The Text:Rejecting the Tâghût and Believing in Allâh
And Allâh sent a messenger to every nation, since the time of Nûh Alayh'is Salâm until Muhammad Sallallâhu Alayhi wa Sallam, to command them to worship Allâh alone and to forbid them from worshiping the Tâghût.
The evidence is the statement of Allâhu Taâlâ,
"And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): Worship Allâh (Alone), and avoid (worshipping) the Tâghût." (an-Nahl, 16/36)
Allâh ordered all the slaves to reject the Tâghût and to believe in Allâh.
Ibn'ul Qayyim Rahimahullâhu Taâlâ said,
"[The meaning of]1 Tâghût is all that which causes the slave to exceed the limits with regards to what is worshipped, followed, or obeyed.2The Main Types of Tâghût
The Tawâghît (pl., Tâghût) are numerous, but their main types are five:
1- Iblis (satan) May Allâh Curse Him;
2- Those whom are worshiped and are pleased with it;
3- Those who call people to worship themselves;
4- Those who claim to know anything from the knowledge of the Ghayb (unseen);
5- Those who rule by other than what Allâh revealed.
The evidence is the statement of Allâhu Taâlâ,
"There is no compulsion in the Dîn (religion). Ar-Rushd (the right path) has become clear from al-Ghayy (the wrong path). So whoever disbelieves in the Tâghût and believes in Allâh has grasped the Urwat'ul Wuthqâ (firmest handhold)..." (al-Baqarah, 2/256)
This is the meaning of La Ilaha Illallâh. Narrated in the Hadîth,
"The head of every matter is Islâm, its supporting pillar is the Salâh, and its highest point is Jihâd in the way of Allâh."3
And Allâh knows best!
May Allâhu Taâlâ send abundant peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions (Âmîn!)
1- The addition in brackets is found in ad-Durar'us Saniyyah.
2- Ibn'ul Qayyim's statement is found in I'lâm'ul Muwaqqi'în, 1/40.
3- Al-Marwazî, Ta'dhîmu Qadr'is Salâh, 1/200, no. 197. With similar wording, at-Tirmidhî, Hadîth no. 2616.