sixty—or more than seventy—branches. The highest is saying, ‘There is no god worthy of worship but Allah,’ and the lowest is removing harm from the road. Modesty is a branch of faith.”

Thus, “There is no god worthy of worship but Allah” is the central axis of faith, and everything ultimately comes back to it. The revealed scriptures are summed up in His words, Exalted is He:

“You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help.”

This expresses the meaning of “There is no god worthy of worship but Allah.” The meaning of “There is no might nor power except through Allah” is included within it, as are the meanings of “All praise is due to Allah,” “Glory be to Allah,” and “Allah is the Greatest.” These expressions, however, elaborate on what it states in summary.

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Some later scholars have supposed that His words, “It is from yourself,” mean, “Is it, then, from yourself?” They take this as a rhetorical question expressing denial. Their interpretation is that good and evil are all from Allah, not from yourself. This view is contrary to the meaning of the verse, for the verse makes clear that evil comes from a person’s own self—that is, because of his sins. Yet these people say that evil does not come from his own self.