The Meanitg

of the

Testimony of Faith

Confiled by:

Sheikh: Hamood M. Al-Lahim

Translated by:

Mahmood R. Murad

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Introduction

The testimony of faith is the decisive criterion bywhich man is judged to be a Muslim or a Kafir.This testimony is the foundation upon which Islamis based. The concept of life, the universe and manis diffused from it and upon it is based themessage of all Messengers beginning with Noahand ending with Muhammad, (peace be uponthem all). Allah, the Exalted says:

"We did not send the Messenger before youzoithout reaealing to him: "There is no god worthyof being worshipped except I, therefore worshipMe." (Holy Qur'an: Chapter 21, Verse 25)

Allah has created men and jinn and the restof creation on account of the testimony of faith,there is no god worthy of being worshipped exceptAllah, Consequently everything in this universesubmits in worship to Allah, to Whom belong thecreation and the authority. He is aware of allthings.

The Meaning of the Testimony of Faith

The testimony (nttlALLAH) comprisesaffirmation.

Y LA ILAHA ILLAconcepts: denial and

First The testimony of faith denieseveryone and everything other than Allah, theExalted, the attribute of divinity. All those otherthan Allah, such as the angels, the Prophets, andthe rest of mankind, let alone the idols and thepolitical regimes in the world, are not god nor dothey deserve to be worshipped. Thus denial in thisrespect is not denial of the existence of the allegedgods, rather the denial of divinity which isattributed to them.

Second: The testimony of faith affirms andrestricts divinity to Allah Alone. That is, the slavemust believe Allah is the only true God, anddedicate accordingly no act of worship to otherthan Allah.

Since worship with all its legitimate actsand rites must be dedicated only to the God whodeserve it, therefore, the true god to whom

Y! 4lltwo

worship must be dedicated is the one who enjoyscertain attributes, some of which are:

7- Divinity, the Oneness of Allah Who is singledout as the only true God having no partner toshare His divine attributes, nor His domain. He isthe One the as-Samadl[1].

2- Self-sufficiency. Allah stands in need of noone; He needs neither a helper nor a spouse or ason.

3- The capability of doing everything. There isnothing which frustrates His capability. He doesanything He wishes without exhaustion orsupport. If He wills to do a thing, He only says toit, "Be" , and it is.

l - As-Samad is one of Al lah 's beaut i fu l names. I t is ment ioned inSurah #112, it signifies the following: the Lord to Whom recourseis had, or to Whom obedience is "rendered", without Whom noaffair is "accomplished: or the One to Whom Lordship is ult imatelypertains, or the Creator of everything, of Whom nothing isindependent, and every created thing depends on Him for his or itsmeans of subsistence, whose Oneness everything indicates.

4- The absolute life which is unaffected byperishment. Allah is Everlasting, and He is Al-Qayoom2[2].

5- Alertress: Allah never sleeps nor is Heheedless, He is neither seized by slumber orsleep.

6- Inclusive proprietorship: All existing thingsbelong to Allah alone.

7- Knowledge: Allah's knowledgeencompasses the whole universe that even anant weight does not escape His knowledge. Heis well aware of the hidden and the apparent,the past the present, the future, and He knowsthe inner thoughts of man.

8- Pride and grandeur: There is nothing greaterthat Allah neither in His essence or in hisgrandeur, nor in his supremacy.

2-Ever-l iving, Self subsisting, by Whom all things subsist.

9- Merciful beneficence: Allah does not wronga thing or punish unjustly rather He loves Hisdevotees, and forgive the sins of those whorepents to Him.

Hence, the One Who possesses such attributesdeserves to be worshipped God. Allah, theExalted, after all is the only One Who possessessuch attributes. He is the King, the Powerful, theWise, the One Who knows the seen and theunseen, the Merciful, the Beneficent.

Only the One to Whom the divine athibutesbelong is a true God Who is worthy of beingworshipped and to whose greatress all creationsubmit. It is for this reason the testimony of faithconstitutes denial of divinity to all other than Allahand confir-i.g it to Allah Alone, for He is the onlytrue God.

Allah, Who is f.ar removed from everyimperfection, exclusively enjoys the attributes ofdivinity. This divinity entails:

The right of legislating lows. Allah is the Onewho legislates laws for His creafures, therefore no

one may legislates laws for himself or for othersthat do not confirm with those of Allah, or thosegiven by His Messengers nor may any one designa mode of worship or a transactional regulation forindividual or groups. Neither is it the right ofanyone to deem things lawful or unlawful on hisown accord. Nor is it the right of anyone tolegislate a penal law on his own accord, for suchrights are exclusively Allah's. Whoever giveshimself such rights presumptuously sets uphimself as god. Whoever obeys him takes him fora god in lieu of Allah.

Allah the Exalted, has mentioned thatChristians, have taken their scholars and monks aslords other than Allah only by obeying their lordswho prohibited Allah's lawful things, andlegalized his prohibited things without divinesanction.

Th"y did so after knowing that Allah is the trueGod to Whom worship must be dedicated andafter knowing that Allah accepts only those acts ofworship legislated by Him, and by His Messenger.

Hence we must know the acts of worship sothat we dedicated them to Allah Alone. Once weknow this, we know that He has created thecreatures only to worship Him. Man as part of Hiscreatures, must dedicate all his life worshippingAllah, he must be aware of Allah's rulingsrespecting everything he does, thus every lawfuIthing he does, intending it to be a means ofbringing him closer to Allah, turns to be an act ofworship. Worship is an inclusive tern comprisingevery utterance and deed, apparent or hidden thatAllah loves.

Having read this brief message about themeaning of the testimony of faith, and itsrequirements, you are probably anxious to professit and apply its requirements of this testimony thatare incumbent upon the person who confesses it toapply?

These requirements are:

1- The belief that Allah is a true God to Whomworship must be dedicated.

He is the One Who possesses all attributes ofperfection, and Who is far removed from everyimperfection such as taking a spouse or a son.

2- The belief that Allah is the Creator of existingthings, the Sustainer, the Giver of life and death,the Proprietor of the universe, the only Ruler andLegislator.

3- The belief that Allah possesses the athibutesof perfection, and is far removed from everyimperfection as Muhammad, the Messenger ofAllah, (Peace and blessings of Allaah be uponhim), informed us in the Qur'aan and the Sunnah.The only two sources from which we know theattributes of Allah. Were Muhammad to forge liesagainst Allah, Allah would have definitelypunished Him. On the contrary, Allah supportedhim with miracles that have proven his veracityand frustworthiness in conveying the lvlessage ofhis Rubb.

Allah says:

"Were he MuhammadAllaah be upon him),

(Peace and blessings ofto forge some statement

8

against lls, We would hazte seized him by his righthand and We would haae cut off his artery." (Holy

Qur'an: Chapter 59, Verses M-46.)

4- Taking the believers for friends, loving andsupporting them. Allah says:

"Muhammad, is the Messenger of Allah and thosewho are zaith him are harsh against unbelieaers,and merciful among themselztes. You see thembowing and prostrating (in prayer), seekingbounty from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure. Ontheir faces are marks caused by prostration(duing prayers). This is their similitude in theTorah and in the Gospel like a (sown) seed zohichsends forth its shoot, then makes it strong, it thenbecomes thick and it stands straight on its stem,delighting the farmers that He (Allah) may enragethe unbelieuers with them. AIIah has promisedthose among them who belieae (i.e. all those utho

follow lslamic Manatheism, the religion of theProphet Muhammad, (PBUH) till the doy

"fResunection) and do ighteous good deeds,

forgiaeness and a mighty retaard (i.e. Paradise)"(Holy Qur'an: Chapter 48, Verse 29).

5- Disavowing the unbelievers and standingaloof from them.

Allah says:

"lndeed there has been an excellent example foryou in Abraham and those utith him, when theysaid to their people; "Verily, u)e are free from youanil whateaer you worship besides Allah we haaerejected you, and there has started betuteen us andyou hostility and hatred foreuer, until you belieaein Allah Alone, except the saying of Abraham tohis fathen "Verily, I zaill ask for forgiaeness (from

Allah) for you, but I haae no power to do anything

for you before Allah. Our Lord! In you (Alone) weput our trust and to You Alone zpe turn inrepentance, and to You (Alone) is (our) finalReturn," (Holy Qur'an: Chapter 60, Verse 4)

The above are some of the requirements of thetestimony of faith, the testimony which isconsidered a prelude and access to Islam, rather itsbase. Whoever confesses it with sincereattestation, and applies its requirements, wouldultimately be admitted to the Jannah, the heavenly

IO

garden, with the will of Altah. If such a personcommitted some sins and died before repenting, itis up to Allah, He either forgives him or punisheshim by the fire but would the later take him out ofit and admits him to ]annah having been purifiedfrom his sins. It is mentioned in the prophetictradition that Musa, the Messenger of Allah, (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him), asked Allahto assign for him an act of worship and beparticularly his to perform. Allah, the Exalted,commanded him: "O Musa, say (rll y! 4J! y) "Thereis no god who deserves to be worshipped butAllah. "Musa said: "My Rubb! All your slavesconfess this testimony." To indicate thesignificance of the testimony of faith, Allah thensaid: "O Musa, were the seven heavens and sevenearths, and all what they contain put in one side ofthe scale and (rtrt y! 4l! Y) was put on the other sideof it would have overweighed them.

The Prophet, (Peace and blessings of Allaah beupon him) said:

"[fe who conclude his life with uttering thetestimony of faith, that is to be his last wordsbefore he dies, he will be admitted to the )anna,,.

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Confessing the testimony of faith must be coupledwith fulfilling its conditions:

1- Knowledge: which consists of recognizing Allahas the only true God to whom worship must bededicated, and denouncing all gods worshippedbeside all as false, and that they can neither extendbenefit nor cause harm.

2- Certainty; that the belief in Allah must beunblemished with any doubt.

3- Acceptance; that is to accept all its conditions.

4- Submission; that is to fulfill its conditionssubmissively and willingly being content withAllah as the Rubb, and Muhammad, (Peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him), as His Prophetand Messenger.

5- Truthfulness; that is to fulfili its requirementstruthfully.

6- Sincerity; that is to be sincere in worshippingAllah, dedicating all acts of worship to Him alone.

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7- The Love Of Allah; the Exalted, and the love ofHis Messenger, Muhammad (Peace and blessings of

Allaah be upon him), and the love of Allah's

devotees and the people of His obedience.

Finally, it should be borne in mind that Allah must

be obeyed by following His commands and

refraining from his prohibitions. Obedience to

Allah must be associated with loving Him, fearingHis punishment, and hoping for His reward,seeking His forgiveness, and adhering to the

teachings of His Prophet Muhammad (Peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him), is the last of

Allah's Messengers and His Shari'ah (the laws andreligious rites) abrogate all the preceding laws andreligious rites. His comprises the best of everypreceding Shari'ah.

The above is brief explanatory notes on themeaning of ( At Y! 4l! y ) and its requirements.

I pray to Allah that He may render it beneficial,and may He bless His slave, and Messenger, ourProphet Muhammad, his household and al l of hisCompanions.

13

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