I want you to do me a favor and to close your mouth
and say "La ilaha illa Allah".
Close your lips and let your tongue move
with "La ilaha illa Allah." What you'll notice
is that it is the only form of dhikr,
as Imam Ibn Hazm rahimahullah and other scholars have said,
that you can actually do without moving your lips at all
because it only involves the tongue.
And that's one of the reasons why the scholars
mentioned that it's called "kalimatul ikhlas,"
the statement of sincerity. You could literally be
walking around, be at work, be talking to someone,
or looking at someone and have your mouth closed.
And we all need to keep our mouths closed a little bit more
and say "La ilaha illa Allah," "La ilaha illa Allah,"
"La ilaha illa Allah". You'll notice
that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said,
"keep your mouth moist with 'La ilaha illa Allah.'
Keep your tongue wet with 'La ilaha illa Allah.'
Don't let a moment pass by without saying,
'La ilaha illa Allah, La ilaha illa Allah,
'La ilaha illa Allah.'" And this is the most precious word
that we have in this world. It's literally the purpose of
our existence. And as you say it, throughout your life
in every single setting, even if quietly
and no one else notices, you pray
that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'Aala give you the ability to die
with this word being your last word.
Because if a person dies saying "La ilaha illa Allah,"
then that person has been guaranteed Jannah.
The Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said
"Jaddidu imanakum",
he said to the companions, "renew your faith."
They said, "Ya Rasulallah, how do we renew our faith?"
He said, "keep saying 'La ilaha illa Allah.'"
Now what's the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah?"
"La ilaha illa Allah" obviously in simple terms,
we say "There is no God besides Allah, Subhanahu Wa Ta'Aala.
But the actual meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah"
is that "there is no deity worthy of worship
or unconditional obedience except
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'Aala.
It is a statement that includes both negation
and affirmation. So think of "tasbih" and "tahmeed,"
negation and affirmation. "La ilaha."
"There is no God except for Allah." "La ilaha" is negation.
And you think of Suratul Kafirun as an elaboration
of that negation. "Illa Allah" is affirmation
and you think of "Qul huwAllahu a'had," Suratul Ikhlas
as an elaboration of the affirmation of "Illa Allah."
So "La ilaha illa Allah," "La ilaha illa Allah."
"There is no God, no deity worthy
of worship or unconditional obedience
except for Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'Aala.
And the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said,
"Afdalu ddhikr" the best form of remembrance
is "La ilaha illa Allah." Now you might remember
this narration, the best du'a is "Alhamdulillah."
The best dhikr is "La ilaha illa Allah."
And Hafiz Ibn Rajab rahimahullah, he beautifully summarizes
this by saying that every "ni'ma," every blessing
that you get, you pay for that blessing by saying,
"Alhamdulillah." But as for Jannah you pay for it by saying,
"La ilaha illa Allah." So "La ilaha illa Allah" is the key
to entering into Jannah. And "Alhamdulillah" is how you pay
for the blessings that are given to you.
And of course we would never be able
to thank Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'Aala enough.
"La ilaha illa Allah." It's how you enter Islam.
"La ilaha illa Allah." It's how you enter into Jannah.
"La ilaha illa Allah" is the phrase
that the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said
goes straight to the throne of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'Aala.
"La ilaha illa Allah" is what
the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said,
you need to gain his intercession on the Day of Judgment.
"La ilaha illa Allah" is the card
the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said
that on the Day of Judgment would be placed in your scale
and would send all of your sins flying on the other side
and every construction of "La ilaha illa Allah"
becomes even that much more powerful.
So what do I mean by that? "La ilaha illa Allah" alone
is the key to Jannah, right?
But the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said
"whoever does wudu properly, and then says,
'ashadu alla ilaha illallah, wahdahu la sharika lah,
wa ash-hadu anna muhammadan 'abduhu wa rasuluh.'"
That that dhikr literally opens up
all eight gates of Jannah. So you think about
how you take "La ilaha illa Allah" and then you build
on "La ilaha illa Allah" both in terms of the "adhkar"
that come as a result of it, as well as the great meanings
that are embedded in those "adhkar."
Now what's the daily usage of "La ilaha illa Allah?"
You'll find it for the most simple things,
such as warding off laziness 'Indal kasal.
You'll also find it for renewing
our intention for anything that we do.
And of course, as we said, we say this throughout the day.
Anything that reminds you of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
say "La ilaha illa Allah." When you see anything
that reminds you of Allah's unlimited capacity
and your limited capacity, then say "La ilaha illa Allah."
When you see that Allah has fulfilled a promise to you,
you say "La ilaha illa Allah." This is the promise of
Allah come true. And you'll notice that it is used as part
of the sequence of our lowest points and our highest points.
So the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said,
"the best du'a for hardship is
la ilaha illa anta subhanak inni kunto min adh-dhaalemeen
"There is no God but You. How perfect are You?
I was from the wrongdoers." And so this is when a person
is in hardship and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said
"no one says this du'a seeking Allah azza wajal's
alleviation of a hardship except that Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala will grant that to them." Then he said,
salallahu alayhi wasalam, that "the best du'a
that has been made is the du'a
that I and the prophet have said on the day of Arafat
La ilaha illa Allah wahdahu la sharika lahu
lahu al-mulk wa lahu al-hamd
wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadeer
So this du'a, La ilaha illa Allah wahdahu la sharika lahu
"He is One. He has no partners."
Lahu Al Mulk, Wa lahu Al Hamd
"To Him belongs all possession and all praise
and He has power over all things."
He said salallahu alayhi wasalam, that this is the best du'a
on the day of Arafat. Now on a daily basis,
he says salallahu alayhi wasalam,
that if a person says this du'a
10 times in the morning and 10 times in the evening
it is like freeing four slaves
from the children of Ismail alayhi wasalam.
So you think about that 10 times between Fajr and Sunrise,
10 times between Asr and Maghrib,
and it's as if you have freed four people
from slavery from the children of Ismail.
And what's the reward of that?
The Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said
that whoever frees a slave from captivity,
Allah azza wajal will free every part of them
from the hell fire. So that's just for saying it 10 times.
He said in another narration that whoever says it 100 times
it's as if they have freed 10 slaves
and Allah will write down for them 100 special good deeds
and Allah will erase 100 sins and Allah will grant
that person a hirz, a shield from the Shaytan
and no one has anything better
unless they do even more than that
meaning they say it even more than a hundred times.
You say this dhikr after the prayer after you finish saying
"SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, and AllahuAkbar 33 times,
you say
La Ilaha Illa Allah Wahdahu La Sharika Lahu
Lahu al Mulk Wa Lahu al Hamd
Wa huwa 'aLa kulli shay'in qadeer
you also say this prayer before you sleep.
And you even say this prayer when you enter
into the marketplace.
This du'a is known as du'a As-Souq.
La ilaha illa Allah, wahdahu la sharika lahu
lahul-mulk wa lahul-hamdu
yuhyi wa yumitu wa Huwa hayyun la yamutu
bi yadihil-khair
wa Huwa 'ala kulli shay'in Qadir
The only thing that has been added in this du'a is
Yuhyi wa yumitu, wa huwa hayyun La yamutu
Right?
Allah gives life and death and Allah is Ever Living
and He does not die. And one of the wisdoms of that
is that when you walk into the marketplace
and you see the materials of this life
you remind yourself
Allahumma la aisha illa aishul aakhirah
"Oh Allah, there is no life except for eternal life."
The true life exists not in this dunya but in the hereafter.
And Rasullah salallahu alayhi wasalam said
that whoever says this du'a upon entering
into the marketplace, Allah will write down
for them "alf, alf," a thousand by a thousand,
which is 1 million "hasanat" and remove from them
1 million "sayyiaat" and raise them
by 1 million "darajat," 1 million degrees
and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will build
them a home in paradise. How many palaces?
How many degrees?
How many deeds? How many that we have missed out on
just by failing to say "La ilaha illa Allah"
on a consistent basis and in every single situation.
And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Allahumma sabbithna 'indal mauti bi La ilaha illa Allah
"Oh Allah, allow us to be able to utter
"La ilaha illa Allah" at the time of our death.
Captioning provided by MUHSEN (www.muhsen.org)