In the previous section we learnt the two pillars of Lā ilāha illa Allāh. In this section we will cover the pillars of the second part of the Shahādah; the pillars of Muḥammad Rasūl Allāh.
Let us examine the full wording of the testimony of faith which is as follows:
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لا إِلهَ إِلَّا الله، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّداً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
ash-hadu an lā ilāha illa Allāh wa ash-hadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhu wa rasūluh
“I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allāh and I bear witness that Muḥammad is His slave and Messenger“
Sh. Ṣāliḥ al-Fawzān explains (p. 47) that the two pillars of this second part of the testimony of faith are taken explicitly from it: عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ {His slave and His Messenger}. They nullify any exaggeration (الإِفْرَاط) and negligence (التَفْرِيط) regarding his ﷺ noble rights. Thus he ﷺ is His slave and His Messenger and in these two noble characteristics he ﷺ is the most complete and perfect of all creation.
First Pillar: عَبْدُهُ {His slave}
This means that Muḥammad ﷺ is a slave who is owned by Allāh. It means that he ﷺ is a human being, from one of mankind and that he ﷺ was created from the same thing all humans have been created. The same things that happen to human beings also happen to him ﷺ. This is based on the statement of Allāh the Exalted:
قُلْ إِنَّما أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُم
{Say (O Muḥammad): I am only a human being like you}
[al-Kahf (18): 110]
The Prophet ﷺ fulfilled servitude to Allāh in submitting to Him and worshipping Him in its truest sense which is why Allāh praised him ﷺ by referring to him ﷺ by this quality of his when He said:
أَلَيسَ اللَّهُ بِكافٍ عَبْدَهُ
{Is Allāh not sufficient for His slave?}
[al-Zumar (39): 36]
And He the Exalted said:
الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذي أَنْزَلَ عَلىٰ عَبْدِهِ الْكِتَابَ
{All praise is due to Allāh Who revealed the Book upon His slave}
[al-Kahf (18): 1]
And He the Exalted said:
سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الحَرامِ
{Far removed is Allāh from all imperfections, the One Who took His slave by night from the Sacred Mosque}
[al-Isrāʾ: 1]
Second Pillar: رَسُولُهُ {His Messenger}
This means that he ﷺ is the one sent to all of mankind to call to Allāh, informing them of glad tidings and warning them of the consequences of rejecting Allāh.
Thus, by bearing witness to these two qualities and descriptions of him, any exaggeration has been nullified on the one hand and any negligence has been nullified on the other.
There are many people who claim to be from his Ummah who exaggerate regarding his rights and go to extremes in them, to the extent that they raise him ﷺ from the level of servitude to Allāh to the level of being worshipped besides Allāh. Hence, such people seek relief from him besides Allāh and they seek things from him ﷺ which he is incapable of doing and that only Allāh can do in terms of fulfilling people’s needs and saving them from calamities.
Other people go to the opposite extreme and reject the fact that he was a Messenger of Allāh sent with a Scripture calling them to His pleasure and warning them against His Fire. Others fall in to neglecting his right of being followed by choosing to rely upon their own opinions and views which run contrary to what he came with.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we have learnt that just as there are two pillars for the first part of the Shahādah; Lā ilāha illa Allāh, similarly there are two pillars for the second part of the Shahādah; Muḥammad Rasūl Allāh. The first part of the Shahādah rests upon the contrasting pillars of Negation and Affirmation whilst the second part of the Shahādah rests upon the two pillars of Servitude and Messengership. Without the presence of these two pillars; i.e. the acceptance that Muḥammad ﷺ is a human being like us and a slave of Allāh and accepting that he ﷺ is Allāh’s Messenger thus not deserving of any worship, one’s Shahādah is not complete.
Bibliography
al-Fawzān, Ṣāliḥ b. Fawzān b. ʿAbd Allāh. ʿAqīdat al-Tawḥīd wa Bayān Mā Yuḍaduhā aw Yanquṣuha Min al-Shirk al-Akbar wa al-Aṣghar wa al-Taʿṭīl wa al-Biḍaʿ wa Ghayr Dhālik. al-Riyāḍ: Maktabat Dār al-Minhāj, 1432.
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