Muslims have lost the real worship of Allah because they have turned the Shahadah into a meaningless ritual. They say it often, but they do not implement its meaning into their lives. The Shahadah is a statement about our relationship and connection with Allah. This relationship is based on Allah being recognised as Lord and Master, while submitting to Him as His slaves. The connection between Allah and Muslims is one of worship and obedience. Until and unless, Muslims submit to their Lord as His humble slaves and only worship and obey Him, they will continue to be lost when it comes to the real worship of Allah.
Furthermore, the Shahadah is a declaration of loyalty to Allah, that Allah is the friend of the believer and Shaytan is the enemy. It also affirms that the believer fears Allah and that He is the only One worthy of worship. Once a believer makes this declaration, they promise to obey Allah’s commandments, and put their trust in Allah. Trust in Allah is the major theme of the Qur’an; thus, the slave trusts his or her Lord by asking Him for their needs, knowing full well that it is Allah who creates these problems and then rewards them for asking Him for help, guidance and relief. The slave’s life revolves around obeying Allah, trusting Him and then asking Him, which brings him or her closer to Allah.
The Shahadah is a transformational declaration which seeks to change people’s lives. The statement that radically changed the lives of the sahaba, should do the same to us today. The sahaba internalised the Shahadah; thus, they were able to make such a tremendous impact in the world. They were able to do this because they knew that the Hereafter was their goal and that being a true slave of Allah will never lead to humiliation. They sacrificed their wealth, their families and their lives to achieve their goal. They worked tirelessly to surrender to Allah by subduing their desires for the pleasure of Allah. They worked openly and secretly to please Allah; that their secret deeds were better than their public ones. They were Muslims when no-one was looking at them and they were Muslims when dealing with people in public. They did not have different personas for different occasions, they were the same sincere and courageous people when dealing with private matters as they were dealing with the public. The Shahadah must progress from discussion points and zikr into action that proves one’s faith, as without action there is no evidence of one’s submission to Allah.
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