The Declaration of Faith serves as a great intercessor for its servants in the sight of Allah. It effectively serves until the servant is redeemed.
A holy Hadith states :
“There is a pole made up of Divine Light under the heavens. When the servant says “There is no deity, but Allah” this pole begins to shake. Upon this, Allah says to this pole:
“– Keep still!”
The pole answers:
“– The servant who pronounced the Declaration of Faith has not been forgiven yet. How can I keep still?”
Allah says again:
“– I have, in fact, forgiven him.”
And the pole then keeps still.” (Bazzar).
The Prophet (J) says again:
“There is no trouble for the people of the Declaration of Faith in their graves and on the Day of Judgment. I almost hear the words “Thanks be to Allah who removed sorrow and disturbance from us” by those people as they arise from their graves shaking off the soil on them.” (Fadail al-Amal, 478).
‘There is no god but Allah’ means constant awareness of it and feeling it deep in the heart. The declaration ‘There is no god but Allah’ that is pronounced truly and sincerely is superior to all other forms of worship. The messages and invitations of all prophets are encapsulated in this declaration. It is the backbone of all true religion. Allah says:
“Not an apostle did We send before you without this inspiration sent by Us to him: that there is no god but I; therefore worship and serve Me.” (Anbiyaa, 21:25).
Allah’s mercy upon His servants to forgive them is boundless. As stated in the Qur’an, He may forgive all sins apart from attributing a partner to Him. Again, as stated in the sayings of the Prophet (J), Allah will punish those who rebelled against Him and those who are insistent on not uttering the Declaration of Faith. The Prophet (J)says:
“If one says the Declaration of Faith and does not choose the world over religion, Allah’s rage is not put into effect for him. When one who chooses the world over religion and still says “There is no deity, but Allah”, Allah tells him ‘You are not sincere in what you say!” (Fadail al-Amal, 481).
Abu Hurayra narrates:
I, once, asked the Messenger of Allah (J):
“Who will most benefit from your intercession on the Day of Judgment?”
He answered:
“I was expecting that you would be the first to ask me this as I knew your interest in my tradition. The one who will most benefit from my intercession is the one who says ‘There is no deity, but Allah truly and sincerely from his/her heart…” (Bukhari).
Baraa reports:
During the battle of Uhud someone with armor on his face came to the presence of the Prophet (J) to embrace Islam, but when he witnessed the intensity of the battle he asked the Prophet (J):
“– O the Messenger of Allah! Shall I join the battle first or pronounce my faith in One Allah?”
The Prophet (J) told him:
“- Pronounce your faith first, and then join the battle!”
Amr bin Sabit followed what the Prophet (J) told him, and fought courageously. The Prophet (J) said when he saw his dead body among the martyrs:
“He worked little, but gained a lot!..” (Ramazanoglu Mahmud Sami, Uhud Gazvesi, 35).
Source: Osman Nuri Topbaş, ISLAM SPIRIT AND FORM, Erkam Publications
DECLARAION OF FAITH AT THE LAST BREATH
