That is to say, every name, every act, every object is a proof of divine unity, and a proof that is a stamp of divine unity (vahdaniyet) and a seal of divine oneness (ehadiyet) which has been inscribed on the pages of the universe and on the lines of the centuries. All of them indicate that all the words of the universe, which are called beings, are inscriptions traced by the pen of its own scribe.

O God! Grant blessings  to the one  who  said: “The best  thing  I and the prophets before me have said is, ‘There is no god but God.’”[4]  and to his Family and Companions, and grant them peace.

Fifth Matter

S e c o n d l y :  You ask in your letter whether “There is no god but God” is sufficient on its own. That is, intending the second part, you ask: can someone who does not say “Muhammad  is the Messenger of God” find salvation? The answer to this is lengthy, so for now we shall only say this:

The two parts of the confession of faith cannot be separated; they prove each other, comprise each other; one cannot be without the other. Since the Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was the Seal of the Prophets and the heir of all the prophets, he is at the start of all the ways leading to God. There can be no way to reality  and  salvation  outside  his  mighty  highway.  All  the  leading  gnostics  and verifiers  of  reality  have  said  like  Sa‘di  Shirazi:  “It  is  impossible,  Sa‘di,  to  be victorious on the way of salvation, except by following Mustafa.” They also said: “All ways are closed except the highway of Muhammad.”

However, it sometimes happens that people are on the highway of Muhammad (UWBP) and within it, but are not aware of it.

And it sometimes happens that they do not know the Prophet (UWBP), but the road they have taken is part of his highway.

It happens too that because they are in a state of ecstasy or entirely immersed in contemplation or have withdrawn from the world, they do not think of the highway of Muhammad, and “There is no god but God” is sufficient for them.

Nevertheless, the most important side of the matter is this: non-acceptance is one thing, while the acceptance of non-being is another.

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[4] Muwatta’, Qur’an, 32; Hajj 246; al-‘Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa’, i, 353; al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami’ al- Saghir, no: 1113.