The Meaning of the Two Testimonies

The third question is from the brother Saleh 'Abd al-Yamani from the city of al-Khobar. He says: What is the meaning of the testimony that there is no god but Allah, and what is the meaning of the testimony that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah? Please inform us, may Allah reward you?
Answer: These two testimonies are the foundation of Islam, and they are the basis of the religion. The disbeliever who does not utter them enters Islam through them, is counted among the people of Islam, and is required to fulfill the remaining rights of Islam.
As for the testimony that there is no god but Allah, it is: the foundation of the religion and the basis of the faith in all religions, all the religions of the messengers, from Adam to this day. Adam (peace be upon him) came with it, and the messengers came with it, such as Nuh, Hud, Salih, Ibrahim, and others among the messengers. They all called the nations to this word. Allah the Exalted said: [al-Nahl: 36]. Allah the Exalted said: [al-Anbiya: 25]. And our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), when Allah sent him, began with this to his people, so he said to them: And when they were worshipping idols and trees, and they had many gods around the Ka'bah and elsewhere, they rejected this and said: [Sad: 5]. So they rejected tawhid and faith due to their ignorance, disbelief, misguidance, and their habit of following what their fathers were upon of shirk, disbelief, and worship of many gods.
And this word is the best branch of faith, as in the authentic hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: So this great hadith indicates to us that the foundation of the religion, the basis of the faith, and the best of speech is saying: There is no god but Allah. And its meaning is: There is no true object of worship except Allah. So it negates divinity, which is worship, from other than Allah, and affirms it for Allah alone (Glorified and Exalted is He).
And in ... the authentic hadith of Muslim ... from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: And in another wording: And in the two Sahihs from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), in the question of Jibril, when he asked the Messenger about Islam, he (peace be upon him) said: ... to the end. So he made worshipping Allah alone and not associating partners with Him the meaning of There is no god but Allah. This is its meaning. Its meaning is: affirming worship for Allah alone, and singling Him out for it (Glorified and Exalted is He) other than everything else, and believing in the invalidity of worship for other than Him (Glorified and Exalted is He). Allah the Exalted said: [al-Hajj: 62]. This is the meaning of There is no god but Allah: affirming worship for Allah alone, which is divinity, and negating it for other than Him. So no one is called upon except Allah alone, no one is called for aid except Him, no one is relied upon except Him, no one is prayed to except Him, no vow is made except for Him, and no sacrifice is slaughtered except for Him. So it is.
And by this you know, O questioner and O noble listener, you know that what some ignorant people do at some graves and with some awliya (close friends of Allah), such as calling for aid from the dead, supplicating to the dead, supplicating to trees and stones, or supplicating to idols and calling for aid from them, that this is major shirk, and that this contradicts the saying: There is no god but Allah.
As for the testimony that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, its meaning is: to believe that he is truly the Messenger of Allah, and that Allah sent him to the two groups, the jinn and mankind, as a bringer of good news and a warner, (peace and blessings be upon him), and that he is the Seal of the Prophets, with no prophet after him, as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: [Al-Ahzab: 40]. And He the Exalted said: [Al-Ahzab: 45-46]. So he is truly the Messenger of Allah, (peace and blessings be upon him). Allah sent him to all people—both their jinn and their humans—to call them to the oneness of Allah and to warn them against associating partners with Allah, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: : [Al-A'raf: 158]. And He the Exalted said: [Saba: 28].
So it is obligatory upon every Muslim and every Muslim woman, indeed upon everyone, that they believe that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. It is obligatory upon all those of legal age, from the Muslims, the Jews, the Christians, and others, all those of legal age, that they testify that there is no god but Allah, and that they make tawhid of Allah and single Him out for worship, and abandon the worship of other than Him, such as idols, trees, stones, prophets, awliya (close friends of Allah), and others. And it is obligatory upon them to believe that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and to affirm that he is truly the Messenger of Allah, and that he is the Seal of the Prophets, and that it is obligatory to follow him; and that is by affirming what he brought, and believing that he is truly the Messenger of Allah, and obeying his commands, and leaving his prohibitions, and not worshipping Allah except by His Shari'ah (peace and blessings be upon him). This is the meaning of this testimony, the testimony that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah: affirming what he informed, obeying him in what he commanded, avoiding what he prohibited and warned against (peace and blessings be upon him), and not worshipping Allah except by the Shari'ah that he brought (peace and blessings be upon him), not by desire, not by opinions, and not by innovations. This is the meaning of the testimony that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
And these two testimonies, as mentioned before, are the foundation of the religion and the basis of the faith. Whoever utters them and believes in their meaning is a Muslim, and he must fulfill the remaining rights, such as prayer, zakah, fasting, and Hajj, and other than this of what Allah and His Messenger commanded. And along with that, he must avoid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, such as zina, theft, undutifulness to parents, and other forbidden things. Just as he must avoid major shirk, which is the opposite of tawhid, so he must avoid major shirk, and his tawhid is not complete except by that. And he must avoid everything that Allah and His Messenger have prohibited from words and deeds, in order to realize these two testimonies. And Allah is the One who grants success.
The presenter: May Allah reward you.