“And on the Day He calls to them and says, ‘How did you respond to the messengers?’”

And His saying:

“We certainly sent a messenger to every nation, saying, ‘Worship Allah and shun false gods.’”

In the two units of prayer before Fajr, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would sometimes recite the two surahs of sincere devotion, al-Kāfirūn and al-Ikhlās. At other times, he would recite the verses beginning with His saying, Most High:

“Say, ‘We believe in Allah and what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to Abraham.’”

And in the second:

“Say, ‘O People of the Scripture, come to a common word between us and you: that we worship none but Allah, associate nothing with Him, and do not take one another as lords besides Allah.’ But if they turn away, say, ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims.’”

This is a vast subject, for people have an indispensable need for these two foundations. Only through them can they escape punishment and attain happiness.

They must therefore believe in the prophets and what they brought. The foundation of what they brought is that people should worship Allah alone, as He says:

“We never sent a messenger before you without revealing to him: ‘There is no deity except Me, so worship Me.’”

And He, Most High, says:

“Ask those of Our messengers whom We sent before you: Did We appoint any gods besides the Most Merciful to be worshipped?”

And He, Most High, says:

“We certainly sent a messenger to every nation, saying, ‘Worship Allah and shun false gods.’”

The prophets—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon them—are intermediaries between Allah and His creation in conveying His speech, His commands and prohibitions, His promises and warnings, and the accounts He has given concerning His names and attributes, His angels, His Throne, and what has happened and what will happen. They are not intermediaries in His creation of His servants, nor in His providing for them, giving them life, or causing them to die, nor