What is the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah" and the types of tawhid (the oneness of Allah)?

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. May Allah reward the Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: A man defined the phrase "La ilaha illa Allah" as removing false certainty from things and placing true certainty in Allah, affirming that He is the Harmer and the Benefactor, the Giver of life and the Giver of death, and that everything we see neither harms nor benefits, and that Allah is the One who placed harm and benefit in them. I told him that this is tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), which the polytheists used to uphold, and that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not come with this, but rather with tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship). The meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah" is that we disavow everything that is worshipped and we worship Allah alone with all types of worship, such as supplication, humility, fear, calling for aid, seeking help, slaughtering, and making vows, and so on. And directing any type of worship to other than Allah is shirk akbar (major shirk) against Allah the Exalted and Majestic. The third type of tawhid is tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes), which is that we affirm what Allah and His Messenger affirmed without likening Allah to creation, denial of the divine attributes, asking how an attribute is, or comparing Allah to creation. What is your opinion?

The Shaykh : Who is this, meaning the questioner? If they cannot hear the man's voice, then I, listen to my voice. Your voice came back with some words. Yes, okay.

The questioner : So what is your opinion?

The Shaykh : This face is a bit... meaning, clarify it a bit. Look, I think most of the people here, most of the people here. Is this one up there working? Is this one working? Okay, that's it. There is no doubt that the first statement in interpreting "La ilaha illa Allah" is an incomplete statement. For tawhid al-rububiyyah, and its meaning is removing doubt from the heart to certainty by the permission of the Lord, the Exalted and Majestic, this is one of the meanings of "La ilaha illa Allah." And its true meaning, to which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) called and the polytheists disbelieved, is that there is no true object of worship except Allah the Exalted and Majestic. This is its meaning. So "Ilah" here means the worshipped, just as "fa'il" (active participle) means "maf'ul" (passive participle). And "fa'il" comes to mean "maf'ul" in the Arabic language in many places, such as "farash" meaning "coverage," not this, "bina'" meaning "built," "ghiras" meaning "planted." So "Ilah" means "ma'luf" (known/loved), meaning that which hearts love and magnify. No one deserves that truly except Allah the Exalted and Majestic. This is the meaning of . And the critic's statement to this man that tawhid has three types: tawhid al-rububiyyah, tawhid al-uluhiyyah, and tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat, this is also true. For the scholars divided tawhid into these three categories. Yes, what are they? Tawhid al-rububiyyah, tawhid al-uluhiyyah, and tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat. Okay, sit down. What is tawhid al-rububiyyah? Tawhid al-rububiyyah is singling out Allah the Exalted with creation, ownership, and management. Tawhid al-uluhiyyah is singling out Allah the Exalted with worship. And tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat is singling out Allah the Exalted with what is obligatory for Him in terms of names and attributes, by affirming them for Allah in reality without distortion, denial of the divine attributes, asking how an attribute is, or comparing Allah to creation. So if someone asks, "Where is your evidence for this division?"
And is this division a bid'ah (religious innovation)? Is it in the Qur'an that tawhid has three types, or in the Sunnah that tawhid has three types? If that is the case, show us. And if it is not the case, do not divide tawhid in this way. But we say: We followed and investigated the texts revealed regarding tawhid, and we found that they do not go beyond these three types. And the argument based on following and investigation is established even in the Noble Qur'an, as in the saying of Allah the Exalted at the end of Surat Maryam: ? These are two, and the answer, the answer is no, neither this nor that. For this reason, He said: And We will give him a share of it. So the scholars divided tawhid into three categories after they clearly followed the matter and did not find any anomaly or deviation that goes beyond this division. Yes. Yes. How did they divide it? They divided tawhid into informational and imperative. What? Some of the theologians say that tawhid is to believe that Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is One in His actions with no partner, One in His essence with no part, and One in His attributes with no likeness. This is their view, but it is not correct. This is an incomplete division, without a doubt. Yes. I do not know who first divided it this way. This is the well-known view among the scholars, and I do not know who first divided it. May Allah reward you. Yes, we explained this last year, I think. Singling out Allah with creation, ownership, and management, we explained it last year, but the evidence, my brother. Yes.
Okay, so let us mention it, so that those who knew it before increase in its remembrance, and those who did not know it learn it. Singling out Allah, tawhid al-rububiyyah, is singling out Allah with creation, ownership, and management. That is, to believe that Allah alone is the Creator, the Owner, and the Manager. And the evidence for this is the saying of Allah the Exalted: "To Him belongs the creation and the command." The way this verse indicates tawhid is that it restricted that to the right of Allah the Exalted and Majestic, saying "To Him belongs the creation and the command." The way of restriction here is by bringing forward what is normally delayed, because here he brought forward the news, saying "To Him belongs the creation and the command." So this verse contains evidence of Allah's singling out in creation and command, which is management. And the evidence for affirming ownership for Allah alone is like the saying of Allah the Exalted: As for the second, we said tawhid al-uluhiyyah, which is singling out Allah the Exalted with worship. So its evidence is the saying of Allah the Exalted: . Yes, He said: The way of singling Him out with names and attributes is the saying of Allah the Exalted: "There is nothing like Him" . So this and its like indicate the affirmation of the attributes for Allah the Exalted and Majestic without likening Him to creation. Yes.