What is the validity of interpreting "La ilaha illa Allah" as "There is no sovereignty but Allah's" and "There is no law but His"?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Is it correct to interpret the word of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), "La ilaha illa Allah," as "There is no sovereignty but Allah's," or "There is no sovereignty and no law except from Allah, and no one has authority over another, for all authority belongs to Allah," or "There is no partner for Him in creation and choice"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allah. "La ilaha illa Allah" has been explained by the scholars of knowledge in a way that we do not need to interpret it as "sovereignty." The interpretation of the later sects is not correct. "La ilaha illa Allah" means "There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah." "There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah" is the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah." As for sovereignty, it is a part of worship, not the interpretation of "La ilaha illa Allah" itself, but rather a part of its interpretation, included in servitude. This is because making what Allah has legislated the standard is worship of Allah, included in servitude. However, it is not the entire meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah," but only a part of it. "La ilaha illa Allah" encompasses all types of worship.
All types of worship are included in "La ilaha illa Allah." As He the Exalted and Majestic is He said:[Al-Anbya 21:25] So, [O Muhammad], worship [Him] and be among those who prostrate [in worship]. So the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah" is "There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah the Exalted and Majestic is He." Yes.
Is it correct to interpret the word of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), "La ilaha illa Allah," as "There is no sovereignty but Allah's," or "There is no sovereignty and no law except from Allah, and no one has authority over another, for all authority belongs to Allah," or "There is no partner for Him in creation and choice"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allah. "La ilaha illa Allah" has been explained by the scholars of knowledge in a way that we do not need to interpret it as "sovereignty." The interpretation of the later sects is not correct. "La ilaha illa Allah" means "There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah." "There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah" is the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah." As for sovereignty, it is a part of worship, not the interpretation of "La ilaha illa Allah" itself, but rather a part of its interpretation, included in servitude. This is because making what Allah has legislated the standard is worship of Allah, included in servitude. However, it is not the entire meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah," but only a part of it. "La ilaha illa Allah" encompasses all types of worship.
All types of worship are included in "La ilaha illa Allah." As He the Exalted and Majestic is He said:
And We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, "There is no deity except Me, so worship Me."
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما صحة تفسير لا إله إلا الله بأنها لا حاكمية إلا الله ولا شريعة؟ #فتاوى الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.