Is it true what is said that the phrase "Lā ilāha illā Allāh, Muḥammad Rasūūl Allāh" (There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) contains 24 letters, each letter atoning for an hour's worth of sins from the day's hours, and that it has seven words, each word closing one of the seven gates of Hell, and that this is considered a scientific miracle?

The earliest mention of the secrets attributed to the word of Tawhid (definition) (Oneness of God) comes from Imam Al-Damiri (d. 808 AH), who stated in "An-Najm Al-Wahhaj" that its letters are guttural, not labial, indicating that it should originate from the heart. He also noted that it is devoid of dotted letters, signifying detachment from any deity other than Allah. He further mentioned that it consists of twelve letters, like the months of the year, and that it, along with "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah," totals twenty-four letters, like the hours of the day, and that each letter expiates the sins of an hour.

A distinction must be made between: 1. Treating these subtle observations as a form of miraculous challenge or using them to captivate people. This is a clear error, as religion is not based on numerical coincidences but on rational proof and argument, and heartfelt certainty. 2. Presenting them for the sake of amusement, aesthetic appreciation, or to stimulate the mind. There is no harm in this, provided there is accuracy and avoidance of forced interpretations. This is a form of ijtihad (definition) (independent reasoning) that may be right or wrong.

What Al-Damiri mentioned can be accepted in the second context, as the written letters of (La ilaha illa Allah - There is no god but Allah) are twelve, and the written letters of (Muhammad Rasool Allah - Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah) are also twelve, making a total of twenty-four letters. The virtues of the word of Tawhid are sound, and the connection between them and the number of letters is merely an inference whose correctness cannot be asserted with certainty. Scholars consider the written letters in a word, not the pronounced ones, when counting the number of letters.