And the testimony that there is no god but Allah encompasses belief in Allah’s lordship, divinity, and His names and attributes. To single Him out in His lordship is to believe that there is no lord besides Him; to single Him out in His divinity is to believe that there is no deity other than Him and that none is rightfully worshiped except Him; and to single Him out in His attributes is to affirm that He alone possesses them, so nothing resembles Him in any of His attributes—glorified and exalted be He.

Accordingly, the testimony that there is no god but Allah is nullified by associating partners with Allah (shirk), for it is the very word of monotheism. It further entails knowledge, certainty, submission, and love.

Likewise, the testimony that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah includes the belief that Muhammad son of ʿAbd Allah son of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib son of Hāshim—the unlettered Arab Prophet—is Allah’s Messenger to both the jinn and humankind. Allah sent him “with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over every religion, even though the polytheists may detest it” (9:33).

This testimony also requires veneration of the Messenger ﷺ and belief in the perfection of his character and the perfection of his law. Allah the Exalted says: “Today I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and approved for you Islam as religion” (5:3). Such is the essence of the two testimonies.

Therefore, bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah demands knowing their meanings and realities and submitting to all that they imply.

Consequently, every cause of apostasy—what we shall refer to in this treatise as the nullifiers of Islam—ultimately revolves around contradicting these two testimonies.