The Requirements of The Declaration of Faith (1/4)

It is clear from what has preceded, that the meaning of laa ilaaha illAllah is: None has the right to be worshipped except the One [true] Deity; which is Allah, Alone, without any partner. He alone is the One Who deserves to be worshiped.

Therefore, this great kalimah implies that whatever else is worshiped besides Allah is not a true deity that deserves to be worshiped; rather, all such deities are false. It is for this reason that many of the commands to worship Allah are also accompanied by a [command] to negate worship along with Him, because the worship is not correct if others are worshipped along with Him. Allah the Most High said:

“Worship Allah Alone, and do not associate anything else as partners with Him.” [Soorah An-Nisa, 4: 36]

Allah, the Most High also said: “Whosoever disbelieves in at-taaghoot and believes in Allah, has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks. And Allah is the   All-Hearer,   the   All-Knower.”   [Soorah al-Baqarah, 2:256][1]

Allah the Exalted [also] said: “We sent a Messenger to every nation ordering them to worship Allah Alone, obey Him, and make their worship purely for Him; and that they should avoid everything worshiped besides Allah.” [Soorah an-Nahl, 16:36]

The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said: “Whoever says laa  ilaaha  illAllah  and  rejects  whatever is  worshiped besides Allah, his blood and his wealth become sacred and his account is with Allah.”[2]

Every Messenger said to his people: “O my people! Worship Allah Alone. You have none other than Him that has the right to be a deity to be worshiped.” [Soorah aI-A’raaf, 7:59]

And there are evidences other than this.

Imam Ibn Rajab, rahimahullaah, said:  “To explain this meaning and to clarify it: When a person says laa ilaaha illAllah, it means, according to him, that none has the right to be deified and worshiped except Allah. And al-Ilaah is the One Who is obeyed and not disobeyed; due to awe and veneration of Him, and due to love, fear, hope and reliance upon Him; as well as being the One Who is asked from and is supplicated to. And none of this is correct, except for Allah the Mighty and Majestic.[3]”

This is why when the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said to the unbelievers of the Quraysh: Say laa ilaaha illAllah, they retorted: “Has he made all the deities into a single Deity to be worshiped [i.e Allah]. Indeed, this is something very peculiar!” [Soorah Saad, 38:5]

They [the unbelievers] understood that this kalimah rendered false the worship of any and every deity and restricted worship to just Allah Alone, and they did not want this. So it is clear that laa ilaaha illAllah, along with its requirement, implies: That Allah Alone should be singled out with worship; and that the worship of other than Him should be abandoned. So when a person says laa ilaaha illAllah, he is proclaiming that it is obligatory to single out Allah Alone with worship, and he is [at the same time] denouncing the worship of other than Him; such as [the worship] of idols; [the dead in the] graves; the pious and righteous.

The falsehood of those who worship the [dead in the] graves, and the likes, can be seen in  that they believe laa ilaaha illAllah merely implies the affirmation that Allah exists, or that He is the Creator and the One Who has the ability to originate  or  other  similar  beliefs;  or  that  it  just  means judgment and sovereignty (haakimiyyah) belongs solely to Allah. They think that whoever holds such beliefs and explains laa ilaaha illAllah in this manner, then they have reached the absolute truth of tawheed - even if they do what they do as regards worshipping others along with Allah, or believe in [directing worship to] the dead; drawing closer to them by offering sacrifices to them; making vows to them; ritually walking around and circumambulating (tawaaf] their graves and seeking Divine blessings (tabarruk) from the earth around them! These people are unaware that even the unbelieving Arabs held these beliefs, and that they acknowledged and affirmed that Allah was the Creator Who has the ability to originate. They claimed that they worshiped others along with Him because these [other deities] would bring them closer to Allah; they did not believe that [these deities] were the actual ones who created, or were the providers of sustenance.

So [the fact that] judgment belongs solely to Allah (haakimiyyah) is only a part of the overall meaning of laa ilaaha illAllah, it is not the main implication of it. Thus it is not enough to judge by the Prescribed Laws of Allah (sharee’ah) in matters concerning rights, prescribed punishments (hudood) and disputes, whilst neglecting the existence of shirk in the very worship of Allah itself!  If the meaning of laa ilaaha illAllah was as these people claimed, then there would have been no dispute between the Messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam and between the mushrikoon, those who worshiped idols and others along with Allah. Indeed, if the Messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam had just asked them to affirm that Allah is the One Who has the ability to originate and create, or to affirm that Allah exists, or if he asked them to judge in accordance with Allah’s Prescribed Laws concerning issues of blood, property and rights - whilst remaining silent about the issue of [singling out Allah Alone with] worship - then they would have hastened in responding to the Messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam. However, they were a people who understood the Arabic language, and therefore they clearly understood that if they were to say laa ilaaha illAllah, they would be affirming the falsity of worshipping idols and that this kalimah was not a mere phrase devoid of meaning. This is why a group of them said:

 “Has he made all the deities into a single Deity to be worshiped. Indeed, this is something very peculiar!” [Soorah Saad, 38:5]

And Allah said about them: “When it is said to them: Say laa ilaaha illAllah, they puff themselves up with pride. And they say: Are we to abandon our deities that we worship, because of a mad poet?” [Soorat as-Saafaat, 37:35-36]

Allah, and that they would have to single out Allah Alone with worship, and that if they said it and continued worshipping idols then they would be contradicting themselves; so they refrained from this contradiction. However, the present-day grave- worshippers do not refrain from this hideous contradiction. They say laa ilaaha iilAllah yet they contradict it by worshipping the dead and drawing closer to their shrines by directing various acts of worship to them. So woe be to those who have less knowledge concerning the [true] meaning of laa ilaaha illAllah than even Aboo Jahl and Aboo Lahab!