The Meaning of La ilaha illa Allah and Its Conditions
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Question:
A major question, which I wish had been asked at the beginning of the session, by its asker: What is the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah, what are its conditions, and what is its significance? The person asking this question is Muhammad Muftah Bashir from Libya.
Answer:
La ilaha illa Allah is the best of speech after the Qur'an. It is the most beloved speech to Allah, and the best of speech. It is the word of sincerity, and it is the first thing to which the messengers called—(peace be upon them)—and the first thing to which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called his people when he said to them:Sunan al-Bayhaqi 1:325 It is the word of sincerity, the word of tawhid (the oneness of Allah).
Its meaning is: There is no true object of worship except Allah. This is its meaning, as the Exalted said: [Surat al-Hajj: 62]. It consists of negation and affirmation: (La ilaha) is negation, and (illa Allah) is affirmation. (La ilaha) negates all objects of worship and all deities without truth, and (illa Allah) affirms worship with truth for Allah alone (Glorified and Exalted is He). It is the foundation of the religion and the basis of the faith.
It is obligatory for all those who are accountable, whether jinn or humans, to utter it, men and women alike, with faith in its meaning, belief in it, and sincerity of worship to Allah alone.
Its conditions are eight, and some of them have summarized them in two verses, saying:
Knowledge, certainty, and sincerity with you,
Love, submission, and acceptance of it,
And the eighth is your disbelief in what
Other than the Divine, from things, he has made them partners
So, whoever knows these matters, praise be to Allah. Otherwise, knowing its meaning is sufficient, even if one does not know these conditions. If one acts according to its meaning, worships Allah with truth, is sincere to Him in worship, abandons worshipping anything other than Him, and stands firm on the religion of Allah, that is sufficient, even if one does not know the conditions. The meaning of the conditions is clear:
(Knowledge) means: that you know its meaning, and that its meaning is that there is no true object of worship except Allah.
(Certainty) and that you are certain of this, not in doubt, but with certainty that there is no true object of worship except Allah.
(And Sincerity) it is necessary to be sincere in worship to Allah alone. Your prayer, your fasting, your charities, all of it is for Allah alone.
(With Love) it is necessary that love be for Allah. You love Allah with sincere love, you love His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). It is necessary to love Allah, (Exalted and Majestic is He).
And likewise (Truthfulness) you must be truthful, truthful in that, unlike the hypocrites who lie. As for you, you say it truthfully that there is no true object of worship except Allah. And Submission: you submit to what it indicates, which is sincerity of worship to Allah alone, abandoning the worship of anything other than Him, and performing the ordinances that Allah has legislated for you from the commands, and abandoning the prohibitions, out of love and submission.
And likewise (Acceptance) you accept what the Shari'ah has brought, and you do not reject it. You accept what it indicates regarding worship, tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and sincerity, and you do not reject it. It is necessary to disbelieve in what is worshipped besides Allah, as the Exalted said: [Surat al-Baqarah: 256]. The meaning is that you disavow... you disavow it, you believe in its invalidity, you believe that Allah is the true object of worship and that what people worship besides Allah is false; so you disbelieve in it and disavow it. This is the meaning of the eight conditions.
Knowledge, certainty, and sincerity with you,
Love, submission, and acceptance of it,
And the eighth is your disbelief in what
Other than the Divine, from things, he has made them partners
So, if the student of knowledge knows them, he applies them. And the one who does not know them, the meaning is sufficient for him if he utters this word with faith, sincerity to Allah, certainty, and truthfulness in that, and disavows the worship of other than Allah, and submits to the Shari'ah, then he has achieved the intended purpose, with love for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and love for His religion. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
A major question, which I wish had been asked at the beginning of the session, by its asker: What is the meaning of La ilaha illa Allah, what are its conditions, and what is its significance? The person asking this question is Muhammad Muftah Bashir from Libya.
Answer:
La ilaha illa Allah is the best of speech after the Qur'an. It is the most beloved speech to Allah, and the best of speech. It is the word of sincerity, and it is the first thing to which the messengers called—(peace be upon them)—and the first thing to which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called his people when he said to them:
Say: La ilaha illa Allah; and you will succeed.
قولوا: لا إله إلا الله؛ تفلحواIts meaning is: There is no true object of worship except Allah. This is its meaning, as the Exalted said:
That is because Allah is the Truth, and that which they call upon other than Him is falsehood
ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ وَأَنَّ مَا يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ هُوَ الْبَاطِلُIt is obligatory for all those who are accountable, whether jinn or humans, to utter it, men and women alike, with faith in its meaning, belief in it, and sincerity of worship to Allah alone.
Its conditions are eight, and some of them have summarized them in two verses, saying:
Knowledge, certainty, and sincerity with you,
Love, submission, and acceptance of it,
And the eighth is your disbelief in what
Other than the Divine, from things, he has made them partners
So, whoever knows these matters, praise be to Allah. Otherwise, knowing its meaning is sufficient, even if one does not know these conditions. If one acts according to its meaning, worships Allah with truth, is sincere to Him in worship, abandons worshipping anything other than Him, and stands firm on the religion of Allah, that is sufficient, even if one does not know the conditions. The meaning of the conditions is clear:
(Knowledge) means: that you know its meaning, and that its meaning is that there is no true object of worship except Allah.
(Certainty) and that you are certain of this, not in doubt, but with certainty that there is no true object of worship except Allah.
(And Sincerity) it is necessary to be sincere in worship to Allah alone. Your prayer, your fasting, your charities, all of it is for Allah alone.
(With Love) it is necessary that love be for Allah. You love Allah with sincere love, you love His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). It is necessary to love Allah, (Exalted and Majestic is He).
And likewise (Truthfulness) you must be truthful, truthful in that, unlike the hypocrites who lie. As for you, you say it truthfully that there is no true object of worship except Allah. And Submission: you submit to what it indicates, which is sincerity of worship to Allah alone, abandoning the worship of anything other than Him, and performing the ordinances that Allah has legislated for you from the commands, and abandoning the prohibitions, out of love and submission.
And likewise (Acceptance) you accept what the Shari'ah has brought, and you do not reject it. You accept what it indicates regarding worship, tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and sincerity, and you do not reject it. It is necessary to disbelieve in what is worshipped besides Allah, as the Exalted said:
So whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.
فَمَنْ يَكْفُرْ بِالطَّاغُوتِ وَيُؤْمِنْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بِالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقَى لا انفِصَامَ لَهَا وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌKnowledge, certainty, and sincerity with you,
Love, submission, and acceptance of it,
And the eighth is your disbelief in what
Other than the Divine, from things, he has made them partners
So, if the student of knowledge knows them, he applies them. And the one who does not know them, the meaning is sufficient for him if he utters this word with faith, sincerity to Allah, certainty, and truthfulness in that, and disavows the worship of other than Allah, and submits to the Shari'ah, then he has achieved the intended purpose, with love for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and love for His religion. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.