The Shaykh : For example, there is the hadith of Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), which means that he was riding behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him:
O Mu'adh, shall I not give you good news?
يا معاذ ألا أبشرك
He said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." He said:
Whoever dies while testifying that there is no god but Allah, Allah will protect his body from the Fire.
من مات وهو يشهد أن لا إله إلا الله حرم الله بدنه على النار He said... Mu'adh said, "O Messenger of Allah, should I not give the people good news?" He said:
No, lest they rely on it.
لا إذًا يتكلوا
"Should I not give the people good news? That whoever dies while testifying that there is no god but Allah, Allah will protect his body from the Fire. Should I not give them good news of the virtue of this testimony and this good word?" He said, "No," (peace and blessings be upon him). Why? Because when people know that this is the virtue of this word—that Allah protects the body of the one who says it and believes in it from the Fire—people will then rely on this word and not perform its obligations. This is part of the virtue of this word. Also, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, as al-Bazzar narrated in his Musnad, that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Narrated 'Urban bin Malik: who attended the Badr battle and was from the Ansar, that he came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have lost my eyesight and I lead my people in the prayer (as an Imam). When it rains, the valley which is between me and my people, flows with water, and then I cannot go to their mosque to lead them in the prayer. O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! I wish that you could come and pray in my house so that I may take it as a praying place. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah willing, I will do that." The next morning, soon after the sun had risen, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came with Abu Bakr. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked for the permission to enter and I admitted him. The Prophet (ﷺ) had not sat till he had entered the house and said to me, "Where do you like me to pray in your house?" I pointed at a place in my house whereupon he stood and said, "Allahu Akbar." We lined behind him and he prayed two rak`at and finished it with Taslim. We then requested him to stay for a special meal of Khazira which we had prepared. A large number of men from the adjoining area gathered in the house. One of them said, "Where is Malik bin Ad-Dukhshun?" Another man said, "He is a hypocrite and does not love Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet said, "Do not say so. Do you not think that he has said: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah," seeking Allah's pleasure? The man said, "Allah and His Apostle know better, but we have always seen him mixing with hypocrites and giving them advice." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah has forbidden the (Hell) Fire for those who testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, seeking Allah's pleasure. "
من قال لا إله إلا الله نفعته يوما من دهره It benefited him for a day of his lifetime.
نفعته يوما من دهره
Meaning that it was the cause of his deliverance from eternal punishment on the Day of Resurrection, even if he was a sinner and a transgressor. For if a Muslim testifies to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with oneness and to His Prophet with messengership, the completion of this testimony is to act according to what came in the Shari'ah: to forbid what Allah has forbidden, to permit what Allah has permitted, and to do what Allah has made obligatory. However, a person may fall short in some of these matters and thus deserve punishment on the Day of Resurrection. But this punishment, for the one who testifies this testimony, will end one day. Therefore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Narrated 'Urban bin Malik: who attended the Badr battle and was from the Ansar, that he came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have lost my eyesight and I lead my people in the prayer (as an Imam). When it rains, the valley which is between me and my people, flows with water, and then I cannot go to their mosque to lead them in the prayer. O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! I wish that you could come and pray in my house so that I may take it as a praying place. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah willing, I will do that." The next morning, soon after the sun had risen, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came with Abu Bakr. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked for the permission to enter and I admitted him. The Prophet (ﷺ) had not sat till he had entered the house and said to me, "Where do you like me to pray in your house?" I pointed at a place in my house whereupon he stood and said, "Allahu Akbar." We lined behind him and he prayed two rak`at and finished it with Taslim. We then requested him to stay for a special meal of Khazira which we had prepared. A large number of men from the adjoining area gathered in the house. One of them said, "Where is Malik bin Ad-Dukhshun?" Another man said, "He is a hypocrite and does not love Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet said, "Do not say so. Do you not think that he has said: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah," seeking Allah's pleasure? The man said, "Allah and His Apostle know better, but we have always seen him mixing with hypocrites and giving them advice." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah has forbidden the (Hell) Fire for those who testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, seeking Allah's pleasure. "
من قال لا إله إلا الله نفعته يوما من دهره Meaning that this word delivered him from eternal abode in the Fire, no matter what sins and disobediences he may have committed. But on the contrary, the one who says "La ilaha illa Allah" and is among the most worshipful, righteous, and God-fearing of Allah's servants, but does not understand the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah," or understands it but does not believe in it, or believes in it but nullifies it with things that contradict it, such as shirk (associating partners with Allah) and idolatry. This is what I want to clarify and remind our brothers present of, so that they first apply it to themselves, then convey it to their relatives, their wives and children, and to those who take refuge in them, such as their friends and neighbors.
