Translation: This Kalimah is a promise which man makes with Allah Ta’ala. That is, when a believer sincerely reads this Kalimah, he admits that he is a sincere and faithful servant of Allah Ta’ala, he will obey all His commandments and will avoid all the forbidden things. Therefore, one must keep in mind four important points about this Kalimah: 1. First, he should remember its words in the correct form. 2. Second, he should remember its correct translation. 3. Third, he should remember its exact meaning. 4. Fourth, he should see what its requirements are, and practically implement them in his life.
The Words and Translation of the Kalimah
This Kalimah has two parts; first: “Laa ilaaha illallaah”, and second, “Muhammadur-Rasulullah”, the translation of which is; “No one is worthy of worship but Allah, and Muhammad is His true Messenger.”
The Meaning of the Kalimah
When a believer admits that no one is worthy of worship but Allah Ta’ala, it necessarily means that he should worship no one in the whole universe besides the Almighty Allah Ta’ala and should join no partner to Him in worship, concerning all the principles of Islam. He should believe Him to be his only Guardian and Helper in all problems and difficulties, and that Allah Ta’ala is present everywhere, seeing and hearing everything in the world. He should trust in His guidance, and should faithfully obey His commandments; moreover, he should not follow any customs and traditions that are contrary to His commandments. In all the affairs of his life, he should follow the teachings of the Qur-aan-e-Kareem, hope for His mercy and fear His anger and he should completely rely upon Allah Ta’ala for His guidance! The second part of the Kalimah is, “Muhammadur Rasulullah”, which means, that after believing in the oneness of Allah Ta’ala, if one were to follow the commandments of Allah Ta’ala, then he cannot do so unless he keeps Muhammad ﷺ as his instructor and guide to the Right Path. That is, I will worship Allah Ta’ala just as Muhammad ﷺ has told me, because he was a faithful and true messenger of Allah Ta’ala, who taught us nothing of his own will or desire. The obedience of Rasulullah ﷺ , is really the obedience of Allah Ta’ala and love for him, is love for Allah Ta’ala. One must believe that to be obedient to him is a compulsory thing and we must submit to his orders, without any reservations. Whatever he has told us of the unseen like the Malaaikah (angels), Jannah, Jahannam, the incidents in the grave and the Resurrection, we must believe in them, even though we cannot understand them. We must believe that the Sunnah way of life which he has informed us about and has practically demonstrated, is the only way of life which is accepted by Allah Ta’ala and anyone who acts contrary to it, is not following the Right Path and is not loved by Allah Ta’ala.
The Requirements of the Kalimah Tayyibah
When a Muslim has firm faith (Imaan) in the kalimah, he indeed becomes a true believer. He has to, therefore, abandon all the forbidden things and follow the commandments of Allah Ta’ala. That is why Rasulullah ﷺ has said, “The first effect of ‘Laa ilaaha illallaah’ is that it should prevent its reader from all the forbidden things.” Therefore, the reader of such a sacred Kalimah should give up all the forbidden things and follow all the commandments of Allah Ta’ala on all occasions. He should keep them in mind on the occasion of marriage, death, when taking meals, when going to sleep, on waking up, when conducting business and on all other occasions.
The Benefits of the Kalimah Tayyibah
This Kalimah has many spiritual benefits. Rasulullah ﷺ said, “The most famous Zikr is ‘Laa ilaaha ilallaah’”. He also said, “Read the Kalimah a hundred times daily, for it is the best compensation for one’s sins and no good deed is better than it,” In another Hadith he says, “Whoever reads ‘Laa ilaaha ilallaah’ a hundred times in the morning, and a hundred times in the evening shall be given the reward of releasing ten slaves from the progeny of Ismaa-eel عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ .” In another Hadith Rasulullah ﷺ says, “Keep your Imaan fresh by reading and observing ‘Laa ilaaha ilallaah.’”