The Divisions of Tawhid and the Explanation of Tawhid al-Asma' wa al-Sifat
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The Shaykh : I think we have now understood that tawhid, the oneness of Allah, has two divisions: tawhid al-uluhiyyah, oneness of worship, which means there is no true object of worship except Allah, and tawhid al-rububiyyah, oneness of lordship, which means that the One who creates, provides, gives life, causes death, and knows the unseen is whom?
The student: Allah.
The Shaykh : It is Allah. We are left with tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat, oneness of the names and attributes. Even the common person knows tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat; even the common person knows it. Everyone who has read the Qur'an and read:[Al-Baqarah 2:209] Is that clear? Everyone who reads: [Ghafir 40:20] All people are on this [understanding], but some people have been led astray by the devils from this fitrah, the innate natural disposition, and they say: I do not describe Allah except with what the intellect indicates that He is described with. I do not describe Allah except with what the intellect indicates that He possesses. As for what the intellect does not indicate that He possesses, I do not describe Allah with it. So, what is the reference for attributes for this man? The intellect. The reference for attributes is the intellect. For this reason, he affirms whatever attributes he wishes and denies whatever he wishes. He exercises control over the attributes of perfection that are obligatory for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), saying: This is an attribute of perfection, so I affirm it for Allah. This is not an attribute of perfection, so I do not affirm it for Allah. Thus, he refers to his intellect regarding the attributes of Allah.
Now, by which intellect do we weigh that? By the intellect of Zayd or 'Abd? By which intellect? How much the rationalists are in turmoil and how much they differ! One of them says:
"By my life, I have traversed all the academies, *** And cast my gaze among those landmarks,
So I saw nothing but one who placed the hand of a bewildered man *** on his chin, or one who struck the teeth of a regretful man.
They, meaning the mutakallimun, the theologians who subjected what is obligatory for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to their intellects, are in the greatest turmoil in this world. One of them is in turmoil with himself. You will find in some of his books that he says this attribute is established for Allah and is obligatory for Him, and in some of his books he says this attribute is not one with which Allah is described.
The student: Allah.
The Shaykh : It is Allah. We are left with tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat, oneness of the names and attributes. Even the common person knows tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat; even the common person knows it. Everyone who has read the Qur'an and read:
Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.
إن الله عزيز حكيمIndeed, Allah - He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
إن الله هو السميع البصيرNow, by which intellect do we weigh that? By the intellect of Zayd or 'Abd? By which intellect? How much the rationalists are in turmoil and how much they differ! One of them says:
"By my life, I have traversed all the academies, *** And cast my gaze among those landmarks,
So I saw nothing but one who placed the hand of a bewildered man *** on his chin, or one who struck the teeth of a regretful man.
They, meaning the mutakallimun, the theologians who subjected what is obligatory for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to their intellects, are in the greatest turmoil in this world. One of them is in turmoil with himself. You will find in some of his books that he says this attribute is established for Allah and is obligatory for Him, and in some of his books he says this attribute is not one with which Allah is described.