The praise is due to Allah alone. May prayers and peace be upon the one who has no prophet after him., and upon his family, and his companions. As for what proceeds:

So verily Allah the Glorified and Exalted only created the creation to worship Him alone, not to associate anything with Him. He revealed His books and sent His messengers to command that and to call to it. So Allah the Glorified said:

"And I did not create the Jinns or the Mankind, except to worship Me." [Sooratudh Dhaariyaat 51:56]

Allah the Glorified said:

"O you people, worship your Lord who created you, and those before you so that you may become god-fearing." [Sooratul Baqarah 2:21]

Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:

"Alif Laam Raa. [2] A book whose verses are perfected and then presented in detail from the One who is Wise and Well-Acquainted. 'Do not worship except Allah. Indeed I am to you a warner from Him, and a bringer of glad tidings.'" [Sooratul Hood 11:1-2]

Allah the Exalted said:

"And We sent in every nation, a messenger, that they may worship Allah, and avoid taaghoot." [3], to the end of the verse. [Sooratun Nahl 16:36]

Allah the Glorified said:

"And We did not send a messenger before you except that We revealed to him that there is none worthy of worship except Me, so worship Me." [Sooratul Anbiyaa 21:25]

So these verses and their like, all show that Allah - the Mighty and Majestic - only created the two worlds (our world, and that of the jinn) to worship Him alone, not associating any partners with Him. They also show that this was done in Wisdom, as they show that Allah the Mighty and Majestic only revealed books and sent messengers out of Wisdom.

So worship is submission to Him, and humility towards His Greatness by doing what He commanded, and avoiding what He forbade. All of this occurs by having faith in Allah the Glorified, and faith in His messengers, and sincerity towards Him in good deeds, and believing in everything that His messenger (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) informed of. This is the basis of the Religion, and the foundation of the methodology, and it is the meaning of the statement: 'laa ilaaha illAllah'. So verily it means that there is no true deity worthy of worship except Allah.

So it is obligatory to make all the various forms of worship such as supplication, and fear, and hope, and prayer, and fasting, and sacrifice, and the taking of oaths for Allah alone, and one cannot direct anything from those to anyone else due to the preceding verses, and also due to the statement of Allah the Mighty and Majestic:

"And you have not been commanded except to worship Allah, and to make the Religion purely for Him." [Sooratul Bayyinah 98:5], to the end of the verse.

Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:

"And verily the mosques are for Allah, so do not call upon anyone along with Him." [Sooratul Jinn 72:18]

Allah the Glorified said:

"He causes the night to enter the day, and He causes the day to enter the night, and He has subjugated the sun and the moon - each running for a specified term. That is Allah, your Lord. To Him belongs sovereignty and those whom you call upon other than Him do not even possess the membrane of a date seed. If you call upon them, they do not hear your supplication, and if they heard, they would not be able to respond to you. And on the Day of Resurrection, they will deny your association. And none can inform you like the One who is Well-Acquainted." [Sooratul Faatir 35:13-14]

Allah the Exalted said:

"And who is more misguided than he who calls upon other than Allah, those who will not respond to him until the Day of Resurrection, and they are unaware of his supplication. And when the people are gathered, they will be enemies to them, and they will reject their worship." [Sooratul Ahqaaf 46:5-6]

Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:

"And whoever calls upon anything along with Allah, he has no proof for it. So verily his reckoning will be with his Lord, and indeed the disbelievers will not succeed." [Sooratul Mu'minoon 23:117]

So Allah the Glorified explains in these verses that He is the Master of everything, and that worship is His Right. He also explains that everything which is worshipped besides him from the prophets, or righteous people, or idols, or trees, or stones, or other than them, they do not have power over anything. They do not hear the supplication of those who call upon them, and even if they could hear the supplication, then they would not be able to answer them. Allah informs us that this is shirk with Him the Mighty and Majestic, and He negates success from its people.

So Allah the Glorified informs us that there is no one more misguided than one who calls upon other than Allah. He informs us that the one called upon besides Allah, will not respond to his caller until the Day of Judgement, and that he will be neglectful of the supplication directed towards him. On the Day of Resurrection, he will rebuke his worship, and he will declare himself free of it, and he will return it to the worshipper. So this is sufficient as a repulsion from shirk, and a warning from it, and an exposition of the utter loss of its people, and their evil end. So these verses inform us that the worship of anything besides Allah is false (baatil), and that worship is the Right of Allah alone. The correctness of this is supported by the statement of Allah the Mighty and Majestic:

"That is because Allah is the Truth, and those whom you call upon besides Him are falsehood." [Sooratul Hajj 22:62]

Allah the Glorified mentions in another place in His Book that from the Wisdom in creating the creation is so that they may come to know about His complete Knowledge, and perfect Decree, and so that Allah the Mighty and Majestic may reward His slaves for their good deeds. Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said:

"It is Allah who created the seven heavens and the earth, and the like of them. The Command descends amongst them so that you may know that Allah is over all things capable, and that Allah has encompassed all things in Knowledge." [Sooratut Tallaaq 65:12]

Allah the Exalted says:

"Or do those who commit evil think We will make them like those who have believed and done righteous deeds - [Make them] equal in their life and their death? Evil is that which they judge. Allah created the heavens and the earth in truth, and so that every soul may be recompensed for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged." [Sooratul Jaathiyah 45:21-22]

So the obligation upon everyone possessing an intellect is to see what they were created for, and to take themselves into account, and to struggle for the sake of Allah until they have fulfilled His Right, and the rights of His slaves, and until they become cautious of what Allah has forbidden for them, and then they will have achieved a praiseworthy result in this world and in the Hereafter. This science is the most beneficial of sciences, and the most important of them, and the greatest of them, because it is the foundation of the Religion, and the essence of what the messengers - may prayers and peace be upon them all - came with, and the focus of their call. This is not complete, and salvation cannot be achieved by it, except after having faith in the messengers - may prayers and peace be upon them all - and at their head is their leader, and superior, and the last of them, our Prophet, Muhammad (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam). It is a prerequisite of faith to believe in the truthfulness of the Prophet (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam), his news, and to obey his command, and to abandon what he prohibited, and Allah should not be worshipped, except by his law which he came with. May prayers and peace by upon him.

So Allah has sent to every nation a messenger. Their Islaam is not correct, and their faith is not complete, and they will not be able to attain happiness and salvation, except by the Oneness of Allah, and by purifying their worship for Him - the Mighty and Majestic, and by following the messengers, and by refusing to abandon His Law. This is the Islaam that Allah is pleased with for His slaves, and it is known that this is His Religion, as He said:

"Today, I have perfected for you your Religion, and have completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen Islaam as your Religion." [Sooratul Maa`idah 5:3]

Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:

"Verily the Religion with Allah is Islaam." [Soorah Aali 'Imraan 3:19]

So from this it becomes clear to those possessing wisdom that the basis of the Religion, and its foundations is of two matters:

The First of Them: None is to be worshipped except Allah alone, and this is the meaning of the testification that there is none worthy of worship except Allah.

Secondly: Allah is not to be worshipped except by the law of His Prophet, Muhammad (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam).

So the first falsifies all of the worshipped gods besides Allah, and it is known that the only true deity to be worshipped is Allah alone. The second falsifies worship with opinions and innovations for which Allah has not sent down an authority, such as the clear falsehood of the inferior rules and human opinions. It is known that it is obligatory to rule by the Law of Allah in everything.

So the slave will not be a Muslim unless he has these two matters in him together, as Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:

"Then We put you [O Muhammad] on an ordained way concerning the matter. So follow it and do not follow the inclinations of those who do not know. Indeed they will never avail you against Allah at all. And Indeed the wrongdoers are allies of one another, but Allah is the protector of the righteous." [Sooratul Jaathiyah 45:18-19]

Allah the Glorified said:

"But no, by your Lord, they will not believe until they make you [O Muhammad] judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves, and find in themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in willing submission." [Sooratun Nisaa 4:65]

Allah the Exalted said:

"Then is it the judgement of the times of ignorance that they desire? Who is better than Allah in judgement for a people who are certain?" [Sooratul Maa`idah 5:50]

Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:

"And whoever does not judge by what Allah revealed, then they are the disbelievers." [Sooratul Maa`idah 5:44]

" And whoever does not judge by what Allah revealed, then they are the oppressors." [Sooratul Maa`idah 5:45]

" And whoever does not judge by what Allah revealed, then they are the disobedient." [Sooratul Maa`idah 5:47] [4]

So these verses provide a sufficient warning and deterrent against ruling by other than what Allah revealed. They guide the ummah - its government and common folk - to the obligation upon everyone to judge by what Allah revealed, and to submit to the judgement, and to be pleased with it, and to warn against whatever opposes it.

Likewise, they clearly prove the validity of the Judgement of Allah the Glorified as being the best and most just. Then they show that ruling by other than that is disbelief, and oppression, and disobedience, and that it is the judgement of the times of ignorance that the Law of Allah came to falsify and negate.

The communities are not righteous, and they cannot have happiness, nor security, or stability, until they judge their affairs by the Law of Allah, and carry out His Judgement amongst His slaves, and until they purify action and speech for Him, and set the limits He has set for His slaves. By doing this, they will collectively achieve salvation and honour in this world, and in the Hereafter, such as becoming victorious by the Help of Allah over their enemies, and achieving success upon an honourable path, and the respect of the olden times, as Allah the Glorified said:

"O you who believe, if you help Allah, He will help you, and establish your feet." [Sooratul Muhammad 47:8]

Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:

"O you who believe, if you fear Allah, He will make a criterion for you, and recompense your sins for you, and forgive you." [Sooratul Anfaal 8:29]

Allah the Glorified said:

"And Allah will surely support those who support Him. Indeed Allah is powerful and Exalted in Might. These are those who if We give them authority in the land, establish prayer, and give charity, and enjoin what is right, and command what is wrong." [Sooratul Hajj 22:40-44]

Allah the Glorified warns against taking the disbelievers as friends instead of the believers, and He informs us that the disbelievers will spare no effort in causing confusion among the Muslims, and that they will bring a calamity upon themselves by doing that, and He says after that:

"And if you are patient and fear Allah, their plot will not harm you at all. Indeed Allah knows well what they do." [Soorah Aali 'Imraan 3:120]

So this is the most fundamental principle, and the greatest understanding. It is the first thing that the writers should write about, and it is what the callers to guidance, and what the supporters of the truth should focus on. It is the most important science that they should grab onto with their molar teeth, and it should be spread amongst all societies, until they know its reality, and until they distance themselves from whatever opposes it.

So we ask Allah to return the Muslims to this, a praiseworthy return, and to rectify their affair, and to establish all of them upon adherence to the Law of Allah, and to make them travel upon it, and to rule by it, and to govern by it, and to be satisfied with it, and to be pleased with it, and to warn against whatever opposes it. Verily Allah is the Supporter of this, and the Mast of it. May Allah's Prayers and Peace be upon His slave and Messenger, Muhammad, and his family, and his companions, and whoever travels upon their path, and those who are guided by his guidance until the Day of Judgement.

Footnotes:

[1] This article was originally published in the year 1395H, we have taken it from a recent reprint in the al-Hikmah quarterly; (issue no. 1). All footnotes in this article are by the translator, unless otherwise stated.

[2] These are among the fourteen opening letters which occur in various combinations at the beginning of twenty-nine soorahs in the Qur`aan. Although there has been much speculation as to their meaning, it was not, in fact, revealed by Allah to anyone, and is known only to Him.

[3] Shaykh 'Abdur Rahmaan Ibn Hasan aal-ash-Shaykh said: "Taaghoot: it is derived from 'oppression' (tughyaan), and it also means to exceed the limits. 'Umar Ibnul Khattaab (radyAllahu 'anhu) said: 'Taaghoot is shaytaan.' Jaabir (radyAllahu 'anhu) said: 'The tawaagheet (pl. of taaghoot) are the fortune-tellers whom the satans reveal things to.' Ibn Abee Haatim relates both of these narrations. Maalik said: 'A taaghoot is anything that is worshipped besides Allah.'" [Fathul Majeed (p. 16)]

[4] It is related from Ibn Abbaas through many paths, and from Taawoos, and from 'Ataa' who all said that these verses referred to disbelief which is less than disbelief (kufr doona kufr). ." [See Silsilatul Ahaadeethus Saheehah of shaykh al-Albaanee (6/1/113-115) for a complete discussion of all the narrations regarding these verses.]

Ibnul Qayyim said [as-Salaah Wa Taarikuhaa (p. 57)]:

"This is explained in the Qur`aan for whoever understands it. So verily Allah the Glorified named the one who rules by other than what Allah revealed a disbeliever, and He named the one who rejects what He revealed upon His messenger (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam), a disbeliever, but the two are not disbelievers in the same manner."

Shaykhul Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah said: "Indeed Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and other than him from the imaams of the salaf were established upon that." [al-Eemaan (p. 312), and Majmoo'ul Fataawaa /7]

Shaykh Ibn Baaz's verdict on this matter is in accordance with what is mentioned here, the reader is advised to refer to the book, 'at-Tahdheer min Fitnatit Takfeer'.