Speaking on the fact that worship is not for anyone but Allah, and that following is not for anyone but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The Shaykh: That we should seize the opportunity spiritually in this blessed mosque, if Allah wills. This is achieved by reviving the Sunnah in our prayer in this mosque, in how we pray, and in how we deliver our lessons. The first thing I see as obligatory for myself is that the lesson in this mosque should constantly emphasize that the fruit of this lesson takes root in the minds of the neighbors of the mosque and the worshippers in the mosque. After that, they move to a second stage. What is the first stage? It is what every Muslim, indeed every Muslim woman, must understand: this first lesson is to realize the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: We all know that Islam is built on five pillars. The first of these pillars is the testimony that there is no god but Allah. Unfortunately, few Muslims know its meaning. And if we find some who know its meaning—please come here, Professor, please, we must benefit from you, please—if we find that some Muslims have understood the correct meaning of this beautiful word, "La ilaha illa Allah," few of them actually implement it in practice. This testimony means, in brief: there is no deity worthy of worship in existence except Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. There is no deity worthy of worship in existence except Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He. This means that the one who truly has tawhid (the oneness of Allah) must direct his worship to Allah alone, with no partner. This is a vast subject, very vast. Some of our brothers in this mosque must have already started and proceeded in explaining this beautiful word. The imam of the mosque, our brother Abu Anas, may Allah bless him, his recitation, and his knowledge. This is a brief meaning of this beautiful word. The detailed explanation will be, if Allah wills, in second lessons, as we mentioned earlier. There is no deity worthy of worship in existence except Allah. What is worship? It is the worship that Allah legislated through the tongue of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). If we assume that a Muslim testifies to this testimony but directs some of his worship to other than Allah, he has associated others with Allah in His worship and has not worshipped Him alone. Therefore, this worship must be pure for Allah, as He said: But there is a second thing I want to circle around, something broader than what came before. We said that if this worship is directed to other than Allah, then he has associated others with Allah, and this is clear. But when is the one who says "La ilaha illa Allah" and believes in this correct meaning—there is no deity worthy of worship in existence except Allah—when is he a worshipper of Allah? When he is obedient to the Messenger of Allah in how he performs his worship of Allah. Therefore, we say in this testimony, "La ilaha illa Allah," and its completion is "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." These are two great realities, very great. A person is not a true Muslim unless he realizes the meaning of these two testimonies. As for the first, as we mentioned, he must be sincere in his worship of Allah and not associate anyone with Him. The second is that he worships Allah as Allah legislated through the tongue of His Messenger. When that is the case, he has truly believed when he says "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." But if he follows other than the Messenger of Allah, just as the Muslim who worships other than Allah has associated others with Allah in His worship, so the Muslim who worships Allah other than according to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah and other than what Allah legislated according to the methodology of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah has associated others with the Messenger of Allah in his message. Therefore, there are two types of tawhid, if the expression is correct: tawhid of Allah in His worship, and tawhid of the Messenger in following him. Follow me only. Therefore, it is not permissible for a Muslim to take a follower other than the Messenger of Allah, just as it is obviously not permissible for him to take a deity other than Allah. Therefore, there is profound wisdom in combining the two testimonies as the first of the five pillars: that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Therefore, it came in the hadith agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim, which is known to you all, if Allah wills, the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): The right of this testimony is to act upon it according to what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) brought. If this is a truth that no Muslim can dispute or argue with, this truth is summarized—I repeat the words so they take root in the minds—that we worship Allah alone, with no partner, and that we follow the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and do not follow anyone else with him.