Meaning of the Kalimah
What, let me tell now, is the meaning of the Kalimah.
The literal meaning of the Kalimah is
simple: there is no God but Allah; and
Muhammad, blessings and peace be on
him, is the Messenger of Allah.
Covenant with Allah
The word ‘ilah’ found in the Kalimah means God.
Only that being can be our God who is
the Master, Creator, Nourisher and
Sustainer, who listens to our prayers
and grants them, and who alone is
worthy of our worship and obedience.
Saying La ilaha illa ‘llah means two things.
First, you have acknowledged that the
world has neither come into being
without a God nor has many gods. God
is there; He alone is God, and there
is no other being except Him which
possess divinity.
Second,
you have accepted that this same God
is your Lord and Master as well as of
the whole universe. You yourselves,
and each and every thing that you have
or is found in the world, belong to
Him alone. He is the Creator and the
Provider. Life and death are under His
command. Both trouble and comfort come
from Him. Whatever one receives is
really given by Him; whatever is taken
away is taken away by His command. He
alone should be feared. From Him alone
should we ask any and everything.
Before Him alone should we bow our
heads.
He alone is worthy of worship and service.
We
are slaves or servants of nobody save Him, nor is anyone else our Master or
Sovereign. Our duty is to obey Him abide by His laws---and His alone.
This is the covenant which you make with Allah as soon as you recite La ilaha illa ’llah,
and while so doing you make the whole world your witness.
If you violate this covenant,
your hands and feet, and tiniest hair
on your bodies and every particle on
earth and in the heavens, all that
witnessed you breaking your pledge,
will testify against you in God’s
court. You will find yourselves in
such a hopeless position that not a
single witness will be found to aid
you. No barrister or trial lawyers
will be there to plead your case in
fact barrister and trial lawyers who
in the courts of this world are
themselves all too often guilty of
bending the law to their own ends,
will themselves be standing there,
like you, in the same hopeless
position.
That court will not acquit you on the basis of forceful pleading, false witnesses, or
forged documents. You can hide your crimes from the police in this world, but not
from God’s police. The police here may be bribed, but not there. A witness in this
world can give false evidence, but not Allah’s witness. The judges of this world can do
injustices, but God can never be unjust. And there is no escape from the jail to which
Allah sends the guilty.
*> It is a great folly—the greatest of
all follies—to enter into a false
covenant with Allah. Before making the
covenant, think it through thoroughly
and then scrupulously adhere to it.
You are under no compulsion to give a
mere verbal pledge; but empty words
shall not profit you. Accepting the*
