Conditions for The Declaration of Faith

It will not benefit the one who says it unless the following seven conditions are fulfilled:[1]

Firstly: Knowledge (al-‘ilm) of its meaning, what it negates and affirms. If a person says it without knowing its meaning, nor what  its  requirements are,  then  he  will  not  benefit  by  it, because he has not believed in what it requires. Rather, he is like someone who speaks in a language that he does not understand.

Secondly: Certainty (al-yaqeen), which is [to have] complete surety of it and which leads to repelling any doubt or suspicion about it.

Thirdly: Exclusively worshipping Allah (al-ikhlaas), which is contrary to shirk.  This is what laa ilaaha illAllah points towards.

Fourthly: Truthfulness (as-sidq), which prevents hypocrisy (nifaaq). Indeed, the hypocrites uttered it with their tongues, but did not inwardly believe in what it signified.

Fifthly: Love (al-mahabbah) for this kalimah and having love and pleasure for whatever it necessitates. This is contrary to the [state of the] hypocrites.

Sixthly: Submissive compliance (al-inqiyaad), by fulfilling its rights - which are the obligatory actions - with sincerity to Allah and seeking His good pleasure. This is its requirement.

Seventhly: Acceptance (al-qabool), which prevents rejection. This is achieved by acting upon what Allah has commanded and abandoning whatever He has prohibited.

Scholars have deduced these conditions from those texts of the Book and the Sunnah which are pertinent to [understanding] this great kalimah; and which explain its rights and restrictions and that it is not merely a word that a person utters.