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The Seven Conditions of Laa Ilaahah illallaah:

1.       Knowledge ('ilm)

2.       Certainty (yaqeen)

3.       Acceptance (qubool)

4.       Submission (inqiyaad)

5.       Truthfulness (sidq)

6.       Sincerity (ikhlaas)

7.       Love (mahabbah)

Know, therefore, that there is no God Who deserves to be worshiped except Allaah; and ask forgiveness for your sins." (Qur'an, 47:19)

from the book:

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Introduction

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds and the end is best for the pious. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, alone, having no partner, Master of the Heavens and Earths. I bear witness that Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) is His servant, chosen and trusted messenger; peace be upon him, upon his noble family and his pure and noble companions.

To proceed:

This is a brief essay in which I have included an explanation of what the Imam of the blessed da’wah Al-Shaikh Muhammad bin ‘Abdul-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy upon him) provided, as evidence for the conditions of (La Ilaha Illa Allah- there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah) and I have abridged it (facilitation by Allah in explaining the evidences of the conditions of La Ilaha Illah Allah).

Methodology:-

First:

I have written the conditions of La Illah Illa Allah and followed each condition by its evidence with due care to the text of the compiler.

Second:

I referenced each Quranic ayah that the compiler referred to, to its sequence in the surah.  I have also referenced the prophetic traditions (ahadith).

Third:

I have deliberately made the major part of the explanation, for the evidences that the learned scholars have given.  This is because of many reasons, of which:

2   My clear acknowledgement to my preceding scholars and leaders of Islam for their abounding grace upon me.  I am driven by his (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) saying “He does not thank Allah who does not thank other men”

3   To participate in calling (da’wah) the youth of Islam who are seeking the right and straight paths and who are enthusiastic in the ways of reform and improvement, to seek (knowledge) from the books of the scholars of Islam who have based their knowledge (fiqh) on the Book and the Sunnah and were   brought-up in accordance with them. (The youth of Islam) are not to be diverted by the glitter of some books of contemporary thought, most are based on ignorance of the essential main facts of the Deen and its branches.

           4  I hope I have given concrete evidence that

The leaders of Islam such as Shaikh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and before him Al-Imam Ahmed and those who came after them such as Shaikh-ul-Islaam Muhammad bin ‘Abdul-Wahhab and contemporary scholars such as ibn Sa’adi who best explain La Ilaha Illa Allah, and make people aware of its true meaning and how to act in accordance with it. Anyone who claims such a thing for the authors of the books of thought is far from the truth and would be like someone who had pointed an arrow of poison, by such a saying, attemptng to dnigrate the integrity of the leaders of th Salafi da’wah (the call of following the predecessors). He would be calling the nation (ummah)in general and the youth in particular to deviate from the path of the predecessors and adopting innovations (bida’a). Abu Othman Al-Misaburi (may Allah have mercy upon him) had a beautiful saying: “He who made the Sunnah rule his soul by word and deed has spoken with wisdom. But he who has made whims rule over his soul, by word and deed has spoken with innovation (bida’a).”

May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, his noble family and all his companions.

Written by the poor to Allah ‘Obaid bin ‘Abdullah bin Sulaiman Al-Jabiri, teacher at Al-Jami’ah Al-Islamiyah at Al-Madinah Al-Munawara, may Allah protect, may Allah protect and bless it and the leaders and scholars who call for the Truth with guidance and light from Allah.

Typed Submission from Ukhti Muhsanah Dyson

1. Meaning of Laa ilaaha illalaah

• What is the meaning of this statement which is said by the Muslim on his tongue many times throughout the day? The statement Laa ilaaha illalaah is commonly translated as ‘There is no God except for Allaah’. What the statement really means is that there are no other deities that are worshipped in truth except for Allaah – áÇ ãÚÈæÏÉ ÈÍÞ ÅáÇ Çááå.

• It is important that one understands the importance of ÈÍÞ (bi haqqin) – ‘in truth’ as there are many deities that are worshipped, however, they are not worshipped in truth, rather they are worshipped in falsehood (baatil). As for the One who is worshipped in truth – then indeed He is Allaah ÓÈÍÇäå æ ÊÚÇáì Alone, as Allaah mentions in the Qur’aan:

{That is because Allâh: He is the Truth …} [al-Hajj 22:6, 22:62; Luqmaan 31:30]

All those called upon other than Him ÓÈÍÇäå æ ÊÚÇáì are futile.


2. Pillars of Laa ilaaha illalaah

• The statement is built upon two pillars. They are negation and affirmation. The negation is in the statement Laa ilaa – ‘There is no deity’. It negates the right of anything to be worshipped; except for Allaah ÓÈÍÇäå æ ÊÚÇáì and that is the second part – the affirmation – where we say illalaah – ‘except for Allaah’. This is to affirm that worship is solely for Allah ÓÈÍÇäå æ ÊÚÇáì. In summary – the statement is the negation of Shirk – any association with Allaah and it is an affirmation of Tawheed or that Allaah has the right to be worshipped alone.


3. Conditions of Laa ilaaha illalaah

• It is as Wahn ibn Munabbih ÑÍíãå Çááå has said: “The statement Laa ilaaha illalaah is a key, so if you come with a key that has the proper ridges (teeth) then the door of Jannah will be opened for you, and if you come with a key that does not have the correct teeth then the door of Jannah will not be opened for you.” So it shows that Laa ilaaha illalaah has conditions that accompany it. That is because many of the people say Laa ilaaha illalaah and they enter the hellfire – an example of this is Abdullaah ibn Ubay – the hypocrite. He used to say Laa ilaaha illalaah and he is in the lowest part of the hellfire.

• We would like to mention some of the conditions of Laa ilaaha illalaah. Before that we will mention the hadith where it is narrated that the Prophet Õáì Çááå Úáíå æ Óáã said: “Laa ilaaha illalaah is the key to Jannah.” It is narrated by Imaam Ahmad, however the strength of the chain of narrators is weak, but the meaning is saheeh as mentioned in other ahadeeth where the Prophet Õáì Çááå Úáíå æ Óáã said: “Whoever says Laa ilaaha illalaah truthfully from his heart he will enter into the Jannah.” Likewise the Prophet Õáì Çááå Úáíå æ Óáã said: “I have been ordered to fight the people until they bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allaah.” So the meaning of the (first) hadith is saheeh even though the chain of narrators is weak.

• The conditions of Laa ilaaha illalaah are eight:

1) ÇáÚáã Knowledge – that the Muslim has knowledge of Laa ilaaha illalaah which would negate any form of ignorance of the meaning of the statement. The knowledge should be based upon certainty that there is no deity worthy of worship besides Allaah ÓÈÍÇäå æ ÊÚÇáì Alone.

2) ÇáíÞíä Absolute Certainty – which negates any doubt that one has that there is any other deity worthy of worship besides Allaah ÓÈÍÇäå æ ÊÚÇáì Alone.

3) ÇáÅÎáÇÕ Sincerity – is that which negates any form of Riyaa (showing off). It is that the Muslim should say Laa ilaaha illalaah solely for the purpose of pleasing Allaah ÓÈÍÇäå æ ÊÚÇáì and not for showing off, or for any other action other than seeking Allaah’s Pleasure.

4) ÇáÕÏÞ Truthfulness – i.e. he says Laa ilaaha illalaah and he believes in it with the type of truth that negates any type of lying. That is because Laa ilaaha illalaah is a testimony – bearing witness to something and this must be done in truth. The person’s statements and actions should confirm his testimony and he should not do anything that negates or contradicts his testimony. This is the meaning of making the testimony in truth.

5) ÇáãÍÈÉ Love – i.e. he should love the statement Laa ilaaha illalaah and everything that it indicates. It should be the type of love that negates any form of hatred for the statement and what it indicates and points to.

6) ÇáÞÈæá Acceptance – i.e. he accepts the statement Laa ilaaha illalaah such that he negates any form of refusal of the statement – he accepts the whole statement. He must not accept some of the way of life indicated by Laa ilaaha illalaah and leave off other aspects.

7) ÇáÅäÞíÇÏ Compliance – i.e. one humbles himself and follows the meaning of Laa ilaaha illalaah with that type of following that negates leaving off any part of the Deen. This means he should not hesitate to practice anything from the Religion even those things in which he may find some difficulty. Rather he must strive to follow Laa ilaaha illalaah and that which it necessitates.

8) That one disbelieves in anything that is worshipped other than Allaah ÓÈÍÇäå æ ÊÚÇáì. He must be a disbeliever in all other deities.

These are the conditions of Laa ilaaha illalaah in a summarized form.

Conclusion

The Shaykh ÍÝÙå Çááå said that it is upon you, the Muslim, to hold fast to Laa ilaaha illalaah and know that Allaah ÓÈÍÇäå æ ÊÚÇáì commanded His Messenger Õáì Çááå Úáíå æ Óáã with this statement before everything else. He ÓÈÍÇäå æ ÊÚÇáì said:

So know (O Muhammad [sal-Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam]) that Lâ ilâha illallâh (none has the right to be worshipped but Allâh), and ask forgiveness for your sin … [Muhammad 47:19]

Condition 1: Knowledge (Al-ILM)

Condition 2: Certainty (Al-Yaqeen)  

Condition 3:

Condition 4:

Condition 5:

Condition 6:

Condition 7:

Review Conditions 1-3:

Review Conditions 4-7:

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*updated often inshaAllah