The Shahadah - Testimony of Faith (Part 2)

The Second Part of the Shahadah

"muhammadur rasulullah"

Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah

This is the second part of the declaration of the Shahadah. It is the belief that Muhammad () is the final and last Messenger of Allah. This means that:

1)      Whatever Allah told us about Muhammad (PBUH) must be true

"Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad-) from amongst yourselves (i.e. whom you know well). It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He (Muhammad-) is anxious over you (to be rightly guided, to repent to Allah, and beg Him to pardon and forgive your sins, in order that you may enter Paradise and be saved from the punishment of the Hell-Fire), for the believers (he--is) full of pity, kind, and Merciful."(9:128).

"O Prophet (Muhammad-)! Verily, We have sent you as a witness, and a bearer of glad tidings and a warner, And as one who invites to Allah {i.e. to worship none but Allah} by His leave, and as a lamp spreading light (through your instructions from the Qur'an and Sunnah)."(33: 45-46)

"Say (O Muhammad-): "I am a man like you. It has been inspired to me that your Ilaah (God) is One Ilaah (i.e., Allah). So, whoever hopes for the meeting with his Rabb (Allah) let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Rabb (Allah)." (18:110)

"Is it a wonder for mankind that We have sent our inspiration to a man from among themselves (Prophet Muhammad-) (saying):"Warn mankind (of the coming torment in Hell) and give good news to those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah & in His Prophet-), that they shall have with their Rabb (Allah) the rewards of their good deeds."? (10: 2).

"Say (O Muhammad-) I possess no power of benefit or hurt to myself except as Allah will. If I had the knowledge of the Ghaib (unseen), I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me: I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings unto people who believe."(7:188).

2    2)      That we must worship Allah as taught by Muhammad(PBUH)

The obedience to Muhammad (PBUH) is an Order from Allah:

"And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad-) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it) and fear Allah. Verily, Allah is severe in punishment." (59:7)

 The meaning of the above ayah (verse) is very well illustrated in the following narration:

Narrated 'Alqama: Abdullah (bin Mas'ud) said, "Allah curses those ladies who practice tattooing and those who get themselves tattooed, and those ladies who remove the hair from their faces and those who make artificial spaces between their teeth to look more beautiful whereby they change Allah's creation. "His saying reached a lady from Bani Asd called Um Ya'qub who came (to Abdullah) and said: "I have come to know that you have cursed such-and-such (ladies)?" He replied: "Why should not I curse these whom Allah's Messenger cursed and who are cursed in Allah's Book!" Um Ya'qub said, "I have read the whole Qur'an and I have not found in it what you say." He said, "Verily if you have read it (i.e. the Qur'an), you have found it. Didn't you read: "And whatsoever the Messenger gives you, take it and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)." She replied, "Yes, I did." He said, "Verily, Allah's Messenger forbade these things." She said, "But I see your wife doing these things?" He said, "Go and watch her." She went and watched her but could not see anything in support of her statement. On that he said, "If my wife were as you thought, I would not keep her in my company (i.e. I would divorce her)."

"He, who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad-), has indeed obeyed Allah, but he
who turns away, then We have not sent you (O Muhammad-) as a watcher over
them." (4:80)

The Prophet (PBUH) said:

"Whoever obeys me, he obeys Allah, and whoever disobeys me, he disobeys Allah and whoever obeys the ruler I appoint, he obeys me, and whoever disobeys him, he disobeys me." [Collected by Al-Bukhaaree].

He (PBUH) also said:

"All of my followers will enter Paradise except those who refuse." They said: 'O Allah's Messenger! Who will refuse?' He said, “Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise and whoever disobeys me is the one who refuses (to enter it)."[Collected by Al-Bukhaaree].

The matters discussing worship of Allah, discipline, orders, advice, approvals, and recommendations as detailed by Muhammad () are collectively known as Sunnah. The Sunnah is also meant to emphasize the correct way of understanding the Deen of Islam, in contrast with the ways of deviations and (or) innovations. The Sunnah is an Inspiration from Allah and is not the Prophet's idea, thought or desire:

"Nor does he (Muhammad-) speak of (his own) desire. It is only an Inspiration that is inspired."(53:3-4)

So, in obeying the Prophet's Sunnah we are obeying Allah. There should be no resistance to the way of the Prophet (). He () must be taken as a judge in all disputes as Allah clearly commands:

"But no, by your Rabb (Allah), they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad-) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) fully with submission."(4:65).

"And let those who oppose the Messenger's commandment (i.e. his Sunnah, legal ways, orders, acts of worship, statements, etc.) (Among the sects) beware, lest some Fitnah befall them, or a painful torment be inflicted on them."(24:63).

The Prophet (PBUH) said:

"He who does an act which our matter (i.e. our religion) is not in agreement with will have it rejected." [Related by Muslim and Al-Bukhaaree with a different wording].

The Sunnah of the Prophet () is surely safeguarded as Allah promised to save the Message of Islam from any human corruption. The following of the Sunnah of the Prophet () is the manifestation of the Declaration: "MUHAMMAD IS THE MESSENGER OF ALLAAH":

Say (O Muhammad- to all mankind): "If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. what I was trusted with, the Qur'an and Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."(3:31)

SUMMARY

The declaration that Muhammad () is the Messenger of Allah is an integral part of faith. Muhammad (PBUH) must be trusted in all that he informed us about Islam. He (PBUH) must be obeyed in all that he ordered and we must stay away from all that he forbade. The obedience to Muhammad (PBUH) is obedience to Allah. He left us with all that leads to Paradise and warned us from all that leads to Hell.

The Shahadah
IS IT ENOUGH TO "SAY" IT?

The Belief in the Oneness and Uniqueness of Allah (Tawheed) does not only mean to accept that there is no Creator but Allah, and that Allah is the Sovereign Rabb (Lord). The person, who admits to this fact yet at the same time insists to associate partners with Allah in worship, is a Mushrik (committing Shirk) even though he may daily utter the Shahadah. Tawheed, however, embodies the love of Allah alone; submissions, humility, complete obedience, and sincerity of worship to Allah alone. All of our life must be for His sake. Whoever acknowledges this meaning of Tawheed then he understands the saying of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH):

"Allah forbade the admittance to Hell of anyone who says laa ilaaha illal-laah ‘There is no true God Who deserves to be worshipped except Allah,’ seeking the Face of Allah.” [Reported by Al-Bukhaaree and Ahmad].

The hypocrites may utter the Shahadah yet it is known that they are in the lowest part of Hell. Their declaration is not sincere:

"Verily the hypocrites will be in the lowest depth (grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for them."(4:145)

“Verily, there is a piece of flesh in the body if it is good the rest of the body becomes good; and if it is bad, the rest of the body becomes bad, and that is the heart.” [Part of an authentic hadith reported by Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim].

Once the Shahadah is established in the heart it will then help transform the status of the person such that the Fire of Hell will be forbidden to him. It has been narrated that the Prophet () said:

"Whoever says laa ilaaha illal-laah, 'there is no true God Who deserves to be worshipped but Allah' and declares Kufr (Disbelief) in whatever is worshipped besides Allah then his money and blood are Haram (forbidden to be harmed in his money and blood) and the judgment (upon this person) is up to Allah." [Collected by Muslim and Ahmad].

The above hadith is a great explanation for the true meaning of 'There is no true God but Allah'. It emphasizes that there must be a complete dissociation from anyone /anything taken as a deity besides Allah. There can be no worship offered to a righteous man, a star, moon, fire, river, cow, Buddha, Gandhi, Jesus, Khomeini, Malcolm X or Y!, Farrakhan, graves, statues, money, lust, heads of states, and so forth. Islam abolishes all forms of man-made deities. When the person disbelieves in offering worship to other than Allah, then he becomes a Muslim. It is very clear that the disbelievers (Kuffar) of Mecca knew what the Prophet () meant by the word he brought to them from Allah: "There is no true God but Allah." They believed that Allah was the Sustainer, the One Who gives life and causes death. But when Muhammad () told them to say: "There is no true God Who deserves to be worshipped except Allah,” their answer was:

"Has he made the "gods" (all) into one God (Allah) Verily, this is a curious thing!" (38:5).

They knew that the declaration of the Shahadah meant the abolishing of everything introduced between them and Allah; an end to their intermediary "gods." This was the reason behind their rejection. This testimony of Tawheed is pure from any falsehood. It brings eternal abode in Paradise for those who fulfill its conditions and what it entails. Its rejection brings eternal abode in An-Naar (Hell). May Allah guide me and you to be amongst those who love this declaration as well as abide by its meaning.

By Saleh As-Saleh