 I begin in the name of the Almighty God, the compassionate, the merciful. The one who has created everything in utmost perfection. And may the peace and blessings of the Almighty God be upon his pure and beloved messenger. The peak of his creation, the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. And may God's peace and blessings be upon his pure and beloved messenger. The family of the Ahlul Bayt, peace be upon them, especially the leader of our time. The awaited saviour, Al-Imam, Al-Mahdi, Al-Jalallahu ta'ala, Farajah. May God hasten his reappearance and make us all amongst his sincere and dedicated servants. The Almighty God states in the Holy Qur'an, Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem. Wa kathalika ja'alnaakum ummatan wasata, litakoonu shuhada'a a'alan naas, wa yakoonar rasulu a'laykum shaheeda. We have appointed you as a middle nation, moderate nation, so that you become witnesses over other people, and the messenger is a witness over you. Sadaq Allahul Ali al-Azim illuminate your hearts and minds with a very loud salawat. Allahumma salli ala Muhammad. As we continue our journey into the first general ziyara of Al-Imam ab Ya'bdullahi al-Husayn salawatullahi alayhi, we come across a passage that highlights one of the most important positions that Imam Husayn alayhi as-salam assumes, and one of the most important positions that all of the Imam Zawahl al-Bayt were honored by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. In this passage, Imam Sadaq alayhi as-salam as he's teaching us to address Imam al-Husayn and visit him, he says, I bear witness that you have conveyed, and you have delivered, and you have fulfilled, and you have shown sincerity, and I bear witness that you have achieved the highest levels of jihad, of struggling in the way of the Almighty God. And then here comes this amazing phrase which speaks of one of Imam Husayn's highest statuses that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given him, and then we bear witness that you, O Aba Abdullah, you continued on your path, and you met your destiny and fate while being a Shahid, a Mustahid, and a Shahid, and a Mashhoot. We see that this passage uses four variations of the Arabic root word of Shahada, which comes from Shahada, Shahid, Mustahid, Shahid and Mashhoot. All of these are derived from one root word, which is Shahada, which means to witness. And Imam al-Husayn, alaihi salam, assumes a very important role when it comes for him being a witness. In order for us to understand the importance of this role that the Imam assumes, let us examine the role of witnessing in our lives. Let us examine the following points so that we can understand the importance of witnessing. Number one, what is the significance of Shahada, the testimony to faith? In order for anyone to be a Muslim, he or she testifies that there is no God but Allah. Ashadu Allah, ilaha illallah. What is the significance of this Shahada and testimony? Number two, before we were born, was there an existence in which we testified to the oneness of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala? What was that existence? Number three, what is the role of witnesses in our society from a social legal aspect? How important is their responsibility? Number four, we always hear of Shahids, Shahada, the Imam alaihi salam is the master of Shahada and martyrs. What is the relationship between a Shahid, a martyr, who dies in the way of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and witnessing? What's the relationship between these two? And finally, what are some things that will witness either for us or against us on the day of judgment? Let us analyze these points so that we come closer to our Imam by understanding his important position. The most significant aspect of our faith is our testimony that there is no God but Allah. This is the Shahada. For anyone to become Muslim, you start with this phrase, this is the gate that allows you entrance into the religion of Islam. I bear witness that there is no God but Allah. This is one phrase that 120,000 prophets sacrificed for and they struggled for to implement and establish in their societies. At the age of 40, when our beloved Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi was instructed by Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala to convey the message of Tawheed. He went on Mount As-Safa, for those of you who have been to the Hajj, you go back and forth between these two small hills. The Prophet stood at one of these hills and he made a grand announcement. For the first time, this Sadiq Al-Ameen, this trustworthy man, is making a public announcement. When he gathered all of them, he told them, if I were to tell you that there's a caravan approaching from the other side of the mountain, would you believe me? He told him, yes, for 40 years we have seen nothing but truth from you. If you were to tell us that a caravan is approaching from the other side of the mountain, we would accept you. We wouldn't believe in you. He told them, if that is the case, then say, la ilaha illallah tufluhu, you shall achieve success. This is the window into the religion of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, to bear witness that there is no God but the Almighty God, but Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. Now there's a difference between knowing this phrase and bearing witness for this phrase. Sometimes you may know certain things, or you think you know them. There is a higher level of perception of idraq and that is to witness. That represents the highest level of ma'rifah and faith and knowledge into Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. Because when you come forward and you bear witness, that means not only do you have knowledge of this, but you have also accepted it and you're willing to defend it and you take responsibility for it. Isn't this the meaning of shahada? There are many things you might know in your life, but you're not willing to testify, are you? Sometimes you're not sure, sometimes you don't want to deal with the consequences. But when you step up to the plate and you bear witness, you give your testimony and shahada, that means I have the highest level of I don't have any doubts. I'm willing to prove what I'm saying. I'm willing to defend it. I'm willing to sacrifice for it. If you ask me anything about it, I have answers for you. This is the meaning of shahada. That's why we're not simply required to say la ilaha illallah. There's more than that. Ashhadu la ilaha illallah. I bear witness that there is no God but Allah. And this is truly amazing. In the beautiful sermon and speech of lady Fatima al-Zahra, salamullahi alayha, in her eternal speech of Fadak, what does she say? She begins the speech by saying, She says and I bear witness that there is no God but Allah. And then she explains what is the inherent meaning of this phrase because everything has an outside appearance and it has an essence to it. It has an inherent meaning. This phrase, the outside appearance of it is what? There is no God but Allah. That's clear. You accept God and you reject other partners. But what is the essence of it? Fatima al-Zahra, alayhi salam, in this wonderful speech, she says the essence of this shahada is ikhlas, it's sincerity. How is it that Ashhadu la ilaha illallah signifies sincerity? Where do you derive sincerity from? This noble lady is bringing our attention to the essence of Tawheed. What does it mean when you bear witness that there is no God but Allah? That means that you channel all of your activities, all of your actions, every single breath for the sake of that God. This is ikhlas. Ikhlas, sincerity means that you disconnect yourself from anything and everything besides Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Isn't this the essence of Tawheed? You see many people, they work for other goals. They work for money, for power, for fame, for worldly possessions. A true sincere human being is one who channels all of his activities. Every move you make, every action you take, every word you utter is for the sake of that one God. This is the essence of this phrase. When you say Ashhadu la ilaha illallah and you're bearing witness for that, this is exactly what it means. That you are reminding yourself that I have one target. That's it. And that is my Lord. This is the one Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Indeed this Shahada carries so much significance and it is the best type of worship. It is the best type of dhikr. We have one narration attributed to the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, in which he says one time Musa aleyhi salam. He asked Allah, Oh Allah, what is the best way for me to remember you? Teach me. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told him, Oh Musa say la ilaha illallah. Bear witness that there is no God but Allah. Musa asked Allah, he told him my dear beloved God. Should I only say this or should I teach the people as well? Should they also say this? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala revealed to him. He told him, Oh Musa, if you had a scale on one side you had the universe, the seven skies and the seven earths and on the other side you had kalimat la ilaha illallah that side which you have la ilaha illallah will outweigh the other side. This is the significance of it. And hence you have a hadith, a narration from Imam Ja'far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq aleyhi salam. The Imam aleyhi salam says the one who says this phrase every day. Please memorize it and say it every day. Listen to the reward of it. The one who says this phrase, I shahadu allaha ilaha illallah, wahdahu la shareekelah. Ilahan wahdah, ahdah, fardah, samadah. Lamyat takhid sahibah wa la waladah. If you say this phrase every day, the Imam aleyhi salam promises Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will give you 45 million good deeds. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will erase from your actions 45 million sins. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will elevate your status 45 million degrees on the day of judgment. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will give you the reward of reciting the entire Quran 12 times. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will give you a palace and paradise. All for saying this phrase. Why? Because when you are bearing witness that there is no God but Allah and you're willing to defend this phrase and you're willing to defend the religion of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and you have this ikhlaas, this sincerity where you channel all of your energy towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then you have connected yourself with the greatest reality of the universe. Therefore, you deserve this reward. Because Allah has created you to worship Him. That's the whole essence behind your creation. That's the whole purpose. And through this karimala ilaha illallah, you are realizing that true purpose for which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has created you. Now I know some people are probably thinking, you know, Allah forgives you, okay 45 million sins. If I commit one thousand sins per day, that's not going to be 45 million. So what sins is the Imam talking about? Who in the world has 45 million sins? Brothers and sisters, you know the sad reality is that sometimes one sin can branch out into millions of sins. Are we aware of that? Sometimes it's one word that you said. You wronged someone. You hurt someone on the day of judgment. When you look at the record of your actions, you will say, oh Allah, I just committed one sin. I said one thing, but you have recorded for me 10,000 sins. Why? Where's your justice? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will tell you, you made that one sin. But you ruined so and so's life and the life of his wife and the life of his children, grandchildren, great grandchildren till the day of judgment. You impacted a thousand people. So you have 1000 sins. Many times we are not aware of the consequences of our actions. There are some people who object, why do some people dwell in hell forever? Of course Allah will forgive most of the inhabitants of hell. We don't have these narrations. But some will stay there forever. Why? Some people argue your sin is limited. No matter what you did in this world, it was limited. You lived 60, 70, 80 years. There's only so much harm that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala causes you to suffer for eternity. One way of understanding that, brothers and sisters, is sometimes the sin that you commit, the consequence of it, the effect of it, the harm of it is infinite. When you misguide someone, for example, and you cause an entire generation and progeny to be misguided till the day of judgment. If it weren't for you, this person would have gone to paradise and enjoyed himself for eternity. Because of you, that person will suffer. You denied this person something infinite, an infinite amount of reward. That's why your sin is also infinite. It's just like in this world, you know, we have a criminal. How on does it take to trigger, to pull the trigger and shoot someone? How long does it take? One second, you shoot someone. But then you end up in jail how many years? 15, 60, 70, 20? Depending. It's a small action. You just pulled the trigger. But the harm that it produces is infinite. Therefore, when you look at these ahadith, promising you that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will forgive you for these huge sins, appreciate these narrations because our sins can branch out into millions of sins. This is the reward of truly believing in Ashadu Allah, ilaha illallah. You know, one beautiful narration that is very striking.