ZonEMvS

devotion and worship. He alone is the Supreme Being, the Almighty, to whom all our prayers and supplications should be addressed. He alone is the real Owner of the heavens and the earth, the Monarch of all monarchs, the Lord Sovereign. It is, therefore, necessary that all His commands and injunctions are strictly obeyed and faithfully carried out. As against His commands the commands of no one should be heeded to no matter whether they are of our parents or rulers or of the head of the community or a dear friend, or the biddings of our own heart. In a nutshell, when once we have realized and confessed the truth that Allah (Subhaanahu Wata’aalaa) alone, and no one besides Him, is worthy of worship and obedience our conduct should also be in conformity with it, so much so that anyone who sees us should know by our behaviour that we are the devoted servants of the Lord who carry out His commands dutifully and live and die for His sake alone.

Brothers, - this is the keystone of Islam and the first and foremost item in the teachings of all the Prophets. It commands the highest, the most important place in the religious scheme of things. A famous Tradition of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) reads:

“There are more than seventy departments of the faith and among them the most superior and exalted is belief in the Kalima of. For this reason, among the prayer - formulas also it is the best. States the Prophet (Peace be upon him): “Of all the prayer-formulas the best and most excellent is that of”.

In another Tradition it is related that once Allah (Subhaanahu Wata’aalaa) gave this reply to a question put to Him by Prophet Moses:

“O Moses, if the seven heavens and the seven earths and all that is contained in them are placed on one side of the balance and on the other, the side on which placed will turn out to be heavier.

Brothers, this unique virtue and excellence of is due solely to the fact that it contains to solemn affirmation of Divine Unity, the assertion, the pledge and the declaration that we shall worship Him alone and offer our homage and obeisance to no one apart from Him, and shall make Him the sole pivot of our existence. It, indeed, is the life-breath of Islam.

That is why, the holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) has advised Muslims to refresh and to reinvigorate their faith by repeating the Kalima frequently. It is narrated that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) once said, “O men! Keep on refreshing your faith”. Upon this the Companions enquired, “O Prophet of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata’aalaa)! How are we to do so?” The Prophet (Peace be upon him) replied, “By reciting the Kalima frequently.”

The Kalima of holds the power to restore and revitalize the faith for the simple reason that it embodies the affirmation of Divine Unity and the covenant to worship Him alone, to do allegiance to none besides Him and to hold Him dearer and nearer to the heart than anything or anybody else in the world. As we have said earlier, it is the essence, the sustaining principle of Islam. So, the more we will utter it attentively, concentrating duly on what it stands for, the more will our faith gain in vitality and our covenant in strength and our whole life will, Insha Allah, get cast in the mould of La ila ha illala.