The Meaning of the Word of Tawhid

The Shaykh : The phrase "La ilaha illa Allah" does not mean what many of the elite, let alone the common people, imagine. It is a mistake to think that "La ilaha" means "there is no Lord." The meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah" is not "there is no Lord but Allah," but rather "there is no deity worthy of worship in existence but Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), the Creator of the heavens and the earth." The difference between the false interpretation and the correct one is like the difference between the sky and the earth, because one who says "there is no Lord but Allah" does not escape from shirk (associating partners with Allah). Therefore, the polytheists believed that there is no Lord but Allah, as stated explicitly in the previous verse: up to other verses. So, they believed that the Lord of the heavens is Allah (Mighty and Majestic). These polytheists, who believed that there is no Lord but Allah, were the same ones who would become arrogant when told "La ilaha illa Allah." This is the text of the Noble Qur'an: ; meaning: they do not say "La ilaha illa Allah." Why? They do not say "La ilaha illa Allah" while saying "there is no Lord but Allah." This is because, unfortunately for us today, the polytheists, due to their natural Arabic eloquence, distinguished between the statement "there is no Lord but Allah" and the statement "La ilaha illa Allah." But we today, due to our distance from pure Arabic, our mixing with non-Arabs, and the infiltration of polytheistic beliefs into our hearts and souls, have come to make no distinction between "there is no Lord" and "La ilaha." Indeed, we have found letters in the modern era that are composed and printed in the name of Islam and in the name of explaining the phrase "La ilaha illa Allah," which interpret this phrase as "La ilaha" meaning only "there is no Lord." Thus, "there is no Lord but Allah" does not save a Muslim from shirk. Rather, he is saved only if he first says "La ilaha illa Allah" and explains it, believing in its correct meaning, which is "there is no deity worthy of worship in existence but Allah." This correct interpretation expresses the correct creed in the heart of its speaker and reflects the reality of people today. Many people worship other deities alongside Allah. This was the state of the polytheists in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance (jahiliyyah); while they believed that there is no Lord but Allah, they took other deities alongside Allah. Therefore, Allah (the Exalted) said: This worship that the polytheists acknowledged for their deities, which they took besides Allah, is what Allah denied in His saying: These acts of worship directed to other than Allah, to false deities, are what the Muslim denies when he says "La ilaha illa Allah," "there is no deity worthy of worship in existence but Allah." He denies and affirms: he denies that worship is valid for anyone but Allah. He affirms the factual reality that there are acts of worship directed to deities, and he denies that these acts of worship directed to these deities are permissible; rather, they are invalid. The true worship is that which is directed to Allah alone, with no partner in it, ever. As you know, the types of worship are numerous and very many, and they are encompassed by the meaning of "ilah" (deity). The word "ilah" is derived from "ala" (to submit), meaning to submit, to submit. So, when Allah (Mighty and Majestic) obligated His servants to worship, it was a test from Him (Blessed and Exalted is He) for them, as He said: . So, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) tested them by making them submit through these acts of worship. Whoever submits to Him in them and worships Him alone, without associating other deities with Him, is the one who has fulfilled the right of "La ilaha illa Allah." If we know that the root of "ilah" is derived from "ala" (to submit), meaning to submit, to worship, then any act of worship by which a person turns to other than Allah (Mighty and Majestic) means that this other has become a partner with Allah. Not in the first rank, which is shirk in lordship, but in the second rank, which is shirk in worship.