Continuation of the explanation of the hadith: (Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us the tashahhud in the need: (All praise is for Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls. Whoever Allah guides, none can mislead, and whom He misleads, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.) And three verses are recited. Narrated by Ahmad and the four, and al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim graded it as good.

The Shaykh : He says, "He taught them the tashahhud," to the end. This sermon and the sentence here, as you see, is affirmed by "in" (the particle of affirmation). Al-hamd (praise) is the description of the praised one in his entirety. The lam in "for Allah" indicates entitlement and exclusivity. As for its indicating entitlement, no one is entitled to praise in the first place except Allah (Mighty and Majestic). As for others, if they are praised, it is only derivatively, because everyone who does good to you does so by the command and permission of Allah, so their praise is derivative praise, not primary praise. As for the One who is entitled to praise, it is Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And as for exclusivity, considering absolute and complete praise, it is exclusive to whom? To Allah, because other than Allah may be praised for one thing and blamed for another. No one has absolute praise from every angle except Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
This sentence is either an affirmation of what came before it, or the intended meaning of the first sentence is the report, meaning: that Allah is entitled to praise and exclusive of it, and "we praise Him" is the innovation (creation of the act), meaning: that we praise Him by creating the praise for Him. So on the first possibility, the sentence is an affirmation of what came before it, and on the second possibility, the sentence is a new statement for a meaning other than the first meaning. The rule among the scholars of knowledge is that if speech revolves between establishment (creating a new meaning) and affirmation, establishment is preferred. Why, O Abdullah? Because establishment conveys a new meaning, and affirmation conveys nothing other than the first meaning except that it strengthens it only. And for this reason, one of the rules among them is that carrying the speech to establishment is preferred over carrying it to what? To affirmation. Good.
We ask Him for help with what? With all matters, especially in the specific matter for which this sermon was presented as a preamble. And so, for example: With what? With all matters, especially the worship that was linked with this sentence.
: We ask Him for forgiveness, and forgiveness is that Allah conceals your sin from the creation in this world and the Hereafter and overlooks it for you so He does not hold you accountable for it. So forgiveness is not completed except with these two things: concealing the sin, and secondly: overlooking it. And this is with regard to the root of the derivation, because forgiveness (maghfirah) is derived from the helmet (mighfar) which is what the head is covered with in battle. And in this helmet there is concealment and protection. So we seek His forgiveness; we ask Him for forgiveness for which sin? For all sins, for all sins, because sins are a cause of failure and difficulty of matters. And whoever adheres to seeking forgiveness, Allah makes for him a relief from every worry and an exit from every distress. Even to the point that sins are a cause of preventing the reaching of the correct judgment. Allah the Exalted said:
Some of the scholars said: This is an indication that sins prevent a person from the correct judgment, and that it is obligatory for a person when issuing a fatwa or judging between people to precede it with seeking forgiveness so that the effects of sins are removed from him. So here you ask for forgiveness, because Allah's forgiveness for you is a cause for the facilitation of your affairs, so it is seeking help and seeking forgiveness. And it is not in the hadith: "We seek His guidance," and it is not in it: "We repent to Him." But some people say "We seek His guidance" and say "We repent to Him." And if it is not mentioned in the hadith, it is not permissible to include it in it, because if a person wants to give an independent sermon, he does what he wishes and says what he wishes from what is not forbidden. But for him to focus on a specific sermon and include in it or insert in it what was not mentioned in it, this is a matter of consideration. And for this reason, there is no need for us to say: "We seek His guidance" or "We repent to Him," because that was not mentioned.
Good, he says: And the souls have evils and they have good things. And that is because Allah the Exalted placed in man a soul at rest, a soul that commands evil, and a soul that rebukes. And all of them are in the Qur'an:
These three souls are in the son of Adam, and he knows them by their effects. So the soul at rest commands you to good and forbids you from evil, and the soul that commands evil commands you to evil and wrongdoing. And as for the rebuking soul, it was said: The rebuking is a description suitable for both souls. And on this, it is not a third soul. So they say, for example: The rebuking soul rebukes you when you miss the evil, and the other rebuking soul rebukes you when you miss the good. So the first leans toward the soul that commands evil, and the second leans toward the soul at rest, and it is not a third soul. And this is not far-fetched. But the soul in which is the evil is the soul that commands evil. The evils of the soul include beginnings and ends. As for the beginnings, they are what comes to you of commanding obscenity and leaving the commanded things; these are beginnings. As for the ends, they are what results from these evils that your soul that commands evil commanded you to. The ends may be more severe in impact than the beginnings. And look at His saying, the Exalted:
So Allah the Exalted made the turning away of man from accepting the truth a result of what? Of preceding sins. And not all sins are also: .
Even to the point that some of the Salaf (may Allah have mercy on them), if they slept from the night prayer, would say: "I was not deprived of the night prayer except by a sin." Then they would renew repentance for themselves. Because they know that a person will not leave the acts of obedience or be in sins except as a result of preceding sins. So if a person draws near to Allah, Allah increases him in nearness and protects him from sins.
So the evils of the souls are divided into what? Beginnings and ends. So the beginnings are the sins that a person does, and the ends are the punishments of these sins. And all of them, without doubt, are evils whose cause is the soul.
Good, So if Allah wills the guidance of a person, people cannot mislead him ever. An example of that is: a deviant man, no sin is mentioned but he goes to it and commits it, so a breach occurred from him or a breach occurred in him from Allah. He wanted to turn to good, so the bad companions came to him saying: Why are you leaving what you are in? Why do you lean toward obedience? Why do you lean toward such and such? These people cannot do it. If Allah has willed his guidance, they cannot stop him or prevent him ever, no matter how they try, because Allah decreed his guidance. Likewise, the person who has already been guided, and Allah has willed that he continue on what he is on, no one can mislead him. So whoever Allah guides by decree and then actually, no one misleads him, so none can mislead him.
, Likewise, whoever is mislead by decree or actually, none can guide him. And the greatest example of that is Abu Talib, the uncle of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who had from him to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) great kindness and great defense. And with this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was not able to guide him, even at the last moment he said to him: But it was prevented between him and it, refuge in Allah, because Allah did not will his guidance. And whom Allah misleads, none can guide him.
Good, so if someone says: These two sentences may contain despair from calling the misguided to guidance, because a person may say: If Allah has willed the misguidance of these people, how can I try to guide them?
We said: This suspicion, meaning: that a person suspects that this is the indication of the two sentences, is wrong. Rather, the meaning is: that if you want guidance, do not seek it except from Allah. And that if you did what you were commanded of calling to good, but the one called did not benefit, then at that time you entrust the matter to whom? To Allah. And you say: If Allah had willed his guidance, he would have been guided. , And likewise: The intended meaning is: that we hold fast to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), so that no one misleads us.
He said: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah: The testimony, in its original sense, is from the things perceived by the senses, the things perceived by the senses that a person witnesses. However, it is sometimes used for what is known with certainty, as if it were witnessed. Otherwise, its original meaning is from what? From the things perceived by the senses. You say, "I witnessed the crescent moon," "I witnessed the sun," "I witnessed so-and-so doing such and such." But it is sometimes used for what is known with certainty, as if it were witnessed by the senses. So, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah" means: I affirm and confess with a certainty like that of one who sees with his own eyes that there is no god but Allah. The "la" here is a negator of the genus. The negator of the genus is a text of generality that does not allow the affirmation of the negated thing. So if we say: it does not allow the affirmation of a god other than Allah. And His saying "Ilah" (god) means: one who is worshipped. So it is a "fi'al" form meaning "maf'ul" (passive participle). This form is common in the Arabic language, for it is said: "ghiras" meaning "planted," "farash" meaning "spread out," and "bina'" meaning "built." So "fi'al" meaning "maf'ul" is common in the Arabic language. So the meaning of "Ilah" is: there is no one who is worshipped. And what is the meaning of "one who is worshipped"? It means the one whom the hearts accept with love and reverence. "Ta'lah" means they accept him, rely upon him, and submit to him with love and reverence .
Now, this is the meaning of "There is no god but Allah." If a person says: This testimony is contradicted by the senses, because there exist gods worshipped besides Allah: al-Lat, al-'Uzza, Manat, Hubal, and others. There are people who worship cows, seek blessing in their urine and dung, and forbid killing or slaughtering them, is that not so? There are people who worship the sun and worship the moon. How do we say: "There is no god but Allah," meaning there is no one worshipped but Allah?
We say: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has made it clear that these gods are false names without referents: only, and they are not referents. So al-Lat is not a god, even if you call her a god, because she does not provide sustenance, does not create, does not benefit, and does not harm. How can she be a god? Ibrahim said to his father: So this negation is true: that there is no god but Allah. If a person raises this objection to us, we say: These gods are false and they are nothing but names without referents, so divinity is negated for them.
Now, if someone says: We have learned in the rules of grammar that the negator of the genus "la" does not operate except with indefinite nouns. Is "Ilah" (god) an indefinite or a definite noun?
The student: It is an indefinite noun.

The Shaykh : It is an indefinite. I heard someone say it is a definite noun. Did you or did you not? Is "Ilah" a definite and an indefinite noun?
The student: It is a definite noun.

The Shaykh : A definite noun of which type of definite nouns?
The student: Definite by the article "al".

The Shaykh : Where is the "al" in "Ilah"? It does not have "al". If it had "al", it would become "al-Ilah"... It is a name, no doubt, but is it an indefinite or a definite noun? It is an indefinite. Now, Allah
The student: Definite.

The Shaykh : is the most definite of definite nouns. Did "la" operate on it? Some say: It operated on it, and they make "Allah" the predicate of "la", and they facilitate its operation on the definite noun here by separating it from the predicate with "illa" (except). And this separation prevents the construction. And some say: The predicate is omitted, the predicate is omitted, and "Allah" is a substitute for it. And that is because in the complete negated sentence, what is allowed? A substitute and the accusative case for exception. So it is permissible to say "La ilaha illa Allaha" (There is no god except Allah, in the accusative) and it is permissible to say "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god except Allah, in the nominative). So "Allah" here is a substitute, and that is the stronger opinion. The stronger opinion is that it is a substitute. So "Allah" is a substitute for the predicate, and the predicate is omitted. What is the implied meaning?
The student: Truth.

The Shaykh : Truth. And as for the one who implies "La ilah mawjud" (There is no existing god), that is an error. This is not correct because reality contradicts it, except for those who say with the unity of existence and that the entire universe is one thing. These people imply "mawjud" (existing). They say: "There is no existing god except Allah." Clear? So the correct, indeed the obligatory, implied meaning, meaning: the implied omitted word is what? Truth. Meaning: There is no true god except Allah.
Yes. I bear witness that Muhammad, meaning Muhammad? Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib, the Qurayshi, the Hashimite, His slave and His messenger. Slave of Allah and Messenger of Allah. So by the description of servitude, the right of lordship is negated for him, because he has no right of lordship at all. So much so that he rebuked a person who said: "What Allah wills, and what you will." He said: "Have you made me a rival to Allah?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said this, even though a person has a nature that prevents and repels (such a claim). And yet he said: So he is a slave. Indeed, he (peace and blessings be upon him) is the most firm of people in establishing servitude. He (peace and blessings be upon him), the truthful one, said: So he is the slave of Allah, and by this description, what is negated for him? The right of lordship. , meaning: the one sent to the creation, to the jinn and mankind (peace and blessings be upon him). And by this description, lying is negated for him. So he is a slave who is not worshipped, and a messenger who does not lie (peace and blessings be upon him).
Meaning: He recites three verses in this sermon. So when he reaches His saying: "His slave and His messenger," he recites the verses, which are His saying, the Exalted: in Surah Al-Imran He recites these three verses, then he speaks about the topic for which he preached.
In this sermon, he says: And in the sentences before it: , he said: , and in the testimony he said: "I bear witness," and he did not say: "We bear witness." Is this just a difference in expression and style, so it is verbal eloquence, or does the meaning differ? We say: The meaning differs. And that is because seeking help and seeking forgiveness are for everyone, they are for the entire Ummah. Meaning: that a person seeks forgiveness for himself and for others. For this reason, Allah, the Exalted, said in describing the followers: And they said: "We seek His forgiveness all together." Each one of us seeks forgiveness for the other. We seek help all together, each one of us seeks help from Allah for the other. As for the testimony, the testimony is a report of what is in the person's heart, in which no one else shares, because it is tawhid, the tawhid of the person. So for this reason he said: "I bear witness," and no one shares with him in this testimony, because it is a report of what is in his heart. As for the first, it is a request. "We seek help": we request aid. "We seek forgiveness": we request forgiveness. And a person requests aid for whom? For himself and his brothers. And he requests forgiveness for himself and his brothers. As for the testimony, it is a report of what is in his own self, and it is not a report of what is in the self of another. And for that reason he said: and so on.