The Shaykh’s clarification of the types of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the shirk (associating partners with Allah) that opposes them, and an explanation of who is promised Paradise for saying "There is no god but Allah" if they embrace it.

The Shaykh : So, their saying "There is no god but Allah" did not benefit them and did not save them from shirk (associating partners with Allah), because shirk has three types, just as tawhid (the oneness of Allah) has three types: tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship). Whoever denies the existence of Allah, like the materialists for example, is a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah); he associated his intellect and denied the existence of his Lord. As for the one who believes in the existence of Allah and that He is the Creator, but he worships other than Him, worships his desires, as in the Qur'anic verse: , then this one who submitted and said that Allah is unique in His essence, having no partner, this is necessary. Then he must not worship except Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but if he attributes one of the attributes of Allah to one of His servants, he is not a believer in "There is no god but Allah," because "There is no god but Allah" encompasses these three types. So, whoever believes that Allah is one in His essence, one in His worship, and one in His names and attributes, this is the one who enters Paradise, and he is the one promised by His saying: or as in the other hadith: .
As for falling short in any of this third type of tawhid, which is tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes) or tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), this person is not a Muslim. Therefore, Allah the Exalted said regarding the mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah) who believed that Allah is the Creator: . Why do they be arrogant when they say that Allah is the one who created the heavens and the earth? Why do they be arrogant to say "There is no god but Allah"? Because they are Arabs and they understand that the meaning of "There is no god but Allah" is not the meaning of "There is no Lord but Allah," but the meaning is much broader than this narrow meaning. "There is no Lord but Allah" is the foundation of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), then it is necessary to add to that His worship alone, having no partner in worship, and then tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes). And I am giving you an example now of what undermines tawhid of the attributes: If a Muslim believes that such-and-such a shaykh (scholar) knows the unseen, will he be a monotheist?

The questioner : No, he is not.

The Shaykh : Yes?

The questioner : Distinguish between the unseen regarding some people and the unseen regarding all people.

The Shaykh : Can you explain it to me so I can understand you?

The questioner : For example, this man sitting here knows what is behind this chair, so this is unseen regarding me.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : And it is not unseen regarding him.

The Shaykh : No problem, but this is a reality. This is relative unseen. And I tell you: what is further from people are these astronomers who inform us years in advance of solar and lunar eclipses. This is relative unseen, correct, but can anyone say: I know what is in the Preserved Tablet?

The questioner : How can he know?!

The Shaykh : So, if someone says he knows the unseen and reads what is in the Preserved Tablet, has he testified to "There is no god but Allah"? Has he believed in the Book of Allah: ? We know, with great regret, that is why I told you, and I am an honest advisor to you: I fear for your Islam that something may enter it that corrupts your Islam, from what you may hear from some of those who are thought to be Muslim, righteous, and knowledgeable. We know from the books and from our interaction and mixing with people that many of these Muslims, with great regret, believe that some of the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous know the unseen, despite the clear texts in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. And I recited for you just now the explicit verse: . And there is a hadith in "Sahih al-Bukhari": that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by some women of the Ansar and they were singing and saying among what they said: "And among us is a Prophet who knows what is in tomorrow." So he said: . She said: He knows what is in tomorrow.