Is it obligatory for us to believe in tawhid (the oneness of Allah) in its three types?

Abu Layla : We hear aboutThe Shaykh : Ahmad Deedat. Some people say we asked about his methodology, and may Allah make it one of the good and sound methodologies. Some people say the methodology is not important; what is important is that, praise be to Allah, he is a Muslim and he refutes the disbelievers and so on. So if this becomes clear to us, O Shaykh, may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : In truth, we hope thatThe Shaykh : this Ahmad is upon the old Salafi methodology, believing in Allah and worshipping Him with true worship. But we need to always remember that it is not necessary for a person to become a believer simply by believing in the existence of the Creator of this universe. It is necessary that two basic conditions are fulfilled: the first condition is to testify that there is no god but Allah, and the second condition is that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. The first condition, "There is no god but Allah," does not mean that the Creator of the universe is one and that is all; because faith and disbelief may coexist in a person. Faith and disbelief may coexist in a person who says, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." Of course, this statement has necessary implications connected to these two testimonies. If we imagine a Muslim who testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, but says that the Qur'an is incomplete—if we imagine a Muslim who testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and says the Qur'an is incomplete—his testimony of "There is no god but Allah" has not benefited him; because it is like honey to which we have added acid, and it has spoiled the honey. Thus, faith and disbelief coexist in a person. Therefore, Allah the Exalted said regarding the first polytheists: . This verse gives us that these brothers are believers, but at the same time they are polytheists. The result is that most of them do not believe in Allah except while they are polytheists. So when faith and disbelief coexist in a person, we give you an example.

The questioner:

The Shaykh : Yes, this is an analogy. So we give you an example of a person who testifies that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, but says the Qur'an is incomplete. This is disbelief, this is shirk (associating partners with Allah), but he believes in Allah and His Messenger. And the saying of Allah the Exalted applies to him: , due to the subtlety of the matter, which is that faith and disbelief coexist in a person, or tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and shirk. Most people, even in this time, the saying of the Lord of Mankind applies to them: . Let us now enter into reality. The Muslims, or these Muslims who pray, fast, perform Hajj, and give charity, go to a rank among the ranks, to the grave of one of the awliya (close friends of Allah), and ask them for healing, ask them for well-being. These are . They know Allah exists, but they worshipped others alongside Allah. And Allah says: . So they sought aid from other than Allah the Exalted. Therefore, the verified scholars divided tawhid into three categories: tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), and tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes). That means Allah is one in His essence, Allah is one in His worship, meaning no one else is worshipped with Him; Allah is one in His attributes, there is nothing like Him. This does not mean that Allah exists and that is all. No, Allah exists and nothing of His creation resembles Him. For example, the Christians in their festivals spread these pictures; you see a picture of their Lord, an old man with a long white beard; this is the Lord of the worlds who has nothing like Him! The Jews and Christians believe that this universe has a Creator; they believe in the first tawhid. What is the name of this tawhid? Tawhid al-rububiyyah, meaning that this universe has a Creator. They differ from the materialists or naturalists who say this is a fluke, there is no Creator but a creation. The Jews and Christians say no, Allah is the one who created the universe. So they are monotheists. But tawhid al-rububiyyah means the oneness of creation. But then comes tawhid al-uluhiyyah, the oneness of worship. The Jews worshipped al-‘Azir and the Christians worshipped ‘Isa. These people disbelieved in the oneness of worship, so they do not say "There is no god but Allah." And if they say it, they say it either out of hypocrisy or out of ignorance of the true meaning. Otherwise, if they said it with belief and faith in it, they would not have worshipped ‘Isa, nor submitted to him, nor prostrated to him, and so on, nor placed his image and the image of Maryam in their churches. So these are believers in one aspect and disbelievers in another. They are believers in that they are not like the materialists who say there is no Allah. No, they say there is an Allah. But what is the benefit of the statement when they liken Allah to creation and worship other than Him? And much of the evidence for this speech is that many Muslims—and I do not mean only the common people, but I also mean many of the elite—say "There is no god but Allah" but they worship other than Allah and disbelieve in Allah regarding the attributes. We know that many of them, other than those we mentioned, call upon the dead and the righteous, submit to them, and pray at their graves, and so on. They say Allah is everywhere, Allah is greater than everything, and He was and nothing was with Him. How did they squeeze Him into this universe until one of them says: "And Allah in the image is like ice in which is water." Can you distinguish between ice and water? That is how Allah is with these people. This is disbelief. Indeed, Allah in the Noble Qur'an is . They confined Him to this universe like a silkworm, a silk worm that wraps around itself, squeezes itself, chokes, and dies. Indeed, Allah is free from the needs of the worlds. These people are believers in one aspect and disbelievers in another. Therefore, in reality, our concern is that thisThe Shaykh : Ahmad Deedat, may Allah reward him with good, is fulfilling a great duty. But this duty and this jihad will only benefit him if he believes in Allah as a single Lord, meaning a single essence, and a single object of worship. The intention is not that He is a single object of worship in the sense that he does not pray to anyone else. No, if al-Khidr were called in distress, he would not worship Allah alone; because calling out is worship. He (peace be upon him) said: . So we hope that he has studied the correct tawhid in his country, so that he is monotheistic toward Allah in His essence, monotheistic toward Allah in His worship, and monotheistic toward Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in His attributes. When that is the case, his jihad is such that we can say he has fulfilled a duty that all the shaykhs have neglected.
Abu Layla : Allah is the Greatest.

The Shaykh : By Allah, may Allah reward him with good.
Abu Layla : May Allah bless us with your life, if Allah wills... Please, our Shaykh.

The Shaykh : By tawhid al-rububiyyah, it is intended that the Muslim believes with firm conviction that the Creator of this universe and what is in it is one in His essence, having no equal and no partner. The Zoroastrians believe that there are two gods, a god who creates evil and a god who creates good. These people associated partners in tawhid al-rububiyyah. Do you understand how? So if a Muslim, God forbid, believes that among the awliya (close friends of Allah) and the righteous there is one who harms and benefits, gives life and causes death, feeds and provides sustenance, he has disbelieved in tawhid al-rububiyyah and associated partners; because he has made two creators. Allah creates good and creates evil, and the awliya and the righteous provide sustenance, give life, and cause death. Therefore, they go to them and ask for blessings.
Abu Layla : And there are people who get pregnant, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Yes;
Abu Layla : There are many women who do not get pregnant, so she goes to a tree under which a wali (close friend of Allah) is buried, and so on...

The Shaykh : This is called shirk in lordship. Shirk in uluhiyyah (oneness of worship) is shirk in worship, which is to worship other than Allah while believing that Allah is one in His essence, but to slaughter for such-and-such a wali. This is shirk in what? In worship. To call upon such-and-such a wali, where his grave's dust is, a human being among humans, believing that he hears and that he will aid him, harm and benefit. This has become shirk in worship.

The questioner: If he does not know that this is a mistake for which he will be held accountable

The Shaykh : That is a second discussion. The important thing is what the Muslim must believe.