Does the caller begin with tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) or tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship)?
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Question:
The questioner asks: What is your opinion of the one who says that the caller to Allah must begin his da'wah with tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) first, and then begin with tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship)?
Answer:
If this person being invited is one of the atheists who do not acknowledge the Lord, then yes, he is called to the oneness of lordship (tawhid al-rububiyyah). But this is rare; hardly anyone denies the oneness of lordship. Even the first polytheists acknowledged the oneness of lordship, because it is ingrained in the fitrah (the innate natural disposition) that there is no Creator but Allah, no Provider but Allah, no One who gives life and death but Allah, and no One who manages affairs but Allah. Even the polytheists acknowledge this, as is explicit in the Qur'an:[Az-Zukhruf 43:87] [Al-Mu'minun 23:86] They will say, "To Allah." [Al-Mu'minun 23:88] They will say, "To Allah." [Yunus 10:31] Who [Yunus 10:31]. They acknowledge this.
The majority of the people of the world all acknowledge the oneness of lordship. Those who deny the oneness of lordship are a few scattered individuals from the world. A small number of scattered individuals from the world. So the oneness of lordship is ingrained in the fitrah (the innate natural disposition) and does not need you to call them to it, because they acknowledge it. But you call them to the oneness of worship (tawhid al-uluhiyyah), the oneness of 'ibadah (worship). This is where the dispute arose between the Messengers and the nations: the command to worship Allah alone, with no partner. Every Messenger said to his people, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no god other than Him." So He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:[An-Nahl 16:36] Because they acknowledge the oneness of lordship, but they deny the oneness of worship. They worship other than Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, even though they acknowledge that Allah is the Lord, the Creator, the Provider, and the Manager. But they worship others, thinking that these others bring them closer to Allah. [Yunus 10:18] This is their opinion: that these objects of worship bring them closer to Allah, and they seek nearness to Allah through them (tawassul). And this is false. Because these things are not to be worshipped alongside Allah, and it is not permissible to direct worship to other than Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. So his statement that he starts with the oneness of lordship is achieving what is already achieved. The oneness of lordship exists; the majority of the world acknowledges it. The majority of disbelievers acknowledge this. The point is in the oneness of worship, the oneness of 'ibadah (worship). Yes.
The questioner asks: What is your opinion of the one who says that the caller to Allah must begin his da'wah with tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) first, and then begin with tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship)?
Answer:
If this person being invited is one of the atheists who do not acknowledge the Lord, then yes, he is called to the oneness of lordship (tawhid al-rububiyyah). But this is rare; hardly anyone denies the oneness of lordship. Even the first polytheists acknowledged the oneness of lordship, because it is ingrained in the fitrah (the innate natural disposition) that there is no Creator but Allah, no Provider but Allah, no One who gives life and death but Allah, and no One who manages affairs but Allah. Even the polytheists acknowledge this, as is explicit in the Qur'an:
And if you asked them who created them, they would surely say, "Allah."
وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُSay, "Who is Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Great Throne?"
قُلْ مَن رَّبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ السَّبْعِ وَرَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِSay, "In whose hand is the realm of all things - and He protects while none can protect against Him - if you should know?"
قُلْ مَن بِيَدِهِ مَلَكُوتُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ يُجِيرُ وَلَا يُجَارُ عَلَيْهِ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَSay, "Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? Or who
قُلْ مَن يَرْزُقُكُم مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ أَمَّنwho controls hearing and sight and who brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living and who arranges [every] matter?" They will say, "Allah,"
يَمْلِكُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَمَن يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَمَن يُدَبِّرُ الْأَمْرَ فَسَيَقُولُونَ اللَّهُThe majority of the people of the world all acknowledge the oneness of lordship. Those who deny the oneness of lordship are a few scattered individuals from the world. A small number of scattered individuals from the world. So the oneness of lordship is ingrained in the fitrah (the innate natural disposition) and does not need you to call them to it, because they acknowledge it. But you call them to the oneness of worship (tawhid al-uluhiyyah), the oneness of 'ibadah (worship). This is where the dispute arose between the Messengers and the nations: the command to worship Allah alone, with no partner. Every Messenger said to his people, "O my people, worship Allah; you have no god other than Him." So He, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:
And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], "Worship Allah and avoid Taghut."
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَAnd they worship other than Allah that which neither harms them nor benefits them, and they say, "These are our intercessors with Allah
وَيَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَلَا يَنفَعُهُمْ وَيَقُولُونَ هَٰؤُلَاءِ شُفَعَاؤُنَا عِندَ اللَّهِ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، بم يبدأ الداعية بتوحيد الربوبية أم بتوحيد الألوهية؟ للشيخ الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.