Branches of Faith

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Abu Hurairah (رضى الله عنه) narrated that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, "Eeman (faith) has seventy or sixty odd branches. The greatest among them is saying la ilaha illallah and the least among them is to remove something harmful from the road and Haya is a branch of Eeman"[1]. 

This hadith gives us the top most branch of Eeman and the lower most branch of it and exclusively describes Haya, something loosely translated as modesty, to be a part of Eeman. Thus the great virtue of Haya is established. Nonetheless our focus today shall be on the greatest branch of Eeman, saying la ilaha illallah. But before we begin it must be made clear that Eeman is the affirmation by tongue, belief in heart and the action by limbs and it increases with the obedience to Allah and decrease with His disobedience. This is the belief of Ahlus Sunnah wal jama'h as passed down from our pious predecessors. Thus all of the imams from the famous four schools of thought with the exception of Imam Abu Haneefah (rahimahullah) who said eeman is only affirmation by tongue and attestation by heart[2], adhere to this definition. This statement of Imam Abu Haneefah (rahimahullah) is what separates his creed from the rest of the great scholars like Malik, Shafie, Ishaq, Ahmad, al Bukhari and others and the truth is with them, nevertheless he gets one reward[3] and it is mentioned by Ibn 'Abdul-Barr and Ibn Abil-'Izz that Imam Abu Haneefah retracted this statement, and Allah knows best.[4] Imam Abu Ubaid al Qasim ibn Salam al Baghdade (rahimahullah) (d. 224 H) wrote a book on this topic namely, kitab ul eeman[5] and  upheld the view of the majority of scholars that eeman is the affirmation by tongue, attestation by heart and action by limbs and it increases and decreases.

In Fathul Bari, Imam Ibn Hajar (rahimahullah) summarized the statement of Imam Ibn Hibban (rahimahullah) with regards to the hadith of the branches of eeman saying, "Verily these branches are derived from the actions of the heart, actions of the tongue and the actions of the body." He goes on mentioning that the actions of the heart comprise of belief and intentions and consists of twenty four matters and the actions of the tongue consists of seven matters and the actions of the body consists of thirty eight matters. Our aim today will be to discuss the greatest of them all, saying la ilaha illallah.

'La' (which means 'no') is a particle of negation in Arabic language and ilah is the corresponding noun which is inflected and carries the implication of an omitted syntactical teram- 'haq' meaning 'right'. And illallah is an exception to the previous negation. Thus la ilaha illallah means, none has the right to be an ilah except Allah. 'Ilha' means that which is deified with worship. It is that which the hearts love, adore and deify, hoping in it fot the attainment of benefit or for the protection against harm.

It is an error to think that the ellipsis (omission of implied word) in this kalimah la ilaha illallah is the word 'mawjood' (existence), because that would mean that none is worshipped other that Allah. Whereas so many things like rocks, trees, human beings, stars, seas etc are being worshipped along with Allah or other that Allah. When Prophet Nuh (as) delivered his people the message:

أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاتَّقُوهُ وَأَطِيعُونِ

"That you should worship Allâh (Alone), fear (be dutiful to) Him, and obey me" (Al Qur'an 71:3)

They said (to each other):

لَا تَذَرُنَّ آلِهَتَكُمْ وَلَا تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّا وَلَا سُوَاعًا وَلَا يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ وَنَسْرًا

'You shall not leave your gods, nor shall you leave Wadd, nor Suwâ', nor Yaghûth, nor Ya'ûq, nor Nasr' (these are the names of their idols). (Al Qur'an 71:23)

As a result they were punished, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

مِّمَّا خَطِيئَاتِهِمْ أُغْرِقُوا فَأُدْخِلُوا نَارًا فَلَمْ يَجِدُوا لَهُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَنصَارًا

Because of their sins they were drowned, then were made to enter the Fire. And they found none to help them instead of Allah.  (71:25)

It is in the very meaning of the Kalimah la ilaha illallah itself that many extremist sufis got deviated, saying nothing is worshiped other than Allah. It is all the same whether you worship Allah or star, or a tree or a human being since Allah's essence is in everything. And we seek refuge with Allah. For He, Allah the all Might has settled above His throne the way it suits to his majesty.

الرَّحْمَٰنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىٰ

The Most Gracious (Allâh) rose over (Istawâ) the (Mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty).  (Al Qur'an 20:5)

This is a concept well established in Qur'an and Sunnah and attested to by all the great imams, abu Haneefah, malik, shafiee, ahmad, Bukhari, Muslim and others.

So how blessed you are my brothers and sisters that you are being provided with an environment where the true meaning of this great kalimah is being taught. It is a declaration upon which the heavens and the earth are established, and for which the whole of the creation was created, for which Allah sent His messengers, revealed books and prescribed the divine laws. Beacuse of it scales and registers were set up, as were paradise and hellfire and the creation was divided into believers and disbelievers. It is the right for which the creation was created and about it and its rights will they be questioned about. Because of it is punishement and reward and due to it is the direction of the qiblah. It is a kalimah Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) himself testified to as have the angels and those who possess knowledge from amongst his creation. 

شَهِدَ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ وَأُولُو الْعِلْمِ قَائِمًا بِالْقِسْطِ ۚ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ 

Allâh bears witness that Lâ ilâha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), and the angels, and those having knowledge (also give this witness); (He always) maintains His creation in justice. Lâ ilâha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. (Al Qur'an 3:18)

It is a key to paradise, for the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said "Whoever says: la ilaha illallah and rejects whatever else is worshiped besides Allah, then his Property and blood become sacred and his reckoning is with Allah."[6]

It is the first thing sought from unbelievers when they are invited to Islam. Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said to Mu'aad (رضى الله عنه) while sending him to Yemen, "you are going to a people from the people of Book. So let the first thing to which you call them be to the worship of Allah."[7]

It has been reported by Ibn Hibbaan, as well as al-Haakim who declared it to be authentic (saheeh), from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudree (رضى الله عنه), that Allah's Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: "Musa (as) said: 0 my Lord! Teach me something by which I can remember You and supplicate to You. Allah said: 0 Musa! say la ilaha illallah. Musa (as) said: 0 my Lord! All Your slaves say this. Allah said: 0 Musa! If the seven heavens and all that they contain, other than Me, and the seven earths were placed in one scale, and la ilaha illallah were put in the other, then la ilaha illallah would outweigh them all."

A further indication as to how weighty this kalimah is in the scales can be seen from what at-Tirmidhi reports and declares to be sound - as well as an-Nasai, and al-Hakim who said that it is authentic according to the criterion of Muslim – from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr, from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), who said: 'A person from my ummah will be summoned in front of everyone on the Day of Resurrection. Ninety-nine scrolls will be unfurled for him, each scroll extending as far as the eye can see. Then it will be said: Do you deny any of this [i.e. your bad deeds]? So the man will reply: No, 0 Lord. Then it will be said: Do you have any excuse or any good deed? The man, in a state of terror, will answer: No. It will then be said: Rather, you do have some good deeds and no injustice will befall you this Day. So a parchment will be taken out for him, upon which there will be the testification of laa ilaha illallah and the testification that Muhammad is the Slave and Messenger of Allaah. The man will say: 0 Lord, what is this parchment in comparison to those scrolls! It will be said to him: No injustice shall befall you. The scrolls will then be placed in one of the scales and the parchment in the other; the scrolls will be light in weight, whereas the parchment will be heavy."

Some people out of their zeal coupled with ignorance pronounce this kalimah in some strange ways. Instead of saying it properly and understanding it while fulfilling its conditions, what they say doesn't cross this word 'hu', and you hear them saying hu hu hu hu... shaking their heading, jumping up and down. All this is from the worst of innovations (Bid'ah), and Allah's refuge is sought. Thus it is imperative that we finish our talk with the discussion of the conditions of this kalimah, so that what it demand is established and evil is repelled.

There are seven conditions of this great kalimah and the first one is Al- Ilm, that is 'the knowledge'. "Knowledge (al-'ilm) of its meaning, what it negates and affirms. If a person says it without knowing its meaning, nor with what its requirements are, then he will not benefit by it, because he has not believed in what it requires. Rather, he is like someone who speaks in a language that he does not understand. Secondly: Certainty (al-yaqeen), which is [to have] complete surety of it and which leads to repelling any doubt or suspicion about it. Thirdly: Exclusively worshipping Allah (al-ikhlaas), which is contrary to shirk. This is what laa ilaha illallah points towards. Fourthly: Truthfulness (as-sidq), which prevents hypocrisy (nifaaq). Indeed, the hypocrites uttered it with their tongues, but did not inwardly believe in what it signified. Fifthly: Love (al-mahabbah) for this kalimah and having love and pleasure for whatever it necessitates. This is contrary to the [state of the] hypocrites. Sixthly: Submissive compliance (al-inqiyaad), by fulfilling its rights - which are the obligatory actions - with sincerity to Allah and seeking His good pleasure. This is its requirement. Seventhly: Acceptance (al-qabool), which prevents rejection. This is achieved by acting upon what Allah has commanded and abandoning whatever He has prohibited. Scholars have deduced these conditions from those texts of the Book and the Sunnah which are pertinent to [understanding] this great kalimah; and which explain its rights and restrictions and that it is not merely a word that a person utters."[8]

Now it is asked to those who make a mockery of this kalimah, the hu hu hu people how many conditions to they fulfil, rather they miss out a lot, for they don't follow the commandments of Allah saying la ilaha illallah is in their hearts and they are remitted from performing actions like offering salah and so on. While others involve themselves in haram activities, taking drugs, smoking etc and say la ilaha illallah is in their heart and for them everything is halal (permitted). Shaitan has taken them on a ride, and we seek Allah's refuge from the accursed devil. In the upcoming Khutba we will try to throw light on the others branches of faith. InshaAllah.

May Allah bless you all and our last call is all praises are due to Allah, the lord of the all worlds.

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[1] Reported by Muslim

[2] Al Fiqh ul Akbar p 304. Reference taken from 'The creed of the four Imams' by Muhammad bin Abdur Rahman Al Khumayyis

[3] Amr ibn Al `As (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying: "If a judge gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is correct (i.e. agrees with Allah and His Messenger's verdict) he will receive a double reward, and if he gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is wrong, (i.e. against that of Allah and His Messenger) even then he will get a reward." [Reported by Al Bukhari and Muslim

[4] Refer to at-Tamheed (9/247) of Ibn 'Abdul-Barr, and Sharhul-'Aqeedatit-Tahaawiyyah (p. 359) of Ibn Abil-'Izz al-Hanafee. . Reference taken from 'The creed of the four Imams' by Muhammad bin Abdur Rahman Al Khumayyis

[5] Translated into English by Abu Rumaysa entitled The book of Eemaan

[6] Reported by Muslim

[7] Bukhari and Muslim

[8] The Declaration of faith by Shykh Saleh al Fawzan