No God But God!
La Ilaha Illa Allah!
Four Words that Changed the World!
All It Takes Is You!
Dr. Pasha
(Bringing Islam to the World One Concept at a Time!
Taking the Qur'an to Every Home and Heart that Needs It --
And which One Does Not?)
God created Adam and from him he created his mate and then he placed both of them in the Garden, telling them not to approach a certain tree. But the devil persuaded Adam and his mate to disobey God. Adam and his mate then repented and God accepted their repentance. God then sent them down to earth to be his representatives – Khalifah – on earth and told them to run their life on earth according to his laws and guidance.
However, Adam’s descendants soon forgot their true identity as God’s slaves and his representatives on earth and repeatedly fell victim to the trickery of the devil. God then sent messengers to help guide them back to his path. Among these divine messengers were Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Jesus and others, may God shower them all with his mercy and blessings.
They all used the simple message of La Ilaha Illa Allah – “There is No God but Allah,” to remind people of their true origin and destiny and to get people to replace the ways of the devil in their lives with the laws of Allah – Almighty God.
Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, was the last and final link in this great chain of messengers that came from God to guide humanity back to God and to show human beings how to organize their private and public lives according to God’s laws, will and pleasure – the original purpose of their creation.
Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, completely, and forever, changed the world using the same formula of La Ilaha Illa Allah that all the other messengers of God had used before him. May Almighty God shower his choicest blessings upon him and upon all other prophets and messengers!
La Ilaha Illa Allah! No God but God!
These are, then, the four words that changed the world, as the world has never been changed before or since. These four words – given above, first in Arabic and then in English – constitute the divine formula for freeing humanity from tyranny, bondage, affliction and degradation and for raising it to a nobler and more exalted plane of existence: physically, materially, psychologically, socially, economically, politically as well as morally and spiritually.
There are two parts – a negative part as well as a positive part – to this divine formula of La Ilaha Illa Allah! The first part – “No God” – is negative; the second part – “But Allah” – is positive. The four words together mean: “No God But Allah!”
In Arabic language, the language that God Almighty chose in which to house his last revelation, the word “La” means “no.” “Ilah” means any object or focus of adoration. “Illa” means “but” and Allah is the name of God, the Almighty, the one and only lord, God – maker, owner and master of the worlds.
The word “La” is a rejection of all that is wrong with the world, and with human life, even if it is just an idea, practice, belief, behavior, custom or tradition. “La” says “No!” to all forms of corruption in the world, whether it is the corruption of the human body, mind, soul, business practices or political or social life and to all forms of injustice, inequality, oppression, tyranny, exploitation, selfishness and greed.
It says “No!” to the mad and blind pursuit of personal, group, organizational, tribal, national, racial power, privilege, advantage and domination at the expense of the less powerful, the weak, the timid, the meek, the disadvantaged, the deprived, the voiceless, the less informed, the less sophisticated, the less organized and all those lacking in resources, talent, training and opportunity.
“La” is a rejection of a life and culture of alcohol, drugs, crime, vice and all other forms of sin, deviance, degeneracy, indulgence, waywardness, waste, sloth, excess, selfishness, greed and ostentation, just as it is a rejection of the worship of race, class, culture, country, ethnicity, nationality and wealth. It is also a disavowal of the ignorance, poverty, hunger, disease, prejudice, hate, anger, jealousy, contempt, conceit and arrogance that fill the world.
The word “Ilah” means all things an individual, a group, an organization, a nation, a culture or a society admires, loves, values and cherishes above all else. They are the gods – Ilahs: what the Bible calls the false gods – and masters that own, control, dominate, dictate, drive and direct their life.
“Illa Allah” means “But God.”
It is the positive solution to the problems of humanity, whether at the individual or at the social, collective, institutional, cultural or societal levels. Once human life is cleansed of false gods with the power of “La Ilaha!” – “No God!” – then it is ready to be filled with the light, power and glory of “Illa Allah” – “But Allah” – the one and only God.
Allah is God – the true and only God. He is the God of everyone and everything. He is unlike anything; and nothing is like unto him. He is free from all taint, failing, weakness, blemish or imperfection. All beauty, power and glory belong to him – and all the beautiful and glorious names.
He sees and hears everything; and he responds to those who call his glorious name. He is closer to people than their jugular vein. He answers the call of those who turn to him in need and in distress. There is no barrier between him and the cry of the oppressed.
He neither tires nor does sleep come upon him. He has neither spouse nor family. He is as he describes himself in his book – the Qur’an and in other scriptures before the Qur’an such as the books that were revealed to Moses and to Jesus, son of Mary. May God Almighty bless them all!
