9. Conditions and meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah 1 (1)
Q: What are the conditions and meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah"?
A: "La ilaha illa Allah (there is no deity but Allah)" is the second best statement next to the Qur`an. It is most loved by Allah (Exalted be He). It is the word of sincere faith and the first thing to which all the messengers and prophets of Allah invited people. It was the first word to which Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) invited his people. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said, {"Say, 'There is no deity but Allah that you may prosper. 1 " It is also called the word of Tawhid (monotheism). It means that there is no true deity worthy of worship except Allah (Exalted be He), as Allah says, That is because Allah — He is the Truth (the only True God of all that exists. Who has no partners or rivals with Him), and what they (the polytheists) invoke besides Him, it is Batil (falsehood).) This statement consists of an affirmation and a negation. 'There is no deity' is the negation, while 'except Allah' is the affirmation. 'There is no deity' denies all objects of worship and all false deities, whereas 'except Allah 1 affirms that there is nothing truly worthy of worship except Allah alone. The verbal statement of Shahadah is the fundamental part of Din (religion). Every Mukallaf (person meeting the conditions to be held legally accountable for their actions) whether from among jinn or mankind, must make a verbal statement of Shahadah and at the same time believe firmly in its meaning. They must also offer sincere worship to Allah alone. There are eight necessary conditions for the fulfillment of the statement of Shahadah. In Arabic, there is a poem which mentions these conditions in a way that is easy to memorize; however the English translation of the lines may not sound poetic: Knowledge, Certainty, Sincerity, and Truthfulness Along with Love and Submission and Willingness, The eighth is indeed to disbelieve In all false gods that are deemed supreme It is better that a Muslim learns these eight conditions, though it would be sufficient to understand the meaning of Shahadah. It is enough for one to understand such meaning, namely to worship Allah as He ought to be worshipped, offer sincere devotion to Him, deny the worship of any other thing beside Him, and steadfast adhere to the Din of Allah. It does not matter whether they know about the conditions or not. The meaning of these conditions is clear: (Knowledge) means that one must know that the statement of Shahadah means that there is nothing truly worthy of worship except Allah. (Certainty) means to be absolutely certain that Allah alone deserves to be worshipped, and not to doubt that there is no other thing that deserves to be worshipped except Him. (Sincerity) means that one must be sincere when offering such acts of worship, such as Salah (Prayer), Sawm (Fasting), and Sadaqah (voluntary charity). These acts must be carried our for the sake of Allah alone. One must also truly love Allah (Exalted be He) and His Messenger (ﷺ), and hold their love for them prior to their love of anything else. One must also be truthful in their love of Allah (Exalted be He) as opposed to the false love of the hypocrites. Therefore, one must confess the statement of Shahadah out of firm belief that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah. (Submission) means one must submit oneself to the requirements of the statement, like offering sincere worship to Allah (Exalted be He) alone, denying all other objects of worship, and showing willing obedience to the Commands of Allah and avoiding what He has prohibited. The same applies to the condition of acceptance. One must unconditionally accept all the implications of the Shahadah. They have no right to refuse any of these implications. They must accept the implications of this statement, like offering worship to Allah, declaring His Oneness, and showing sincerity to Him. One must also disbelieve in and deny anything that is worshipped besides Allah. Allah (Glorified be He) says. Whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allah is All- Hearer, All-Knower. The meaning is that you must disavow anything contradicting the statement of Shahadah. You must believe that Allah alone is truly worthy of worship and that anything worshipped beside Him is null and void. You must deny all other objects of worship. This is the meaning of the eight conditions. Knowledge, Certainty, Sincerity, and Truthfulness Along with Love and Submission and Willingness, The eighth is indeed to disbelieve In all false gods that are deemed supreme A seeker of knowledge must put these eight conditions into effect. As for the one who does not know about these eight conditions, it is sufficient for them to utter Shahadah out of sincere faith in Allah (Exalted be He). They must declare themselves free from the worship of all...