Rather, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, taught only the forms of remembrance transmitted from him. Foremost among these is “There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.” This is the declaration he urged his uncle Abū Tālib to say as death approached. He said:

“My uncle, say, ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah’—a declaration with which I may plead your case before Allah.”

He also said:

“I know a declaration which no servant utters at the time of death without his soul finding relief in it.”

He said:

“Whoever’s last words are ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah’ will enter Paradise.”

He said:

“Whoever dies knowing that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah will enter Paradise.”

He said:

“I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. When they do so, they safeguard their lives and property from me, except as its due right requires; and their reckoning rests with Allah.”

There are many hadiths conveying this meaning. In the preceding “Principles,” I have written about some matters relating to these two great, comprehensive declarations that distinguish truth from falsehood: the testimony that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and the testimony that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger—may Allah bestow blessings and abundant peace upon him and his family.

As for remembrance through an “isolated name,” it has not been prescribed under any circumstances, and there is nothing in the evidence of Islamic law to indicate that it is recommended. As for what some mistaken worshippers suppose concerning the words of the Most High, “Say: