And faith in this magnificent monotheism—that none is rightfully worshipped except Allah—necessarily includes believing that there is no Creator but Allah, no Provider but Allah, no Director of the universe but Allah, and that no one can cause harm or grant benefit except Allah. It further entails affirming Allah’s names and attributes, for only one who is known to deserve worship may be worshipped, and none deserves worship but the Creator, exalted is He. For that reason this phrase is the loftiest and most excellent of all the branches of faith. Whoever is blessed to utter it as the last words of his earthly life will be among the people of Paradise, for whoever’s final words in this world are “La ilaha illa Allah” will enter Paradise. We ask Allah to grant us such an ending; He is capable of all things.

Its highest branch is the proclamation “La ilaha illa Allah,” while its lowest—something quite simple—is to remove harmful objects from the road. “Harm” refers to anything that might injure pedestrians, such as thorns, rags, sticks, stones, and the like. Clearing such harm from the pathway is one of the branches of faith, which shows how wide-ranging faith is and how it encompasses every deed.

Modesty, too, is a branch of faith. It is an inward sense of restraint and a feeling of shame at doing what people deem unbecoming. Both modesty before Allah and modesty before people are aspects of faith. Modesty before Allah compels a servant to carry out Allah’s commands and shun what He has forbidden, and modesty before people—