Likewise, in the authentic hadith recorded by Muslim, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the opening supplication of prayer:

“O Allah, You are the King; none is worthy of worship but You. You are my Lord, and I am Your servant. I have wronged myself and acknowledged my sin, so forgive me all my sins, for none forgives sins but You.”

And in Sahīh al-Bukhārī:

“The foremost supplication for forgiveness is for the servant to say: ‘O Allah, You are my Lord; none is worthy of worship but You. You created me, and I am Your servant. I abide by Your covenant and promise as best I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge Your blessings upon me, and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for none forgives sins but You.’ Whoever says this in the morning with firm conviction and dies that day will enter Paradise. Whoever says it in the evening with firm conviction and dies that night will enter Paradise.”

The servant must therefore acknowledge Allah’s justice and goodness. He does not wrong people in the least, nor does He punish anyone except for their sin, and He bestows goodness upon them. Every punishment from Him is justice, and every blessing from Him is grace.

Thus, the words:

“None is worthy of worship but You”

affirm that He alone possesses divinity. Divinity entails the perfection of His knowledge, power, mercy, and wisdom, and thus affirms His goodness towards His servants. For “God” means the One who is worshipped, and the One who is worshipped is the One who deserves to be worshipped. He deserves to be worshipped because His attributes necessarily entail that He be loved with the utmost love and submitted to with the utmost submission. Worship encompasses the utmost love together with the utmost humility.