And although “Abū Tālib” knew that Muhammad was the Messenger of Allah and loved him, his love for him did not arise from love for Allah. Rather, he loved him because he was his nephew: his love was based on kinship. If he wished him to prevail, it was because of the honor and leadership this would bring him. Thus, what he fundamentally loved was leadership. For this reason, when the two testimonies of faith were presented to him as death approached, he saw that professing them would mean abandoning the religion he loved. His religion was dearer to him than his nephew, so he did not profess them.

Had he loved him because he was the Messenger of Allah, as did Abū Bakr, of whom Allah said:

“But the most righteous will be kept away from it—he who gives his wealth to purify himself, not to repay anyone for a favor, but only seeking the Face of his Lord, the Most High. And he will surely be pleased.”

—and as did the other believers in him, such as ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, and others, he would certainly have uttered the two testimonies of faith. His love was therefore love alongside Allah, not love for Allah’s sake. This is why Allah did not accept his support and assistance for the Messenger: he did not do it for Allah’s sake. Allah accepts only deeds done seeking His Face, unlike the one who acted seeking the Face of his Lord, the Most High.

This confirms that “faith and monotheism” necessarily entail action of the heart, such as love. Religious devotion must therefore be sincerely dedicated to Allah alone. Religion cannot truly be religion without action, for religion includes obedience and worship.

Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed the two surahs of sincere devotion:

“Say, ‘O disbelievers,’”

and

“Say, ‘He is Allah, One.’”

One concerns affirming Allah’s oneness in speech and knowledge; the other concerns affirming His oneness in action