His statement, “bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah”: this tremendous statement is the key to Islam. Whoever utters it enters Islam, and whoever denies it leaves Islam. What, then, does “none has the right to be worshipped but Allah” mean?

A god is that which is worshipped, whether rightfully or wrongfully. If it is worshipped rightfully, then its divinity is true; but if it is worshipped wrongfully, then its divinity is false:

“That is because Allah is the Truth, and whatever they invoke besides Him is false.” [al-Hajj: 62]

Thus, “no god” means “no object of worship.” The predicate must be understood as implied, namely: “No god is truly worthy of worship”; that is, no god is truly entitled to divinity and worthy of it except Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. Accordingly, the predicate is omitted, and the name Allah is a substitute for that omitted predicate. A substitute is what the ruling is intended for, as Ibn Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

“The dependent element intended by the ruling, without
An intermediary, is what is termed a substitute.”

Therefore, the true God is Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. When you say, “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,” its meaning is: I hold with certain conviction, free of all doubt, that the divinity of every object worshipped besides Allah is false, and that the true God is Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

His statement, “and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”: it must be joined to the first statement, so that one bears witness to the two testimonies, for the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Islam is that you bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah …” The hadith (1).