Him—Mighty and Exalted—you believe it. Once you have embraced that, stand firm upon the religion of Allah: do not veer from it to the right or to the left, do not fall short and do not go beyond the limits. Remain upright in the religion; remain upright upon the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, by being sincere to Allah and following the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Remain upright in the prayer, the zakah, fasting, pilgrimage, and every one of Allah’s prescriptions.

His words, “Say: I believe in Allah, and then…,” show that uprightness can come only after faith, and that righteous deeds—meaning their soundness and acceptance—must be built upon faith. If a person behaves outwardly as he should while his inner state is in ruins, riddled with doubt, turmoil, denial, or rejection, that conduct will not benefit him. For this reason the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) have unanimously agreed that one of the conditions for an act of worship to be valid and accepted is that the person be a believer in Allah, acknowledging Him and everything that has come from Him, Mighty and Exalted.

From this hadith we also learn that when a person undertakes a deed he ought to feel that he is doing it for Allah, by Allah, and in Allah, for one cannot remain upright upon the religion of Allah except through faith in Allah. He should sense that he performs it for Allah—that is, with sincere devotion; by Allah—that is, seeking His help; and in Allah—that is, following His law. This is derived from His words: “You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path” (al-Fātiḥah 1:5–6). The first clause denotes acting for Allah, the second acting by means of Him, and the third acting in Him, that is, within His law. Hence we say that the “straight path” mentioned in this noble verse is the law of Allah, Mighty and Exalted.