Tawheed

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Tawheed

In Islam, Tawheed refers to the Oneness of Allah, the belief that Allah is One and Only worthy of being worshipped with no partners or peers. His Attributes and Names are perfect and free from any errors, there is nothing like Him.

Islam is built on the foundation of Tawheed. it is part of Shahadah, which we declare daily in Tashahud during our prayers. Shahadah should not be merely said with tongues but must be put into practices that can be only possible through seeking knowledge about Allah from the Quran and Sunnah. Scholars have divided the types of Tawheed into 3 for purpose of clear understanding. They are:

Tawheed al-RububiyyahTawhid al-Rububiyyah (Oneness of Divine Lordship): means believing in Allah as One and Unique with regard to His actions such as creation, sovereignty, control, giving life and death, and so on

Tawheed al-Uluhiyyah

Tawhid al-Uluhiyyah means devoting all acts of worship, both inward and outward, in word and deed, to Allah Alone, and not worshipping anything or anyone other than Allah, no matter who he is

Tawhid al-Asma wa’l-Sifat

With regard to Tawhid al-Asma wa’l-Sifat (Oneness of the Divines Names and Attributes ), this means affirming the names and attributes of Allah and believing that there is none like unto Allah in His names and attributes.

Allah had sent all Prophets peace be upon them to spread the message of Tawheed to their nations who were all polytheistic and indulged in idol worshipping, with superstitious and strange beliefs that had corrupted their lives. The Qur’an has affirmed Allah’s Oneness, numerous time. Some of them are mentioned in:

Surah Ikhlas

قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ١

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “He is Allah—One ˹and Indivisible

ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ ٢

Allah—the Sustainer ˹needed by all

لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ ٣

He has never had offspring, nor was He born.

وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ ٤

And there is none comparable to Him.

Surah al-Maidah 5:73

لَّقَدْ كَفَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ثَالِثُ ثَلَـٰثَةٍۢ ۘ وَمَا مِنْ إِلَـٰهٍ إِلَّآ إِلَـٰهٌۭ وَٰحِدٌۭ ۚ وَإِن لَّمْ يَنتَهُوا۟ عَمَّا يَقُولُونَ لَيَمَسَّنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ مِنْهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ٧٣

Those who say, “Allah is one in a Trinity,” have certainly fallen into disbelief. There is only One God. If they do not stop saying this, those who disbelieve among them will be afflicted with a painful punishment.

Surah al-Mulk 67:2

ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْمَوْتَ وَٱلْحَيَوٰةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًۭا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٢

˹He is the One˺ Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds. And He is the Almighty, All-Forgiving.

The Muslim must understand what the concept of Tawheed is. We have seen that many Muslims are engaged in shirk and kufr practices such as grave worshipping, calling pious people, giving them Allah’s Attributes. Over the time since death of Muhammad peace be upon him, many deviant sects started and the first thing they began was to attack Tawheed by distorting them according to their whims and desire, causing confusion and disunity among the Ummah.

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The shirk of amulet

Ruwaifi' bin Thabit said:"The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: 'O Ruwaifi', you may live for a long time after me, so tell the people that whoever ties up his beard, or twists it, or hangs an amulet, or cleans himself (after relieving himself) with animal dung or bones, Muhammad has nothing to do with him.'"

Sunan An-Nasa’i 5067 (Sahih by Darussalam)

بَلِ ٱللَّهُ مَوْلَىٰكُمْۖ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ ٱلنَّٰصِرِينَ

But Allāh is your protector, and He is the best of helpers.

Aal-e-Imran 3:150

إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ

It is You we worship and You we ask for help.

Al-Fatihah 1:5

I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘Spells (ruqyah), amulets and love-charms are shirk.” I said, “Why do you say this? By Allaah, my eye was weeping with a discharge and I kept going to So and so, the Jew, who did a spell for me. When he did the spell, it calmed down.” ‘Abd-Allaah said: “That was just the work of the Shaytaan who was picking it with his hand, and when (the Jew) uttered the spell, he stopped. All you needed to do was to say as the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say: ‘Adhhib il-ba’s Rabb al-naas ishfi anta al-Shaafi laa shifaa’a illa shifaa’uka shifaa’an laa yughaadiru saqaman (Remove the harm, O Lord of mankind, and heal, You are the Healer. There is no healing but Your healing, a healing which leaves no disease behind.’”

(Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3883; Ibn Maajah, 3530) This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 331 and 2972.

4.It was narrated from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir al-Juhani that a group came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) [to swear their allegiance (bay’ah) to him]. He accepted the bay’ah of nine of them but not of one of them. They said, “O Messenger of Allaah, you accepted the bay’ah of nine but not of this one.” He said, “He is wearing an amulet.” The man put his hand (in his shirt) and took it off, then he (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) accepted his bay’ah. He said, ‘Whoever wears an amulet has committed shirk.”

(Narrated by Ahmad, 16969)

This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 492.

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Tawheed ar-Rububyah (Oneness of Lordship)

This type of Tawheed is based on the belief about the Lordship of Allah. Allah Who is only the Creator has caused all things to exist and these are under His authority even ourselves.

He is the Sustainer and maintains His creation without any need. Everything is dependent on Him and they cannot do anything except what Allah has decreed, even drop of a leaf, this belief is known as al-Qadar which is one of the six basic faith that all Muslims must believe in.

Allah alone is the Lord of everything without any partners or challenges. Some of the evidence from the Quran and Sunnah fits this type best:

ٱللَّهُ خَـٰلِقُ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ ۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ وَكِيلٌۭ ٦٢

Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Maintainer of everything.

Surah 39:63

هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُحْىِۦ وَيُمِيتُ ۖ فَإِذَا قَضَىٰٓ أَمْرًۭا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ ٦٨

He is the One Who gives life and causes death. When He decrees a matter, He simply tells it, “Be!” And it is!

Surah 40:68

مَآ أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَمَن يُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ يَهْدِ قَلْبَهُۥ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌۭ

١١No calamity befalls ˹anyone˺ except by Allah’s Will. And whoever has faith in Allah, He will ˹rightly˺ guide their hearts ˹through adversity˺. And Allah has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things.

Surah 64:11

Be mindful of Allah and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, then ask Allah [alone]; and if you seek help, then seek help from Allah [alone]. And know that if the nation were to gather together to benefit you with anything, they would not benefit you except with what Allah had already prescribed for you. And if they were to gather together to harm you with anything, they would not harm you except with what Allah had already prescribed against you.

(Narrated by Tirmidhi, also part of Nawawi’s 40th Hadith)

Shirk:To associate with Allah any partners or equal would violate this type of Tawheed. This is common in every religion except Islam. The Quraish knew that Allah is the Creator and He maintains everything yet their knowledge did not benefit them because they associated their false gods with Him. They had followed their forefathers and built many idols which were their business. They also associated the angels as daughters of Allah which was refuted by Him.

وَيَجْعَلُونَ لِلَّهِ ٱلْبَنَـٰتِ سُبْحَـٰنَهُۥ ۙ وَلَهُم مَّا يَشْتَهُونَ ٥٧

And they attribute ˹angels as˺ daughters to Allah—glory be to Him!—the opposite of what they desire for themselves.

Surah 16:57

To deny Allah’s Lordship is considered a shirk. The Qur’an mentions about Pharaoh denying the existence of Allah and proclaiming himself as god and lord.

وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ يَـٰهَـٰمَـٰنُ ٱبْنِ لِى صَرْحًۭا لَّعَلِّىٓ أَبْلُغُ ٱلْأَسْبَـٰبَ ٣٦

Pharaoh ordered, “O Hamân! Build me a high tower so I may reach the pathways

Surah 40:36

أَسْبَـٰبَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ فَأَطَّلِعَ إِلَىٰٓ إِلَـٰهِ مُوسَىٰ وَإِنِّى لَأَظُنُّهُۥ كَـٰذِبًۭا ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِفِرْعَوْنَ سُوٓءُ عَمَلِهِۦ وَصُدَّ عَنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ ۚ وَمَا كَيْدُ فِرْعَوْنَ إِلَّا فِى تَبَابٍۢ ٣٧

leading up to the heavens and look for the God of Moses, although I am sure he is a liar.” And so Pharaoh’s evil deeds were made so appealing to him that he was hindered from the ˹Right˺ Way. But the plotting of Pharaoh was only in vain.

Surah 40:37

The benefit of having correct knowledge about this type of Tawheed and practising it is that the Muslim knows that Allah has decreed everything and that all trials and calamities he faces are from his Lord, thus he becomes patient. Further, he will depend on Him in all of his affairs rather than any created things that bring nothing. He seeks Allah’s protection only.