The testimony of faith is the decisive criterion by
which man is judged to be a Muslim or a Kafir.
This testimony is the foundation upon which Islam
is based. The concept of life, the universe and man
is diffused from it and upon it is based the
message of all Messengers beginning with Noah
and ending with Muhammad, (peace be upon
them all). Allah, the Exalted says:
"We did not send the Messenger before you
zoithout reaealing to him: "There is no god worthy
of being worshipped except I, therefore worship
Me." (Holy Qur'an: Chapter 21, Verse 25)
Allah has created men and jinn and the rest
of creation on account of the testimony of faith,
there is no god worthy of being worshipped except
Allah, Consequently everything in this universe
submits in worship to Allah, to Whom belong the
creation and the authority. He is aware of all
things.

The Meaning of the Testimony of Faith
The testimony (nttl
ALLAH) comprises
affirmation.

Y LA ILAHA ILLA
concepts: denial and

First The testimony of faith denies
everyone and everything other than Allah, the
Exalted, the attribute of divinity. All those other
than Allah, such as the angels, the Prophets, and
the rest of mankind, let alone the idols and the
political regimes in the world, are not god nor do
they deserve to be worshipped. Thus denial in this
respect is not denial of the existence of the alleged
gods, rather the denial of divinity which is
attributed to them.
Second: The testimony of faith affirms and
restricts divinity to Allah Alone. That is, the slave
must believe Allah is the only true God, and
dedicate accordingly no act of worship to other
than Allah.
Since worship with all its legitimate acts
and rites must be dedicated only to the God who
deserve it, therefore, the true god to whom

Y! 4ll
two

worship must be dedicated is the one who enjoys
certain attributes, some of which are:
7- Divinity, the Oneness of Allah Who is singled
out as the only true God having no partner to
share His divine attributes, nor His domain. He is
the One the as-Samadl[1].
2- Self-sufficiency. Allah stands in need of no
one; He needs neither a helper nor a spouse or a
son.
3- The capability of doing everything. There is
nothing which frustrates His capability. He does
anything He wishes without exhaustion or
support. If He wills to do a thing, He only says to
it, "Be"
, and it is.

l- As-Samad is one of Allah's beautiful names. It is mentioned in
Surah #112, it signifies the following: the Lord to Whom recourse
is had, or to Whom obedience is "rendered", without Whom no
affair is "accomplished: or the One to Whom Lordship is ultimately
pertains, or the Creator of everything, of Whom nothing is
independent, and every created thing depends on Him for his or its
means of subsistence, whose Oneness everything indicates.

4- The absolute life which is unaffected by

perishment. Allah is Everlasting, and He is Al-
Qayoom2[2].

5- Alertress: Allah never sleeps nor is He
heedless, He is neither seized by slumber or
sleep.
6- Inclusive proprietorship: All existing things
belong to Allah alone.
7- Knowledge: Allah's knowledge
encompasses the whole universe that even an
ant weight does not escape His knowledge. He
is well aware of the hidden and the apparent,
the past the present, the future, and He knows
the inner thoughts of man.
8- Pride and grandeur: There is nothing greater
that Allah neither in His essence or in his
grandeur, nor in his supremacy.

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

9- Merciful beneficence: Allah does not wrong
a thing or punish unjustly rather He loves His
devotees, and forgive the sins of those who
repents to Him.
Hence, the One Who possesses such attributes
deserves to be worshipped God. Allah, the
Exalted, after all is the only One Who possesses
such attributes. He is the King, the Powerful, the
Wise, the One Who knows the seen and the
unseen, the Merciful, the Beneficent.
Only the One to Whom the divine athibutes
belong is a true God Who is worthy of being
worshipped and to whose greatress all creation
submit. It is for this reason the testimony of faith
constitutes denial of divinity to all other than Allah
and confir-i.g it to Allah Alone, for He is the only
true God.
Allah, Who is f.ar removed from every
imperfection, exclusively enjoys the attributes of
divinity. This divinity entails:
The right of legislating lows. Allah is the One
who legislates laws for His creafures, therefore no

one may legislates laws for himself or for others
that do not confirm with those of Allah, or those
given by His Messengers nor may any one design
a mode of worship or a transactional regulation for
individual or groups. Neither is it the right of
anyone to deem things lawful or unlawful on his
own accord. Nor is it the right of anyone to
legislate a penal law on his own accord, for such
rights are exclusively Allah's. Whoever gives
himself such rights presumptuously sets up
himself as god. Whoever obeys him takes him for
a god in lieu of Allah.
Allah

Hence we must know the acts of worship so
that we dedicated them to Allah Alone. Once we
know this, we know that He has created the
creatures only to worship Him. Man as part of His
creatures, must dedicate all his life worshipping
Allah, he must be aware of Allah's rulings
respecting everything he does, thus every lawfuI
thing he does, intending it to be a means of
bringing him closer to Allah, turns to be an act of
worship. Worship is an inclusive tern comprising
every utterance and deed, apparent or hidden that
Allah loves.
Having read this brief message about the
meaning of the testimony of faith, and its
requirements, you are probably anxious to profess
it and apply its requirements of this testimony that
are incumbent upon the person who confesses it to
apply?
These requirements are:
1- The belief that Allah is a true God to Whom
worship must be dedicated.

He is the One Who possesses all attributes of
perfection, and Who is far removed from every
imperfection such as taking a spouse or a son.
2- The belief that Allah is the Creator of existing
things, the Sustainer, the Giver of life and death,
the Proprietor of the universe, the only Ruler and
Legislator.
3- The belief that Allah possesses the athibutes
of perfection, and is far removed from every
imperfection as Muhammad, the Messenger of
Allah, (Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), informed us in the Qur'aan and the Sunnah.
The only two sources from which we know the
attributes of Allah. Were Muhammad to forge lies
against Allah, Allah would have definitely
punished Him. On the contrary, Allah supported
him with miracles that have proven his veracity
and frustworthiness in conveying the lvlessage of
his Rubb.

❰ له مجموعة من المؤلفات أبرزها  ❞ The Meaning Of the Testimony of Faith ❝  ❞ The Principles of Islam ❝  ❱

 The testimony of Laa ilaaha illAllah , its meaning, prerequisites, conditions, and fruits.