Importance of Tawheed

[vpb]

I tried to translate as best as I could, so if you find anythin suspicious, please let me know.


1. Tawheed is the main purpose for what the humans and jinn were created for.


Proof of this is the word of Allah swt:


وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ


"And I have not created the jinn and the men except that they should serve Me." [ADH-DHARIYAT (THE WINNOWING WINDS), 56]


Ibn Taymyah, may Allah have mercy on him, defines 'worship' and says: “Worship is a general noun for every action that Allah loves and is pleased, from actions, words, those done in public or secretly."


Ibn Kathir says: "General noun which puts together love, submission and fear".




2. Tawheed is why messengers were sent.


وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولاً أَنِ اعْبُدُواْ اللّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُواْ الطَّاغُوتَ فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ هَدَى اللّهُ َمِنْهُم مَّنْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِ الضَّلالَةُ فَسِيرُواْ


فِي الأَرْضِ فَانظُرُواْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ


"And certainly We raised in every nation a messenger saying: Serve Allah and shun the Shaitan. So there were some of them whom Allah guided and there were others against whom error was due; therefore travel in the land, then see what was the end of the rejecters." [AN-NAHL (THE BEE), 36]


The author of the book "Tajsir Al Aziz Al Hamid says: "Allah swt informed us

that He sent a messenger to every nation with this word "Worship only Allah and none else, for this word creatures were created, messengers were sent, as Allah swt says:

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ


"And We did not send before you any messenger but We revealed to him that there is no god but Me, therefore serve Me." [AL-ANBIYA (THE PROPHETS), 25]


This ayat holds the same meaning as of the one "La ilahe ilall-llah", so it contains the affirmative and the negative. You affirm there no one deserves to be worshiped, except Allah "ubudullahe" (Worship Allah"), and the negation on the word "Ixhtenibu At-Tagut" - stay away, reject the tagut (everything that is worshiped besides Allah).

The ayat signalizes that in order for the islam of a person to be justified and valid, needs to fulfill this condition "affirmation and negation", so affirming that the only one that deserves to be worship is Allah, and (the negation) that you reject everything that is worshiped besides Allah.

This is the tawheed that the Surah Al-Kafiroon holds:



بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ


قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ {1} لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ {2} وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ {3} وَلَا أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ {4} وَلَا


أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ (5} لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ (6


In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
1. Say: O unbelievers!
2. I do not serve that which you serve,
3. Nor do you serve Him Whom I serve:
4. Nor am I going to serve that which you serve,
5. Nor are you going to serve Him Whom I serve:
6. You shall have your religion and I shall have my religion.



3. Tawheed is the itself the meaning of the word "La ilahe ilal-llah"


Sulayman Ibn Abdullah Ala ash-Shaykh says : "Tawheed is itself the meaning of the word "La ilahe il-lall-llah", from which we understand that no one deserves to be worshiped but Allah, not even the closest malaikah, not even the prophets, and as for others we don't even need discussion on that.

4. Tawheed is the main reason for the man to enter Jannah (Paradise)


It is transmitted from Ubaidah Ibn Samit (r.a) that the Messenger of Allah saws said: "Who testifies that there is no diety of worship except Allah, Who is without rival or partner, and that Muhammed is His Messenger, and that paradise and hellfire are true, Allah swt will put him in Jannah (Paradise)." [Bukhari]

Transmitted from Utban that the Messenger of Allah saws said: "Allah swt forbided the hellfire to have a person who said the word "La ilahe ilall-llah" with sincerity."
[Bukhari]

In this context, it is worthy to mention the word of Ibn Taymyah to comment and understand the above hadiths:

"These hadiths is for those people that said this word and died with this word, work with this word, say it with sincerty, convinced without having any doubts or dilemma and with loyalty"

Hasan al Basri has been asked that there are some people that say that whoever pronounces the word "La ilahe il-lall-llah" will enter Jannah? He answered: "He who pronounces the word "La ilahe il-lall-llah" , practices the conditions and become subject of the orders of this word will enter Jannah."

When Vahb Ibn Munabih answered the question: "Is the word "La ilahe il-lall-llah" the key of the Jannah"? He said every key has its pins,so if it comes with the key and its pins, the door will be opened, otherwise if it comes with key without its pins, it will not be opened".


5.Tawheed is the main factor to have happiness in this life and the after.

Allah swt says:


الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَلَمْ يَلْبِسُواْ إِيمَانَهُم بِظُلْمٍ أُوْلَـئِكَ لَهُمُ الأَمْنُ وَهُم مُّهْتَدُونَ


"Those who believe and do not mix up their faith with iniquity, those are they who shall have the security and they are those who go aright." [AL-ANAAM (CATTLE, LIVESTOCK), 82]

Saad in his tafsir says: "Those who did NOT mix their belief with shirk, will be safe from fear, punishment and sadness, on the contrary they will be guided in the right path.

He continues: "If they did NOT commit shirk and sins, they deserve the guidance, whereas those who did NOT commit shirk, but they commited sins , they deserve only the core of the guidance."


6.The danger of shirk is great because it annihilates tawheed, so we have to be careful on our tawheed so that we don't fall on shirk.

Allah swt says:

إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاء وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا



"Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him, and forgives what is besides that to whomsoever He pleases; and whoever associates anything with Allah, he devises indeed a great sin." [AN-NISA (WOMEN), 48]


Ibn Kathir says: "Allah swt warned us that he does not forgive shirk, so he does not gives mercy to a slave, who dies on joining partnership to Allah, whereas the other sins are forgiven.

From the above ayat, we understand that shirk is the greatest sin, because Allah swt told us that he does not forgive it except with tewbe, whereas the sins under the level of shirk are put under the will of Allah swt; if Allah wants he forgives then, if not he punishes. So, it is an obligation for a muslim to be afraid of this big sin, because it is the biggest injustice and the worst behavious, it contains on itself underestimation for Allah swt and trying that the truth that is only for Allah swt, to give it to somebody else, as Allah swt says:


وَإِذْ قَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِابْنِهِ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُ يَا بُنَيَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ إِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ



"And when Luqman said to his son while he admonished him: O my son! do not associate aught with Allah; most surely polytheism is a grievous iniquity--” [LUQMAN (LUQMAN), 13]




Also Abraham a.s was afraid from this sin:


وَإِذْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ رَبِّ اجْعَلْ هَـذَا الْبَلَدَ آمِنًا وَاجْنُبْنِي وَبَنِيَّ أَن نَّعْبُدَ الأَصْنَامَ


"And when Ibrahim said: My Lord! make this city secure, and save me and my sons from worshipping idols:" [IBRAHIM (ABRAHAM), 35]




7. For the importance of Tawheed is the fact itself that the Prophet Muhammed saws called on Tawheed for 13 years.



8. Qur'an from its beggining to its end calls on tawheed

Ibn Qajim Al Xhauzije says : "Every ayat (verse) of the Qur'an contains tawheed on itself , or it give arguments for the tawheed, or calls to it. Qur'an either tells us about Allah, His names and attributes, which is tawheed Asmaa ua Sifaat, or it calls on unification (Oneness of Allah) of Allah on actions while not joining partnership, which is tawheed Uluhija and Rububija, or it contains orders or forbidding things, which are from the truth and fulfilling of tawheed."


9. The Prophet of Allah saws used to teach his companions that the first that should be calling people to is the tawheed.

When the Prophet sent Muadh to Yemen, he said to him, "You are going to a nation from the people of the Scripture, so let the first thing to which you will invite them, be the Tauhid of Allah. If they learn that, tell them that Allah has enjoined on them, five prayers to be offered in one day and one night. And if they pray, tell them that Allah has enjoined on them Zakat of their properties and it is to be taken from the rich among them and given to the poor. And if they agree to that, then take from them Zakat but avoid the best property of the people." [Bukhari]

Ibn Taymyah said: "It is known from the religion of the prophets which the whole ummah have agreed that the first thing that a man is ordered with is the word “La ilahe il-la All-llah ue anna Muhamed rasulull-llah.”