Continuation of the explanation of the hadith of 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with him): ( .

The Shaykh : The Lord and the God: The Lord is the Creator of mankind and the entire universe, and the Nurturer of them, so He is the Lord of all the worlds. But the God is this Lord who is not worshipped alongside anyone else. So, if one believes that the Lord is the Creator of these heavens, that is a correct belief, like the one who believes in the Messenger that he is a Prophet. But this belief is not sufficient; it is necessary to add to his belief that Allah is the Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the belief that He is the God who is worshipped in truth, and that no one else is worshipped in truth. Therefore, the statement here that they should say "La ilaha illa Allah" means that they should believe that this Creator Lord is the only one who deserves worship, and no one else. So, the meaning of this phrase in brief, "La ilaha illa Allah," is: there is no worshipped entity in truth in existence except Allah. It does not mean "there is no Lord," i.e., no Creator only, because that is not sufficient. Just as it is not sufficient to say "Muhammad is a Prophet," but one must add to that "and Messenger." Likewise, it is not sufficient to believe that Allah is the Lord, but one must add to that that no one deserves worship except this Lord. Here the difference between tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and shirk (associating partners with Allah) becomes apparent, and the reason for the disbelief of the first polytheists becomes clear to you. The news about them came in the Noble Qur'an that when it was said to them "La ilaha illa Allah," they would become arrogant. It was the nature and belief of the polytheists that they denied this word. When "La ilaha illa Allah" was said, they would become arrogant. This is because they were Arabs and understood that the meaning of this word is the invalidation of the other deities they used to worship besides Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), at a time when they believed that the Creator, the Lord, the Nurturer is One . So they unified Allah in Lordship; they did not believe that there is a Creator with Allah. No, they were monotheists in Lordship, but in divinity, in godhood, and in servitude—these are words with the same meaning—they were polytheists. They believed that the Creator is One, but they worshipped other deities with Him. Therefore, they objected to the Messenger (peace be upon him) when he called them to say "La ilaha illa Allah," as mentioned in the previous verse: "And when it is said to them, 'La ilaha illa Allah,' they become arrogant." That is, they were arrogant about saying this word while believing in what it contains. So, if a Muslim says this word, understanding its meaning and believing in it, he is saved from eternal abode in the Fire, and his outcome and end is that he will enter Paradise . As for the one who does not understand this word and does not distinguish between "there is no Lord except Allah" and "there is no God except Allah," he is in ignorance of it like the polytheists, or worse. Because the polytheists knew the meaning of this word, considering that their language was still pure Arabic, but despite this knowledge, they did not acknowledge this correct meaning, because that would require them to disbelieve in the other deities. Therefore, He (the Exalted) said: They did not say, "Shall we make the Lord one Lord?" because they believed with the Messenger that the Lord is One, i.e., the Creator and Nurturer is One. But they were surprised and astonished by the Messenger's call to them to acknowledge that there is no God, i.e., no worshipped entity in truth in this existence, except that Lord in whom they believed. So they did not respond to him and said: . For this reason, when death approached his uncle Abu Talib, the Messenger (peace be upon him) came at the last moment of his uncle Abu Talib's life to convey to him the call of Islam, the testimony that there is no God but Allah, out of mercy for him and hope for his faith, so that perhaps he might be saved from the punishment of his Lord and eternal abode in the Fire on the Day of Resurrection. So he came to him and said to him: . And the elders of Quraysh were around him, and they were forbidding him to respond to the call of his nephew Muhammad (may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him). So the last word his uncle Abu Talib said while in the presence of death was: "If not for the fact that my people would mock me for it, I would have pleased your eye with it." Why did he not say "La ilaha illa Allah"? Because saying it negates the other false deities. These people knew this truth. As for the Muslims today, unfortunately, they do not know the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah." If they knew it, they would truly believe in it, and that would require them to deny deeds that are disbelief itself, in which many Muslims fall due to their ignorance of this good word, "La ilaha illa Allah." There is no harm in explaining this somewhat, given the importance of the topic. The Muslim who is struck by a calamity and goes to the grave of a Prophet or a wali (close friend of Allah) and asks him to remove the distress and resolve the difficulty, asking and seeking aid from that dead man—this one who does this deed has not first known the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah," and if he knew it, he did not believe in it. Because the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah" is: there is no worshipped entity in truth besides Him (Glorified and Exalted is He). And the calling of a Muslim to other than Allah in hardships, to remove calamities, to heal illness, to expand in provision—these requests are all worship of that one called upon besides Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). Therefore, we read in every rak'ah (unit of prayer) of our prayers: , meaning, You alone we worship, no one else we worship with You, and You alone we seek help, meaning, with You alone we seek help in matters that no one else can do. If you asked these Muslim people who claim to come to the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous and ask them for provision, if you asked them, "Can these people provide anything?" they would answer frankly, "No." "Can they benefit or harm?" They would say, "No." So why do you call upon them besides Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He)? Your doing this is exactly the doing of the first polytheists who used to call upon the deities besides Allah, and in their calling upon these deities, they worshipped them besides Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Therefore, He (the Exalted) said: , , . So these dead do not hear your supplication, so why do you call upon them? And even if they heard your supplication, they could not respond to you, because you are calling upon them for something that if they were alive, they could not achieve for you. So, by this calling, you have worshipped them besides Allah. Most Muslims today, unfortunately, are ignorant that the meaning of calling upon the deceased besides Allah is worship of that dead person besides Allah. They are ignorant of this truth, despite the saying of the Messenger (peace be upon him): , . So when you or the one who says, "O Baaz, help me," he has called upon him besides Allah and asked him for aid which he does not possess. If he possessed it, he would not have heard you, nor could he respond to you, and so on. So, your calling upon the dead is worship of him, and your worship of him is disbelief in "La ilaha illa Allah," because the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah" is: there is no worshipped entity in truth. So you have worshipped this dead person, and of course, this worship is not in truth, because true worship is that which is directed to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). This is a short word about explaining the meaning of this good word, "La ilaha illa Allah," and what it necessitates of sincerity in the worship of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and that a person should not worship anything else with Allah. If he worships it, he has made it a god, and if he makes it a god, he disbelieves in the meaning of this negation and affirmation: "La ilaha" absolutely except Allah alone, who has no partner. So, "La ilaha" means there is no worshipped entity in truth, and it does not mean "there is no Lord," because this second meaning, "there is no Lord," is a correct meaning but it is deficient, just as if you said "Muhammad is a Prophet," the meaning is correct but it is deficient. So one must pair with that "Prophet and Messenger." Likewise, "Lord of the worlds" (Blessed and Exalted is He), "there is no Lord besides Him," i.e., no Creator with Him, this is correct. But this is not the entirety of tawhid (the oneness of Allah); rather, one must add to that that this Lord is not worshipped alongside anyone else, not made a god alongside anyone else. This is the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah." Perhaps we have been able to clarify this, but this good word is the only refuge for the salvation of the servant in this world from eternal punishment in the Hereafter. So, whoever does not say it, understanding its meaning and realizing this meaning in his life's path, is among the polytheists about whom Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said that He does not forgive them . Therefore, we believe that the most important obligatory duty for the callers to Islam in the present age is to explain the creed of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) before anything else, before any reform, before any reform we want to achieve in the hearts of people. Before all these things is making the Muslims understand the meaning of this good word, "La ilaha illa Allah." Otherwise, our efforts, our endeavors, and our calls will be like the wind. Because if we produce, through our call, a person who is the most worshipful of people in our time, but he does not understand the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah," and rather, due to his ignorance of it, he disbelieves in it without knowing or feeling it—if we produce such a person, the most worshipful but ignorant of the meaning of this good word, we will not have done anything with him. Because the address is directed to him and to everyone who is like him in His (Mighty and Majestic) saying: . Therefore, every call today among Muslims is not...