And the two of them—al-Bukhari and Muslim—also transmit, in the hadith of ‘Itbān:

“Allah has forbidden the Fire to touch anyone who says: la ilaha illa Allah (there is no deity but Allah), seeking thereby the Face of Allah.” (1)

‘Itbān: ‘Itbān ibn Mālik ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ajlān al-Anṣārī from Banū Sālim ibn ‘Awf, a well-known Companion who died during the caliphate of Mu‘āwiyah.

The two of them: i.e. al-Bukhari and Muslim relate the full text of this report in their Sahih collections; the sentence quoted here is only a portion of it.

“Forbidden to the Fire”: the word “forbidding” (taḥrīm) here means that the Fire is prevented from touching him.

“Seeking thereby the Face of Allah”: that is, he utters it in wholehearted sincerity, dies upon that state, and does not say it out of hypocrisy.

Overall meaning of the hadith:
The Messenger ﷺ gives certain news that whoever pronounces the phrase la ilaha illa Allah, intending its full import of exclusive devotion to Allah and the negation of polytheism, lives by it outwardly and inwardly, and then dies in that condition, the Fire will not touch him on the Day of Resurrection.

Relevance of the hadith to the chapter:
It provides clear evidence for the virtue of pure monotheism, demonstrating that whoever dies upon it is guaranteed deliverance from the Fire and the erasure of sins.