Kalimah Tayyibah

[ابوالوليد المسلم]

Kalimah Tayyibah

Maulana Aashiq Ilaahi


“Laa ilaaha illallaahu, Muhammadur-Rasulullaah”
This kalimah is just a sacred pledge of man with Allah.
That is, when a believer solemnly reads this kalimah, he admits before Allah that he is His sincere and faithful servant; he will obey His-commandments, and will avoid all the forbidden things. Therefore, one must keep in mind four important points about this kalimah:

First, he should remember its words in the correct form. Second, he should remember its correct translation. Third, he should remember its exact meaning. Fourth, he should observe its practical requirements, and act accordingly!

Its Words and their Translation
This kalimah has two parts; first: "Laa ilaaha illallaah";
second, "Muhammadur-Rasulullaah"; and their translation is:
"No one is worthy of worship but Allah, and Muhammad is His true Messenger."

The Meaning of this Kalimah
When a believer admits that no one is worthy of worship but Allah, it necessarily means that he should worship none in the whole universe, but the Almighty, and should bring no partner to Him in worship, concerning all the principles of Islam. He should believe Him to be his sole guardian and Helper in distress, to be present everywhere, seeing and hearing everything in the world. He should trust in His guidance, and should faithfully obey a His commandments; moreover, he should not follow the customs and usages that are contrary to His commandments. In all the affairs of his life, he should follow the teachings of the Holy Qur'an; he should hope for His mercy, and should fear His wrath; he should completely rely upon Him for his guidance!

The second part of the kalimah, that is, "Muhammadur, Rasulullaah" means, that after believing in the unity of Allah, when I would desire to follow the commandments of Allah, I cannot do so unless I keep Muhammad (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) my instructor and guide to the Right Path. That is, I will worship Allah just as he has told me; he is a faithful and true messenger of Allah, who taught us nothing of his own will or desire. The obedience of Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam), is really the obedience of Allah, and love for him, is love for Allah; one must believe that to be obedient to him is an obligatory thing, and he should submit to his orders, without any objection.

Whatever he has told us of the unseen things like angels, like Hell, Paradise the incidents in the grave, and the Resurrection, we must believe in them, though we could not understand them. We must believe that the method of living, which he has told us, and has behaved himself accordingly, is the method which has been appreciated by Allah; and anyone who acts contrary to it, does not tread the Right Path, and is not loved by Allah.

The Requisites of Kalimah Tayyibah
When a Muslim has firm faith in the kalimah, undoubtedly he becomes a true believer, and then he has to abandon all the forbidden things, and to observe the commandments of Allah. That is why Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) 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 must observe the commandments of Allah on all occasions. He should keep them in mind in marriage, on death, on taking meals, on going to sleep, on waking up, on deals, and on all other occasions; he should faithfully observe the commandments of Allah, and should give up the forbidden things.

The Benefits of the Kalimah
This kalimah has many spiritual benefits. Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said, "The most distinguished worshipper, namely, hands, feet, head, waist, nose, forehead, tongue etc., are wholly and solely devoted to Allah, that is, every part of a worshipper's body is engaged in an exercise of the obedience of Allah's commandments.”

If a Muslim performs the prayer with all its conditions, he is not likely to commit sin by any limb, on times other than the prayer. It has been mentioned in the Holy Qur'an that the prayer prevents a Muslim from shameful and forbidden things. The believers have been commanded hundreds of times in the Holy Qur'an to perform the prayer properly.

In the hadith also the prayer has been enjoined and emphasized many a time. For instance, Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said, "One's sins from one prayer to another are forgiven by Allah".

In another hadith he says, "If one has a stream at one's door, and he has a bath in it, five times a day, he will have no dirt on his body; similarly if one performs the prayer five times a day, his sins will be pardoned by Allah, and he will !be clean of them".

In another hadith Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) says, "When your children are seven years old, instruct them to perform the prayer, but when they are ten years old, beat them to perform the prayer."