Meaning and effect of testifying to the Tauhid and the Messengership (of the Prophet)

Know that testifying to the Oneness (of Allah) and to Prophethood in the adhan and iqamah-which belong to the salat and prepare the situation to enter in it - and in the tashahhud -which is going out of annihilation [fani] to subsistance [baqa'], and out of unity [wahdat] to multiplicity [kathrat], at the end of the salat-remind the salik servant of the fact that the reality of the salat is the taking place of the real Unity [tauhid], and that testifying to the Oneness (of Allah) is of the inclusive states, which accompany the salik from the beginning of the salat till its end. There is also, in it, the secret of the "Firstness" and "Lastness" of Allah, the Glorified and Most High. Further, there is the great secret of the salik's journey from Allah to Allah: ﴾... as He created you at first, so shall you return.﴿¹

Therefore, the salik must pay attention to this object at all states, bringing the truth of Allah's Oneness and Divinity to his heart, making it a divine ascending journey so that his testimonies may become real and purified from hypocrisy and polytheism.

In testifying to the Prophethood there may be a hint at the fact that the support of the Absolute Guardian and the Seal of the Prophets in this mi`raj of behaviour [mi`raj-i suluki] is of the inclusive states, to which the salik must pay attention in all states, so that the secret of the appearance of the "firstness" and the "lastness", which are of the states of guardianship, becomes clear to the worthy people.

It must be noted that there is a difference between the shahadah (testifying) at the beginning of the salat and the testifying in the tashahhud, because the former is a testimony before the suluk, a devotional [ta `abbudi] or a contemplative [ta`aqquli] testimony, whereas the latter is after the return, and it is either a realizational [tahaqquqi] or a confirmative [tamakkuni] testimony. So, the testimony in the tashahhud is of great danger, because it includes the claim of realization [tahaqquq] and confirmation [tamakkun], and of returning to multiplicity unveiled. And as this lofty state is not possible for persons like us, nor is it expected under our present condition, behaving ourselves in the presence of the Greator is to remember our shortcomings, humility, failure, inability and distress, and, in a state of shamefulness, we are to face the Holy threshold and plead:

O Allah! of the states of the holy men [auliya'], the steps [madarij] of the Chosen [asfiya'], the perfection of the sincere and the suluk of the saliks we have no share but a few words. Instead of striving for high states we are satisfied with idle talk, of which there avails nothing in quality nor in spirituality. O Lord! loving this world and its attractions bars us from the Holy Court and the presence of your intimacy, unless you, with your hidden kindness help us, the helpless, so as to make up for what has passed, that we may rise from our sleep of negligence and find our way to Your Holy Presence.

* Book: Adabus Salat "The Disciplines of the Prayer". By: Imam Khomeini.

1- Surah al-A'raf: 29.