[ISP]Tawhid: Sections

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:salams

1. Tawhid: Sections

Literally, Tawhid means to make something one or to call it one. In English, when something is made one it is called a "unity." However, Islamically Tawhid means to believe that Allah is the one and only God in all of the things that we do to please him. For example, prayer should only be to Allah, sacrifice should only be done in Allah's name, charity should only be given for Allah's pleasure and Jihad should only be for the sake of Allah's religion.

The sections of Tawhid

The subject of Tawhid has three sections.

Tawhid ar-Rububiyah: Unity of Lordship
Tawhid al-Asma' was-Sifat: Unity of Allah's Names and Attributes
Tawhid al-'Ibadah: Unity of Worship
1. Unity of Lordship

Tawhid ar-Rububiyah means that we accept Allah as being the only real power in the Universe. He caused all things to exist when there was nothing; thus, He is called الخالق al-Khaliq, the Creator. He is the one who gave all things the power to grow, to move and change, so He is called ar-rabb الرب. Nothing happens except what he allows to happen; thus he is called المالكal-Malik, the Owner of the Universe.

When someone does evil, we recognize that it was Allah who gave him a mind to think of evil, a body able to do it, and that it was by Allah's permission that he was able to put his bad idea into practice. We should not say Allah caused him to do evil, because man chooses evil by himself. Instead, we should say that Allah gave him the power to be able to think and do evil. He could not have done evil unless Allah allowed it to happen, and he could not have thought to do evil unless Allah gave him the ability to do so. But he chose to do evil by himself and Allah let him to do it.

Allah controls all that happens, good or bad. When we want to avoid some misfortune or get some good fortune we should only turn to Allah and seek his help. If we depend on created things which the common people call good luck charms, (like rabbit's feet and horse shoes) 1, to bring us good luck, we have destroyed this section of Tawhid by committing the biggest sin possible, known as Shirk (Polytheism). Similarly, if we fear created things which the common people believe will cause bad luck (like spilling salt, black cats crossing our paths, breaking mirrors, etc.)2, thinking that we have saved ourselves from bad luck, we have also committed Shirk and destroyed this section of Tawhid.

Next: Unity of Allah's names and attributes ->

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2. Unity of Allah's Names and Attributes

Tawhid al-Asma' was-Sifat means to describe Allah according to the names and attributes by which he has described himself in the Qur'an or by those which Prophet Muhammad :saw: used to describe the Qur'an or Allah. Because Allah is the Greatest, His names are called al-Asma' al_husna (The Best or Most Beautiful Names). Allah said in the Qur'an:

{اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ لَهُ الْأَسْمَاء الْحُسْنَي}

[Qur'an 20:8] Allah, there is no god but he. To Him belong the most Beautiful names.



Similarly, each of Allah's names describes a certain attribute which only belongs to Him. For example, Allah calls Himself ُEverything which exists has attributes or qualities by which it is known. We learn in science that animals are different from plants due to certain attributes. Animals can move and the majority of them take care of their young, whereas plants do not have these characteristics. الاول al Awwal The First, which means that before anything was, Allah was. Nothing existed before Allah, because Allah created everything. A student may be called the first in the class or the fist in a race, but he can not be first before everything. Neither Allah's names nor His attributes are the same as those of His creation. We should not give Allah the attributes of His creation nor should we give the creation His attributes. Allah has said in the Qur'an:

{ِ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ }

[Qur'an 42:11]...There is nothing like Him and He sees and hears [all things].

In the Bible of the Christians and the Torah of the Jews, they have written that Allah spent the first six days creating the universe then He slept on the seventh. So they take either Saturday or Sunday as a day of rest in which work is looked at as a sin. However, by making Allah like humans who tire from work and need rest, they have committed the biggest sin of Shirk. In the Qur'an, Allah says:

{ اللّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ}


[Qur'an 2:255] Allah, there is no god besides Him. The Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting. He does not become tired nor does He Sleep...

Next: Unity of Worship ->

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3. Unity of worship

Tawhid al-Ibadah means that we direct all our prayers only to Allah, because He is the only one who is able to answer our prayers. Some people say, if you want to complain to the director of schools, you as a student can not go directly to his office. You should speak to your teacher who will take your complaint to the principal, who, in turn, will take your complaint to the director for you. In the same way, it is better to ask someone close to God, like the prophets or saints, to carry your prayers for you. Such a belief makes Allah like humans who require intermediaries. However, Allah is different, He hears and knows all things, so there is no need for anyone to carry our prayers to Allah for us. Allah has said in the Qur'an

{وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ}

(Qur'an 40:60) And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer):

Therefore, to pray to Muhammad :saw: or other righteous whom some people call "saints" hoping that their prayers will reach Allah and be answered through them is Shirk, the greatest of all sins.
It should be noted that worship in Islam includes more than just our prayers. If we follow someone who makes Halal (permissible) what Allah has made Haram (prohibited) or vice versa, we are also worshipping them. The proof of this is in a hadith reported by 'Adiy ibn Hatim that he heard the Prophet :saw: recite the verses.

{اتَّخَذُواْ أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ}

(Qur'an 9: 31) They have taken their Rabbis and Monks as lords along with Allah...

'Adiy ibn Hatim said, "We didn't use to worship them." The Prophet :saw: said:

"Did they not make Haram What Allah has made Halal and you all made it Haram, and they made Halal what Allah had made Haram and you all made it Halal?" He replied, "Certainly." The Prophet :saw: then said, "That was your worship of them."

Next: Questions ->

[hanaa_al_muminah]

awwww..masha'allah..I love this thread!

[muhammed_1428]

Hang on.. Haven't we already had this in ISP?

[Abu Muslimah]

Hang on.. Haven't we already had this in ISP?

Yep, we've done it bro, thats why its visible. Usually its invisible until the answers are in and marked.