The Correct meaning of ‘Laa ilaaha illa
Allaah’ – by Shaikh ibn Baaz

True Meaning of ‘Laa ilaaha illa Allaah’ is : There
is no deity truly worthy of worship except Allah
All praise is due to Allah alone and may peace
and blessings be upon the Noblest of the
messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, his family,
his Companions, Tabi`un (Followers, the
generation after the Companions of the Prophet)
and those who followed them in the best manner
until the Day of Resurrection.
I have read the article written by our brother in
Islam, the eminent Shaykh `Umar ibn Ahmad Al-
Millibary on the meaning of ‘La ilaha illa Allah’. I
read the explanation of the shaykh thoroughly on
the three points of view regarding its meaning.
The definitions are as follows:
First, it means that there is no deity truly worthy
of worship except Allah.
Second , that there is no deity truly worthy of
obedience except Allah.
Third, that there is no god but Allah.
The correct definition, as he stated, is the first
which is clarified in the Book of Allah (may He be
Praised) many times. For instance, Allah (may He
be Praised) states, You (Alone) we worship, and
You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and
everything). and, And your Lord has decreed that
you worship none but Him. He (may He be
Praised) also states, And I (Allâh) created not the
jinn and mankind except that they should worship
Me (Alone). and, That is because Allâh — He is
the Truth (the only True God of all that exists,
Who has no partners or rivals with Him), and
what they (the polytheists) invoke besides Him, it
is Bâtil (falsehood).
There are many Ayahs (Qur’anic verses) to this
effect. Moreover, this is the meaning that the
polytheists understood from ‘La ilaha illa Allah’,
when the Prophet (peace be upon him) called
them to it, saying: O my people, say ‘La ilaha illa
Allah’, to succeed.
They denied it and haughtily rejected to accept
him because they understood that it contradicts
their forefathers’ worship of idols, trees and
stones and their deification, as Allah (Glorified
and Exalted be He) mentions in Surah (Qur’anic
chapter) Sad, And they (Arab pagans) wonder
that a warner (Prophet Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ
ﻭﺳﻠﻢ ) has come to them from among themselves.
And the disbelievers say: “This (Prophet
Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ ) is a sorcerer, a
liar. “Has he made the âlihah (gods) (all) into One
Ilâh (God – Allâh). Verily, this is a curious thing!”
In Surah Al-Saffat (ayat 35 and 36), Allah states
concerning the polytheists: Truly, when it was
said to them: La ilaha illa Allah (none has the
right to be worshipped but Allah), they puffed
themselves up with pride (i.e. denied it). And
(they) said: “Are we going to abandon our alihah
(gods) for the sake of a mad poet?” This indicates
that the polytheists understood that the meaning
of ‘La ilaha illa Allah’ superseded their deities and
necessitated dedicating their acts of worship to
Allah Alone. Thus, when one of them embraced
Islam, he gave up Shirk (associating others with
Allah in His Divinity or worship) and dedicated
acts of worship to Allah Alone.
Had ‘La ilaha illa Allah’ meant only that there is
no god but Allah, or that there is none worthy of
obedience but Allah, they would have never
rejected it. That is because they already knew
that Allah is their Lord and Creator Who must be
obeyed in the orders they believed to come from
Him. Rather, they believed that worship of idols,
prophets, angels, righteous people, trees and the
like were their intercessors with Allah and brought
them closer to Him . Allah says in Surah Yunus, aya
18: And they worship besides Allah things that harm
them not, nor profit them, and they say: “These are
our intercessors with Allah.” Say: “Do you inform
Allâh of that which He knows not in the heavens and
on the earth?” Glorified and Exalted is He above all
that which they associate as partners (with Him)! He
(Glorified and Exalted be He) also states: The
revelation of this Book (the Qur’ân) is from Allâh,
the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. Verily We have sent
down the Book to you (O Muhammad ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ
ﻭﺳﻠﻢ ) in truth: So worship Allâh (Alone) by doing
religious deeds sincerely for Allâh’s sake only.
Surely the religion (i.e. the worship and the
obedience) is for Allâh only. And those who take
Auliyâ’ (protectors, helpers, lords, gods) besides Him
(say): “We worship them only that they may bring us
near to Allâh.”
The pagans admitted that they worshiped others
only to bring them near to Allah, but Allah (may
He be Praised) responded to this, Verily, Allâh will
judge between them concerning that wherein they
differ. Truly, Allâh guides not him who is a liar,
and a disbeliever.
Allah (may He be Praised) declared that they are
both liars in the claim that their deities bring
them near to Allah, and disbelievers because of
committing this act. There are many Ayahs that
support this meaning.
All praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May
peace and blessings be upon our Prophet
Muhammad, his family, his Companions, Tabi`un
and those who followed them in the best manner
until the Day of Resurrection!

Source : alifta.com – by Shaik Ibn Baaz

Definition of Laa ilaha illa Allah -Shaykh Raslaan
In the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful
Definition of Laa ilaha illa Allah By Shaykh Muhammad ibn Sa’eed Raslaan may Allah preserve him
The shaykh mentions in his book entitled: “Laa ilaaha ill Allah: it’s meaning, conditions, nullifiers, and virtues” how the statement of Laa ilaha ill Allah is misinterpreted by different groups of Muslims and it’s correct interpretation. He says:
1. Ahlul wahdatil wujood (Those who claim that Allah is everywhere) -Ahlul wahdatil wujood (or Pantheism), Ibn ‘Arabi and those like him, say that Laa ilaha ill Allah means that there is nothing worshiped except Allah. Or, they say that there is no god that exists except Allah. The meaning of this is that everything that is worshiped is Allah. Existence according to them is not broken into a creator and creation, rather everything is Allah. And for this they are given the name ahlul wahdatil wujood. If man were to worship anything (like a cow, idol, rock, man, angel) then he is worshiping Allah, because Allah is everything according to them. *If it were to said them that existence is broken into two parts: Creator and creation they would say that this person is a mushrik. None can be a person of tawheed until they affirm that everything is Allah.
2. Ahlul Kalaam (People of Rhetoric) -The scholars of rhetoric say that Laa ilaaha ill Allah means there is none capable of creating, disposing affairs except Allah, but this is not sufficient. This agrees with the religion of the polytheists. The polytheists say that there is none able to create, give life, cause death, provide except Allah. This is Tahweed of Allah’s Lordship. (…and this definition does not encompass the entire meaning of laa ilaaha ill Allah.)
3. Jahmeeyah and Mu’tazilah (Those who deny Allah’s Names and Attributes) -The definition of laa ilaaha ill Allah with them is denying His Names and Attributes. According to them whoever affirms His Names or Attributes are considered to be polytheists.
4. Hizbeeyun, Qutbiyun, and Ikhwaaniyoon (Those who divide into partianship, followers of Sayyid Qutub and the Ikhwaani) They say that laa ilaaha ill Allah means that there is none who can legislate/judge except Allah. But here legislating/judging (hakameeyah) is only a portion of what it means. We say to them: where are the other acts of worship?! Where is rukoo’, prostration, slaughtering, swearing, and the rest of ‘ibaadah?! Is worship only considered to be legislating? Yaa Subhaanallah! It is imperative to be warned from these affairs, because the statement of Laa ilaaha ill Allah is a tremendous statement. It will cause the one who gives it it’s right to be saved from the fire. The entire religion is built upon this statement from the beginning to the end. All of the call of the messengers and revealed books were built upon this statement.
5. Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jamaa’ah (The correct translation) -Laa ilaaha ill Allah means that: there is nothing WORTHY of worship except Allah, because there are many things that are worshiped. But Allah is truly the only one who DESERVES to be worshiped, and anything worshipped beside Him is false. Allah states: “That is because Allâh— He is the Truth (the only True God of all that exists, Who has no partners or rivals with Him), and what they (the polytheists) invoke besides Him, it is Bâtil (falsehood) And verily, Allâh— He is the Most High, the Most Great.” (Hajj:62)
Therefore this statement is a NEGATION and AFFIRMATION. Negating worship to all other types of gods and affirming that worship is Allah alone.
Translated by: Michael AbdusSalaam Deonarain

I hope the mod will change this meaning “There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” to the right one.