— Among the virtues of this declaration is that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—ranked it as the highest branch of faith. In the two Sahih collections, Abū Hurayra—may Allah be pleased with him—relates that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “Faith comprises over seventy branches. The highest of them is saying, ‘There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah,’ and the lowest is removing something harmful from the road.”1.

— Among its virtues is that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—stated that it is the best form of remembrance. Al-Tirmidhī and others relate from Jābir ibn Abdullah—may Allah be pleased with them both—who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—say: “The best remembrance is, ‘There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah,’ and the best supplication is, ‘All praise is due to Allah.’”2.

— Among its virtues is that whoever says it with heartfelt sincerity will receive the greatest benefit from the noble Messenger’s intercession—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—on the Day of Resurrection. In the Sahih, Abū Hurayra—may Allah be pleased with him—relates that it was asked: “O Messenger of Allah, who will receive the greatest benefit from your intercession on the Day of Resurrection?” The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—replied: “I thought, Abū Hurayra, that no one would ask me about this hadith before you, for I have seen how eager you are to learn hadith. The person who will receive the greatest benefit from my intercession on the Day of Resurrection is one who says, ‘There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah,’ sincerely from his heart or soul.”3.

The Prophet’s words in this hadith, “Whoever says, ‘There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah,’ sincerely from his heart,” demonstrate that “There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah” is not accepted from the person who says it merely on the basis of