The Correct Translation of the Statement of Tawheed لا إله إلا الله

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Discussion on the

Incorrect Explanations for the Statement of Tawheed

Laa ilaaha illal Allaah  لا إله إلا الله

Taken from the Tafseer of Aayatul Kursee by Shaykh ‘Abdur Razaaq al Badr[1]

Lesson 3 - 0:45 minutes

The people of knowledge have two ways of giving tafseer (explaining something):

1.       By mentioning the underlying meanings implied in the word to be explained.

2.       By mentioning the opposite it explains the innate meaning behind the word and what it implies. As in the saying: ‘Matters are distinguished by their opposites’. (وبضدها تتميز الأشياء)

Due to this sometimes tawheed is explained as ‘ikhlaas’ – sincerity. Making the religion sincerely for Allaah. The meaning of Ikhlaas is to come to the religion purely and solely - not wanting anything except Allah and not setting up partners with Him.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used to say (TN: see the footnote below for the full hadeeth and translation):

"لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له لَهُ الملك وله الحمد وهو على كل شيء قدير لا إله إلا الله ولا نعبد إلا إياه له النعمة وله الفضل وله الثناء الحسن لا إله إلا الله مخلصين له الدين ولو كره الكافرون"[2]

The comprehensive definition of these 3 statements mentioned in this du’aa is that  لا إله إلا الله means:

1.       that we do not worship anyone except Allaah alone, لا نعبد إلا إياه/ وحده

2.       without partners, لا شريك له

3.       making the religion sincerely for Him.  مخلصين له الدين

Lesson 4 - 0:18 minutes

Some people (incorrectly) explain the shahaadah to mean:

X              لا إله موجود إلا الله     There is no god ‘existing’ except Allaah.              X

X           لا إله ممكن إلا الله       There is no god ‘possible’ except Allaah.                         X

They say that the underlying, understood meaning of ‘no god’ is no existing god or no possible god.

The meaning would then be ‘every object of worship that exists and is worshipped is Allaah’. This incorrect explanation of the shahaadah indicates a worse and incorrect aqeedah – that of the ‘Hulooliyyah’ الحلولية Those who make an intention to worship everything. They say that Allaah is in every place. Allaah be completely far removed from what the oppressors say.

Some say that the meaning of the shahaadah is: لا خالق إلا الله. This is correct in that there is no Creator except Allaah. The Creator is Allaah alone, however is this the meaning of the shahaadah? Is this what it implies? If this were the meaning would the mushriks at the time of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم   refused to have said it? Allaah mentioned them as saying when they were asked ‘Who created the heavens, the earth, the mountains and the people? They would say, ‘Allaah’. They believed that there was no Creator except Allaah. If the meaning of لا إله إلا الله was ‘There is no Creator except Allaah’ why did the mushriks refuse to say the shahaadah? As it would not have opposed their belief. They understood its meaning and understood that it negated their gods and objects of worship. So this is what they said

)أَجَعَلَ الْآلِهَةَ إِلَٰهًا وَاحِدًا ۖ إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَشَيْءٌ عُجَابٌ ۝  وَانطَلَقَ الْمَلَأُ مِنْهُمْ أَنِ امْشُوا وَاصْبِرُوا عَلَىٰ آلِهَتِكُمْ ۖ إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَشَيْءٌ يُرَادُ(

"Has he made the aliha (gods) (all) into One Ilah (God - Allah). Verily, this is a curious thing!"  And the leaders among them went about (saying): "Go on, and remain constant to your aliha (gods)! Verily, This is a thing designed (against you)!” [Saad 38:5-6]

They were prevented from saying these words and accepting them because it negated their gods. So if the meaning had been ‘There is no Creator except Allaah’ they would not have hesitated in accepting it and proclaiming it.

)إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا إِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ ۝ وَيَقُولُونَ أَئِنَّا لَتَارِكُو آلِهَتِنَا لِشَاعِرٍ مَّجْنُونٍ(

Truly, when it was said to them: La ilaha ill-Allah "(none has the right to be worshipped but Allah)," they puffed themselves up with pride (i.e. denied it). And (they) said: "Are we going to abandon our aliha (gods) for the sake of a mad poet?” [Saafaat 37:35-36]

End of selected quotes

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Translator’s Notes on the Subject regarding the Correct Translation of the Shahadah

To understand some of the Arabic Grammar related to the shahaadah, let us first look at and understand some aspects of English grammar.

Think about the following sentence:                Did you read the book? Yes, I did.

What does ‘did’ mean here? It means ‘Yes, I did read the book’ or ‘Yes I read the book’.

The underlying meaning is hidden.

Now think about the shahaadah:

None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah.

This is the full underlying meaning of the shahaadah and the correct translation.

The scholars of the Sunnah have explained the shahaadah:

لا إله إلا الله

To mean:  لا إله حقٌ إلا الله  

or لا معبود بحقٍ إلا الله

The word ‘Allaah’ الله is from the verb أَلِهَ to worship. Look at the tables below. You will see that the hidden or underlying meaning is حقٌ = worthy/deserving/in truth/the right. You will also see that some deviant or ignorant people have said that the underlying meaning is ‘existing’ or ‘creator’ which is a mistake. Even in some of the books of Arabic Grammar such as ‘I’raab’ the authors will wrongly say that the hidden khabr is موجود existing.[3] This is due to the Grammarians relying upon intellect rather than the tafseer of the Scholars of the Sunnah; or that they follow the deviant scholars such as the Sufis, Philosophers, Ashaa’irah (Tafseer of Raazi), Mu’tazilah (Tafseer of Zamakhshari) etc.

الله	Proper Noun and Name for Allaah
إله	God/ One to be worshipped/ can be One of Allaah’s Names
مألوه	Object of worship
معبود	Object of worship

	Passive participle derived from the verb	Verbal noun	Present Tense	Past Tense
Verb pattern وزن	مَفْعُول	فِعالُ	يَفْعَلُ	فَعِلَ
	مَعْبُود	عِبَادَة	يَعْبُدُ	عَبَدَ
	مَأْلُوه	إلاهَة/ ألوهية	يَألوه	ألِهَ
	to be worshipped/ An object of worship	worship	He worships	He worshipped

If we look at the root meaning of ‘ilaah’ it is strongly connected to worship – uloohiyyah ألوهية and ‘uboodiyah عبودية. Tawheed al ‘Uloohiyyah is one of the three categories of Tawheed and one of the most important as it is the reason we were created. We were created to worship Allaah. So it is not just a name or that Allaah exists, but it is that we worship Him alone. This is the meaning and the effects of the shahaadah لا إله إلا الله. This is the reason we cannot use the wrong translations such as ‘There is no god except Allaah’ as they do not convey the correct meaning of the shahaadah. What is even worse is that they can convey a despicable and bad meaning regarding Allaah. Allaah be far removed from what they say. The true meaning of the shahaadah is explained in the Qur’aan itself in many places (tafseer of the Qur’aan by the Qur’aan).

ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ وَأَنَّ مَا يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ هُوَ الْبَاطِلُ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ

“That is because Allaah He is the Truth (the only True God of all that exists, Who has no partners or rivals with Him), and what they (the polytheists) invoke besides Him it is Baatil (falsehood). And verily, Allaah He is the Most High, the Most Great.”    [Hajj 22:62] 

لَهُ دَعْوَةُ الْحَقِّ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ لَا يَسْتَجِيبُونَ لَهُم بِشَيْءٍ إِلَّا كَبَاسِطِ كَفَّيْهِ إِلَى الْمَاءِ لِيَبْلُغَ فَاهُ وَمَا هُوَ بِبَالِغِهِ ۚ وَمَا دُعَاءُ الْكَافِرِينَ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ

“For Him Allaah, alone is the Word of Truth (i.e. None has the right to be worshipped but Allaah). And those whom they (polytheists and disbelievers) invoke, answer them no more that one who stretches forth his hand (at the edge of a deep well) for water to reach his mouth, but it reaches him not; and the invocation of the  disbelievers is nothing but an error (i.e. of no use).”   Ra’d 13:14

	Affirming إثبات		The hidden ‘khabr’ of the word ‘laa’	Negating نفي
I’raab of the phrase الجملة اسمية	مبتدأ	أداة حصر	خبر محذوف مقدر	اسم لا	لا نافية للجنس
Shahaadah	الله	إلا		إلهَ	لا
Correct tafseer     P	الله	إلا	حقٌ	إلهَ	لا
Correct tafseer     P	الله	إلا	بحقٍ	معبودَ	لا
Correct tafseer     P	الله	إلا	بحقٍ	مأْلوه	لا
Correct meaning/ Correct translation    P	Allaah	Except	In truth/ Has the right	To be worshipped	No/none
Correct Translation of the Shahaadah      P	None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah. None has the right to be worshipped in truth except Allaah.
Incorrect tafseer  X	الله	إلا	موجود ممكن	إلهَ إله خالق	لا
Incorrect Translation of the Shahaadah	X     There is no god except Allaah     X X     There is no god existing except Allaah    X X     There is no Creator except Allaah       X
Consequences of the incorrect translation	All the gods that are worshipped beside Allaah are Allaah. أعوذ بالله Allaah is everywhere. Despicable belief of the Hulooliyyah Sect.

It is not enough to believe in Allaah without negating and freeing oneself from shirk and its people and the false gods that they worship. The two foundations of the statement of Tawheed are: negative (negating shirk) and positive (affirming worship for Allaah alone).

Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen mentioned in ‘Sharh Usool fit Tafseer’ p234 under the chapter heading: ‘The Ruling on Translating the Qur’aan’ that ‘even though literal translation may be perceived as possible for some words, it is prohibited Islamically. Except when a specific word is translated into a language that someone speaks so that he understands it without translating the whole grammatical phrase (literally). There is no harm in this.”        

Allaah Knows best.

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[1] دروس وفوائد من آية الكرسي (25 lessons) www.al-badr.net/sub/29  Lesson 3 (at 45 mins onwards) and lesson 4 (18 mins. Onwards.

Selected points summarized and translated by Umm ‘Abdir Rahmaan Tara Hashim from the questions and answers based upon the above lectures found at: http://www.ajurry.com/vb/showthread.php?t=25852 see questions 20, 21, 28 & 29.  The title is my addition.

[2] It has been reported that 'Abdullah bin Zubair (May Allah be pleased with them) used to recite after Taslim at the conclusion of every Salat (prayer):

"La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul- mulku, wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa 'ala kulli shai'in Qadir. La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah. La ilaha illallahu, wa la na'budu illa iyyahu, Lahun-ni'matu, wa lahul-fadlu, wa lahuth-thana'ul-hasan. La ilaha ilallahu, mukhlisina, lahud-dina, wa lau karihal-kafirun (there is no god worthy of worship except Allah; He is One. To Him belongs the dominion and to Him is all praise, and He is Powerful over all things. There is no power and might except with (the help of) Allah. There is none worthy of worship except Allah and we worship none except Him, to Him belongs the bounty and to Him belongs the grace, and to Him belongs all excellent praise; there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah. We reserve our devotion exclusively for Him though the disbelievers may detest it)." Ibn Az-Zubair said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to celebrate Allah's Greatness in those terms after every Salat (prayer). [Muslim].

عن عبد الله ابن الزبير رضي الله عنهما أنه كان يقول دبر كل صلاة، حين يسلم‏:‏ لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، له الملك وله الحمد ، وهو على كل شيء قدير ‏.‏ لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله ،لا إله إلا الله، ولا نعبد إلا إياه، له النعمة، وله الفضل وله الثناء الحسن‏.‏ لا إله إلا الله مخلصين له الدين ولو كره الكافرون ‏.‏ قال ابن الزبير‏:‏ وكان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، يهلل بهن دبر كل صلاة‏.‏ ‏(‏‏(‏رواه مسلم‏)‏‏)‏‏.‏

Sunnah.com reference       : Book 16, Hadith 10.            Arabic/English book reference : Book 16, Hadith 1417

[3] See the book of ‘Iraab by Muhyiyyud Deen al Darweesh p203 (explanation of Suratul Baqarah 2:163) where he quotes Raazi, Zamakhshari and says that the khabr is ‘existing’.