The Shahaadah ….is it enough to “SAY” it

The Shahaadah..is it enough to "SAY" it ?? by Dr.Saleh (Rahimahullah) The Belief in the Oneness and Uniqueness of Allaah (Tawheed) does not only mean  to accept that there is no Creator but Allaah, and that Allaah is the Sovereign Rabb  (Lord). The person who admits to this fact yet at the same time  insists to associate   partners with Allaah in worship, is a Mushrik  (committing Shirk) even though he may  daily utter the  Shahaadah. Tawheed, however, embodies the love of Allaah alone; submission, humility, complete obedience, and sincerity of worship to Allaah alone.  All of our life must be for His sake. Whoever acknowledges this meaning of Tawheed  then he understands the saying of the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم): "Allaah forbade the admittance to Hell of anyone who says  laa ilaaha illal-laah(لا إله إلا الله) ‘There is no true God Who deserves to be worshipped except Allaah,’ seeking the Face of Allaah.”[Reported by Al-Bukhaaree and Ahmad]. The hypocrites may utter the Shahaadah yet it is known that they are in the lowest  part of Hell . Their declaration is not sincere: "Verily the hypocrites will be in the lowest depth (grade) of the Fire; no helper  will you find for them."(Qur'an, soorat an-Nisaa’, 4:145) It is a must that the declaration of the Shahaadah be confirmed in the heart as well as  by the tongue.The heart is the "king" and the rest of the body is the "army" under its  command. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “Verily, there is a piece of flesh in the body if it is good the rest of the body becomes good; and if it is bad, the rest of the body becomes bad, and that is the  heart .” [Part of an authentic hadeeth reported by Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim]. Once the Shahaadah(لا إله إلا الله) is established in the heart it will then help transform the status of the person such that the Fire of Hell will be forbidden to him. It has been narrated that  the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: "Whoever says   laa ilaaha illal-laah(لا إله إلا الله), 'there is no true God Who deserves to be worshipped but Allaah' and declares  Kufr (Disbelief) in whatever is worshipped  besides Allaah then his money and blood are Haram (forbidden to be harmed in his  money and blood) and the judgment (upon this person) is up to  Allaah." [Collected  by Muslim and Ahmad]. The above hadeeth is a great explanation for the true meaning of 'There is no true God  but  Allaah'. It emphasizes that there must be a complete  dissociation from anyone  /anything taken as a deity besides Allaah. There can be no worship offered to a  righteous man, a star, moon, fire, river, cow, Buddha, Ghandi, Jesus, Khomeini,  Malcom X or Y!, Farakhan, graves, statues, money, lust, heads of states, and so forth.  Islaam abolishes all forms of man-made deities. When the person  disbelieves in  offering worship to other than Allaah, then he becomes a Muslim. It is very clear that the disbelievers (Kuffar) of Mecca  knew what the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) meant by the word he brought to them from Allaah: "There is no true God but  Allaah." They believed that Allaah was the Sustainer, the One Who  gives life and causes death. But when Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) told them to say: "There is no true God Who  deserves to be worshipped except Allaah,” their answer was: They knew  that the declaration of the Shahaadah meant the abolishing of everything  introduced between them and Allaah; an end to their intermediary "gods." This was  the reason behind their rejection.   This testimony of Tawheed is pure from any falsehood. It brings eternal abode in  Paradise for those who fulfill its conditions and what it entails. Its rejection brings  eternal abode in An-Naar (Hell). May Allaah guide me and you to be amongst those  who love this declaration as well as abide by its meaning. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reference:  Prepared by  Sheikh Dr.Saleh as-Saleh (Rahimahullah)  from his notes on "The Testimony of Faith"