Book Of Tawhid (Virtues of Tawhid and the Many Sins for Which it Atones)

Chapter 2

Allah--Ta'ala--said: 

"Those who believed and mixed not their iman [faith] with injustice . . . "
(Qur'an 6:82)

It was related by `Obadat ibn as-Samet that the Prophet of Allah--peace be upon him--said:
 

"Whoever witnesses that "There is no god worthy of worship, except Allah, alone, without associate, and that Mohammed is His servant and apostle, that `Esa [Jesus] is the servant of Allah and His apostle, His command unto Mary and of His spirit, that Paradise and Hell are true", Allah would on that account enter him into Paradise." 

 
This hadith was reported in both Sahihs, which also recorded the report of `Etban, that the Prophet said:
 

"Allah will not permit to be consigned to Hell anyone who witnesses "There is no god worthy of worship, except Allah" seeking thereby nothing but Allah's face."

Abu Saeed al-Khudri reported that the Prophet of Allah--peace be upon him--said: "When Musa [Moses] asked Allah to teach him  a prayer to recite whenever he remembered or called upon Him, Allah answered: "Say, O Musa, "There is no god worthy of worship, except Allah."  Musa said: "O Lord, all your servants say these words."
 

Allah said:
 

"O Musa, if the seven heavens and all they hold, and the seven earths as well, if all these were weighed against this word of "There is no god worthy of worship, except Allah" the latter would outweigh the former."

Ibn Hebban also reported it and al-Hakim corrected its version. At-Tirmidhi recorded, with some editing, the report of Anas that he heard the Prophet of Allah--peace be upon him--say: 

"Allah said: 'O Man! Were you to come to Me with all the bags of the world full of your sins, but with the witnessing that you associate naught with Me, I would come to you with those bags full of mercy and forgiveness.'"

Further Issues

1. The comprehensiveness of Allah's mercy and favor.
2. The numerous rewards of tauhid granted by Allah.
3. Its atonement for sins.
4. Explanation of the verse in Surah al-An'am.
5. The five questions in the hadith reported by `Obadat.
6. When joined to that of `Etban et al., `Obadat's hadith clarifies the meaning of "There is no god worthy of worship, except Allah" and exposes the errors of the deluded.
7. Drawing attention to the condition in the hadith of `Etban.
8. The prophets' need for being reminded of the virtues of the witnessing "There is no god worthy of worship, except Allah"
9. Explanation of its superiority in value to all of creation, despite the unimportance of some among those who profess it.
10. Textual evidence that there are seven earths as there are seven heavens.
11. That the seven earths have inhabitants of their own.
12. Confirmation of the divine attributes, unlike the claim of Ash`ariyat.
13. That if you understand the hadith of Anas, you would understand that of `Etban, viz., "Allah will not permit to be consigned to Hell anyone who witnesses, 'There is no god worthy of worship, except Allah,' seeking thereby nothing but Allah's face."
14. The Prophet meant the actual abandoning of shirk, not merely its verbal denial.
15. Joint description of `Esa and Mohammed as servants and messengers of Allah.
16. Predication of "the Word of Allah" to `Esa alone.
17. That `Esa is a spirit from Allah..
18. Virtue of belief in Paradise and Hell.
19. Relation of the deed of witnessing to the reward obtained, as affirmed in the hadith of `Obadat.
20. Weighing the two sides of the scale against each other.
21. Meaning of "Allah's face."