We sent no messenger before you without revealing to him: “There is no god but Me, so worship Me.”
It is not one message among others: it is the same one, given to every messenger, without exception.
The scholars call it tawhîd: to worship Allah alone, with no partner.
And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger: “Worship Allah and avoid false gods (tâghût).”
The commentators explain: Tâghût is anything worshipped besides Allah.
“To every nation”: no people was left without a messenger, even those whose names you will never know.
Listen to Nûh (peace be upon him) in Sûrat al-A'râf: “O my people, worship Allah; you have no god but Him.”
A few verses later, Hûd (peace be upon him) says the same words to the people of 'Âd.
Then Sâlih to Thamûd and Shu'ayb to Madyan (peace be upon them) repeat them, word for word.
Four prophets, four peoples, centuries apart. One sentence, repeated.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The prophets are paternal brothers: their mothers differ, and their religion is one.”
The scholars explain: the one father is the religion; the mothers are the laws, which differed from age to age.
Allah says He ordained for you what He had commanded Nûh, Ibrâhîm, Mûsâ and 'Îsâ: “Establish the religion.”
It is not for a human to whom Allah gives the Book and prophethood to say: “Be my worshippers rather than Allah's.”
So no prophet called people to himself. Each one pointed beyond himself, to Allah.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians did with the son of Maryam.”
“I am only a slave. So say: the slave of Allah and His Messenger.”
Why send them? As “bringers of good tidings and warners, so that people have no argument against Allah.”
And they asked no wage. “My reward is only from the Lord of the worlds,” says Nûh in Sûrat ash-Shu'arâ'.
In the same surah, Hûd, Sâlih, Lût and Shu'ayb repeat the sentence word for word.
From Adam to Muhammad ﷺ: thousands of years, and peoples who never met.
Yet every prophet came with the same first sentence. Which one?
The same sentence crossed every century to reach you: lâ ilâha illâ Allâh.
Tonight, say it slowly three times, and think of all those who carried it to you.