Importance of Kalima Importance of Kalima Shahadah In the Name of Allah the Most Gracious and the All Compassionate Assalamualaikum to all bros and sisters, I have been contemplating for some time to write an article on the impact of the kalima shahadah in a muslim’s life. The reason behind writing this message was, not all of us realize the importance of the kalima shahadah, most of us consider it as an oath of allegience and are not implementing it in our lives with zeal. Everything of the heavens and all that is in them, the earths and all that is in them, if they were put on one side of the scale and “La ilaha ilallah” was placed on the other side, “La ilaha ilallah” would outweigh them all. When we bear witness Laa ilaahah illa allaah . We affirm that we do not worship anyone but Allah Subhana Ta’ala. Now in Arabic “La” which negates a sentence requires a subject which it is negating and a description of the negation e.g. “There is no person (subject) that is inside the house (description)”, now in the Kalima the subject is there i.e. “entity who is worshiped” but the description is missing which is very important for us to understand. So we have to acknowledge that while there are many objects in the world which are being worshiped none are worthy of being worshiped except Allah (swt); therefore, calling upon anyone apart from Allah (swt) or associating His attributes with anyone else can take us out of Islam. When we declare Muhammad Rasullulah(peace be upon him) is our messenger we assert and want to follow his footsteps by our speech, actions and by implementing the sunnah in our life without fail. Although many of us think its a few words spoken by mouth, we fail to realize that its coupled with sincerity and determination to struggle along the straight path. The path undertaken by our pious predecessors. Importance of Laa ilaahah illa allaah: When a muslim believes and affirms that he worships none except Allah, he never bows his head homage to anyone or anything or stretches his hand to anyone else. This conviction makes him fearless other powers except Allah. This belief commands high respect and self esteem and implies that any bad or good that befalls upon him is from Allah alone. A believer is not self conceited, proud or boisterous, he strongly believes all success is from Allah and this belief generates modesty and humility. He acknowledges that pride is for Allah alone. He knows whatver he possesses was given by Allah and can be taken by HIM whenever HE wants. Aboo Hurayrah quoted Allah’s Messenger (sal Allahu alahi wa salam) as saying: “Allah, Most Great and Glorious said: Pride is My cloak, and greatness is My robe, so whoever competes with Me, with respect to either of them, I shall cast him into Hell” (Sahih Muslim, vol. 4 #6349, Sunan Aboo Dawood, vol. 3 # 4079) In contrast to this an unbeliever due to his self conceit and pride attributes his merit due to his own worth. Pride and self conceit are some of the components of Shirk(association of others besides Allah) because this deviates a person from the right path and soon enough he becomes a slave of his own desires and whims. “Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allaah, knowing (him as such), left him astray, and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart, and put over his vision a veil? So who will guide him after Allaah? Will you not then remember?” [Quran 45:23] When a calamity strikes the believer, he continues to struggle realizing that Allah alone can help him and relieve him from his problems. He has a firm faith in Allaah Who is The Master of all the treasures of the earth and the heavens, Whose grace and bounty have no limit and Whose power is infinite. This faith imparts to his heart extraordinary consolation, fills it with satisfaction and keeps it filled with hope. Although he may be met with rejection from all sides in this world, faith in and dependence on Allaah never leave him, and on that strength he goes on struggling. Such profound confidence can result from no other belief than belief in Allaah Alone. Allah [Alone] is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs [for us].} (Qur’an 3: 173). Importance of Muhammadur Rasullulah(sal Allahu alahi wa salam) Say, (O Muhammad(sal allahu alahi wa salam), to mankind): If ye love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you” (Aal `Imran: 52). Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying, “All my nation will enter Paradise except those who refuse.” The Companions asked, “Who dare to refuse, O Prophet?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) answered, “Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise; and whoever disobeys me is showing refusal” (Al-Bukhari). People today, and the young in particular, take many individuals as role models, imitate the way they behave, speak and dress, and try to be like them. Yet, since the great majority of thesepeople are not on the right road themselves, they lack proper morality and attitudes. It is therefore a serious responsibility to lead people to the truth and the best morality and behavior. A Muslim needs to try to emulate the behavior and the morality of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Allah, Most High, says, (And you (stand) on an exalted standard of character.) (Al-Qalam 68: 4) (Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the praise of Allah.) (Al-Ahzab 33: 21) We know now, as we did before, that following the sunnah of the beloved Messenger salAllahu ‘alayhi wasallim is of utmost importance. Now how do we turn that knowledge into action? One of the biggest and most powerful driving factors in any action has been, still is and always will be love. Clichéd as it may sound, the proof is all around us. Such should be the love every Muslim pours upon our beloved Prophet salAllahu ‘alayhi wasallim. How can we help it? How can we not be obsessive in our love for the Messenger of Allah, salAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam? The Prophet(peace and blessings be upon him) is closer to the believers than their ownselves, and his wives are their (believers’) mothers (as regards respect and marriage). And blood relations among each other have closer personal ties in the Decree of Allah (regarding inheritance) than (the brotherhood of) the believers and the Muhajirun (emigrants from Makkah, etc.), except that you do kindness to those brothers (when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) joined them in brotherhood ties). This has been written in the (Allah’s Book of Divine) Decrees (AlLauh AlMahfuz).(Quran 33:6) Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) practiced what he preached. He very carefully and meticulously followed the Qur’an, Allah’s Word that was revealed to him. He followed and lived the Qur’an at every moment in every detail of his life. His life was the reflection of Allah’s Words. He became the Qur’an in person, the embodiment of the Qur’an, or one may even say in a metaphorical sense “the Word in flesh” Sa`d ibn Hisham said that he asked `A’ishah, Prophet’s wife (may Allah be pleased with her) “Tell me about the character of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).” She said, “His character was the Qur’an.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 24139) (Mistake are my own and corrections are from Allah) Allah knows best ~ Brothers and Sisters, should u have any topic that you want me to address specifically do lemme know insha Allah. Next topic, will be on the conditions of the shahadah and some of the misconceptions of Islam. May we all continue to strive to be better muslims and may Allah continue to guide us in the right path,Ameen.
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 17:11:24 +0000