Tawhid, the heart of the message
Every Prophet was sent with the same first sentence. What La ilaha illa Allah actually means, and why it is harder to live than to say.
Outline
- 1
The single message of every Prophet
Allah says: We sent no messenger before you except that We revealed to him there is no god but Me, so worship Me (Anbiya 21:25). Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa, Muhammad. One thesis, repeated through human history.
- 2
Tawhid in three directions
Scholars divide it into Tawhid al-Rububiyyah (oneness of His lordship), Tawhid al-Uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), and Tawhid al-Asma was-Sifat (oneness of His names and attributes). Most who claim Islam affirm the first; the test of the second is where worship actually goes.
- 3
The shahada is a lived sentence
It is easy to say La ilaha illa Allah. It is harder to refuse to fear, hope in, or rely on anything besides Him. A man whose career is his ilah, a woman whose status is her ilah, has not finished saying the shahada.
Closing line
Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah. Renew this sentence today as if you are saying it for the first time.
Aisha (RA) reported: the Prophet's ﷺ khutbahs were of moderate length and his prayers were short (Sahih Muslim 869). Aim for fifteen to twenty minutes. Two sections separated by a brief sitting is the Sunnah pattern.