A word containing the reality of the word of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), "La ilaha illa Allah"

The Shaykh : It is known from the methodology of their da'wah (calling) that they have completely turned away from caring about the first principle, or the most important of the three matters I mentioned earlier: 'aqidah (creed), 'ibadah (worship), and conduct. They have abandoned and turned away from rectifying what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) began with, and indeed what all the prophets began with, following the messengers, such as His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He: They do not concern themselves with this authentic principle, which is the first pillar of Islam, as is known to you all. This is the principle to which a messenger from the noble messengers called, namely Noah (peace be upon him), for nearly a thousand years, calling to tawhid (the oneness of Allah). You know that the previous laws did not contain the details of rulings regarding transactions and acts of worship that are known in our religion, because it is the final of the laws and religions. Nevertheless, he remained among his people for a thousand years except fifty years, as mentioned. So his concern was to make them understand tawhid from him. And yet, as you know from the Noble Qur'an, they turned away from his call: to the end of the verse. This indicates decisively that the most important thing for those who truly call to Islam is to focus on calling to tawhid (the oneness of Allah), because that is the meaning of His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He: Thus was the practice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), both in action and in teaching. As for his action, it does not require research, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in the Meccan period, his effort and call were mostly confined to calling them to worship Allah alone, with no partner. As for his teaching, you know the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) sent Mu'adh to Yemen, he said to him: The rest of the hadith is well known, if Allah wills. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered his companions to begin with what he began with, which is calling them to the testimony of tawhid (the oneness of Allah). There is no doubt that there is a very great difference between those Arab polytheists, in that they understood what was said to them in their language, and the Muslim Arabs today, who do not need to be called to say "La ilaha illa Allah," for they say it, however their schools, methods, and beliefs may differ. All of them say "La ilaha illa Allah." Therefore, the callers today do not need to call Muslims to utter this word, but in reality, they are in greater need than the Arabs of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance to understand the meaning of this good word. This is a very fundamental difference between the first Arabs, who, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) called them to say "La ilaha illa Allah," were arrogant, as is explicit in the Noble Qur'an. Why were they arrogant? Because they understood that the meaning of this word is that they should not take rivals alongside Allah, and that they should not worship anyone other than Allah. And they were worshipping others; they called upon other than Allah and sought aid from other than Allah, let alone seeking nearness to Allah through other than Him, let alone making vows to other than Him or slaughtering for other than Him. These are the known polytheistic, idolatrous means that they practiced. But they knew that among the implications of this good word, in terms of the Arabic language, is that one must disavow all these matters because they contradict the word "La ilaha illa Allah." As for the Muslims today who testify that there is no god but Allah, but they do not understand its meaning, or perhaps they understand it in a reversed, completely inverted way. As you all know, some of them wrote a treatise on the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah" and interpreted it with the meaning that the polytheists held, which they believed in: The polytheists believed that this universe has a Creator with no partner in that, but at the same time, they made rivals and partners for Allah in His worship. They believed that the Lord is One, but they believed that the objects of worship are many. Therefore, Allah the Exalted said in the well-known verse: So they knew that the one who says "La ilaha illa Allah" should disavow all worship other than the worship of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. As for the Muslims today, they have interpreted the good word as "There is no Lord but Allah." So if a Muslim says "La ilaha illa Allah" and means this meaning, "There is no Lord but Allah," he is the same as the polytheists in belief. As for the wording, he is a Muslim because he says "La ilaha illa Allah," unlike the polytheist who refuses to say "La ilaha illa Allah," so he is not a Muslim, neither outwardly nor inwardly. As for the masses of Muslims today, they are Muslims because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) says: Therefore, I say a word that may be rare from me, which is that the reality of Muslims today is worse than the state of the Arabs in terms of the bad understanding of this good word, because the Arabs understood but did not believe. As for the Muslims today, they say what they do not believe; they say "La ilaha illa Allah" while they disbelieve in its meaning. Therefore, I believe that the first duty of the Muslim callers is to revolve around this word and around explaining its meaning, by summarizing and then detailing the implications of this good word, which is sincerity to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in worship in all its types. Because when Allah, Mighty and Majestic, narrated about the polytheists: So any worship directed to other than Allah is disbelief in the good word "La ilaha illa Allah." For this reason, I say today that there is absolutely no benefit in gathering Muslims and assembling them while leaving them in their misguidance and their distance from understanding this good word. That does not benefit them in this world before the Hereafter. We all know the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): And in other hadiths: So it is not possible to guarantee entry into Paradise, even after a long time, or even after a punishment that befalls the one who says and believes the correct belief of this word. For this person may be punished based on the sins and transgressions he committed and earned, but his outcome will be entry into Paradise. And the opposite of that is the one who says this good word with his tongue, but faith has not entered his heart. That does not benefit him in the Hereafter; it may benefit him in this world by saving him from fighting and being killed, but in the Hereafter, it does not benefit him anything unless he says it understanding its meaning first and believing in this meaning. Because understanding and knowledge alone are not sufficient unless faith in this concept is accompanied by the understanding. This is a point that I think many people are unaware of: understanding does not necessitate faith. Both matters must be accompanied by each other for one to be a believer. This is because you know, if Allah wills, that many of the People of the Book, from the Jews and the Christians, knew that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was a truthful messenger in what he claimed of messengership and prophethood. But despite that, despite the knowledge that our Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, testified to them when He said: And despite that, this knowledge did not benefit them in anything. Why? Because they did not believe in what they knew of his claim of prophethood and messengership. And therefore.