Do You Know? - The Correct Meaning of Laa Ilaaha Illallaah

Whenever we say "laa ilaaha illallah", people think of “there is no god but Allah” but that is NOT the correct meaning of "laa ilaaha illallah".

Allah has Names and Attributes and Actions, that we have Tawheed upon, believing in them exclusively.

One of the Names of Allah is Al-Ilaah.  

It means The Only One Worthy of Worship. 

Another of Allah's Names is Ar-Rabb. 

Which means, The Creator, Sustainer and Lord of ALL that exists. Allah's Name Ar-Rabb denotes His Lordship over all of creation.

We do not say "laa rabb illallah", (there is no Creator, Lord except Allah) rather we say, "laa ILAAHA illallah" (there is no "ilaah" except Allah). 

And the word "Ilaah" means the One who is called upon. Ilaah does not mean One who Creates, provides Sustenance etc.

When we say the kalimah, we are affirming Allah's sole right of worship and negating all other objects of worship.

NOTE : The word Rabb in the Arabic language can be roughly translated as God, but the Arabic word Ilaah cannot be translated as such.

This distinction is of supreme importance because there are many many Muslims who proclaim the testimony of faith, but they do not have the correct understanding of it. 

And because they do not have the correct understanding of it, they go about committing blatant shirk.

- There are those who supplicate to dead people saying that they can intercede with Allah for them.

- There are those who believe in astrology thinking some random alignment of the stars have the power to influence their lives.

- There are those who make wishes on random objects thinking those objects have the power to grant them their wishes.

- There are those who seek aid from soothsayers and fortunetellers thinking that it's so awesome that they know the hidden secrets of the universe.

All of them will affirm that Allah is the only God, yet give shares to other objects and people in His Divinity.

Our ibaadah (acts of worship) such as du'aa (supplication), salah (prayer), zabh (sacrifice), zakat (charity) siyam (fasting) and  etc…, none of these can be performed for anything or anyone other than Allah.

If you do, then you're doing the same thing as the Quraish. Because the Quraish believed in Allah, they believed He was the Creator and even Allah said in the Qur’an that if you asked them who created the heavens and the earth, they will say “Allah”, yet they were Mushrik (disbelievers)

Why?

They were Mushrik because they offered their worship to the idols besides Allah even though they claimed to do so only to be closer to Allah.

This is pretty much the same justification that the grave worshippers of today say. That the dead righteous people have a higher status and are closer to Allah, so asking them to ask Allah will increase their chances of having their duas answered. 

This is why you can be a Mushrik even if you believe in Allah, this is why we must have knowledge of laa ilaaha ilallah. What it means and its conditions.

From the beginning of mankind, Allah has sent His Messengers with only one message: Laa Ilaah ill Allah; there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.

If Allaah alone is the Creator, and the Controller of the affairs, and the One in whose Hand is the Sovereignty of all things, then it is obligatory that all the worship be for Him alone and not for other than Him.

The former contains the latter because none can be deemed a true object of worship (and therefore possess uloohiyyah) except the Rabb, the One who alone is held to be the Creator, and the Organizer of all the affairs (i.e. the One who alone possesses ruboobiyyah).

That is the foundation of our faith. You enter into Islam by giving exclusive right of worship to Allah alone. And when you affirm Allah's sole right of worship, you are automatically affirming His Lordship.