Question
I want to know the authenticity and meaning of a Hidith. Prophet Muhammad (sws) said:
The one who said once (There is no god but Allah) will enter Jannah.
Some say Muhammad (sws) said these words to Hazrat Bilal (rta) and told him not to publicize it but Bilal (rta) couldn’t stop himself from telling such a big news to people and was stopped by Hazrat Umar (rta). Hazrat Umar (rta) pushed Bilal (rta) Harshly. Both went to the Prophet Muhammad’s (sws) court who said that both were right. I mean telling people and stopping him. I hope you got my question.
Answer
The gist of the story is as you wrote, however the companion who hears this from the prophet (pbuh), as reported in the book of Muslim (no. 52), is Abu Huraira not Bilal (ra-huma).
First, we need to know what the Qur’an says about merely saying ‘There is no god but Allah’:
“Do people think that they will be left alone on saying: We believe, and not be tried? And certainly We tried those before them So God will certainly know those who are truthful and will certainly know the liars” (29:2,3)
I think the above verse is very clear on the fact that just saying ‘There is no god but Allah’ does not guarantee the paradise. Those who say that need to prove their faith by their deeds.
The Hadith you mentioned therefore needs to be understood based on the above principle.
In order to understand the point, I use the following example:
“A wise man says: ‘whoever enters Oxford University will end up with very good job’”
What the wise man actually means is that whoever enters University of Oxford, sits the classes, works hard and graduate at the end, will be qualified enough to get a good job. The process and the completion of the degree is not mentioned in the advice, because it is understood by common sense.”
Similarly the referred Hadith means those who say ‘There is no god but Allah’ and do their best in fulfilling the requirements of this confession will go to paradise, even if it means doing only as much to deserve God’s lenience and forgiveness in the hereafter.
The prophet (pbuh) gives this good news to the people around him assuming that people will follow the requirements of the Kalima of Tohid (that is, There is no god but Allah). Umar (ra) suggests that it is better not to spread these words, as people could misunderstand it and do not appreciate its full meaning and may think that just saying the Word is enough to go to paradise (as many at our time believe!). This is similar to the attitude that Jews and Christians had and they are criticized for this in the Qur’an (e.g. 2:135). The Qur’an has made it clear that embracing the faith should be completed with doing good deeds (as the result of the faith).
We read similar sayings narrated from the prophet (pbuh) but in these cases his words are completed by a condition, for example in the book of Muslim (no. 325), we read: “One who says ‘There is no god but Allah’ and there is equal to a small hair goodness in his heart, will be out (saved) from fire’.
No doubt God is not keen to send people to hell. Any one who believes in Him and does enough to deserve God’s mercy, insha’Allah, will go to paradise. However this does not mean that saying the Kalima per se will guarantee people paradise.
Answered by: Farhad Shafti
Date: 2015-01-08
