…of outward deeds and good manners, yet they still refused to abandon shirk, such deeds would be useless and would bring them no benefit. By contrast, if a person is free of shirk while guilty of major sins short of it, he may hope that Allah will pardon him, or He may punish him in proportion to his sins; nevertheless his ultimate end is Paradise, because he is a muwaḥḥid (pure monotheist). Tawhid is therefore the root and the foundation; salvation is impossible unless tawhid is established first. Hence it must always be the main focus: giving it continual attention, calling people to it, teaching it to them, and explaining what tawhid means and what shirk means. Every Muslim must learn this, examine himself, and make sure he does not fall into any form of shirk or undermine his tawhid. Daʿwah has to stand on this foundation. (60) His statement, “He spent ten years on this, calling to tawhid,” means that the Prophet devoted ten years in Makkah to summoning people to tawhid and warning them against shirk, for they were worshipping idols. The wisdom in Allah’s sending him in Makkah is that Makkah is Umm al-Qura, the mother town to which all other towns refer back, and Allah…