Conditions of La ilaha illallah - Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

Khutbah Opening

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْهُ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَتَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا

أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ أَصْدَقَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَخَيْرَ الْهَدْيِ هَدْيُ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَشَرَّ الْأُمُورِ مُحْدَثَاتُهَا وَكُلَّ مُحْدَثَةٍ بِدْعَةٌ وَكُلَّ بِدْعَةٍ ضَلَالَةٌ وَكُلَّ ضَلَالَةٍ فِي النَّارِ

The Legacy of the Prophets: Who Will You Worship After Me?

In Surah al-Baqarah, Allah relays to us an incident from the time of the death of the Prophet Ya'qub (عليه السلام), and it gives to us the methodology and what was the norm of many of the Prophets of Allah (عليهم السلام) — the way in which, when they were departing from this dunya, from this life, they would advise those that were closest and dearest to them.

Were you present at the time of the death of the Prophet Ya'qub (عليه السلام)? Ya'qub is the son of a Prophet, the nephew of a Prophet, the grandson of a Prophet. Were you there at the time of his death? When he gathered his children and he said to them: "Who will you worship after I die? When I'm dead and gone — who will you worship after me?" And he wanted to hear their response. Because the greatest gift that any of us can leave behind for our children, the greatest legacy and inheritance that we can leave behind for our families, is that — by Allah's mercy and His permission — they stay strong upon this religion, they understand the meaning of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ.

They said in response: "We will worship your God and the God of your forefathers — Ibrahim, Ismail, and Ishaq — the one true God, and we shall submit to Him." And that is not something which was unique to the Prophet Ya'qub alone, but it is mentioned from a number of the Prophets of Allah that they did something similar.

The Command of Prophet Nuh to His Son

What is collected in the hadith that is in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad and related by Imam al-Bukhari in his book Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, on the authority of the Companion Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As (رضي الله عنهما), is that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:

(Musnad Ahmad; Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Imam al-Bukhari)

That the Prophet Nuh (عليه السلام) said to his son at the time of his death: "I command you with the statement of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ." Because this statement of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ is what differentiates the Muslim from the non-Muslim, the believer from the non-believer. It is the statement which — by Allah's permission and His mercy — the believers will gain salvation on the Day of Judgment when they stand before their Lord and their Creator.

"Because if all of the seven heavens and the seven earths were to be placed on one side of the scale, and this statement alone of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ on the other side — it would outweigh them. It would be heavier in the scales in the sight of Allah. And verily, if the seven heavens and the seven earths were like a meshed piece of metal that you couldn't separate, the statement of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ would shatter it apart."

Such is the strength of the statement of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ for those people who understand it, know its meanings, and live according to its conditions.

The Virtues of La ilaha illallah in the Quran and Sunnah

In numerous verses in the Quran and numerous ahadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in the Sunnah, the statement of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ is mentioned in various contexts — in terms of its virtues and in terms of its rewards. Sometimes it is mentioned as this statement by itself, لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ, and sometimes in slight variations, as Allah does in what is the greatest single verse of the Quran:

And sometimes it is mentioned in the du'as of the Prophets, as Allah mentions about the du'a of Yunus (عليه السلام) when he was in the belly of the whale — in the darkness of the ocean, in the darkness of the night — that the du'a he used to ask Allah for relief is:

And sometimes we have additions to this statement, like in the hadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that the best of du'a is the du'a of 'Arafah, and the best thing that I and the Prophets before me said is:

And what is collected in the Sahihayn of al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet told us (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that whoever says this statement of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ in a single day 100 times — they will have the reward of freeing 10 slaves, and Allah will write for them 100 good deeds, and Allah will expiate from them 100 evil deeds, and Allah will raise them 100 levels, and they will have protection that full day until the evening from Shaytan, and no one will bring anything better than them except one that does more than them.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3293; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2691)

That is the reward of just saying the statement of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ, and the ahadith are numerous in this regard.

The Prophet told us (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in the hadith of 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit (رضي الله عنه): the person who wakes up suddenly in the middle of the night — he is just disturbed by something — but the first thing that comes to their mind is the remembrance of Allah. He said (صلى الله عليه وسلم):

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1154)

Whoever wakes up suddenly in the middle of the night and then says this dhikr, and then says "Allahummaghfir li — O Allah, forgive me" — Allah will forgive him. And if he makes du'a, Allah will accept it from him. And if he was to wake up and make wudu and pray two rak'ahs, Allah would accept that du'a. That's the power and the virtue and the reward of this statement — that is the most integral part of our religion that every single person here knows and knows well.

But the question is: how often do we recite it? How often do we remember Allah with this statement? And how well do we understand its connotations and its conditions?

The Seven Conditions of La ilaha illallah

The scholars of Islam mentioned the statement of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — because there are numerous ahadith that speak about the people who will say لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ, and because of that which they said in the dunya, Allah will grant to them relief and success on the Day of Judgment.

From them is the hadith of Abdullah ibn 'Amr (رضي الله عنه) from al-Tirmidhi — the hadith of the bittaqah (the card): that a man will be brought in front of all of creation on the Day of Judgment, and that man will have 99 scrolls of evil deeds — each scroll, when it is opened, is as far as the eye can see going towards the horizon, full of evil deeds. So they will be placed on one side of the scale, and on the other side will just be a card that says لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ. That's all that man has to show in terms of goodness — just a statement of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ. But as we saw when Nuh (عليه السلام) said to his son — the statement of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ is extremely heavy in the scales when it is said correctly and with the correct conditions. The Prophet told us (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that that card will outweigh those 99 scrolls of evil deeds.

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2639)

But those people who say لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ in that way — as the scholars mentioned — they are the people who say it with the conditions of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ. Because لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ isn't just a statement that you make. It's not just a slogan, it's not just a logo or something like that that you just write and say. But it is something which you have to embody and understand.

Seven conditions are mentioned by the scholars of Islam — seven things that you have to know about the statement of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ to make sure that you fulfill its rights and that you are saying it correctly with the correct intention. Those seven conditions — some of the scholars put them into a verse of poetry:

Condition 1: Knowledge (عِلْم)

The first of them is knowledge — to know the meaning of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ, to know that the statement consists of two parts, two components: negation and affirmation. We negate that there is any God worthy of worship — that's the first part, لَا إِلَهَ — there is no god. And we negate therefore that anyone, anything that anyone worships besides Allah — whether they worship a human, the angels, the jinn, the stones, the rocks, the mountains, whatever it may be — none of them are true Gods. إِلَّا اللَّهُ — and then comes the affirmation: except for Allah.

You have to know what that statement means. Because you and I as Muslims — we say that statement, but then one of us goes and makes du'a to other than Allah, sacrifices to other than Allah, takes an oath in the name of other than Allah, hopes in a divine way from other than Allah, makes supplication to other than Allah. That shows that we didn't understand the statement of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ. We made the statement but we didn't really know what it meant, what it contained.

And the Arabs — despite them being enemies of Islam — they understood the meaning of it. That's why they wouldn't accept Islam: because they understood what that referred to, they understood what its implications were. As Allah says in the Quran:

"Know that none has the right to be worshipped except Him."

Condition 2: Certainty (يَقِين)

The second condition is certainty — يَقِين. You say that with certainty. There is no doubt in your mind or in your heart, there is no trepidation, no hesitation in your heart and in your mind — and when you say it upon your tongue and in the actions that you then show in what that لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ means, you know that Allah is your Lord and your Creator, your provider, your sustainer; that Allah controls everything in this universe including your life and death; and that the only means to salvation, the only way to salvation, the only path to it is through Him. And so you trust your faith to Allah. You have it with يَقِين. As Allah says:

"The believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger and they have no doubt" — they don't doubt, they have يَقِين, they have certainty.

In the hadith in Sahih Muslim of Abu Huraira (رضي الله عنه) — when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) on one occasion was with Abu Huraira in a garden that had a wall — the Prophet said to Abu Huraira: "Go out beyond the wall, go out of the garden:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 31)

"And whoever you meet outside of this garden that says لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ with certainty in their heart — give them the glad tidings of Jannah." But look at the condition — and this is where the scholars took these seven conditions from. They read throughout the Quran and the Sunnah all of these different verses and ahadith and the way that it's mentioned, and they extracted from it these seven conditions.

Condition 3: Sincerity (إِخْلَاص)

Number three is sincerity — إِخْلَاص. That you say it with sincerity in your heart. You don't do it to show off, you don't do it to impress anyone, you don't do it to seek anything from anyone else other than Allah. As Allah says:

"They were only commanded that they should worship Allah alone, making their religion sincerely for Him, purely for Him."

And in the hadith of Abu Huraira (رضي الله عنه) in Sahih al-Bukhari — when Abu Huraira said: "O Messenger of Allah, who on Yawm al-Qiyamah has most right to your intercession?" The Prophet said (صلى الله عليه وسلم) — and Abu Huraira, I didn't think that anyone would ask me this question before you:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 99)

"The one who has most right to my intercession on the Day of Judgment is the one who says لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ with sincerity that comes from their heart." So you have to be sincere for the sake of Allah alone. It's not because it's your culture, it's your family, it's your name — it's because it is for the sake of Allah and Allah alone.

Condition 4: Truthfulness (صِدْق)

Number four — the fourth condition — is al-Sidq: that you have to be honest and truthful. Meaning that the intention that is in your heart, and what you believe deeply and sincerely from your heart, is something which then manifests upon your tongue and manifests in your actions. You're truthful — what is inside conforms with what is outside. Because if it doesn't, then that is the exact definition of hypocrisy — nifaq. Allah tells us in the Quran:

When the hypocrites used to come to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) they would say with their tongues: "We testify you are Allah's messenger." Allah says: "Allah knows that you are His messenger" — and then: "But Allah also bears witness that these hypocrites are liars." Why? Because they didn't really believe it in their hearts. They would say it, they would pray with the Muslims, they would be with them and they would try — but they didn't believe it in their hearts.

So you have to have truthfulness. It is not just that you say something and you don't believe it — or you know something that you believe in your heart but it's not manifested in your actions and in the way that you behave.

These are the first four conditions from the seven: knowledge, certainty, sincerity, and truthfulness. We ask Allah to make us from the people of those four conditions and the remaining ones.

بَارَكَ اللَّهُ لِي وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقُرْآنِ وَالسُّنَّةِ وَنَفَعَنِي وَإِيَّاكُمْ بِمَا فِيهِمَا مِنَ الْآيَاتِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ، أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِجَمِيعِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

Second Khutbah: The Remaining Three Conditions

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَمَنْ وَالَاهُ، وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيرًا، أَمَّا بَعْدُ.

So we have mentioned four of the seven conditions of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — knowledge and certainty, sincerity and truthfulness.

Condition 5: Love (مَحَبَّة)

Number five is love — مَحَبَّة — for the sake of Allah. That which you do, you don't do because you have any pressure upon you, even though it is the obligation of Allah upon you. But your belief and your Iman and your worship and everything that you do is because of the love that you have for Allah. People love that which they worship — it is part of their nature to love that which they worship. Allah tells us in the Quran:

There are from amongst the people those who worship other than Allah — they love them in the way that they should love Allah. They have more love for their gods than they do for Allah. And there are others who don't even believe in Allah. But as for the people of Iman: they love Allah even more.

Everything you do is because you love Allah and you hope for His reward and His mercy, and you seek the pleasure of His reward in the next life on the Day of Judgment. You acknowledge the many favours and blessings that Allah has bestowed upon you. Didn't Allah give you everything that you have — your health, your family, your wealth, everything that you enjoy? And Allah then gave you on top of this: guidance. He showed you the path of Islam, He taught you the Quran and the Sunnah. Doesn't Allah therefore deserve your love?

We love people more sometimes than we should, and they did less for us — some of them don't even do anything for us — but we love them because they're famous or they're powerful or they're wealthy. And Allah gave you everything that you have, and Allah promises to give you even more. So Allah is deserving of love.

Condition 6: Obedience and Submission (اِنْقِيَاد)

The sixth condition is al-inqiyad — obedience: that you submit to Allah and you obey Him. To say لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ isn't just a statement, and then you don't pray, you don't give Zakah, you don't follow the Quran, you don't follow the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). That isn't the true meaning of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ. Because if you acknowledge Allah, you have certainty and knowledge and sincerity that Allah alone is worthy of worship — He created you and demanded that you should worship Him in return — then why don't you worship Him? How is it truthful in your statement and you don't do anything that Allah commanded?

Allah tells us in the Quran to turn back to Allah and submit to Him, and the verses of submission in the Quran are many — because it is from the characteristics of the believers that they submit their affairs to Allah. That means that they obey Him in His commands and the commands that were given by His Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

Condition 7: Acceptance (قَبُول)

The seventh and final condition is al-qabool — to accept all of that. Anything that Allah told you to accept, you trust in Him and you believe in Him. If Allah commands something, you accept it and you believe in it. You don't question, you don't hesitate, you don't try to argue and debate. You say: "Allah said it, and it is enough for me that my Lord commanded." And that is the characteristic of the believers — that when Allah commands, they say: "We hear and we obey."

Closing Du'a

Those are the seven conditions of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ. Whoever fulfills them and whoever understands them and whoever lives in accordance to them — Allah has promised them the greatest of rewards in this life, but more importantly on the Day that they meet Him.

We ask Allah that He makes us from the people of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ. And we ask that Allah makes it a word that we live by and we die upon and that we are resurrected upon, and that Allah allows that kalimah to be an intercession for us on the Day of Judgment — that Allah uses that as a means of elevating our station in the next life, elevating our ranks in Jannah. We ask Allah that He makes it the kalimah that our families and our children are also upon, and that Allah makes us steadfast upon it and protects us from the traps of Shaytan.