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This is an extract from "Milestone" by Sayed Qutb
"La
llaha illa Allah, Muhammad Rasul Allah" -"There is no god except Allah" - is the first part of the Islamic declaration of
faith, meaning that there is no one to be worshipped except God; "Muhammad Rasul Allah" - "Muhammad is the Messenger of God"-
is the second part, meaning that this worship is to be carried out according to the teachings of the Prophet - peace be upon
him.
A believing Muslim is one whose heart has been penetrated completely with this declaration, as the other pillars
of Islam and articles of faith are derivatives of it.
Thus, belief in angels, God's Books, God's Messengers, the life
hereafter, al-Qadr (the measurement of good and evil), praying (al-Salat), fasting (al-Siyam), almsgiving (al-Zakat) and pilgrimage
(al-Hajj), and the limits set by God of permissible and forbidden things, human affairs, laws, Islamic moral teachings, and
so on, are all based on the foundation of worship of God, and the source of all these teachings is Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
Allah
(swt) says:
(Whoever obeys the Prophet obeys God) [Qur’an 4:80]
The declaration of faith provides
the foundation for a complete system of life for the Muslim community in all its details.
Thus, a Muslim community
must sustain a practical interpretation of the declaration of faith and all its characteristics; and the society which does
not translate this declaration into practice is not a true Muslim society.
This way of life cannot come into being
without securing this foundation first.
If the system of life is constructed on some other foundation, or if other
sources are mixed with this foundation, then that community cannot be considered Islamic.
Allah (swt) says:
(The
command belongs to God alone. He commands you not to worship anyone except Him. This is the right way of life.) [Qur’an
12:40]
This concise and decisive declaration of faith guides Muslims in the basic questions of their religion and in
its practical movement.
First, it guides to the nature of the Muslim community; second, it shows the method of constructing
such a community; third, it tells how to confront ignorant, and disbelieving societies; and fourth, it determines the method
by which Islam changes human life.
The distinctive feature of a Muslim community is that all its affairs are based
on worship of God alone. The declaration of faith expresses this principle and determines its character; in beliefs, in devotional
acts, and in rules and regulations.
A person who does not believe in the oneness of God does not worship God alone.
Allah (swt) says:
(Allah commands you not to take two gods. God is only One; hence fear Me. Whatever is
in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him and follows His way. Will you the fear anyone other than God?) [Qur’an
16:52]
Anyone who performs devotional acts before someone other than Allah does not worship God alone.
(Say,
my Salat (prayers), my acts of devotion, my life and my death, are for the Sustainer of the Worlds; He has no associate. I
have been commanded this, and I am the foremost to be among the submitters.) [Qur’an 6:163]
Also anyone who
derives laws from a source other than God, in a way other than what he taught us through Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) does not
worship God alone.
(Are there associates of God who have made permissible for them in their religion that which
God has not permitted?) [Qur’an 42:21]
(Whatever the Prophet gives you, accept it, and whatever he prohibits
you, refrain from it.) [Qur’an 59:7]
In the Muslim society, the beliefs, ideas, devotional and religious
acts, the social system and its laws, should be based on submission to God alone.
It is necessary, therefore, before
thinking of establishing the Islamic social system and organizing a Muslim community, that one should give attention to purifying
the hearts of people from the worship of anyone other than God.
Only those whose hearts are so purified will be true
Muslims, and only these people can start a true Muslim community. Anyone who wants to live an Islamic life will automatically
enter into this community, and his belief, acts of worship and the laws which he follows, will also be purified for God alone.
In other words, he will be an embodiment of "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadar Rasul Allah".
This was the basis on which
the foundation of the first Muslim community was established which eventually developed into the first Muslim nation.
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