The Firm Word

The final section of the sūrah, from verse 42 to the end, is of great weight. Before reaching it, however, one further passage deserves attention: verse 26, and then verse 27:

Allah (swt) makes the believers firm by the established word, in this dunyā and in the ākhirah. That established word is what is called the formula of faith; according to many, it is lā ilāha illā Allāh, Muḥammadun rasūl Allāh. It is a term of the utmost purity.

There are more secrets in lā ilāha illā Allāh than there is time to enter upon — in its wording, in the way it is written, in the letters of which it is composed, and in the ease of its pronunciation. It can be said without the lips being seen to move at all. One may sit anywhere, saying lā ilāha illā Allāh, lā ilāha illā Allāh, silently, and no one would be any the wiser: it contains no mīm and no bāʾ, the letters that oblige the lips to close.