TRANSLATION:
"The best act is La illah ha ill allah and the best prayer is to seek forgiveness."
EXPLANATION:
1.Meaning:
In this hadith, the Prophet SAW has highlighted the importance of declaring the oneness of Allah and of seeking forgiveness from Him for our sins and faults.
There are two parts of this hadith:
i. The best act
ii. The best prayer
2.The Best Act:
According to this hadith, the best act is to declare that there is noone worthy of worship except Allah, and show this with our actions.
i. Illah:
In Kalimah "La Illaha illa-Allah", the word 'Ilah' means such a deity which deserves to be worshipped, obeyed and deeply loved. This is obviously Allah, who created us and blessed us with wisdom, foresightedness and all the pleasures of life.
ii. Tauheed:
Tauheed refers to the oneness of Allah. It means that we believe in the unity of Allah's Lordship, His names and attributes, and His worship.
iii. In the light of the Qur'an:
" And verily we have sent in every nation a messenger (saying): Worship Allah and avoid Taghut (false gods)."(16:36)
"And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him." (17:23)
" Indeed I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayers for My remembrance."(20:14)
3.The Best Prayer:
In the second part of this hadith, it is highlighted that the best prayer is to seek forgiveness.
i. Man - prone to sin:
We, bring human beings, are prone to committing sins. Nobody is pure, except the prophets of Allah.
ii. Sin:
The holy prophet SAW described sin as:
"That which causes discomfort within your soul and which you dislike people to become informed of." (Saheeh Muslim)
iii. Forgiveness:
One who commits a sin will be punished for it in the hereafter. But there is still another way- to seek forgiveness. Allah says,
"Say, oh my servants who have transgressed against themselves (by sinning), do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed Allah forgives all sins. He is oft-forgiving, most merciful."
iv. No sin is too big:
It is to be noted that no misdeed is too big to be forgiven. In a hadith Qudsi, Allah says:
" O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to seek forgiveness of me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins as great as the Earth, and were you then to face Mr ascribing no partners to Me,I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it. "
PRACTICAL IMPLICATION:
According to this hadith, we should act on Allah's command and ascribe no partners to him, and if we commit a sin, we should make haste to seek forgiveness.
