And because of the Prophet’s statement, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him: “I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah” (1). These texts and others like them indicate that Islam is not complete except with the two testimonies.

However, there are other texts indicating that a person enters Islam by the first testimony alone—namely, “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.” Among them is the hadith of Usamah, may Allah be pleased with him, concerning the polytheist whom Usamah had overpowered. When he had overcome him, the man said, “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,” yet Usamah killed him. He informed the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, who said: “Did you kill him after he said, ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah’?!” He replied, “Yes; he only said it as a means of seeking protection”—that is, to protect himself from being killed. The Prophet said: “Did you kill him after he said, ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah’?!” He continued repeating this until Usamah said, “I wished that I had not embraced Islam before that day” (2), because when a person embraces Islam, Islam erases what came before it.

This indicates that, by saying, “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,” he entered Islam and his blood became inviolable. Likewise, when the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, was present at the death of his uncle Abu Talib, he would say to him: “My uncle, say, ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah’—a statement by which I may plead for you before Allah” (3). He did not mention the second testimony, which is the testimony that