❖ Question:
Is the Kalimah Ṭayyibah — “Lā ilāha illallāh Muḥammadur Rasūlullāh” — proven through any authentic Hadith? Please provide a scholarly and evidence-based answer.
❖ Answer:
Alḥamdulillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd:
Yes, the Kalimah Ṭayyibah is proven through Hadith, and its meaning and formulation are supported by the Qur’an, Hadith, and the consensus (ijmāʿ) of the Ummah.
✿ Hadith Evidence Supporting the Kalimah Ṭayyibah
Imām al-Bayhaqī (رحمه الله) narrated in his work al-Asmāʾ wa al-Ṣifāt:
📖 Abū ʿAbdillāh al-Ḥākim reported, through the chain of:
- Abū al-ʿAbbās Muḥammad ibn Yaʿqūb al-Aṣamm
- Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq (Abū Bakr al-Ṣaghānī)
- Yaḥyā ibn Ṣāliḥ al-Waḥāzī
- Isḥāq ibn Yaḥyā al-Kalbī
- al-Zuhrī
- Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib
- Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه)
That the Prophet ﷺ referred to the following verse:
﴿إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا إِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ﴾
“Indeed, when it was said to them, ‘Lā ilāha illallāh,’ they were arrogant.”
→ (Sūrah al-Ṣāffāt: 35)
And:
﴿وَأَلْزَمَهُمْ كَلِمَةَ التَّقْوَى وَكَانُوا أَحَقَّ بِهَا وَأَهْلَهَا﴾
“And He made the word of piety (kalimat al-taqwā) binding upon them; and they were more deserving of it and worthy of it.”
→ (Sūrah al-Fatḥ: 26)
📌 The Prophet ﷺ explained that this “kalimat al-taqwā” is:
“Lā ilāha illallāh Muḥammadur Rasūlullāh.”
This occurred during the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyyah, where the disbelievers rejected this declaration.
→ 📖 (al-Asmāʾ wa al-Ṣifāt, p. 105–106, printed in Allahabad, 1313 AH)
✿ Grading of the Chain (Isnād)
- Al-Ḥākim, al-Aṣamm, al-Ṣaghānī, al-Zuhrī, and Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib are all reliable narrators.
- Yaḥyā ibn Ṣāliḥ al-Waḥāzī is a narrator from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim, declared thiqah by the majority.
- Isḥāq ibn Yaḥyā al-Kalbī is listed by Ibn Ḥibbān in al-Thiqāt and serves as a supporting narrator in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.
Additionally, this narration is strengthened by another chain through Shuʿayb ibn Abī Ḥamzah from al-Zuhrī, which further reinforces its authenticity.
Hence, the chain is classified as ḥasan li-dhātihi and becomes stronger with supporting narrations.
✿ Consensus of the Ummah on the Kalimah
📖 Imām Ibn Ḥazm (رحمه الله) wrote:
“This consensus is sound, as is the consensus on the Kalimah:
‘Lā ilāha illallāh Muḥammadur Rasūlullāh.’”
→ (al-Muḥallā, vol. 10, p. 423, issue 3025)
📖 He further stated in al-Fiṣal:
“There is consensus among Muslims that the dying person must be prompted to say
‘Lā ilāha illallāh Muḥammadur Rasūlullāh.’”
→ (al-Fiṣal fī al-Milal wa al-Niḥal, vol. 1, p. 162)
Thus, the wording of the Kalimah is unanimously accepted by the entire Ummah.
✅ Conclusion:
◈ The Kalimah Ṭayyibah — “Lā ilāha illallāh Muḥammadur Rasūlullāh” — is established through authentic Hadith and the consensus of the Ummah.
◈ Its chain is ḥasan, and it is further strengthened by corroborating reports.
◈ It was explicitly mentioned during the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyyah, when the disbelievers rejected this declaration.
◈ All Muslim scholars agree that this is the core declaration of faith, essential for belief and used at the time of death (talqīn).
📖 (Reference: al-Ḥadīth, Issue 35, 16 February 2007)
وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
