— Among its virtues is that it outweighs the records of sins on the Day of Resurrection. This is stated in the hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-Ās—may Allah be pleased with them both—related with a sound chain of transmission in the Musnad, the Sunan of al-Nasāʾī and al-Tirmidhī, and other works. The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “A man from my nation will be summoned before all creation on the Day of Resurrection. Ninety-nine registers will be spread out before him, each extending as far as the eye can see. Allah—blessed and exalted is He—will then say to him, ‘Do you deny any of this?’ He will reply, ‘No, my Lord.’ He—Mighty and Majestic—will ask, ‘Do you have any excuse or good deed?’ The man will be overwhelmed with fear and reply, ‘No, my Lord.’ He—Mighty and Majestic—will say, ‘Indeed, you do have a good deed with Us, and you shall suffer no injustice.’ A card will then be brought out for him, bearing the words: ‘I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.’ The man will say, ‘My Lord, what is this card beside all these registers?’ He—Mighty and Majestic—will say, ‘You shall suffer no injustice.’ The registers will then be placed on one pan of the scale and the card on the other. The registers will fly up, while the card will weigh heavily.”1.

There is no doubt that the faith present in this man’s heart was of such strength that his card, bearing the words “There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah,” sent those registers flying. People differ in the merit of their deeds according to the faith present in their hearts. Otherwise, many a person utters, “There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah,” without receiving the same because his heart’s faith in it is weak. It is related in the two Sahih collections, in the hadith of Anas ibn Mālik—may Allah be pleased with him—that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “Whoever said, ‘There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah,’ and had in his heart goodness equal to the weight of a barley grain will be brought out of the Fire. Whoever said, ‘There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah,’ and had in his heart goodness equal to the weight of a grain of wheat will be brought out of the Fire. And there will be brought out of the Fire