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Thursday, March 27, 2014

The Meaning of at-Tawheed

Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said:

At-Tawheed that the Messengers came with reinforces the Lordship of Allaah; that it is for him Alone. They came witnessing the Shahaadah 'There is no God except Allaah', meaning there is no god worthy of worship except Allaah. This statement means that we rely (or have Tawakkul) upon none but Him, we do not seek assistance except from Him, we do not ally or have enemies except for His Sake; in general, we do not do any deed except for His Sake.

"And your Ilah (God) is One Ilah (God - Allah), La ilaha illa Huwa (there is none who has the right to be worshipped but He), the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful." [al-Baqarah 2:163]

And,

"And Allah said (O mankind!): "Take not ilahain (two gods in worship, etc.). Verily, He (Allah) is (the) only One Ilah (God)" [al-Nahl 16: 51]

And,

"And whoever invokes (or worships), besides Allah, any other ilah (god), of whom he has no proof, then his reckoning is only with his Lord. Surely! Al-Kafirun (the disbelievers in Allah and in the Oneness of Allah, polytheists, pagans, idolaters, etc.) will not be successful." [al-Mu'minoon 23:117]

And,

"And ask (O Muhammad  ) those of Our Messengers whom We sent before you: "Did We ever appointaliha (gods) to be worshipped besides the Most Beneficent (Allah)?"" [az-Zukhruf 43:45]

And,

"Indeed there has been an excellent example for you in Ibrahim (Abraham) and those with him, when they said to their people: "Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Allah, we have rejected you, and there has started between us and you, hostility and hatred for ever, until you believe in Allah Alone,"" [al-Mumtahinah 60:4]

And,

"Indeed there has been an excellent example for you in Ibrahim (Abraham) and those with him, when they said to their people: "Verily, we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Allah, we have rejected you, and there has started between us and you, hostility and hatred for ever, until you believe in Allah Alone,"" [as-Saaffaat 37:35-36]

And the Qur’aan is full of concurring evidences.

(Note:) Tawheed does not (merely) mean to believe in One Lord. If we were to affirm that Tawheed is to believe only in one Lord (Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah), then this would mean that He is the sole creator and nothing more. This is the very same belief held by those who are misguided, such as the philosophers and the Soofees. They believe that affirming the oneness for Allaah as being the sole Creator is sufficient for one to have Tawheed. They argue that He is the only One Who has Created everything that exists from the creation (thus this being their version of Tawheed). Undoubtedly, these groups have been misguided from understanding the true meaning of at-Tawheed, which is to single out Allaah Alone, without any partners, for all your acts of worship as He is the only One Who Deserves it.

Another reason why their understanding is false is because they have misunderstood what the word Ilaah or God means.

Al-Ilaah (trans. deity or god) is something that is worshipped because it deserves it. An Ilaah is not something that has the ability to create something. So if one believes that God is someone who creates and has no other quality in relation to Tawheed of that god, then they have not understood what at-Tawheed truly means.

Based on this definition, if one was to say Tawheed means to believe only in one god then this would make many from the Mushrikeen as being Muslims, as they too believe in one god or one creator. And this is the meaning of the statement:

"And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners unto Him [i.e. they are Mushrikun -polytheists - see Verse 6: 121]." [Yoosuf 12:106]

Some of the Salaf used to say about this, “Ask these people, who created the Heavens and the Earths? They will say Allaah. So why do you worship other than him?”
"Say: "Whose is the earth and whosoever is therein? If you know!" They will say: "It is Allah's!" Say: "Will you not then remember?" Say: "Who is (the) Lord of the seven heavens, and (the) Lord of the Great Throne?" They will say: "Allah." Say: "Will you not then fear Allah (believe in His Oneness, obey Him, believe in the Resurrection and Recompense for each and every good or bad deed)." Say "In Whose Hand is the sovereignty of everything (i.e. treasures of each and everything)? And He protects (all), while against Whom there is no protector, (i.e. if Allah saves anyone none can punish or harm him, and if Allah punishes or harms anyone none can save him), if you know." [Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, Vol. 12, Page 145]. They will say: "(All that belongs) to Allah." Say: "How then are you deceived and turn away from the truth?"" [23:84-89]

So not understanding this point! At-Tawheed means more than believing in one creator and understanding this is vital, as the Mushrikeen erred in this as well. They did not understand that at-Tahweed believes in worshipping One Lord Alone, without any partners, thus not understanding what truly worship means;

"Have they taken others as intercessors besides Allah? Say: "Even if they have power over nothing whatever and have no intelligence?" Say: "To Allah belongs all intercession. His is the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, then to Him you shall be brought back."" [az-Zumar 39:43-44]

And,

"And they worship besides Allah things that hurt them not, nor profit them, and they say: "These are our intercessors with Allah." Say: "Do you inform Allah of that which He knows not in the heavens and on the earth?" Glorified and Exalted be He above all that which they associate as partners with Him!" [Yoonus 10:18]

And,

"Say (O Muhammad  ): "Shall I take as a Wali (helper, protector, etc.) any other than Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth? And it is He Who feeds but is not fed." Say: "Verily, I am commanded to be the first of those who submit themselves to Allah (as Muslims)." And be not you (O Muhammad  ) of the Mushrikun[polytheists, pagans, idolaters and disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah]." [al-An'aam 6:14]

And,

"They will abide therein (under the curse in Hell), their punishment will neither be lightened, nor will they be reprieved." [al-Baqarah 2:162]

So they would worship the sun, the moon and the stars, they would supplicate to them and rely upon them and they would fast and slaughter for their sake and would say, “This is not Shirk! Shirk is only to believe that these things that we worship had the ability to create and sustain (i.e. the universe).”

Therefore, they worshipped these things as a means to get closer to God, they did not believe that these things they worshipped could help them rather they were a vice to get closer to God. This was their definition of Tawheed and thus it was not Shirk to them. However, it is known by to every Muslim that this is Shirk.


[Fath al-Majeed Sharh Kitaab at-Tawheed (Pg. 9-10)]

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