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What is the meaning of "there is none worthy of worship in truth except Allah," and does it mean that none whatsoever deserves worship except Allah, and what is the ruling on worshipping other than Allah in a case of necessity, such as being threatened with death?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Allah alone is worthy of worship, and it is impermissible to direct it to anyone else. However, if someone is compelled to perform an act of worship for other than Allah, such as prostration, they are not considered a true worshiper of other than Allah, because their heart is firm in faith, as evidenced by the Almighty’s saying: "except for him who is compelled [to renounce his religion] while his heart is at peace with faith." As long as the heart is firm in faith, one who is compelled to perform a disbelieving act or utterance is not considered a disbeliever. For details and conditions regarding what constitutes valid compulsion, please refer to Fatwa No. 131426. As for compulsion to commit adultery, it is conceivable for it to be perpetrated by a woman, while there is a difference of opinion regarding its perpetration by a man. One may refer to Fatwa No. 121359.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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