section_path: Beliefs/Profession of faith (Shahada)
section_name: Profession of faith (Shahada)
paragraph_text: Profession of faith (Shahada)
  
  The Shīʿīte version of the Shahada (Arabic: الشهادة), the Islamic profession of faith, differs from that of the Sunnīs. The Sunnī version of the Shahada states La ilaha illallah, Muhammadun rasulullah (Arabic: لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ الله, lit. ' There is no god except God, Muhammad is the messenger of God '), but in addition to this declaration of faith Shīʿa Muslims add the phrase Ali-un-Waliullah (Arabic: علي ولي الله, lit. ' Ali is the guardian of God '). The basis for the Shīʿīte belief in ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as the Wali of God is derived from the Qur'anic verse 5:55.
  
  This additional phrase to the declaration of faith embodies the Shīʿīte emphasis on the inheritance of authority through Muhammad's family and lineage. The three clauses of the Shīʿīte version of the Shahada thus address the fundamental Islamic beliefs of Tawḥīd (Arabic: تَوْحِيد, lit. ' oneness of God '), Nubuwwah (Arabic: نبوة, lit. ' prophethood '), and Imamah (Arabic: إمامة, lit. ' Imamate or leadership ').