Part 7

but when he came to deathʹs door it again entered his heart and so he was one of

those who entered paradise. 53

And also the account about the prostitute whose heart was moved by the

sight of a dog dying of thirst by the side of a well, eating the dust in desperation.

With no higher purpose or hope of reward, she filled her shoe to the brim and

gave it to the dog. Though people usually beat it she took it by the paw and

stilled it until it had drunk, knowing that it could neither reward her nor even

thank her in any way. Her supreme act of love wiped out all her previous sins

and this is how she was forgiven. 54

Imam Muslim reports a hadith in which the Prophet, may Allah bless him

and grant him peace, says,

"Whoever says, ʺThere is no god but Allahʺ, and denies whatever he

used to worship beside Allah, will find that his life and his property are

protected, and his reward is with Allah." 55

Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab points out that this is the greatest proof

we have of the real meaning of the declaration of faith, since neither life nor

property are protected simply by pronouncing these words; indeed there is no

significance at all in just saying them, nor in advocating them, nor even in calling

on Allah alone. Your life and your property are not protected until you actually

deny whatever you used to worship beside Allah; and if you have any doubt or

hesitation about that, then you are still outside Islam. 56

This should make clear the error of the Murjiʹa sect 57 , who said that faith

was equivalent to knowledge, and disbelief to ignorance, and who in this way

severed deeds from belief. Everyone knows that the pagans of Makkah

understood what the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, meant

by saying, ʹThere is no god but Allahʹ. They understood it and they believed it,

53 See Sahih Al-Bukhari, Kitab alAnbia', 6/512, (3470); and Sahih Muslim, Kitab atTawba, 4/2118,

54 Ibn al‐Qayim, Madarij as‐Salikin, 1/330‐332.

55 Sahih Muslim, Kitab al‐Iman, 1/53, (23).

56 Ibn Abdul Wahhab, Kitab at‐Tawhid, p. 115.

57 The Murjiʹa sect believed that belief is all that is needed to reach the Garden.

but they arrogantly refused to acknowledge it; so their faith in the One God, the

Provider, the Bringer of Life and Death, did not benefit them at all. When the

"Say, ʺThere is no god but Allahʺ

ʹDoes he make the gods One God? Surely that is an astounding thing.ʹ"

The strange thing is that while the disbelievers know that the declaration

of faith is more than just saying the words, some people who claim to be

Muslims do not. They think that these reports mean that a simple utterance of

the words, ʹThere is no god but Allahʹ, with none of their meaning entering the

heart, is all that is required. But wiser people understand that it means that there

is no creator other than Allah: no other provider, giver of life, bringer of death,

and no other who holds all things in his hand. However, there is still no benefit

to be gained by knowing what the declaration of faith means if you are without

any belief. This throws new light on the meaning of those reports in which the

Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, mentions the simple

repetition of these words, such as:

"I have been ordered to struggle against people until they say, ʺThere is

no god but Allah." 58

Some people hope to imply by this that whoever recites the declaration of

faith is not a disbeliever, and that we should not oppose him, regardless of

whatever else he does. These people should recall that the Prophet, may Allah

bless him and grant him peace, fought the Jews and cursed them even though

they said, ʹThere is no god but Allahʹ. Not only this, but also the Companions of

the Prophet fought the Bani Hanifa who not only said, ʹThere is no god but Allah

and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allahʹ, but also prayed and claimed to be

Muslims; this was the same for the people whom Ali ibn Abi Talib burned alive

for saying that he was an incarnation of Allah.

However, when you ask these people about the case of someone who

denies the rising of the dead, they say that he has disbelieved and that we should

fight him, even if he says, ʹThere is no god but Allahʹ. They agree that whoever

58 Sahih Muslim, Kitab al‐Iman, 1/51, (20).

disputes any of the five pillars of Islam has disbelieved and should be opposed

with the pen and the sword, even though he may pronounce the declaration of

The contradiction here is that none of these denials involve the central

tenet of Islam, which is the affirmation of Divine Unity, and yet these people are

prepared to go to war over them; but when it is a matter of someone who denies

the very essence of belief, the Divine Unity of God, then they provide him with

an excuse for its denial, even though it is the very source and foundation of the

So it becomes clear that these people are the enemies of Allah, and that

they have not understood at all the meaning of what the Prophet, may Allah

bless him and grant him peace, has said:

It is well known that when a man declares himself to be a Muslim we

should act prudently towards him until he does something that clearly

"O you who believe! When you go out (to fight) in the way of Allah, be

careful, and do not say to one who offers you peace: ʹYou are not a

believer,ʹ seeking the chance profits of this life (so that you may despoil

him). With Allah are plenteous spoils. You too were like this once, and

Allah gave you hope, so be careful; surely Allah is well aware of what

This verse indicates the necessity of restraint until such time as you are

sure about the situation, since Allah says: ʹbe carefulʹ. If it becomes clear that

someone is at odds with Islam, then fight him. If this were not the case, then the

command to verify the situation before fighting would be meaningless.

Similarly the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said of

ʹWherever you find them fight them, for were I to discover them I

would destroy them utterly, as the people of ʹAd were destroyed.' 59

He said this even though they were meticulously observant in their

dedication and in their worship, so much so that the companions, with whom

they studied, felt humbled before them. Their declaration of faith, however, did

59 Sahih Muslim, Kitab d‐zakah, 2742, (1064).

not benefit them, and neither did the fullness of their worship, nor indeed their

service to Islam, once they had abandoned the Shariʹah. 60

Any intelligent person knows that if this whole matter hinged upon a

single word, a mere word, then it would have been a simple thing for the

Quraish to say it. They would have said, ʹThere is no god but Allahʹ, saving both

themselves alot of trouble and their gods from ridicule. But they knew that the

declaration of faith also involved a commitment, and it was this commitment

that threatened their power and status in the land.

The point here is that Islam is a force that liberates all people from the

unjust slavery of one to another, and places mankind at the service of the One,

the Victorious. The degree of their fear of Allah became the measure of their

worth and excellence among people. Thus the habits and customs of the

jahiliyyah, inherited from parents and grandparents, had no place. Every good

hearted, sincere Muslim must strive towards the full realisation of the

declaration of faith, in order that each and every one of us may worship Allah

with insight, knowledge, and certainty. This is the real challenge of Islam.

60Muhammad ibn Abdul‐Wahhab, Kasf ash‐Shubuhat, p.40. The Kharijites believed that

committing major wrong actions turns a Muslim into an unbeliever.

The Effects of the Declaration of Faith on the Heart

Abu Aʹla al‐Mawdudi mentions in his book, Fundamentals of Islam, nine

effects of the declaration of faith upon the heart.

Firstly, as a believer you are not narrow minded like those who believe in

many gods or who dispute the existence of God altogether.

Secondly, as a believer you feel a sense of your own worth and dignity,

since it is Allah alone who brings benefit and harm, and He alone who brings life

and death. Wisdom, power and authority are His. Because of this the heart feels

no fear of anything other than Him. No head bows to another, no one is humbled

before anyone else. No one may fear another or be intimidated by human power

or majesty, since Allah is the Majestic and the Omnipotent over all things. In

contrast to this we see the subjugation of the disbelievers, the Christians and the

Jews, and the pagans and the atheists, to one another.

Thirdly, as a believer your sense of honour and self esteem are inspired by

faith. The Muslim knows humility without humiliation, and pride without

vainglory. Satan can not affect his pride or inspire conceit in him since he is well

aware that it is Allah who has given him all that he has and who is capable of

stripping him of everything at any time. Yet you see the atheist bursting with

pride whenever some worldly benefit comes his way.

Fourthly as a believer you have the knowledge and the certainty that it is

only through purification of the self and the performance of good works that

success may be had. As for the disbelievers they have only the false hope that the

ʹsonʹ of God will wash away the sins of the world, or that since they are

themselves the ʹsonsʹ of God and His high priests they will not be punished for

their sins, or that they will benefit from the intervention of the noble and pious,

or that their offerings and sacrifices to their gods will give them license to do as

they please. As for the atheist who supposes that his existence in this world is

without purpose and unguided by any higher plan, his gods are his own

passions and desires. To these things he has dedicated his life.

Fifthly, the believer in this ʹaqeedah will not know hopelessness or

despair, because he believes that Allah is Master of all that the heavens and earth

contain. So his heart is reassured in peace and in hope. Even when weak in