I PRAY THAT ALL OF YOU ARE IN THE BEST OF EEMAN AND HEALTH. MAY ALLAH (SWT) BLESS YOU IN THIS LIFE AND IN THE HEREAFTER. AMEEN.
LOVE YOU FOR THE SAKE OF ALLAH.
Tawheed is the first obligation in which all messengers (peace be upon them) called to. Allah (swt) says in the quran; 'We sent to every Ummah a messenger to command the people to submit to Allah exclusively and to reject Taghoot (false dieties)' (16:36). So the word Tawheed literally means 'unifacation' (making something one).
The three categories of Tawheed are the following:
1. Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyah ("Maintaining the Unity of Lordship")
2. Tawheed al-Asmaa was-Sifaat ("Maintaining the Unity of Allah's Names and Attributes")
3. Tawheed al-Ebaadah ("Maintaing the Unity of Allah's Worship")
Going back to the first category Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyah which is based on the concept that Allah (swt) is the creator. He (swt) caused all that exist when there was nothing. "And Allah created you all and whatever you do."(37:96) Nothing happens in His (swt) creation except what He (swt) allows to happen.
"Allah! There is no God but He,
the Living, the Self-subsisting, the Eternal.
No slumber can seize Him, nor sleep.
All things in heaven and earth are His.
Who could intercede in His presence without His permission?
He knows what appears in front of and behind His creatures.
Nor can they encompass any knowledge of Him except what he wills.
His throne extends over the heavens and the earth,
and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them,
for He is the Highest and Most Exalted."(Ayat Al-Kursi 2:255)
So one must have a firm belief that everything happens with the will of Allah (swt).
"And no calamity strikes except by Allahs permission."(64:11)
Now moving on to the second category Tawheed al-Asmaa wal-Sifaat.
This category of Tawheed has five main aspects.
"Allah! La illaha illah huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He) to Him belongs the best names."(20:8)
1. For the unity of Allaah's names and attributes to be maintained in the first aspect, Allah must be referred to according to how He and His Prophet (saws) have described Him without explaining away His names and attributes by giving them meanings other than their obvious meanings. Allah (swt) says: "That He may punish the hypocrites, men and women, and the pagans men and women, who have an evil opinion of Allaah. A circle of evil is around them; Allaah is angry with them, curses them and has prepared for them an evil end."(48:6)
Similarity between Allah's attributes and those of mankind is only in name and not in degree. When attributes are used in reference to Allah (swt), they are to be taken in the absolute sense, free from human deficiencies.
2. Referring to Allah (swt) as He has reffered to Himself without giving Him any new names or attributes.
3. Allah (swt) is reffered to without giving Him the attributes of His creation. For example, it is claimed in the Bible and Torah that Allaah spent the first six days creating the universe then slept on the seventh.(Genesis 2:2) For this reason, Jews and Christians take either Saturday or Sunday as a day of rest in which work is looked at as a sin. Such a claim assigns to God the attributes of His creation. It is man who tires after heavy work and needs sleep to recuperate. "No slumber can seize Him, nor sleep."(2:255).
4. Requires that man should not be given the attributes of Allah. For example, in the New Testament Paul takes the figure of Melchizedek, king of Salem, from the Torah (Genesis 14:18-20) and gives both him and Jesus the divine attribute of having no beginning or end.
5. Maintaining the unity of Allaah's names also means that Allaah's names in the definite form cannot be given to His creation unless preceded by the prefix 'Abd meaning "slave of" or "servant of'. Many of the Divine names in their indefinite form like Ra'oof and Raheem are allowable names for men because Allaah has used some of them in their indefinite forms to refer to the Prophet (saws):
"A messenger has come to you from among yourselves to whom anything which burdens you is grievous. He is full of concern for you and is full of pity (Ra'oof) and full of mercy (Raheem)".(9:128)
But ar-Ra'oof (the One Most Full of Pity) and ar-Raheem (the Most Merciful) can only be used to refer to men if they are preceded by 'Abd as in 'Abdur-Ra'oof or 'Abdur-Raheem, since in the definite form they represent a level of perfection which only belongs to God. Similarly, names like 'Abdur-Rasool (slave of the messenger), 'Abdun-Nabee (slave of the Prophet), 'Abdul-Husayn (slave of Husayn), etc.,where people name themselves slaves to other than Allaah are also forbidden. Based on this principle, the Prophet (saws) forbade Muslims from referring to those put under their charge as 'Abdee (my slave) or Amatee (my slave girl). (Sunan Abu Dawud), (Eng Trans), (vol.3, pp.1385-86, no.4957).
On to the third category Tawheed al-Ebaadah. In spite of the wide implications of the first two categories of Tawheed, firm belief in them alone is not sufficient to fulfill the Islamic requirements of Tawheed. Tawheed ar-Ruboobeeyah and Tawheed al-Asmaa was-Sifaat must be accompanied by their complement, Tawheed al-'Ebaadah, in order for Tawheed to be considered complete according to Islaam. This point is substantiated by the fact that Allaah Himself has related in clear terms that the Mushrikoon (idolators) of the Prophet's time confirmed many aspects of the first two forms of Tawheed. In the Qur'aan Allaah tells the Prophet (saws) to say to the pagans:
"Say: 'Who is it that gives you all sustenance from the sky and earth, governs sight and hearing, brings forth life from dead (matter) and death from the living, and plans the affairs of man?' They will all say 'Allaah'."(10:31)
"If you asked them who created them, they would surely say, 'Allaah' "(43:87)
"If you asked them who brings down water from the sky and with it brings the earth to life after its death? They will most certainly say, 'Allaah'."(29:63)
The pagan Makkans all knew that Allaah was their creator, sustainer, their Lord and Master yet that knowledge did not make them Muslims according to God. In fact, Allaah said:
"Most of them do not believe in Allaah except while joining partners to Him."(12:106)
LOVE YOU FOR THE SAKE OF ALLAH.
Tawheed is the first obligation in which all messengers (peace be upon them) called to. Allah (swt) says in the quran; 'We sent to every Ummah a messenger to command the people to submit to Allah exclusively and to reject Taghoot (false dieties)' (16:36). So the word Tawheed literally means 'unifacation' (making something one).
The three categories of Tawheed are the following:
1. Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyah ("Maintaining the Unity of Lordship")
2. Tawheed al-Asmaa was-Sifaat ("Maintaining the Unity of Allah's Names and Attributes")
3. Tawheed al-Ebaadah ("Maintaing the Unity of Allah's Worship")
Going back to the first category Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyah which is based on the concept that Allah (swt) is the creator. He (swt) caused all that exist when there was nothing. "And Allah created you all and whatever you do."(37:96) Nothing happens in His (swt) creation except what He (swt) allows to happen.
"Allah! There is no God but He,
the Living, the Self-subsisting, the Eternal.
No slumber can seize Him, nor sleep.
All things in heaven and earth are His.
Who could intercede in His presence without His permission?
He knows what appears in front of and behind His creatures.
Nor can they encompass any knowledge of Him except what he wills.
His throne extends over the heavens and the earth,
and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them,
for He is the Highest and Most Exalted."(Ayat Al-Kursi 2:255)
So one must have a firm belief that everything happens with the will of Allah (swt).
"And no calamity strikes except by Allahs permission."(64:11)
Now moving on to the second category Tawheed al-Asmaa wal-Sifaat.
This category of Tawheed has five main aspects.
"Allah! La illaha illah huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He) to Him belongs the best names."(20:8)
1. For the unity of Allaah's names and attributes to be maintained in the first aspect, Allah must be referred to according to how He and His Prophet (saws) have described Him without explaining away His names and attributes by giving them meanings other than their obvious meanings. Allah (swt) says: "That He may punish the hypocrites, men and women, and the pagans men and women, who have an evil opinion of Allaah. A circle of evil is around them; Allaah is angry with them, curses them and has prepared for them an evil end."(48:6)
Similarity between Allah's attributes and those of mankind is only in name and not in degree. When attributes are used in reference to Allah (swt), they are to be taken in the absolute sense, free from human deficiencies.
2. Referring to Allah (swt) as He has reffered to Himself without giving Him any new names or attributes.
3. Allah (swt) is reffered to without giving Him the attributes of His creation. For example, it is claimed in the Bible and Torah that Allaah spent the first six days creating the universe then slept on the seventh.(Genesis 2:2) For this reason, Jews and Christians take either Saturday or Sunday as a day of rest in which work is looked at as a sin. Such a claim assigns to God the attributes of His creation. It is man who tires after heavy work and needs sleep to recuperate. "No slumber can seize Him, nor sleep."(2:255).
4. Requires that man should not be given the attributes of Allah. For example, in the New Testament Paul takes the figure of Melchizedek, king of Salem, from the Torah (Genesis 14:18-20) and gives both him and Jesus the divine attribute of having no beginning or end.
5. Maintaining the unity of Allaah's names also means that Allaah's names in the definite form cannot be given to His creation unless preceded by the prefix 'Abd meaning "slave of" or "servant of'. Many of the Divine names in their indefinite form like Ra'oof and Raheem are allowable names for men because Allaah has used some of them in their indefinite forms to refer to the Prophet (saws):
"A messenger has come to you from among yourselves to whom anything which burdens you is grievous. He is full of concern for you and is full of pity (Ra'oof) and full of mercy (Raheem)".(9:128)
But ar-Ra'oof (the One Most Full of Pity) and ar-Raheem (the Most Merciful) can only be used to refer to men if they are preceded by 'Abd as in 'Abdur-Ra'oof or 'Abdur-Raheem, since in the definite form they represent a level of perfection which only belongs to God. Similarly, names like 'Abdur-Rasool (slave of the messenger), 'Abdun-Nabee (slave of the Prophet), 'Abdul-Husayn (slave of Husayn), etc.,where people name themselves slaves to other than Allaah are also forbidden. Based on this principle, the Prophet (saws) forbade Muslims from referring to those put under their charge as 'Abdee (my slave) or Amatee (my slave girl). (Sunan Abu Dawud), (Eng Trans), (vol.3, pp.1385-86, no.4957).
On to the third category Tawheed al-Ebaadah. In spite of the wide implications of the first two categories of Tawheed, firm belief in them alone is not sufficient to fulfill the Islamic requirements of Tawheed. Tawheed ar-Ruboobeeyah and Tawheed al-Asmaa was-Sifaat must be accompanied by their complement, Tawheed al-'Ebaadah, in order for Tawheed to be considered complete according to Islaam. This point is substantiated by the fact that Allaah Himself has related in clear terms that the Mushrikoon (idolators) of the Prophet's time confirmed many aspects of the first two forms of Tawheed. In the Qur'aan Allaah tells the Prophet (saws) to say to the pagans:
"Say: 'Who is it that gives you all sustenance from the sky and earth, governs sight and hearing, brings forth life from dead (matter) and death from the living, and plans the affairs of man?' They will all say 'Allaah'."(10:31)
"If you asked them who created them, they would surely say, 'Allaah' "(43:87)
"If you asked them who brings down water from the sky and with it brings the earth to life after its death? They will most certainly say, 'Allaah'."(29:63)
The pagan Makkans all knew that Allaah was their creator, sustainer, their Lord and Master yet that knowledge did not make them Muslims according to God. In fact, Allaah said:
"Most of them do not believe in Allaah except while joining partners to Him."(12:106)
