Then, some practitioners of seclusion came to adhere to prescribed forms of worship: prayer, fasting, Quran recitation and remembrance of Allah. Most, however, depart into forms that have not been prescribed. One example is the method of Abū Hāmid and his followers. They instruct the person in seclusion to do nothing beyond what is obligatory: no recitation, no study of prophetic hadith, nor anything else. Instead, they may instruct him to engage in remembrance, and may then repeat what Abū Hāmid says:

“The remembrance of ordinary people is: ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.’ The remembrance of the elite is: ‘Allah, Allah.’ The remembrance of the elite of the elite is: ‘He’ ‘He.’”

Invoking the name alone, whether explicitly or through a pronoun, is an innovation in religion and an error in speech and language. A bare name does not constitute a statement and expresses neither faith nor disbelief.

It is authentically established that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“The best words after the Quran are four, and they are themselves found in the Quran: Glory be to Allah; praise be to Allah; there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; and Allah is the Greatest.”

Another hadith states:

“The best remembrance is: ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.’”

He also said:

“The best thing that I and the prophets before me have said is: ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, with no partner. To Him belongs all sovereignty, and to Him belongs all praise, and He has power over all things.’”

There are many authentic hadiths concerning the virtues of these words. As for invoking the name alone, this is an innovation that has not been prescribed. It is not intelligible speech, nor does it contain any expression of faith. For this reason, some later proponents of this practice have come to explain that it is not