahada,
aside from being the first pillar of Islam, is that of
martyrdom. The idea of giving up one’s life for God
and religion is considered to be a form of bearing
“witness” to one’s faith. The Islamic concept was
influenced by early Christianity, in which the Greek
term martyr (witness) was used for Christians who
were tortured and killed by Roman authorities.
Martyrdom is a doctrine found in both Sunni and
Shii Islam, but it has achieved an especially rich
significance within tWelve-imam shiism.
See also adhan; crime and pUnishment; FUner-
ary ritUals; sUnnism.
Further reading: Constance Padwick, Muslim Devo-
tions: A Study of Prayer-Manuals in Common Use (Lon-
don: SPCK, 1961); Andrew Rippin, Muslims: Their
Religious Beliefs and Practices. 2d ed. (London: Rout-
ledge, 2001).
shahid See martyrdom.
shame See honor and shame.
Shamil (1786–1871) North Caucasus Muslim
resistance leader
Shamil was born around 1786 into a noble fam-
ily from the Avar people of southern Daghestan.
From the 1830s to 1859, Shamil was able to unite
many of the ethnically and linguistically diverse
peoples of the North Caucasus (areas now within
chechnya and Dagestan in Russia and northeast-
ern Azerbaijan) to fight against the encroaching
Russian Empire. Shamil was a religious, political,
and military leader. Under the banner of ghazawat
(the Caucasian variant of Jihad), Shamil and his
followers (murids) were able to inflict great dam-
age on and hold off the Russian army over the
course of a decades-long war, setting up a fledgling
Islamic state in areas under their control. Shamil’s
power derived as much from religious aUthority
as from military prowess, and he was able to con-
vert his religious authority, based as the leader of
the local naqshabandi sUFi order, into political
and military power by transforming the hierarchi-
cal religious structure of the Sufi brotherhood into
a political movement and state structure. Shamil
sought to implement strict adherence to Islamic
law, and he claimed to be chosen by God to lead
his people.
Shamil successfully employed guerrilla tactics
to keep the Russians at bay until the Russians
deployed nearly 500,000 troops and decimated
Shamil’s fighters and demoralized the local popula-
tion using scorched earth tactics. He surrendered
to the Russians in 1859, but he was uncharacter-
istically treated magnanimously and sent to live
in exile in the Russian city of Kaluga. After much
correspondence, he was allowed to make the pil-
grimage to mecca, and he died in 1871 in medina.
With Shamil’s surrender, the resistance to the Rus-
sians collapsed, only to flair up again whenever
Russian control was weak. To this day, Shamil is
held in great esteem by the population of the North
Caucasus, and his name and authority are evoked
by those leading the current fight in Chechnya.
See also central asia and the caUcasUs;
reneWal and reForm movement.
David ReevesShamil 619 J