The First Level: Islam

If a person says: the meaning of “La ilaha illa Allah” is: no one is worshiped except Allah?

We say this speech is false: because with this speech he approves of all that is worshiped besides Allah, but when he says (in truth) then this is evidence that he disbelieves in everything worshiped besides Allah and that no one is worshiped in truth except Allah.

It means submitting to Allah by way of Tawheed, surrendering one’s full obedience to Him, and staying away from Shirk and its people.

The definition of Islam entails submitting all of the affairs to Allah since we are slaves, and the slave must submit to the Master. The Master is Allah as we are informed by the Prophet.

Then he has divided the religion into three levels:

1. Islam
2. Eemaan
3. Ihsan

(2) The pillars of Islam are five; first of them: The Shahaadah (No god should be worshiped except Allah).

The proof for the testimony of Faith is Allah’s saying: «Allah bears witness that there is no deity that has the right to be worshipped except Him, and so do the angels and those who possess knowledge. He is always maintaining His creation with justice. None has the right to be worshipped but Him- the All-Mighty, the All-Wise» Qur'an (3:18). The meaning of it (i.e. the testimony of Faith) is: There is no one that has the right to be worshipped except Allah, alone. 'Laa ilaaha' negates everything that is worshipped besides Allah, while 'illa Allah' affirms the worship for only Allah, free from any partner being mixed in with His worship, just as there is no partner mixed in with His Dominion. An explanation of this, which will clarify it further, is found in Allah’s saying: «And remember when Ibraheem said to his father and to his people: ’Verily, I am free from all that you worship – except for He who created Me, and verily He will guide me.’ And He made it a statement that will endure among his offspring that they may turn back to» (Qur'an 43: 26-27).

The author mentions the proof for the testimony of faith and clarifies that its meaning is: No god should be worshiped except Allah.

It is a must for the testimony of sincerity to comprise of

The negation is “No god should be worshiped” and the affirmation is “except Allah”.

This sentence construction shows restriction and affirmation; it restricts and affirms the worship for Allah alone and negates it for other than Him.

For this reason, the author said: An explanation of this, which will clarify it further, is found in Allah’s saying: «And remember when Ibraheem said to his father and to his people: Verily, I am free from all that you worship – except for He who created Me…».

Ibraheem's saying «free from all that you worship» is the meaning of “no god should be worshiped”.

«except for He who created Me» meaning “except Allah”.

Also His saying: «Say, 'O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is the same between us and you - that we will not worship except Allah; will not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah'. But if they turn away, then say, "Bear witness that we are Muslims [submitting to Him]» (Qur'an 3:64) (1).

If it is said: The meaning of “La ilaha ila Allah” is: There is no Creator except Allah. Even though this statement is correct, it is not the meaning of “La ilaha ila Allah”. This is the Oneness of Lordship, which was affirmed even by the idol worshippers whom the Prophet was sent to; however, this did not enter them into Islam.

(1) «Say, 'O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is the same between us and you…». This verse is a proof for the falsehood of the invitation for the “Unity of Religions”.

The proof for the testimony: 'Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah' is the saying of Allah: «There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer; he is concerned over you and to the believers he is kind and merciful» (Qur'an 9:128) (1).

The meaning of this testimony is: Obeying his orders, believing that which he has said, stay far away from his prohibitions, and that Allah is only worshipped with that which he has legislated (2).

(1) Allah has emphasized this verse with three different emphatic devices: The 'understood' oath, the Arabic letter 'Laam', and the 'Qad'.

(2) These four are a must for every Muslim in order to perfect their testimony.

The meaning of 'Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah': He is a slave and thus he should not be worshipped and a Messenger who should not be rejected, which means:

The proof for Prayer(1), Zakaat and the explanation of Tawheed is Allah’s saying: «And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, making the religion (i.e. worship) solely for Him alone, to perform the prayer, and give the Zakaat. That is the right Religion» (Qur'an 98: 5) (2).

The proof for Fasting is Allah’s saying: «O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you just as it was prescribed for those before you, in order that you may acquire Taqwaa (obey Allah)» (Qur'an 2: 183) (3).

The proof for Hajj is Allah’s saying: «Hajj (pilgrimage) to the House (Ka’bah) is a duty that people owe to Allah; those who are able to do it. And whoever disbelieves (by denying Hajj), then surely Allah is not in need of any of His creation» (Qur'an 3: 97) (4).

(1) The second pillar: Prayer.

It is worshipping Allah with movements and statements, beginning with 'Takbir' ('Allahu Akbar'-'Allah is the Greatest') and ending with 'Tasleem' (greetings of peace). It is a great pillar of the religion. Its obligation was conveyed to the Prophet directly from Allah when the Prophet ascended to the heavens.

(2) The third pillar: Obligatory Charity.

Linguistically it means growth and purification.

It is of two types: Purification of the body and purification of the wealth.

(3) The fourth pillar: Fasting.

Linguistically: To abstain.

Islamically: To worship Allah by abstaining from that which breaks the fast, with a sincere intention from the beginning of Fajr to sunset. It is one of the best acts of worship, since the three types of patience are all present in it. Also, what shows its great status is the fact that Allah has told us that He Himself will reward the fasting person

(4) The fifth pillar: Hajj.

Linguistically: To direct one's intention toward something or someone.

Islamically: To worship Allah by performing the rites of Hajj according to the way of the Prophet –may Allah praise him and send him peace-. It is an obligation on every Muslim who is able to, once in a lifetime.