الفرع الأول: من فضائل شهادة لا إله إلا الله: أنها أعظم نعمة أنعم الله عز وجل بها على عباده
[First Chapter: Among the virtues of the Kalimah Shahadat «لا إلٰه إلا الله» is that it is the greatest blessing bestowed by Allah Almighty upon His servants]
قال اللهُ تعالى:
[يُنَزِّلُ الْمَلائِكَةَ بِالرُّوحِ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ عَلى مَنْ يَشاءُ مِنْ عِبادِهِ أَنْ أَنْذِرُوا أَنَّهُ لا إِلهَ إِلَاّ أَنَا فَاتَّقُونِ] He sends down the angels with revelation by His command upon whomever He wills among His servants, saying: Warn that indeed there is no deity except Me, so fear Me.
Reference: Surah An-Nahl:2
[فقدمها الله في سورة النحل -التي تسمى سورة النعم- على كل نعمة أخرى]
Thus, Allah Almighty mentioned this blessing before all other blessings in Surah An-Nahl — which is called "سورۃ النعم", meaning the Surah of Blessings.
Reference: Tafsir Ibn Atiyyah: Vol. 3, p. 377, Jamal al-Qurra wa Kamal al-Iqra: 1/199
قال السمرقندي:
[قال تعالى: أَنْ أَنْذِرُوا أَنَّهُ أي: خوفوا بالقرآن الكفار، وأعلموهم أنه لا إِلهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاتَّقُونِ يعني: أن الله واحد لا شريك له فوحّدوه وأطيعوه]
Imam Samarkandi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
The meaning of Allah Almighty’s statement: [أَنْ أَنْذِرُوا أَنَّهُ] is that you should frighten the disbelievers through the Quran and inform them that there is no true deity except Me; therefore, fear Me alone. That is, Allah is One, He has no partner, so consider Him the Only One and obey Him alone.
Reference: Tafsir al-Samarkandi: 2/266
وقال الرازي:
[ينزل الملائكة على من يشاء من عبيده، ويأمر ذلك العبد بأن يبلغ إلى سائر الخلق أن إله العالم واحد، كلفهم بمعرفة التوحيد والعبادة، وبين أنهم إن فعلوا ذلك فازوا بخيري الدنيا والآخرة، وإن تمردوا وقعوا في شر الدنيا والآخرة]
And Imam Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
Allah Almighty sends down angels upon whomever He wills among His servants, then commands that servant to convey the message to all creation that the Lord of all worlds is One. Allah has made people responsible for the knowledge of Tawheed and worshiping Him alone, and has clearly stated that if they follow this, they will attain the good of both this world and the Hereafter, and if they rebel, they will suffer the evils of both this world and the Hereafter.
Reference: Tafsir al-Razi:19/168
وقال ابن تيمية:
[التوحيد الذي هو إخلاص الدين لله: أصل كل خير من علم نافع وعمل صالح]
And Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
The Tawheed which means dedicating the religion purely for Allah alone is the foundation of every good, whether it is beneficial knowledge or righteous deeds.
Reference: Jami' al-Masa'il - Ibn Taymiyyah: Introduction 6 p.8
وقال الطيبي:
[قُلۡ اِنَّمَاۤ اَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثۡلُکُمۡ یُوۡحٰۤی اِلَیَّ اَنَّمَاۤ اِلٰـہُکُمۡ اِلٰہٌ وَّاحِدٌ]
Reference: Al-Kahf: 110
أي: الوحي مقصور على استئثار الله تعالى بالوحدانية؛ لأن المقصود الأعظم من الوحي هو التوحيد، وسائر التكاليف متفرع عليه، [وَ مَاۤ اُمِرُوۡۤا اِلَّا لِیَعۡبُدُوا اللّٰہَ مُخۡلِصِیۡنَ لَہُ الدِّیۡنَ]
Reference: Al-Bayyina: 5
And Imam Taybi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
[Say, I am only a human being like you, it is revealed to me that your God is only one God] meaning the original and fundamental purpose of revelation is to specifically establish the Oneness of Allah; because the greatest purpose of revelation is monotheism, and all other Shariah rulings are dependent on and based upon it. [And they were commanded nothing except that they worship Allah, being sincere to Him in religion]
Reference: Sharh Al-Mishkat by Al-Taybi Al-Kashif 'an Haqa'iq Al-Sunan (Al-Taybi): vol. 6 p. 1733 no. 2270
وقال ابن القيم:
[صَلاحُ العالَمِ في أن يكونَ اللهُ وَحْدَه هو المعبودَ، وفَسادُه وهَلاكُه في أن يُعبَدَ معه غَيرُه]
And Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
The reformation of the world lies in worshipping Allah alone, and its corruption and destruction lie in worshipping others besides Allah.
Reference: Miftah Dar al-Sa'adah wa Manshur Wilayat al-Ilm wa al-Irada - Scientific Edition (Ibn al-Qayyim) vol. 2 p. 11
وقال السعدي:
[زبدة دعوة الرسل كلهم ومدارها على قوله: [أَنْ أَنْذِرُوا أَنَّهُ لا إِلهَ إِلَاّ أَنَا فَاتَّقُونِ] أي: على معرفة الله تعالى، وتوحده في صفات العظمة التي هي صفات الألوهية، وعبادته وحده لا شريك له؛ فهي التي أنزل الله بها كتبه، وأرسل رسله، وجعل الشرائع كلها تدعو إليها، وتحث وتجاهد من حاربها وقام بضدها]
And Sheikh Saadi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
The summary of the invitation of all the messengers and its central focus is based on the command of Allah Almighty: [أَنْ أَنْذِرُوا أَنَّهُ لا إِلهَ إِلَاّ أَنَا فَاتَّقُونِ], that is, to attain the knowledge of Allah Almighty, to recognize Him alone in His attributes of greatness which are the attributes of divinity, and to worship only Him who has no partner. This is the monotheism for which Allah Almighty revealed His books, sent His messengers, and made all the Shariahs to invite to it, encourage it, and struggle against those who oppose and contradict it.
Reference: Tafsir As-Sa'di - Taysir al-Karim ar-Rahman: p.435
