What is the first obligation to which people are called?
2026-10-13
F154 · Selected fatwas
Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn
الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين
Original Q&A · Full displayed answer
The scholar connects the first call to the two testimonies with sincerity and following the Messenger. The report is quoted as printed in this answer. Its source footnote cites Sahih al-Bukhari, no.1496, and Sahih Muslim, no.19; wording is retained from the scholar’s text rather than labelled a new comparison of all report variants.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
فضيلة الشيخ، ما هو أول واجب على الخلق؟
الجواب
أول واجب على الخلق، هو أول ما يدعى الخلق إليه، وقد بينه النبي ﷺ لمعاذ بن جبل حين بعثه إلى اليمن، فقال: «إنك تأتي قوما أهل كتاب، فليكن أول ما تدعوهم إليه شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله، وأن محمدا رسول الله»، فهذا أول واجب على العباد، أن يوحدوا الله عز وجل، وأن يشهدوا لرسوله ﷺ بالرسالة، وبتوحيد الله سبحانه وتعالى والشهادة لرسوله ﷺ بالرسالة، يتحقق الإخلاص والمتابعة اللذان هما شرط لقبول كل عبادة.
فهذا هو أول ما يجب على العباد: أن يوحدوا الله، ويشهدوا لرسوله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- بالرسالة، فشهادة أن لا إله إلا الله تتضمن التوحيد كله.
English translation
English rendering prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic answer. Not an official translation.
Original question
Esteemed Shaykh, what is the first obligation upon people?
Answer
The first obligation upon people is the first thing to which they are called. The Prophet ﷺ explained it to Muadh ibn Jabal when sending him to Yemen: “You are coming to a people of the Book, so let the first thing to which you call them be the testimony that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah and that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger.” The first obligation upon Allah’s servants is therefore to single out Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and testify to His Messenger’s messengership. By singling out Allah and testifying to His Messenger’s messengership, sincerity and following the Messenger are fulfilled; these are conditions for the acceptance of every act of worship.
Thus the first obligation upon people is to single out Allah and testify to His Messenger’s messengership. The testimony that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah encompasses all of Tawhid.
Source and editorial notes
Fiqh al-ʿIbādāt, 13th edition, 1441 AH, question 4, p.18
فقه العبادات
Fiqh al-ʿIbādāt
Arabic transcribed and compared against the cited scan and adjacent context.