‘Indeed, everything apart from Allah is vain.’”

This confirms the words of Allah, exalted and Most High:

“That is because Allah is the Truth, and what they invoke besides Him is falsehood, and because Allah is the Most High, the Most Great.”

He Most High also said:

“That, then, is Allah, your true Lord. What lies beyond the truth except error? How, then, are you turned away?”

He, glorified be He, said:

“Everything will perish except His Face.”

A group of the early generations said: “Every deed is vain except what is done seeking His Face.” He, glorified be He, also said:

“Do not let them turn you away from Allah’s revelations after they have been sent down to you. Call people to your Lord, and never be among those who associate partners with Him.”

“And do not invoke another god alongside Allah.”

An ilāh (god) is a ma’lūh (one who is worshipped): one who deserves to be taken as a god—that is, worshipped. None deserves to be taken as a god and worshipped except Allah alone. Every object of worship besides Him, from His Throne to the depths of His earth, is a false object of worship. The form fi‘āl can carry the passive meaning of maf‘ūl, as in rikāb and himāl, meaning respectively “that which is ridden” and “that which is carried.”

While digging the trench, the Companions would chant:

“This is the load, not the load of Khaybar;
This, our Lord, is more righteous and purer.”

When it is said, “This is the imam,” it means someone who deserves to be followed, as Allah Most High said to Abraham:

“‘I will make you a leader for the people.’ He said, ‘And what of my descendants?’