never heard of this one before? iA. will check the youtube links out :D. I once listened to a talk by murtaza khan though on the "7 Conditions of Shadah" was a brill talk, some notes:
One of the most common ‘comforts’ amongst Muslims is the belief that dying upon saying the shahada will grant automatic access to Jannah. Whilst this is true and authenticated by ahadith, few realise how difficult being able to say the shahada at that time will be (and as a result what a blessing to be able to do this would be), what the shahada actually entails and what the conditions of a valid shahada would be.
Though we know that the shahada is the key to Jannah, we must also understand that every key has teeth; and those teeth must be sharpened and taken care of.
These ‘teeth’ are the
conditions of shahada.
So what are they?
a)
Knowledge
Knowledge of shahada is knowing exactly what the kalmia means and what you are saying. When you are negating the worship of all else besides Allah (swt) and confirming His (swt) right to be worshipped, you must know Who you are worshipping, what His (swt) attributes are, how his balance and justice are meted out, how to correctly ‘understand’ (as much as He has allowed us to) Him and how to espouse hope and fear in Him.
b)
Yaqeen
Yaqeen is the opposite of doubt and uncertainty.
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YUSUFALI:
Only those are Believers who have believed in Allah and His Messenger, and have never since doubted, but have striven with their belongings and their persons in the Cause of Allah: Such are the sincere ones.
To ‘waver’ in this sense is a characteristic of the hypocrites:
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YUSUFALI:
Only those ask thee for exemption who believe not in Allah and the Last Day, and whose hearts are in doubt, so that they are tossed in their doubts to and fro.
The strongest protection against this doubt and uncertainty is to hasten to seek knowledge. When we decide to seek knowledge, one of the most useful intentions to have is strive for that knowledge in order to increase our Yaqeen and eradicate doubt. Delaying in seeking knowledge to remove doubt or playing down its importance is a very dangerous act as this eventually leads to hypocrisy. It is important to remember that no individual set out to intentionally fall into hypocrisy, but as a result of their actions and thoughts it is a state which eventually overcomes them- the path to hypocrisy is travelled down one step at a time. Not seeking knowledge plants you firmly on that path and it only gets steeper after the first stumble.
c)
Acceptance
Unless your actions fulfil the conditions of shahada, your utterance of the words (la illahi il Allah, Muhammadan rasul Allah) will serve as a witness against you. This is because in the aakhirah you will be reminded that you yourself testified to the fact that none had the right to be worshipped besides Allah (swt) and that Muhammad (saw) was his Messenger.
The opposite of this is to believe in some parts of Islam and reject others that don’t suit you. Allah (swt) has warned us that those who behave in this way will meet humiliation both in the dunya and the aakhirah:
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YUSUFALI:
After this it is ye, the same people, who slay among yourselves, and banish a party of you from their homes; assist (Their enemies) against them, in guilt and rancour; and if they come to you as captives, ye ransom them, though it was not lawful for you to banish them. Then is it only a part of the Book that ye believe in, and do ye reject the rest? but what is the reward for those among you who behave like this but disgrace in this life?- and on the Day of Judgment they shall be consigned to the most grievous penalty. For Allah is not unmindful of what ye do
d)
Submission
This was briefly touched on in the 1st lecture, but submission is entering into the requirements of shahada completely- to submit with full submission:
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YUSUFALI:
But no, by the Lord, they can have no (real) Faith, until they make thee judge in all disputes between them, and and find within themselves no dislike of that which thou decidest, and submit with full submission.
e)
Truthfulness
Truthfulness is to believe what you are saying sincerely from the heart. To be able to increase in your certainty that you believe what you are saying is actually true you should seek knowledge with the intention of increasing yourself in certainty.
f)
Loving the Shahada
When you claim to love something, you are able to prove it. Proving you love the shahada is to abide by it’s implications as this is the true emulation and veneration of love. Another sign of love is when you hear a verse of Allah (ie: the Qur’an) that you have heard many many times over, your heart is entrapped by it as though it is the first time.
g)
Denying/Rejection of All Else
This is the rejection of all man-made rules/laws/principles/values that run contradictory to those of Allah (swt). This means obedience only to Allah (swt) over that which is contradictory to Islam. DO NOTE however, this does NOT mean disobedience to things like the law of the land (ie: speeding limits, buerocratic requirements of your country etc), requests from parents/acquaintances/colleagues which are neither made halal or haram by Shari’ah.
h)
Maintain/Adhere/Sustain this condition until Death
Our deathbed (providing we get the opportunity to actually die on a ‘deathbed’) will be the biggest battlefield between us and Shaytaan. It is his final and most important chance to plunge us into kufr and make sure we exit the dunya in a state of disbelief. This is why one of the etiquettes of handling a dying person is to constantly remind them of the love and mercy of Allah (swt)- to encourage them to say shahada and make sure they depart with a positive and good impression of Allah (swt). Whilst Shaytann is trying all he can to tear them away and tempt them into kufr, they should remember your words of encouragement and hope in Allah (swt). To be able to say the shahada is not an easy thing, and when we have not been constant in our dhikr (remembrance) of Allah (swt) in the duration of our lives and are heedless- it will be most difficult for these words to come to us at our time of death.
This rounds up the conditions of shahada- I have 8 stated here and other commentators have compartmentalised them into different sections and sub sections so you will find the ‘conditions’ numbering anything from 7 to 9 to 11. As long as the actual conditions and ideas are contained within the sections listed, the actual number given is immaterial.
source:
http://alfitrah.com/phpBB2/viewtopic...annoor&p=13600