Islamic phrase · meaning and usage
La Ilaha Illallah meaning
Also written La ilaha illallah, La ilaha illa Allah, Laa ilaaha illallaah, Lailahaillallah, Tahlil
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ
lā ilāha illallāh
“There is no god but Allah”
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La ilaha illallah (لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ) means “there is no god but Allah”: nothing deserves worship except Allah. It is the first half of the shahada and, in the Prophet’s words, “the best dhikr”.
What La Ilaha Illallah means
The sentence has two parts. Lā ilāha denies that anything is worthy of worship; illallāh affirms that Allah alone is. This is tawḥīd, the core of Islam. Saying it is called tahlīl.
With Muḥammadun rasūlullāh (“Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”) it forms the shahada, the testimony that makes a person Muslim.
Word by word
| Arabic | Say | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| لَا | lā | there is no |
| إِلَٰهَ | ilāha | god / one worthy of worship |
| إِلَّا | illā | except |
| اللَّهُ | Allāh | Allah |
When to say it
- As the best dhikr, any time.
- In the shahada, in the adhan, and in the tashahhud of every prayer.
- After prayer, completing the hundred: lā ilāha illallāhu waḥdahu lā sharīka lah…
- Gently reminding a dying person, so that it may be their last words.
How to reply
No reply is needed.
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ
lā ilāha illallāh, Muḥammadun rasūlullāh
There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
lā ilāha illallāhu waḥdahū lā sharīka lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-ḥamd, wa huwa ‘alā kulli shay’in qadīr
There is no god but Allah alone, without partner. His is the dominion and His is the praise, and He is able to do all things.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6403
Where it comes from
In the Qur’an
فَٱعْلَمْ أَنَّهُۥ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ وَٱسْتَغْفِرْ لِذَنۢبِكَ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مُتَقَلَّبَكُمْ وَمَثْوَىٰكُمْ
So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women. And Allah knows of your movement and your resting place.
إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوٓا۟ إِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ
Indeed they, when it was said to them, "There is no deity but Allah," were arrogant
In the hadith
“The best dhikr is lā ilāha illallāh.”
Jami at-Tirmidhi 3383
“Faith has seventy-some branches; the highest is saying lā ilāha illallāh, and the lowest is removing harm from the road.”
Sahih Muslim 35
“Whoever’s last words are lā ilāha illallāh will enter Paradise.”
Sunan Abi Dawud 3116
“Prompt your dying ones to say lā ilāha illallāh.”
Sahih Muslim 916
Whoever says the full form 100 times a day gets the reward of freeing ten slaves, a hundred good deeds, and protection from Shaytan that day.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6403
Common mistakes
- Saying it without its meaning. Scholars list conditions of the shahada, beginning with knowing what it means and being certain of it.
- Merging “illā” and “Allāh” carelessly. The doubled l in illā and the long ā of ilāha both matter.
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Frequently asked questions
What does la ilaha illallah mean?
“There is no god but Allah”: no one and nothing deserves worship except Allah.
Is la ilaha illallah the shahada?
It is the first half. The full shahada is ashhadu an lā ilāha illallāh, wa ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūlullāh.
Why is it the best dhikr?
The Prophet ﷺ called it the best dhikr (Tirmidhi 3383) because it states tawhid, the foundation of the religion.
What is the full kalimah after salah?
Lā ilāha illallāhu waḥdahū lā sharīka lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-ḥamd, wa huwa ‘alā kulli shay’in qadīr (Bukhari 6403; Muslim 597).
What is tahlil?
Tahlil is the name for saying lā ilāha illallāh, as tasbih is saying subhanAllah and tahmid is saying alhamdulillah.
Related phrases
How this page works and sources
Qur’an text and its English meaning are taken from the same Uthmani text and translation the Niyat app uses, and each ayah links to its place in our Qur’an reader. Hadith are cited by collection and number (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abi Dawud, Jami at-Tirmidhi, Sunan an-Nasa’i, Sunan Ibn Majah); where a narration has a weak chain we say so. Hadith wording is summarised in plain English. Where the schools of law differ, the page says so in one line. The sound button uses your browser’s own Arabic voice; nothing is sent anywhere.
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