The Conditions of Saying La ilaha illa Allah
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What are the conditions of saying: La ilaha illa Allah? Is it sufficient to merely utter it without understanding its meaning and what entails from it?
Answer: "La ilaha illa Allah" is the best of speech, and it is the foundation of the religion and the basis of the faith. It is with this that the messengers (peace and blessings be upon them) began addressing their people. The first thing a messenger would begin with his people was to say, "Say: La ilaha illa Allah, and you will succeed." Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Anbiya: 25]. And every messenger would say to his people: [Al-A'raf: 59]. It is the foundation of the religion and the faith, and it is necessary for the one who says it to know its meaning. It means that there is no deity worthy of worship in truth except Allah. It has conditions, which are: knowledge of its meaning and certainty, and the absence of doubt regarding its truth; sincerity to Allah alone in that; truthfulness with one's heart and tongue; love for what it indicates of sincerity to Allah and acceptance of that; submission to Him; His tawhid (the oneness of Allah); and the rejection of shirk (associating partners with Allah) along with disavowal of worshipping other than Him and believing in the invalidity of that worship. All of this is among the conditions of saying La ilaha illa Allah and the validity of its meaning. The believing man and woman say it along with disavowal of worshipping other than Allah, along with submission to the truth and acceptance of it, love for Allah and His tawhid, sincerity to Him, and no doubt in its meaning. Indeed, some people say it but are not believers in it, like the hypocrites who say it while having doubt or denial. Therefore, knowledge, certainty, truthfulness, sincerity, love, submission, acceptance, and disavowal are necessary. Some of them summarized its conditions in two verses, saying:
Knowledge, certainty, and sincerity with you,
Love, submission, and acceptance of it,
And the eighth is your disbelief in what
Apart from the Divine, from things, [others] have been deified
And may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Answer: "La ilaha illa Allah" is the best of speech, and it is the foundation of the religion and the basis of the faith. It is with this that the messengers (peace and blessings be upon them) began addressing their people. The first thing a messenger would begin with his people was to say, "Say: La ilaha illa Allah, and you will succeed." Allah the Exalted said:
And We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, "There is no deity except Me, so worship Me."
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِworship Allah; you have no deity other than Him
اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مَا لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرُهُKnowledge, certainty, and sincerity with you,
Love, submission, and acceptance of it,
And the eighth is your disbelief in what
Apart from the Divine, from things, [others] have been deified
And may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.