"Lā ilāha ill(ā) Allāh" (Part 1) - The Correct Meaning

"Lā ilāha ill(ā) Allāh" (Part 1) - The Correct Meaning

..............بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم..............

"Lā ilāha ill(ā) Allāh" is the core and foundation of Islam - the religion of all Prophets and Messengers. Nevertheless, it is a sad fact that many people who claim to be Muslims merely pronounce this declaration and testimony with their tongues without knowing its true meaning. As such, they are not entitled to the benefits and rewards mentioned in the following Ahādith:

«مَنْ مَاتَ وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ، دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ»

"Whoever dies while KNOWING that there is no ilāh except Allah, he will enter Jannah." [Sahih Muslim]

«مَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ يَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، صِدْقًا مِنْ قَلْبِهِ، إِلَّا حَرَّمَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى النَّارِ»

"There is none who testifies SINCERELY FROM HIS HEART that there is no ilāh but Allah and that Muhammad is his Apostle, except that Allah will save him from the Hell-fire." [Sahih Al-Bukhari]

THE MEANING OF "ILĀH" :

To understand "Lā ilāha ill(ā) Allāh", we must first understand the meaning of ilāh.

"Ilāh" in Arabic means someone/something which is worshipped and turned to at the time of need. [Refer to "Taj-ul-Aroos" and other Arabic lexicons]. Probably the closest English one-word we can use for ilāh is "deity".

So "Lā ilāha ill(ā) Allāh" literally translates as: "There is no deity except Allah." And the intended meaning is: There is no true deity except Allah. The word "true" is added because there exist deities besides Allah but they are false deities; i.e. people have deified them. Allah says:

«ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ وَأَنَّ مَا يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ هُوَ الْبَاطِلُ»

"That is because Allah is The True (deity), and whatever they invoke besides Him is nothing but false. [Al-Hajj: 62]

As such "Lā ilāha ill(ā) Allāh" should be understood as:

"There is no true deity except Allah."

Or in more explicit words:

"None has the right to be worshipped except Allah."

Since "ilāh" is the one who is worshiped, it is necessary here to understand the concept of "worship" because most people think that this term is limited to the specific rituals such as Salah, fasting, pilgrimage, etc.

Rather, the term "worship" is quite wide-ranging and comprehensive. Other than the specific rituals such as Salah, there are two very important kinds of worship:

One: To rely upon Allah, supplicate to Him, beseech Him at the time of need, and take refuge in Him from evil.

As mentioned above, this aspect is included in the literal meaning of "ilāh" i.e. someone who is turned to at the time of need.

Moreover, there are several Ayāt and Ahādith which testify to the fact that supplication is one the most important types of worship, the most notable being the saying of the Prophet (Sallallāhu Alaihi Wa Sallam):

«الدعاء هو العبادة»

"Du'a is the essence of worship"

[Reported by At-Tirmidhi: 2969 and he graded it as Hasan Sahih (sound and authentic)]

Two: To unconditionally obey Allah and follow His directives. This is because the word 'ibādah (worship) incorporates the meaning of servitude submissiveness, which entails that the slaves of Allah should submit to His will only. Moreover, there are several Ayāt which prove that obeying someone unconditionally amounts to worshiping him. That is why Allah will call out to the sinners on the Day of Judgment saying:

« أَلَمْ أَعْهَدْ إِلَيْكُمْ يَا بَنِي آَدَمَ أَنْ لَا تَعْبُدُوا الشَّيْطَانَ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُبِينٌ وَأَنِ اعْبُدُونِي هَذَا صِرَاطٌ مُسْتَقِيمٌ »

"Did I not ordain for you, O Children of Adam, that you should not worship Satan, for verily, he is a plain enemy to you, and that you should worship Me, that is the straight path?" [Yaseen: 60-61]

There is almost a consensus among exegetes (Mufissirūn) that Allah's words: "you should not worship Satan" mean: you should not obey him.

Furthermore, Allah has labeled the person who follows his vain desires in contradiction to Allah's commandments as having taken his desires as "ilāh" :

«أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ»

"Have you seen him who has taken his own (vain) desire as his ilāh (deity)?" [Al-Jāthiyah: 23]

Qatādah, the famous Mufassir of the Tābi'een explains the verse saying: Never does he desire anything except that he goes after it without fearing Allah. [Narrated in Tafsir At-Tabari]

After this explanation of the types of worship, we can say that "Lā ilāha ill(ā) Allāh" should be understood as:

"None has the right to be worshipped, supplicated to, and unconditionally obeyed except Allah."

If a person says "Lā ilāha ill(ā) Allāh" believing and affirming this meaning, then he has really "testified" to it, otherwise they are mere words which are of no benefit to him, just like they are of no benefit to the hypocrites who repeat these words but without believing in them from their hearts.

TWO CLARIFICATIONS:

First: If we say that only Allah is worthy of unconditional obedience, then what about Prophet Muhammad (Sallallāhu Alaihi Wa Sallam)? Is he also not to be obeyed unconditionally? The answer is that Muhammad (Sallallāhu Alaihi Wa Sallam) is the Messenger of Allah, and when you obey the messenger you are in fact obeying the one who sent him with the message. And that is why Allah says:

«مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ»

Whoever obeys the Messenger, has (in fact) obeyed Allah. [An-Nisā: 80].

Second: As for ritualistic worship and supplication, even one instance of directing it to other than Allah invalidates a person's Shahādah and takes him out of the fold of Islam.

But as for obedience, obeying one's desires or the devil's whispers does not necessarily take a person out of Islam. If one follows his vain desires and falls into sin, while admitting that what he is doing is wrong and that he shouldn’t be doing it, then this does not amount to Kufr or Shirk. Rather, all Muslims fall into sin time and again.

But if one submits himself fully to his desires and follows them unconditionally while turning his back on Allah's commandments and his religion, then he has taken his desires as "ilāh" and gone out of the fold of Islam. Allah says:

« قُلْ أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْكَافِرِينَ»

"Say: 'Obey Allah and the Messenger'. But if they turn away, then Allah does not like the disbelievers." [Āl-'Imrān: 32]

Similarly, if a person says that he has the right to do whatever he likes and that he is not obliged to follow Allah's commandments, or that man-made laws are equal to or better than Allah's divine laws, then such a person has invalidated his Shahādah and has gone out of the fold of Islam.

A DEFICIENT AND INCORRECT INTERPRETATION OF "Lā ilāha ill(ā) Allāh" :

Many a time "Lā ilāha ill(ā) Allāh" is interpreted to non-Muslims in general, or those who want to accept Islam in particular, as: "There is no god but Allah".

This interpretation is lacking and incorrect because the prime meaning of "God" is the Supreme-Being, Lord, and Creator of the universe. And to believe that Allah is the Sole Creator of the universe is not enough for a person to be considered a Muslim.

The Arab infidels used to believe that Allah is the Sole Creator of the universe [Refer to Ankabut: 61, 63; Zukhruf: 9, 87], and despite this they were considered Mushrikeen (polytheists) because they used to call upon angels and other deities as intermediaries between them and Allah:

«يَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلَا يَنْفَعُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ هَؤُلَاءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ»

"And they worship besides Allah that which can neither hurt them nor profit them, saying: "These are our intercessors with Allah." [Yunus: 18]

Similarly, Christians pray to Mary, archangels Michael and Gabriel, and various saints for help, without considering them as gods. Same is the case with the grave-worshiping apostate sects of this Ummah; they believe that there is no God, Lord, and Creator except Allah, and nevertheless commit Shirk by calling upon the Awliā (saintly persons) and considering them as intermediaries between them and Allah.

In fact, Allah has categorically mentioned that most people who believe in Allah are Mushrikeen (polytheists) i.e. they worship others besides Him [Refer to Yusuf: 106].

So it is not enough for a person to be considered a Muslim that he believes that there is no God but Allah. Nay, he will not be a Muslim unless he testifies with his heart, words, and deeds that only Allah is worthy of worship, supplication, and unconditional obedience.