Sin embargo, ya debería resultar evidente incluso a partir de las citas ofrecidas que es esencial, para comprender adecuadamente las enseñanzas del Corán, entender plenamente las implicaciones de estos cuatro términos. De hecho, el Corán perderá todo su sentido para quien no sepa lo que significan ilaah o rabb, qué constituye la ’ibadah y qué quiere decir el Corán al emplear la palabra deen. No logrará aprender qué es el Tawhid (la creencia en la unicidad de Allah en el sentido más pleno) ni cuál es su antítesis, es decir, el shirk (la atribución a otros, total o parcialmente, de cualquiera de las cualidades o atributos exclusivos de Allah).

It should however be obvious even from the quotations given that it is essential for proper comprehension of the teachings of the Qur'ān fully to understand the implications of these four terms. The Qur'ān will in fact lose its whole meaning for anyone who does not know what is meant by ilaah or rabb, what constitutes ’ibadah, and what the Qur'ān means when it uses the word deen. He will fail to learn what Tawhid (belief in the One-ness of Allah in the fullest sense) is, or what constitutes its anti-thesis, that is, shirk (the attribution to others, either wholly or partially, of any of Allah’s exclusive qualities or attributes).

No le será posible hacer que su ‘ibadah, o su dīn, sea exclusivo para Allah únicamente. Y poco mejor que un hombre totalmente ignorante sería aquel que solo tiene una vaga idea de lo que los términos implican, porque en ese caso toda la enseñanza del Corán permanecerá vaga e incompleta para él, y tanto su creencia como su conducta dejarán fatalmente mucho que desear. Sin duda seguirá recitando las palabras de la kalimah, e incluso explicará que significa que no hay ilāh sino Allah; y, sin embargo, en la práctica seguirá tratando a muchos otros como ilāh también. Pasará la vida proclamando que no hay rabb sino Allah, y aun así habrá muchos a quienes tratará como rabb. Protestará y afirmará, con toda seriedad y sinceridad, que no entrega su ‘ibadah a nadie más que a Allah, y aun así seguirá entregándola a otros sin saberlo. Si alguien siquiera insinúa que tiene otro dīn, se sentirá lo bastante ofendido como para llegar a las manos con quien lo acuse; y, sin embargo, en la práctica, sin darse cuenta, estará entregando su lealtad a muchos otros dīn.

It will not be possible for him to make his ’ibadah, or his deen, exclusive for Allah alone. And little better than such a completely ignorant man would be the one who has only a vague idea of what the terms imply, because in that case the whole teaching of the Qur'ān will remain vague and incomplete for him, and both his belief and his conduct will fatally leave much to be desired. He will no doubt keep on reciting the words of the kalimah, and even explain that it means that there is no ilaah but Allah, and yet, in practice, he will keep treating many another to be an ilaah too. He will go through life proclaiming that there is no rabb but Allah, and yet for all that there will be many whom he will be treating as rabbs. He will protest, and affirm, with all seriousness and sincerity, that he does not give his ’ibadah to any but Allah, and will yet keep giving to others unknowingly. If anyone even so much as hints that he has any other deen, he would feel offended enough to come to blows with the accuser, and yet in practice, he will unwittingly be giving his allegiance to many another deen.

Nadie lo oirá jamás usar las palabras Allah o rabb con respecto a otro que no sea en el sentido específico en que dichas palabras se emplean en el Corán; sin embargo, él se conducirá como si tuviera muchos ilaah y muchos rabb, aunque sin darse cuenta de ello, igual que la persona que nunca se percató, hasta que se le dijo expresamente, de que había estado hablando en prosa toda su vida. Si alguien le dijera en tantas palabras que está dirigiendo su ‘ibadah a otros, y por tanto cometiendo shirk, es posible que se ofenda profundamente e incluso discuta con violencia; pero, según los criterios aplicables, habrá estado viviendo inconscientemente como adorador de otros, como adepto a las religiones de otros, sin sospechar jamás que eso era realmente así.

No one will ever hear him actually use the words Allah or rabb in respect of any but in the specific sense in which the words have been employed in the Qur'ān, but he will be conducting himself as if he had many an ilaah and many a rabb though without realising this, just like the person who never realised until he was specifically told that he had been uttering prose all his life. If someone were to tell him in so many words that he was giving his ’ibadah to others, and thus committing shirk, he might resent this strongly and even quarrel violently, but according to the criteria applicable he will unconsciously have been living as a worshipper of others as an adherent of the deens of others, without ever suspecting that in fact was the case.