“O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except in a state of submission to Him.”

“O mankind, fear your Lord who created you from a single soul, then created from it its mate, and from the two spread countless men and women. Fear Allah in whose name you appeal to one another, and be mindful of the ties of kinship. Surely Allah is ever Watchful over you.”

“O you who believe, fear Allah and speak words that are straight and true; He will rectify your deeds and forgive you your sins. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed attained a magnificent triumph.”

To proceed:

At times the Prophet ﷺ would omit these three verses entirely.

It is also recommended that the preacher occasionally say, after pronouncing “To proceed”:

“The best speech is the Book of Allah, the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, the worst matters are those newly introduced; every innovation is a deviation, every deviation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.”

This was narrated by Muslim and others and is documented in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, no. 608.

The author says: “It is reported from Ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Prophet ﷺ recited the testimony he would say: ‘Praise belongs to Allah; we seek His help and ask His forgiveness … Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed been guided, and whoever disobeys them harms only himself and does not harm Allah in the least.’

“It is also reported from Ibn Shihāb that, when asked about the Prophet’s testimony on the day of Jumuʿah, he related something similar and added: ‘Whoever disobeys them has indeed gone astray.’ Both reports were transmitted by Abū Dāwūd.”

I say: Both chains are weak.

As for the first, its defect is the presence of Abū ʿIyāḍ, an unknown narrator. Al-Munẓirī, Ibn al-Qayyim, and al-Shawkānī criticized it for additional reasons. The correct assessment is what I have stated above.