Mentioning the three types of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and explaining tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes)

The Shaykh : We said: Tawhid (the oneness of Allah) must include tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), and this was... and it must also include tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), which is what the mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah) and some of the Muslims who went astray due to their ignorance disbelieved in.
There is a third type of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) through which the understanding of tawhid, which is the intended meaning of the testimony and the good word, is completed. This third type is called tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes). Tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes) is that you believe that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is unique in His attributes, not resembling any of His creations, and none of His creations resembles their Lord in any of His attributes; as He (Mighty and Majestic) said: . This is tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes). Just as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is unique in His attributes, He is unique in His worship, and He is unique in His essence.
As for limiting oneself to believing that Allah is unique in His essence only, that is the tawhid (the oneness of Allah) of the mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah). As for limiting oneself to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) in His essence and worship only, without tawhid (the oneness of Allah) in His attributes, these are the extremists who have gone astray. They believe in tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) and believe in tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship); meaning they do not worship anyone alongside Allah, but on the other hand, they associate some of the creations with Allah in some of His attributes. You may find this statement strange, but we are presenting to you examples from the reality of the lives of Muslims today.
All of us, I hope and pray, know that among the attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is that He is the Knower of the unseen, as mentioned in many verses of the Qur'an: . Does anyone know the unseen? Absolutely, no one other than Him. This is tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes), part of tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes). But there are millions of Muslims who, in their majority and among some of their righteous ones, believe that they know the unseen. The greatest proof of this is if we study ancient history and what we have inherited from some of the hymns. You hear some people seeking blessing from "The Poem of al-Busiri," in which he addresses the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) by saying:
"For from Your generosity is the world and its harm, *** And from Your knowledge is the knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen."
So, from the Arabic perspective, "from Your knowledge" means some of Your knowledge—O Messenger of Allah—is the knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen. I do not know, by Allah, what other knowledge there is besides the Tablet and the Pen. Yet he gave the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) the knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen and more, "And from Your knowledge is the knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen." Thus, he made the Messenger a partner with Allah in knowledge of the unseen, even though Allah narrates in His Book about the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to say: . This is explicit in the Noble Qur'an about his Prophet that he does not know the unseen, and he argues for this with the reality of his life: if he had known the unseen, no harm would have touched him.
All of us know how some of the hypocrites accused the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the honor of the woman most beloved to him, Sayyidah Aishah. And all of us know how the Messenger stood regarding this accusation; he did not know whether this accusation was true or false, so he boycotted Sayyidah Aishah for a long period until the revelation from the sky descended to purify her from what the enemies of Allah conspired against her. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was harmed by the mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah) and harmed by the hypocrites when they accused him regarding the honor of the woman most beloved to him, and besides that... he had the knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen. Why did he not know that Sayyidah Aishah was innocent of what the hypocrites accused her of, that she was a human being? . This is... the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So how does the belief in the Qur'an, and especially in these verses that state the Messenger does not know the unseen, meet with this belief? How does this belief meet with the words of Muslims today, following their al-Busiri: "And from Your knowledge is the knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen"? This is disbelief that Allah is unique in His attributes. This is from the past.
As for today, how much we hear about some of those called the muridin (disciples) of some of those called the murshidin (guides) and the Sufi shaykhs (scholars or teachers). You find them simply narrating that, by Allah, I was present at the shaykh's (scholar or teacher) lesson and I intended in my heart to ask him a question, and he knew what was in my heart, so he answered my question before I asked it. So they attribute to the shaykh (scholar or teacher) the attribute of being the Knower of what is in the breasts! This is disbelief in tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes). This type of person does not benefit from saying: La ilaha illa Allah (There is no god but Allah). It does not benefit him to understand the true meaning of La ilaha illa Allah (There is no god but Allah), which is that there is no worshipped entity with truth in existence except Allah. It does not benefit him that he truly does not slaughter, vow, or call for aid except to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). All of this does not benefit him as long as he has made a partner for Allah in some of His attributes, including knowledge of the unseen.
It is mentioned in "Sahih al-Bukhari" that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by a slave girl from the slave girls of the Ansar who was singing in the custom of the Arabs of improvised poetry. She said, among other things: "And among us is a Prophet who knows what is in tomorrow." He said to her: . What did the slave girl say? "And among us is a Prophet who knows what is in tomorrow." She did not say: "And from Your knowledge is the knowledge of the Tablet and the Pen." "And among us is a Prophet who knows what is in tomorrow." He said to her: ; meaning, describing the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) with what is in him, without exaggeration and without associating him with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in any of His attributes.
Perhaps I have prolonged this for you, much or little, but the reality is that such a research should be repeated and repeated until it is firmly established in the mind of every Muslim and he understands the meaning of this good word that saves its owner from eternal abode in the Hereafter; because his life and salvation there are built not on speaking and uttering it, but first on knowing its correct meaning, then on firm belief in this correct meaning, and then on not committing disbelief practically and acting in our lives with this correct belief, as we have given you examples. The research on shirk (associating partners with Allah) matters that contradict tawhid (the oneness of Allah) is a special chapter under the title of shirk (associating partners with Allah) and idolatry that contradict tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and there is much, much indeed. I remind you with just one example so that you can draw an analogy from it to other examples, and after that I will proceed to answer other questions according to the order in which they reached us.