Kalimah الكلمة

Overview

The Kalimah (الكَلِمَة, "the word") refers to the two testimonies of faith that form the verbal core of the shahada: La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadun rasul Allah — "There is no deity except Allah, and Muhammad ﷺ is the messenger of Allah." It is the gateway to iman and the first of the Five Pillars of Islam.

Etymology

The Arabic root ك-ل-م denotes speech and meaningful utterance. In classical Arabic, kalimah is a single word or statement carrying weight. The two-part testimony is often called كَلِمَة التَّوحِيد — the word of tawhid.

Quranic references

The first half of the kalimah appears verbatim in the Quran:

فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ

Surah Muhammad 47:19 — "So know that there is no deity except Allah."

Surah Al-Baqarah 2:255 — "Allah — there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence." (Ayat al-Kursi)

Surah Al-Fath 48:29 — "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves."

Surah Al-Ahzab 33:40 — "Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of Allah and the last of the prophets." Together, these ayat anchor both halves of the kalimah.

Hadith and tradition

The Prophet ﷺ said: "I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no deity but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish the salah and give the zakat." — Sahih al-Bukhari 25

The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever says La ilaha illa Allah sincerely from his heart will enter Jannah." — Sahih Muslim 26

Significance

The kalimah is the threshold of Islam: by it a person enters the community of muminun, and by its sincere affirmation at death one hopes for paradise. Classical scholars such as Ibn al-Qayyim emphasised that the kalimah carries seven conditions — knowledge, certainty, acceptance, submission, truthfulness, sincerity, and love — without which the utterance is empty form. It rejects every false object of worship (including the idols once around the Kaaba) and affirms the messengership of the final messenger.

See also

• Tawhid
• Iman
• Five Pillars of Islam
• Shahada

References

1. Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim, commentary on Surah Muhammad 47:19.
2. Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Madarij as-Salikin, on the conditions of La ilaha illa Allah.
3. al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Iman.
4. Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmu al-Fatawa, vol. 10, on the meaning of the kalimah.