The Importance of Knowing la ilaha illallah - Shaykh Wasim Kempson

Khutbah Opening

Amma ba'd: Indeed, the best of speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. The worst of affairs are newly invented matters, and every newly invented matter is a bid'ah, and every bid'ah is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

Indeed, all praise and thanks is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah alone. And I bear witness that Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ is his final messenger.

My dear brothers, my dear sisters, on this blessed day of al-Jumu'ah, I ask Allah to bless each and every single one of us, and that He has His mercy upon us, and that He allows our last speech to be لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ.

Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman: The Keeper of Secrets

The great companion Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ is a very special companion. In fact, all of the companions of the Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ are special, and have their own special gifts and relationships with the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.

However, Hudhayfah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ is special for what? He was the individual whom the Prophet عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ would share secrets with — disclose information to Hudhayfah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ which no other would receive. In fact, many of the ahadith, many of the narrations that deal with عَلَامَاتُ السَّاعَة — the signs of the Day of Judgment — or events, trials, and fitan, or matters that would happen towards the end of time, were relayed by Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ.

The Hadith of the Wearing Out of Islam

I want to mention a particular incident that happened between Hudhayfah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ, the great companion of the Messenger of Allah صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ, and an individual from the Tabi'een whose name was Silah. This hadith is found in Sunan Ibn Majah and it is an authentic, sound narration, in which the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4049)

That Islam will become worn out just as clothes are worn out — until a time will come that people will not know what fasting is, nor charity, nor the pilgrimage. And that the verses of Allah will be taken up in one night. And there will remain some people — the older generation — and these are the only people who will remain who have some understanding. What will their understanding be? They will say: "We remember our forefathers upon this word — لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — and so we say it."

So the one who is hearing this — Silah — says to Hudhayfah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: How will لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ benefit them when they have no idea of what fasting is, what charity is, and what pilgrimage is? What is the benefit of them saying لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ?

He said this three times. On the first two occasions, Hudhayfah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ ignores him and does not say anything. Then on the third occasion he is asked, and Hudhayfah رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ turns to him and says:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4049)

"O Silah, it will save them from the Hellfire." This kalimah of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ that they are saying will save them from the Hellfire.

Reflection: Our Position Compared to Theirs

This is in a time where it is clear — if you look at the hadith in more depth — that knowledge has been taken away from the people. But what remains with those individuals, those people — and of course it is all relative to their time — is that that's all they had, but all they had, they held on to.

If we look at ourselves now, when we compare ourselves — and this is in the latter times — you know, when you pick up a book, a very famous book by Ibn Kathir talking about the signs of the Day of Judgment — Ibn Kathir, a great alim who lived what, 750 years ago, 800 years ago — people were thinking آخِرُ الزَّمَان, the end of times, thinking it's far away. When people read the same things about آخِرُ الزَّمَان now, they think the end of times is far away. Centuries have passed and we are centuries closer to آخِرُ الزَّمَان, with our life as it stands at the moment changing on a daily basis. The world is a different place now.

Towards the end of time, people will only know لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ, but they will hold on to it because they don't have anything else — and relative to them, that is absolutely everything. But if we look at ourselves now, the access to knowledge — your devices, the masajid — you are in a great blessing. So in relative terms, who is in a better position? Yes, they may have less, but what they have less of, they hold on to everything.

And now for us — at the very least, is it not enough for us, or is it not upon us, to actually know the meaning of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ? Not something we merely inherited from our forefathers, but that we have access to understanding what it actually means — what it means to be a Muslim. That Allah gave us guidance to preserve your Islam, to preserve your identity as a Muslim.

But there are so many things which will edge away at that if you are not careful. This worldly life — there are many celebrations that are pushed and given to you. If you isolate one celebration, maybe it's not such a big problem — the celebration of the New Year, or Christmas, or Valentine's, or Mother's Day, this day and that day. If you isolate one of them, maybe it's not such a big problem. But it's the principle: what guidance did Allah give to you to preserve your deen? One of the objectives of Islam is to protect itself, and anything that may take anything away from that should then be put to one side. It is not there to restrict your life. It is there to preserve your life.

So how important it is for us to understand the reality. We are talking about the foundation of our deen, the very basics of our religion. And at times it is important for us to go back to the very building blocks of our deen — to understand what it means to say لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ.

When Allah tells us that the deen accepted only to Allah is al-Islam — and what is al-Islam? It is to surrender to Allah with the kalimah لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ. This is the key. This is the foundation of everything. And for us to be ignorant of that is the biggest calamity any individual can face on earth — not loss of money, not loss of health — but the misunderstanding concerning their own religion, Islam. Having a misunderstanding of how you worship Allah. May Allah protect us all.

From Knowledge to Action: Surah al-Fatiha

The theory of what I've just said — you agree with it. Very important, yes, mashAllah. A good word, knowledge on the minbar, something mentioned on the day of Jumu'ah — it was a good word. However, this is part of the ilm, this is part of the knowledge given to you from the Qur'an and the Sunnah. But it doesn't stop there and should never stop there, because ilm — acquiring the knowledge — is half of the job. The next half of the job is you implementing it and allowing that knowledge to become part of your identity.

So what is the amal now? What is the action now? There's no need to refer you to the books of the great ulama, although those are important. Something very simple for you to refer to — something every single one of us has memorized, something all of us from the smallest of children, from the age of 3 and 4 and 5, we teach them. Teach them and know the meanings of what? Surah al-Fatiha.

Because within Surah al-Fatiha — Umm al-Qur'an, the mother of the chapters of the Qur'an — the message of the entire Qur'an, you can find in Surah al-Fatiha. The meanings of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ are there in Surah al-Fatiha. So this is the amal — for us to go back to Surah al-Fatiha, to understand Surah al-Fatiha, and how that will increase our knowledge in لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ.

So if you are asked: لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — what does it mean to you? Maybe you will give its intended meaning: There is no one deserving or worthy of worship except Allah. One of the translated meanings. Okay.

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen — Affirming Allah's Lordship

But when you read Surah al-Fatiha, is there something more than that? When you say:

All praise and thanks belongs and is due to Allah, Rabbil alameen — the Lord of the Worlds. So Allah جَلَّ وَعَلَا is Ar-Rabb. What is Ar-Rabb? The creator, the sustainer, the owner, the controller of all affairs in the universe. So when you say Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen, your affirmation of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — part of that is to affirm Allah's Lordship. That He created everything. That He is in control of the universe. Nothing happens except by His permission. And that He is the owner of everything and sustains everything.

Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem — Affirming Allah's Names and Attributes

The Most Merciful, the Most Beneficent. That to Allah جَلَّ وَعَلَا belongs the most beautiful names and attributes —

Allah is all-encompassing mercy to all of the universe — those who believe and those who disbelieve. Ar-Raheem — that special mercy given only to the believers. Another aspect of Allah's tawheed, of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ — His names and attributes.

Maliki Yawm al-Deen — All Accountability Returns to Allah

The Owner, the King of the Day of Judgment. All accountability goes back to Allah.

Iyyaka Na'budu wa Iyyaka Nasta'een — The Essence of La Ilaha Illallah

You alone we worship. You alone we seek aid. This is the essence of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ. The same message that was taught from Adam عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ to Prophet Muhammad صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — to worship only Allah and to avoid all partners and intermediaries. We ask Allah جَلَّ وَعَلَا to guide us to a true understanding of لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ.

Closing Du'a

Wa aqim al-salah.