Imam Ibn Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Singling out Allah the Most High for worship
(at-Tawheed) is the first call of all the messengers (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon them), the first station on the path to Allah the
Most High and the first standing spot for the traveler to Allah the Most High.
Allah the
Most High said: “Indeed, We sent Nooh (Noah) to his people and he said: ‘O
my people! Worship Allah! You have no other Ilaah (God) but Him.’” [Soorah al-A’raaf: 59].
Hood (peace
be upon him) said to his people: “O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other Ilaah (God) but Him....” [Soorah al-A’raaf: 65].
Likewise
Saalih ( peace be upon him) told his people: “Worship Allah! You have no other Ilaah (God) but Him...” [Soorah al-A‘raaf: 73]. Similarly, Shu‘ayb ( peace be upon him) said
to his people, “Worship Allah! You have no other Ilaah (God) but Him.” [Soorah al-A‘raaf: 85].
And
Allah the Exalted said: “And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger
(proclaiming): ‘Worship Allah (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Taaghoot (all false deities).”
[Soorah an-Nahl: 36].
So singling
out Allah the Most High for worship is the key to the call of the messengers.
For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to
his messenger Mu‘aadh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) when he sent
him to Yemen: “You are going to a nation from the people of the
Scripture, so let the first thing to which you will invite them be the worship
of Allah alone. If they testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except
Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, then tell them that Allah
has enjoined on them, five prayers to be offered in one day and night.”[1]
The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said: “I have been
commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no deity worthy
of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”[2]
Consequently,
the correct view is that the first obligation upon the legally accountable individual
is to testify that, “There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.” There
should be no dispute regarding it nor should there be any intention to argue or
doubt, as the masters of blameworthy rhetoric opine. Tawheed
is thus the first thing with which the individual enters Islam and the last
thing to depart this world with as evidenced by the statement of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):“He whose last words (in this
world) are: ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah’ will enter the Paradise.”[3]
Hence, it
is the first and the last obligation and the first and the last command.
Source: Madaarij As-Saalikeen bayna Manaazil (Iyyaaka Na‘bud wa
Iyyaaka Nasta‘een) by Imaam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah. Translated by Abdus-Samee Abdus-Salaam.
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