His saying, “Exalted is Your majesty”: “Exalted” means elevated in a figurative sense, and “majesty” means greatness. That is, Your greatness is immense and sublime; no greatness among human beings—or indeed among all created things—can rival it.

His saying, “There is no deity besides You”: this is the testimony of divine oneness with which all the messengers were sent, as Allah Most High says:

“Never did We send a messenger before you without revealing to him: ‘There is no deity worthy of worship but Me, so worship Me.’” [al-Anbiya]

And as the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever’s last words in this world are ‘There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah’ will enter Paradise.” (1)

It is the best form of remembrance, and its meaning is: none has the right to be worshipped except Allah. Thus, “deity” means an object of worship; “no” negates the entire class; its predicate is omitted, its implied meaning being “rightly”; and “except Allah”: “except” is an exclusionary particle, while “Allah” stands in apposition to the omitted predicate. This is the soundest explanation given of both its meaning and its grammatical construction.

Thus, its meaning is: none has the right to be worshipped except Allah. But is there such a thing as a falsely worshipped deity?

The answer is yes: there is a falsely worshipped deity, namely everything besides Allah, as Allah Most High says:

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

Although these deities are called gods, they are no more than names with no reality to them; they are false, as Allah Most High says:

“They are nothing but names which you and your forefathers have invented, for which Allah has sent down no authority.” [al-Najm: 23]

This testimony entails something: it entails complete submission to Allah, for worship is derived from humility. Hence the expression, “a paved road,” meaning one that has been subdued