(The requirements of the declaration of faith )

http://www.alssunnahnet.com/en/articles.aspx?article_no=2040

The requirements of the declaration of faith (1/5)

Saturday 7 May 2011 It is clear from what has preceded, that the meaning of laa ilaaha illallaah is: None has the right to be worshipped except the One [true] Deity; which is Allaah, 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 Allaah 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 Allaah are also accompanied by a [command] to negate worship along with Him. Because the worship is not correct if others are worshipped along either 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 Allaah, has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks. And Allaah is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.” [Soorah al-Baqarah 2:256](1) Allaah the Exalted [also] said: “We sent a Messenger to every nation ordering them to worship Allaah alone, obey Him, and make their worship purely for Him; and that they should avoid everything worshiped besides Allaah.” [Soorah an-Nahl 16:36[. The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said: “Whoever says laa ilaaha illallaah and rejects whatever is worshiped besides Allaah, his blood and his wealth become sacred and his account is with Allaah.”(2). Every Messenger said to his people: “O my people! Worship Allaah 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. Imaam Ibn Rajab, rahimahullaah, said: “To explain this meaning and to clarify it: When a person says laa ilaaha illallaah, it means, according to him, that none has the right to be deified and worshiped except Allaah. 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 Allaah the Mighty and Majestic.” (3). This is why when the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said to the unbelievers of the Quraysh: Say laa ilaaha illallaah, they retorted: “Has he made all the deities into a single Deity to be worshiped i.e Allaah]. 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 Allaah alone, and they did not want this. So it is clear that laa ilaaha illallaah, along with its requirement, implies: That Allaah 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 illallaah, he is proclaiming that it is obligatory to single out Allaah 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.   Episode 26: The requirements of the declaration of faith (2/5) Saturday 21 May 2011 The falsehood of those who worship the [dead in the] graves, and the likes, can be seen in that they believe laa ilaaha illallaah merely implies the affirmation that Allaah 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 Allaah. They think that whoever holds such beliefs and explains laa ilaaha illallaah 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 Allaah, 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 Allaah 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 Allaah; 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 Allaah (haakimiyyah) is only a part of the overall meaning of laa ilaaha illallaah, it is not the main implication of it. Thus it is not enough to judge by the Prescribed Laws of Allaah (sharee’ah) in matters concerning rights, prescribed punishments (hudood) and disputes, whilst neglecting the existence of shirk in the very worship of Allaah itself! If the meaning of laa ilaaha illallaah 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 Allaah. Indeed, if the Messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam had just asked them to affirm that Allaah is the One Who has the ability to originate and create, or to affirm that Allaah exists, or if he asked them to judge in accordance with Allaah’s Prescribed Laws concerning issues of blood, property and rights - whilst remaining silent about the issue of [singling out Allaah 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 illallaah, 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 Allaah said about them: “When it is said to them: Say laa ilaaha illallaah, 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]. Allaah, and that they would have to single out Allaah 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 iilallaah 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 illallaah than even Aboo Jahl and Aboo Lahab!  Episode 27: The requirements of the declaration of faith (3/5) Saturday 4 June 2011 In summary: Whoever utters this kalimah, knowing its meaning, acting by its inward and outward requirements, negating shirk and affirming worship for Allaah alone, having an unwavering belief in what it implies, and acting in accordance with it - then he is a true Muslim. Whoever utters it and acts upon its requirements outwardly, but without believing in what it necessitates, then he is a hypocrite (munaafiq). Whoever utters it with his tongue, but acts contrary to it with [acts of] shirk that negate the kalimah, then he is a self-contradicting mushrik (1). So it is essential to not only utter this kalimah, but to also have knowledge of its meaning, since this will be a means towards acting in accordance with its essential requirements. Allaah, the Exalted, said: “Except those who bear witness to the truth and have knowledge.” [Soorah az-Zukhruf 43:86]. Acting according to its requirements means worshipping Allaah alone and rejecting the worship of anything else besides Him; this being the greatest implication of this kalimah. Also, from the requirements of laa ilaaha illallaah is to accept Allaah’s Prescribed Laws (sharee’ah) in matters of worship, social transactions and in what is lawful and unlawful, as well as to reject all other laws besides it. Allaah the Most High said: “Or do they have partners with Allaah who have prescribed for them a religion that Allaah has not ordained?” [Soorah ash- Shooraa 42:21] It is therefore obligatory to accept the Prescribed Laws of Allaah in matters concerning worship, social transactions, judging between people in that which they differ regarding their personal situations and other matters, whilst [at the same time] rejecting man-made laws. What this means is to reject all the innovations and deviations that have been introduced and propagated by the devils - from amongst mankind and the jinn-in the matter of worshipping Allaah. Indeed, whoever accepts anything of this has actually committed shirk in [the matter of] obedience to Allaah, just as Allaah said in this verse: “Or do they have partners with Allaah who have prescribed for them a religion that Allaah has not ordained”? [Soorah ash- Shooraa 42:21]. And Allaah the Most High said: “If you were to obey them, then indeed you would be mushriks.” ] Soorah al-An’aam 6:121[.  “They take their rabbis and their priests to be lords besides Allaah.” ]Soorah at-Tawbaa 9:31]. In an authentic narration the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam once recited the above verse to ‘Adee ibn Haatim at-Taa’ee radhiyallahu anhu, said: O Messenger of Allaah, we do not worship them. So he replied: “Do they not make lawful to you, that whch Allaah has made unlawful, which you then deem as lawful? And do they not make unlawful to you that which Allaah has made lawful. which you then deem as unlawful? He said: Yes indeed. So the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said to him: “this is worshipping them.” (2) Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahrnaan ibn Hasan, rahimahullaah, said: “In this hadeeth is a proof that obeying the rabbis and priests in those matters which constitute disobedience to AlIaah is actually [an act of] worshipping them besides Allaah. This is one of the major [types of] shirk that Allaah does not forgive…”(3) So this is the major hype of] shirk which negates the very tawheed that laa ilaaha illallah points towards. Likewise, it is obligatory to reject referring judgment back to man-made laws, because it is obligatory to refer judgment back to the Book of Allaah and to abandon referring judgment to whatever opposes it from the man-made systems and laws. Allaah, the Most High, said: “If you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it back to Allaah and His Messenger.” [Soorah an-Nisaa 4:59]. Allaah the Exalted also said: “In whatever you differ, the judgment is for Allaah. Such is Allaah, my Lord.” [Soorah ash-Shooraa 41:10]. Allaah, the Most Perfect, has declared that the one who does not judge by what Allaah has revealed, has committed unbelief (kufr), wrong-doing (dhulm) and sin (fisq), and faith has been negated from him. So if a person judges by other than what Allaah has revealed, deeming it permissible to do so, or deeming that it is better or more appropriate than Allaah’s Judgment, then this is [the greater type of] kufr and shirk which totally negates tawheed and which completely nullifies laa ilaaha illallaah. If, however, he does not deem it permissible to do so, rather he believes that it is obligatory to judge by Allaah’s Judgment, but he is overcome by desires which cause him to act contrary to it, then this is the lesser type of kufr and shirk which decreases [adherence to] laa ilaaha illallaah and its requirements, [but does not take the person outside the fold of Islaam]. Thus laa ilaaha illallaah is a complete and integral way of life. It is obligatory for the Muslims to follow this way in their [modes of] worship and in their conduct and behavior. It is not merely a word that is uttered for gaining blessings, or to be merely uttered as part of the morning and evening recommended supplications; without understanding its meaning, or acting upon its requirements, or traversing its path - as many of those who utter it with their tongues, but oppose it in their beliefs and behavior, actually think! ________________________ 1) The Shaykh, hafidhahullaah, further explained in al-Muntaqaa min Fataawaa (1/9-10) “Whoever utters the testification of laa ilaaha illallaah muhammadur-rasoolallah, the ruling of him being a Muslim starts there and then and his blood is sacred. If he acts upon the requirements inwardly and outwardly, he is a true Muslim, and for him are good-tidings, both in this world and in the Hereafter. If he acts upon the requirements, but does so only outwardly, then he is judged to be a Muslim based upon his outward conduct and he is treated as a Muslim, even though inwardly he is a hypocrite (munaafiq) whose affair is left to Allaah. If he does not act upon the requirements of laa ilaaha illallaah, but satisfies himself with merely pronouncing it, or he acts in opposition to it, then the ruling of apostasy will be applied to him, and he will be treated as an apostate. If he acts upon some of its requirements without acting upon others, then it will have to be seen: If the requirements that he has left constitute apostasy, then he will be judged as an apostate; such as intentionally abandoning the Prayer, or directing any form of worship to other than Allaah. If, however, that which he has left does not constitute apostasy, then he will be considered a believer whose faith (eemaan) is deficient in proportion to what he has left; such as those who commit sins that are of a lesser degree than [the major acts of] shirk.”. 2) Hasan: Reported with this wording by al-Bayhaqee in as-Sunanul-Kubraa (10/116) and lbn Taymiyyah declared it to he hasan in Majmoo Fataawaa (7/67). It has also been reported by at Tirmidhee (no. 3094) with a slightly different wording. 3) Fathul-Majeed (2/653).