The first religious fundamental to which Allah’s
Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) called to, was
Tawheed (the Oneness of Allah), which is expressed by
the testification, ‘La ilaha illa Allah’ (meaning, none
has the right to be worshiped except Allah). He (sallallahu
alaihi wa-sallam) spent thirteen years in Makkah
explaining the Oneness of Allah, and not calling towards
any other aspect of the religion. This is because the
correct belief (Aqeedah) is the foundation of Islam.
Only those actions and statements that stem from the
correct belief (Aqeedah) are acceptable to Allah and
therefore, it is a Muslim’s duty to safeguard his
Aqeedah against all defects.
The Islamic Concept of
Tawheed is divided into three categories – Tawheed
ar-Ruboobiyyah, Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah, and Tawheed al-Asma
was-Sifaat; which respectively mean that Allah is One…
Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah
means to believe that Allah alone is the Rabb (the
Creator, Provider, Sustainer, etc.) He has no partner in
His Dominion and Actions. Allah alone has the power to
benefit or harm, the power to change destiny, and He
alone is truly Self-Sufficient (As-Samad) upon whom all
the creation depends, as He says: “Allah created all
things and He is the Wakeel (Trustee, Disposer of
affairs, Guardian) of all things.”[1]
“To Him belong the keys of the Heavens and the earth. He
(Allah) enlarges and restricts provisions to whomever He
Wills. Surely, He has Knowledge of everything.”[2]
Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah
also includes the belief that Allah is Unique (One,
single) and Incomparable. He has no wife nor offspring,
no mother nor father. “Say, He is
Allah, the One and Only. Allah, the Eternal - the
Absolute: He begets not, nor is He begotten.”[3]
Allah does not merge in any living or dead creature, nor
anything is part of Allah. Neither living nor dead
merges in the Being of Allah, nor is any creature part
of Him. All creatures are created by His Order and are
subservient to His Will.
The belief in Tawheed
ar-Ruboobiyyah was never denied by any of the previous
nations, except few who denied the existence of Allah,
like Fir’awn (Pharaoh), the atheists and communists of
this age. The Arab Pagans amongst whom the Messenger of
Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) was sent believed in
Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah. They believed in Allah to the
extent that they declared Allah as the Supreme Lord.
They acknowledged Him as the Creator of the Universe and
considered Him to be the Sovereign and the Provider of
sustenance, as is clear from the verses of Soorah al-Muminoon,
Allah says: “Say (to the
disbelievers): “Whose is the earth and whosoever is
therein? If you know!” They will say: “It is Allah” …
Say: “Who is the Lord of the seven Heavens and the Lord
of the Great Throne?” They will say: “Allah” … Say: “In
whose Hands is the sovereignty of everything? And He
protects all, while against whom there is no protector,
if you know?” They will say: “(All this belongs) to
Allah.”[4]
However, the belief in
Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah did not make them Muslims,
because they lacked Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah (Oneness of
Allah’s Worship). Even though, the Arab Pagans believed
that Allah was their Lord, they did not direct all forms
of worship to Him alone. They believed that Angles and
pious people had special status with Allah, and thus
could intercede with Allah for them. They would say:
“We only worship them so that they
may bring us closer to Allah.”[5]
Calling upon Allah for one’s needs is a great act of
worship, and if it is directed towards other than Allah,
it leads to Shirk in the worship. Allah revealed:
“They worship besides Allah things
that hurt them not, nor profit them, and they say:
“These are only our intercessors with Allah.”[6]
Thus, Allah declared
their act of seeking intercession with Allah as Shirk
and termed them as Kafirun and Mushrikeen. He ordered
His Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) to proclaim,
“I worship not that, which you
worship, nor will you worship that which I worship, and
I shall not worship that you are worshiping, nor will
you worship that which I worship.”[7]
These verses of the Noble Qur’aan establish the
importance of the Tawheed of worship along with the
Tawheed of Lordship.
Essential Points:
From the above, we understand that the Arab Pagans,
despite their ignorance and arrogance, completely
understood the meaning of Ibaadah (worship). They
believed that intercession is a form of worship, and did
not deny that calling upon pious people amounted to
worshiping them. They would call their idols, ‘Aaliha[8]‘(pl.
of Ilah lit. meaning, One, who is worshiped). This is in
sharp contrast of the belief of the grave-worshipers of
today, who make the engraved as intercessors with Allah,
and yet do not consider it to be Shirk!!
Allah says:
“To Him
belongs all the Best Names. All that is in the Heavens
and the earth glorify Him. And He is the All-Mighty, the
All-Wise.”[9]
Abu Hurayrah (radhi allahu anhu) narrates:
“Allah has
ninety-nine Names, and whoever believers in their
meanings and acts accordingly will enter Paradise…”[10]
Tawheed al-Asma
was-Sifaat[11]
is to believe and affirm all the Names and Attributes of
Allah found in the Qur’aan and the Ahaadeeth of Allah’s
Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam). The Names and
Attributes of Allah should be accepted without any
alteration, whether in words or meaning. They should be
understood in the absolute sense and free from human
deficiencies because the similarity between the
Attributes of Allah and mankind is only of name and not
in degree. For example, Allah says:
“That He may punish
the hypocrites, men and women, and the pagan men and
women, who have an evil opinion of Allah. A circle of
evil is around them; Allah is Angry with them, Curses
them and has prepared for them an evil end.”[12]
In this verse, Allah is
described with the Attribute of Anger. It is wrong to
believe that Allah’s Anger has any similitude to those
of the humans. It is also wrong to change the meaning of
the verse saying, ‘His Anger must mean His Punishment,
because anger is a sign of weakness and weakness cannot
be attributed to Allah, etc… It is sufficient to believe
in the Attribute of Allah and believe that
“There is
nothing like unto Him.”[13]
The Names and Attributes
of Allah should be accepted and affirmed without
inquiring about their exact nature. Believing in their
apparent meaning is an obligation and deeply reflecting
about Allah is an innovation, as the Messenger of Allah
(sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said:
“Reflect upon the
creation and do not reflect upon Allah.”[14]
Shirk in Tawheed al-Asma
wa-Sifaat is to give other than Allah, the qualities
(Attributes), which are specific of Allah Alone. For
example, amongst the Attributes of Allah is that He is
the Knower of the Unseen (Ghayb[15])
and He alone knows what the heart conceals. Allah says:
“Say, ‘None in the Heavens and the earth know the Ghayb
(Unseen) except Allah, nor can they perceive when they
shall be resurrected.”[16]
Therefore, to consider someone other than Allah to have
the knowledge of the past, future or the Unseen is Shirk
(associating partners with Allah).
This concept of Tawheed
distinguishes Islam from many other religions. Those who
have studied comparative religion can very easily
realize that, while the Jews made their Creator like the
creation[17],
the Christians make the creation like the Creator[18].
[11] Shaikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (d.
728H) said: “From Eemaan in Allaah is Eemaan in what
He has described Himself with and what His Messenger
Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) described Him
with, without tahreef and ta’teel, and without
takyeef and tamtheel…” [Al-’Aqeedah al-Waastiyyah,
p.3]
[17] As in Genesis (33): 24-30 where
it has been claimed that Allah came in the form of a
man and lost in a wrestling match with Prophet
Yaqoob. [Glory be to Allaah! (High is He) above all
that they associate as partners with Him.]
[18] In their claim that Prophet Essa,
who lived a life like any other human being and was
then helplessly crucified, was Allah. [Glory be to
Allaah! (High is He) above all that they associate
as partners with Him.]
