. J ; ; ;J; : ,;I•; (cont.)

Hence, taken as a whole, all five are the foundations. But individually those other four foundations are still dependent on the health and well-being of the main and most important prop.3 In reality, the first pillar is the axiomatic foundation for the remaining pillars, which are its practical implementation. The first pillar leads to the enactment and fulfillment of the remaining pillars. The firmer the first pillar is for an individual, the stronger will be the remaining pillars. They all must go together and be working in unison. One time al-Hasan al-Basri was present at someone's deathbed. He asked him, "What have you prepared for this moment?" He answered, "I have said the testimony of faith for so many years." Al-Hasan said, "That is the prop but where are the tent ropes?"4 That is, the main prop is supposed to be supported and enacted upon by the acts of Islam. If they are not present, then not much actually exists of the structure. 1 The main pillar is the testimony of faith. 2 Ibn Raj ab, Jaami, vol. 1, p. 145. What if some of the other pillars are missing? This question will be answered separately for each pillar below. 3 Cf., Ibn Hajr, Fath (Daar al-Fikr), vol. 1, pp. 72-73; al-Shanqeeti, vol. 1, p. 415. 4 Quoted in al-Qaari, vol. 1, p. 66. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi "testifying that there is none worthy of worship except Allah" The testimony of faith or shahaadah is a combination of negation and affirmation. The negation comes first followed by the exception of affirmation. This is considered the strongest form of all-inclusiveness in the Arabic language. The shahaadah, therefore, means: There is absolutely none worthy of worship and there is no true God except Allah and only Allah. In essence, one is testifying to his belief in the Islamic concept of tauheed, as discussed in detail in the previous hadith under the heading "Belief in Allah." The Conditions of La ilaaha illa-llaah 1 Muslims know that the key to Paradise is the statement, "There is none worthy of worship except Allah." Yet many Muslims simply rely upon this statement and believe that as long as they have said it, nothing will harm them. Because of this mere verbal statement of the shahaadah, they think they will be granted Paradise However, the mere saying of the statement is not sufficient for salvation. In fact, the hypocrites used to say, "I testify that none is worthy of worship except Allah and . . . " yet Allah describes them as liars and says that they shall abide in the lowest abyss of the Hell-fire. This statement or testimony is the key to Paradise. However, its saying must meet certain conditions. Al-Hasan al-Basri once told a person, "What have you prepared for death?" He replied, "The testimony that there is none worthy of worship except Allah." Al-Hasan told him, "That has some conditions to it. And beware of defaming chaste women. "2 The famous Follower Wahb ibn Munabbih was once asked, "Isn't the statement of la ilaaha illa-llaah the key to Paradise?" He answered, "Yes, but every key has ridges. If you come with the key that has the right ridges, the door will open for you. Yet if you do not have the right ridges, the door will not open for you." These ridges are conditions that differentiate Muslims who will benefit from that statement from those who will not benefit from that statement, no matter how many times a day they may have made that statement. Before discussing the conditions of the shahaadah, there is one more point that should be made. Some people have a tendency to take one hadith or one verse and then, based on that one text, make a general conclusion solely based on that one text. For example, one could conclude from some hadith that 1 The conditions of the testimony of faith are well-known and discussed in numerous works. Most of the above information has been derived from Hakimi, Maarij, vol. 1, pp. 307-3 15; Abdullah ibn Jibreen, al-Shahadataan (no city or publisher given, 1990), pp. 77-86. This author also presented much of this material on the two parts of the shahaadah in his The Friday Prayer: Part II: Khutbahs (I) (Aurora, CO: IANA,, 1994), pp. 4-19; The Friday Prayer: Part II: Khutbahs (III) (Ann Arbor, MI: IANA, 1995), pp. 35-42. 2 The person al-Hasan was speaking to was a poet who would defame the pious women and that is why al-Hasan made that point to him. See Baadi, vol. 1, pp. 162-164. j Hadith #3: Islam Has Been Built Upon Five [Pillars] whoever simply says, "There is no God except Allah," will enter Paradise. But, actually, one must realize that all of the Quran and hadith complement each other and explain one another. To find the correct position on any one question, one must bring together all of the related verses and hadith and see what the true Islamic position is on that question.