are allies of one another, while Allah is the ally of those mindful of Him.”

They must unite upon this and not divide, as is established in an authentic report from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—who said:

“Allah is pleased with three things for you: that you worship Him without associating anything with Him; that you all hold firmly to the rope of Allah and do not divide; and that you offer sincere counsel to those whom Allah has placed in charge of your affairs.”

Worship of Allah entails complete love for Allah and complete humility before Him. The foundation and basis of religion is that Allah alone should be the One worshipped, whom hearts love and fear, and that they should have no deity worthy of worship except Him. A “deity” is that which hearts worship with love, reverence, hope, fear, veneration, exaltation, and the like.

Allah, glorified and exalted is He, sent the messengers with the message that there is no deity worthy of worship except Him. Thus, through love for Him and hope in Him, hearts are freed from love for anything besides Him; through asking Him, from asking anything besides Him; through acting for Him, from acting for anything besides Him; and through seeking His help, from seeking help from anything besides Him. This is why the middle of al-Fātihah is:

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

The Prophet—may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace—said in an authentic hadith that Allah Most High says:

“I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant. When he says, ‘The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful,’ He says, ‘My servant has extolled Me.’ When he says, ‘Master of the Day of Judgment,’ He says, ‘My servant has glorified Me.’ When he says, ‘You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help,’ He says, ‘This verse is divided into two halves between Myself and My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks for.’ And when he says, ‘Guide us to the straight path’