Monotheism (Tawheed)

Tawheed: The Backbone of Islamic Faith

Literally tawheed means to make something one or to call it one. In English when something is made one, it is considered unified. However, in Islamic terminology tawheed means to believe that Allah is the one and only true God, and He alone deserves to be worshipped. Tawheed is sometimes referred to as monotheism. However, in its purest sense in the Islamic definition is that no other entity can in any way have Allah's perfect attributes or be equivalent or even in competition with Him. All acts of worship that a person does should be directed to Allah or for Allah Alone. For example, prayer should only be directed to Allah, religious animal sacrifice should only be done in Allah's name, or fighting to establish and protect religion (Jihaad) should be done for His sake. Tawheed is therefore the central concept upon which all of Islam rests. It is the core belief ('aqeedah) around which everything revolves. Indeed, it is the Islamic position regarding the belief in Allah that makes it unique among the world's religions. Other religions claim to worship one God (monotheism), such as Christianity and Judaism, yet unlike the Islamic concept of God, they either attribute to men what befits only God or they attribute various weaknesses, faults and failings to Him that do not befit His Majesty and are instead more suited to His creation.

In the Islamic concept of Allah, none of the weaknesses, failings or needs of the creation can be applied to Him. He is indeed not of a particular race nor does He favor any particular race among His creation except those who are most devoted to Him. Muslims believe in Allah as He or His Prophet have described in the Quraan or the authentic hadeeth that is, the authenticated statements of the Prophet Muhammad himself, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. His primary function was to teach mankind about Allah and correct their wrong ideas. People have no right to interject or interpret what they have no ability to comprehend on their own. Whatever people have made up regarding Allah without any basis from the final revelation of the Quraan and sunnah is purely conjecture from their minds. The sunnah is literally the manner and way of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). The reports of his speech, actions and tacit approvals are called hadeeth and from these reports scholars derive the sunnah. The terms hadeeth and sunnah are sometimes used synonymously.


Sources of Tawheed

The Quraan is the Revelation which Allah sent down to His Messenger Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and has been passed forth to us both in form and in content in an uninterrupted transmission. Meaning, it can be verified as coming from the lips of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam). It is the last scripture to be revealed to mankind. As the actual word of Allah in its original form in the Arabic language, it is the first and foremost source of Islamic aqeedah (belief). Allah says:

And We did not send any Messenger before you but we inspired him (saying) none has the right to be worshipped but I (Allah) so worship Me. (Quraan 21:25).

We as mentioned in the Quraan is in Arabic what is similar to the Royal We used in the English language it signifies power and authority and in no way implies a plurality of gods Ed.)

Hadeeth in Arabic has the general meaning of speech whether pertaining to religion or not. In Islamic law it refers to the prophetic traditions which comprise all the Prophet Muhammads (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) speech, deeds, or tacit decisions. We often make reference to a collection or collections of the statements of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) made by Muslim scholars. Several of these collections are considered to be the most reliable and authentic. We will attempt to use only the verified and most authentic reports throughout this site.

In this regard, the terms hadeeth and sunnah are synonymous. The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) being the source from which both the Quraan and the Sunnah spring, was the best to explain what each and every person should believe about Allah. The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) stated about himself:

I am the most knowledgeable of Allah amongst you and the most fearful of him.

And he also stated:

Every child is born on Al-Fitra (true faith of Islamic Monotheism) but his parents convert him to Judaism, Christianity or Magianism.


Importance & Benefits of Tawheed

Tawheed is the essence of Islam and the mainspring of its strength. All other laws, beliefs and commands of Islam stand firm on this foundation. If you take it away there is nothing left of Islam.

Tawheed is the call of all the prophets to their people.

And verily We have sent among every nation a Messenger proclaiming Worship Allah Alone and avoid all false deities. (Quraan 16:36)

Fulfilling tawheed is the purpose of man's life.

And I created not the Jinns and Men except that they should worship Me. (Soorah Adh-Dhaariyaat Aayah 56).

The word Soorah (pronounced soo-rah) refers to one of the 114 chapters of the Quraan and Aayah (pronounced eye-ya) refers to a verse within the chapter. The plural of Soorah is suwar and the plural of aayah is aayaat. The word Jinn here refers to a separate type of creation that live and die, have families, believe and disbelieve like men but who are fundamentally of a different physical and psychological nature. They are sometimes referred to in popular western writing as genies and they do possess certain abilities and attributes beyond that of humans. They are mentioned in several places in the Quraan and the authentic hadeeth.

By declaring sincere belief in tawheed, a disbeliever will become a Muslim. Conversely, a Muslim will become a disbeliever (kaafir) if he rejects any aspect of it.

By tawheed, we achieve salvation from Eternal punishment in the Hereafter, right guidance in this world, and forgiveness for sins. Allah states in the Quraan:

Verily Allah does not forgive associating partners with Him (shirk) however He forgives all other sins as He pleases. (Soorah An-Nisaa, Aayah 48).

The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:

The worshippers right on Allah is that He will not punish those who worship none besides Him. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

(Al-Bukhaari and Muslim are the compilers of the two most authentic collections of hadeeth in existence Ed.)

Whoever fulfills tawheed will be admitted to the Garden (Al-Jannah) in the Hereafter. The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has stated:

Verily Allah has promised that whosoever does not commit shirk shall enter Al-Jannah (the Garden in the Heaven). [Al-Bukhari)]

It is the way to relieve peoples' sadness because true happiness can be achieved if persons realize tawheed within their hearts. They will also never feel psychologically enslaved even if physically captive.

It is the only reason for Allah's pleasure and rewards. In another aayah in the Quraan Allah says:

If you reject faith then know that Allah is in no need of you and He does not accept disbelief from His slaves. (Quraan 39:7)

Disbelief is nothing but a manifestation of shirk which is the opposite of tawheed. That is, one who disbelieves almost inevitably breaches some matter of tawheed. All those who commit shirk (called mushrikoon and pronounced moosh-rick-coon) are disbelievers (called kuffaar pronounced koo-far the singular being kaafir).

The acceptance of all of ones religious deeds is based upon tawheed. Allah states:

Whoever accepts a religion other than Islam it shall be rejected by Allah and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers. (Soorah Aali-'Imraan Aayah 85).

Islam is indeed the embodiment of the belief in tawheed.

Tawheed prevents man from eternally remaining in the Hellfire. The Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.) stated in an authentic report:

Whoever dies and has so much as a mustard seed of faith in his heart shall enter Al-Jannah.

Faith here signifies a correct belief in Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and all that they instructed, commanded and prohibited for mankind.


Understanding Tawheed

Tawheed can actually be termed a type of science that is based upon principles, rules and evidence. It has been actually categorized into specific divisions by Muslim scholars for the purpose of clarity and in-depth study. Tawheed is primarily understood through a careful reading of the Quraan and the hadeeth. Additionally, the scholars of Islam also look to the understanding and implementation of what was found in the Qur'aan and the Sunnah among the closest and devoted companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them all). In other words, if any issue is unclear or in dispute they often look to the men and women who were closest to the sources to settle it.

This tradition and methodology is carried on until this day by all scholars of merit among Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa'ah or the People of the Sunnah and The Community. They constitute the main body of Muslims and are commonly known as the Sunni Muslims. The common connotation of this name is that it merely distinguishes this group from other sects known as Muslims such as the Sheeah or Shiites, Ismailis (followers of the Agha Khan) and others. However, the name Ahlus-Sunnah more specifically denotes that they look to the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and they are united upon their truth, agree to it and adhere to its commands and prohibitions and they do not split into sects based upon the whims of individuals.


The Science of Tawheed

The necessity of development of the science of tawheed came due to the entrance into Islam of people from a wide range of cultures and along with them ideas alien to the pure teachings of Islam about the Creator. They sometimes brought along with them misconceptions that were remnants of their former faiths. Islam spread into lands and territories far from the Arabian Peninsula that had long been under influence of ancient cultures and religious beliefs. Converts from these lands began to express themselves in writings and discussions wherein many philosophical concepts of God entered and consequently led to confusion. Indeed, others fell prey to such deviations due to spiritual corruption, lack of sincerity and general ignorance. There were others who intentionally sought to undermine Islamic teachings in order to destroy it internally when they had failed to do so externally. This group was especially dangerous because of their efforts to spread their deviations among the masses of Muslims.

In the initial stages of the spread of some of these ideas, the Islamic leadership was strong and the Muslim people were closer to Islamic principles. Indeed many of the Prophet's companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and their students were present. The rulers dealt with the people who were openly heretical, very harshly, and thus their influence was limited and known as clear deviance. This situation however, deteriorated over time when the number of the Muslims greatly rose and the rulers became less concerned with the protection of religion. This led to a situation where heretical ideas began to spread and the punishment or even execution of apostates was no longer used to stem the tide of heresy. Muslim scholars rose to meet the challenge of these heretical ideas intellectually and devised methods to systematically oppose the incorrect and deviated philosophies and concepts. They used principles derived from the Qur'aan and authentic Sunnah in defense of the pure Islamic creed and arrived upon the basic categories of tawheed used to this day. It is not something that began in the last 200 or 300 years as some claim who oppose these divisions of tawheed. They do so because they fall into the same historical factions mentioned above. Each category is actually intertwined and at times they overlap, therefore each must be believed in or one cannot be said to have complete belief in tawheed.