A. Testimony of Faith and Five Pillars of Islam

Testimony of Faith:

Ash hadu an laa ilaaha illallaah, wa ash hadu anna Muhammadan rasool-ullaah (I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah)

Why the Statement “Laa ilaaha illallaah”?

  • Because it is the first duty of a Muslim. Therefore, whoever intends to accept Islam must make such a declaration of faith and believe in it.
  • Because whoever says it, sincerely believing in it and seeking thereby Allah’s pleasure, will be saved from Hellfire, as the prophet ﷺ said, “Allah has forbidden for the Hellfire anyone who says, ‘There is no one worthy of worship except Allah,’ seeking thereby Allah’s pleasure.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree: 415)
  • Because whoever dies while believing in it will be admitted into Paradise, as the prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever dies knowing full well that there is no god but Allah will enter Paradise.” (Musnad Ahmad:464)
  • Because knowledge of its meaning and dictates, is unquestionably the greatest and most important duty of a Muslim.

 

The Two main Parts of Laa ilaaha illallaah

This great statement comprises two parts which must be known in order to understand its meaning and requirements:

The First Part: Laa ilaaha (There is no god), negates the existence of any other deity besides Allah. It rejects association of partners with Allah in worship (shirk), and requires disbelief in any being or thing that is worshipped besides Allah, be it a human being, an animal, an idol, a star or anything else.

The Second Part: illallaah (except Allah), confirms that Allah is the only True God worthy of being worshipped and thus all acts of worship, such as the prayer, invocation and reliance, must be directed to Him alone.

All acts of worship must be directed to Allah alone; whoever directs any act of worship to other than Allah is, strictly speaking, an unbeliever.

The Qur’an states, “Whoever calls on another god together with Allah has no proof for doing so at all, and his reckoning is with his Lord. Truly the unbelievers have no success.” (Soorat Al-Mu’minoon, 23:117)

The significance of Laa ilaaha illallaah along with its two main parts are mentioned in the following verse: “Whoever rejects false gods and believes in Allah has grasped the Firmest Handhold, which will never give way.” (Soorat Al-Baqarah, 2:256)

The words “whoever rejects false gods” provides the meaning of the first part of the testimony of faith, namely, Laa ilaaha; while the words “and believes in Allah” provides the meaning of its second part, namely, illallaah.

The Testimony that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger

This means to believe his statements, do the acts he commanded, avoid the acts he prohibited and worship Allah according to the manner he prescribed and taught us.

What Does Belief that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger Entail?

  1. To believe all the statements he made about everything. 
  1. To do the acts he enjoined and avoid the acts he prohibited. 

 A Muslim must believe all the statements authentically attributed to Allah’s Messenger.

  1. To worship Allah ﷻ in accordance with the Prophet’s instructions. 

What are the Five Pillars of Islam?

  

 

Back to “Your Faith”                      Go to “B. The Six Pillars of Faith (Eemaan): Belief in Allah “