The honorable Shaykh says: I am one of the followers of the program *Nur 'ala al-Darb* (Light on the Path), and I have benefited greatly from it along with the people of the village, as we follow this program.

The questioner : I am one of the followers of the program *Nur 'ala al-Darb* (Light on the Path), and I have benefited greatly from it along with the people of the village, as we follow this program daily. I hope you will explain to us the divisions of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) in detail through this program, because we are in a time when shirk (associating partners with Allah) has become widespread. We see people slaughtering animals at shrines, circumambulating them, and seeking nearness to them. I hope you will clarify this. May you be rewarded?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the Pious, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows, we praise Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and thank Him that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has facilitated this great platform, from which many Muslims in the east and west of the earth have benefited, as this questioner mentioned and praised in his question. So we ask Allah the Exalted to make it a platform of good and blessing.

The questioner : Amen.

The Shaykh : And beneficial knowledge.

The questioner : Amen.

The Shaykh : And sound guidance.

The questioner : O Allah, amen.

The Shaykh : The brother’s question about tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and its divisions is an important question, because tawhid is that with which all the messengers were sent, from the first to the last. Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: And the messengers, Allah related from them in detail that they used to say to their peoples: And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to establish this tawhid completely, preventing the servant from associating partners with Allah, whether minor or major shirk.
The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) mentioned that the divisions of tawhid are three, based on tracking and investigation. The first is tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), the second is tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), and the third is tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes). All three are gathered in one verse from the Book of Allah in His saying: So His saying: this is tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship). And His saying: this is tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship). And His saying: this is tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes), meaning there is no one who knows a name for Him, meaning a name that rivals or resembles Him (Mighty and Majestic).
The categories of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) are three. Tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) is singling out Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in creation, ownership, and management. There is no creator but Allah, no owner but Allah, and no manager but Allah. No one can undertake this in an absolute, comprehensive, and all-encompassing manner except Allah, the Lord of the worlds. He is unique in creation, unique in ownership, and unique in management. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: This verse restricts creation and command to Allah alone, and this is achieved by fronting the predicate. Fronting the predicate means placing what is normally delayed at the beginning, and it signifies restriction, as the scholars of rhetoric have established.
So all creation is His, and all command is His (Mighty and Majestic), and no one shares with Him in it. Allah the Exalted said: And He said: So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) clarified that these intercessors whom their servants took as intercessors with Allah, partners with Allah, do not possess the weight of an atom in the heavens or on the earth, independently of Allah. Meaning they do not possess partnership with Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So they are not independent in anything, and they are not partners with Allah in anything. Meaning no one among these helps or assists Him (Mighty and Majestic). Rather, He is self-sufficient regarding all His creation. This is due to the perfection of His authority and the greatness of His dominion (Mighty and Majestic). No one intercedes with Him, mediating for anyone with good or the removal of harm, except by His permission (Mighty and Majestic). And in this is the cutting off of all that the polytheists cling to, who claim that they worship these idols, taking them as intercessors with Allah. He said: And it is known that Allah will not permit these idols to intercede, nor will He permit anyone to intercede for the worshippers of these idols. Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: And He said: And thus are cut off all the hopes that these polytheists cling to, who worship others alongside Allah, hoping for benefit or the removal of harm, for that will not benefit them. Allah the Exalted said: .
So tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) is singling out Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with three matters: creation, ownership, and management. There is no creator except Allah, no owner except Allah, and no manager except Allah. What exists among the created beings in terms of making things, or what exists among the created beings in terms of ownership, or what exists for the created beings in terms of management, all of it is incomplete management. And they are also not independent in it; rather, that is from the creation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). As for the One who is unique in it in a state of independence, it is Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). The created being has creation and bringing into existence, but it is not like the creation of Allah. Allah the Exalted is the One who brings things into existence from nothing, and the created being cannot bring a thing into existence from nothing. Rather, it can only combine one thing with another or change the form of one thing into another, such as when a carpenter changes a piece of wood into a door, or a blacksmith changes iron sheets into doors, and the like. But they will not create this material. Allah the Exalted said: .
Likewise, the human being has ownership. Allah the Exalted said: And He said: But this ownership is restricted and limited; it is not comprehensive, and the human being does not have absolute disposal in it. Rather, it is limited. What is in my hand of ownership is not yours, and what is in your hand of ownership is not mine. And it is limited ownership; we cannot dispose of it except according to what the Shari'ah has brought. And likewise, the human being has management; he manages his property, he manages his wife, he manages his family. But it is incomplete management; it is not comprehensive, and the human being does not have absolute freedom in it. And by this, we know that the One who is unique in creation, the One who is unique in ownership, and the One who is unique in management is Allah (Mighty and Majestic) alone.
This is a division of the divisions of tawhid.

The questioner : Very well.

The Shaykh : And this tawhid was not denied by the polytheists among whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was sent. Rather, they acknowledged it to the utmost degree of acknowledgment. And so the many verses all indicate that the polytheists whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) fought, and whose blood, wealth, women, and offspring he made lawful, were acknowledging this tawhid. But that did not benefit them because they were polytheists in tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), the tawhid of worship, which is the right of Allah specifically, and it is the second division: tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), derived from His saying the Exalted: .
And uluhiyyah (divinity) is built upon two things, or rather worship is built upon two things: love and magnification. Through love comes hope and the doing of commands, seeking to reach the love of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and His reward. And magnification is the second foundation of worship, and through it the human being leaves the prohibitions that Allah has forbidden, because by magnifying Allah he leaves His prohibitions and fears His punishment.
Then, worship has two conditions. The first condition is sincerity for Allah, and the second is following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
So worship has two pillars and two conditions. As for its pillars, they are love and magnification, and they are the foundation. And as for its conditions, they are sincerity for Allah and following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The evidence for that is His saying the Exalted: And His saying in the Holy Hadith: .
And the evidence for following is His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: And he said: Meaning it is returned to its owner because following was not realized in it.
And if we look at the state of many Muslims today, we find that they are not upon pure tawhid in the matter of uluhiyyah (divinity) and servitude. Some of them worship graves, some of them worship the awliya (close friends of Allah), some of them circumambulate graves hoping for their benefit and the removal of harm, and some of them deify the rulers and place them in the rank of divinity, obeying them in what Allah has forbidden, making it lawful, and in what Allah has made lawful, making it forbidden. And this is their taking of them as lords. Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: And it is narrated from 'Adi ibn Hatim (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): O Messenger of Allah! We do not worship them. He said: He said: Yes. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: .
This is the category of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) in which the mushrikeen (those who associate partners with Allah) opposed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and denied it to him. They said to him, and they said about it: Glory be to Allah that tawhid should be considered absurd and that their shirk (associating partners with Allah) should be considered correct. The greatest wonder, which never ceases, is that these people associate with Allah that which does not benefit them or harm them, and does not respond to them until the Day of Resurrection. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared the blood of these mushrikeen, their women, their offspring, and their wealth to be lawful, and he fought them with the most severe fighting until they worshipped Allah (Mighty and Majestic) or paid the jizyah (the tax on protected non-Muslims) from their own hand while they are humbled.
As for the third category: it is tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes), which is singling out Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with His names and attributes. This is done by affirming what Allah has affirmed for Himself and negating what Allah has negated from Himself, and remaining silent about what Allah and His Messenger have remained silent about. Affirmation is without tamthil (comparing Allah to creation), and negation is without ta'til (denial of the divine attributes). This is the matter in which the Muslim community divided into multiple groups. Among them are the Salaf (the earliest generations), who are the only ones who are the people of the Sunnah and the community. They affirmed for Allah what Allah has affirmed for Himself of names and attributes in His Book or on the tongue of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), affirming without tamthil (comparing Allah to creation). They negated what Allah has negated from Himself, negating without ta'til (denial of the divine attributes), and they remained silent about what Allah and His Messenger have remained silent about.
Among this is that they affirmed for Allah everything by which He has described Himself. Every attribute He has affirmed for Himself, such as: life, knowledge, power, hearing, sight, will, speech, might, wisdom, mercy, wonder, and laughter. They affirmed for Allah the Face, the two hands, and the two eyes. They affirmed for Allah the Foot and the Leg. And likewise, everything by which Allah has described Himself, they affirmed for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but without tamthil (comparing Allah to creation). They say: We affirm this and we say: They say: Allah has a hand, but it is not like our hands. A Face, but it is not like our faces. Two eyes, but they are not like our eyes. And so on with the rest of the attributes.
They also say that Allah istawa' (rose above the Throne) "exalted" above it with an exaltation befitting His Majesty (Mighty and Majestic), but it is not like our istawa' (rising above the Throne) upon a bed, or upon a mount, or upon a ship. No, because Allah the Exalted says: .
This is the madhhab (school of jurisprudence) of the Salaf (the earliest generations): affirming what Allah has affirmed for Himself of names and attributes, negating what Allah has negated from Himself of names and attributes, and remaining silent about what He has remained silent about.
After that, people engaged in a long and extensive dispute that is not based on any foundation, neither from reason nor from transmitted texts. Some affirmed the names and affirmed few of the attributes, and not in the manner in which the people of the Sunnah and the community affirm them. Rather, they oppose them regarding the manner of this affirmation.
Some affirmed the names and negated all the attributes, or except for life, knowledge, and power. Some negated the names and the attributes. Some negated both affirmation and negation, and they fluctuated in this matter greatly. But among these, some have their bid'ah (religious innovation) reaching the level of kufr (disbelief) that expels one from the religion, and some are below that.
But the truth is what the Salaf (the earliest generations) of the community held, who are the people of the Sunnah and the community: affirming every attribute that Allah has affirmed for Himself without tahrif (distortion of a text's meaning), ta'til (denial of the divine attributes), takyif (asking how an attribute is), or tamthil (comparing Allah to creation). Negating every attribute that Allah has negated from Himself, and remaining silent about what Allah has remained silent about. This is the sound, established method, based on hearing, reason, and fitrah (the innate natural disposition).
People have books and letters on this that are known. And among the best I have seen as a report on this great principle is what Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote, and what his student Ibn al-Qayyim wrote. For they wrote in this chapter writings that are great and beneficial. I have not seen anyone write like their writings.
And most of those who write in this chapter, you will find that they follow one another in taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence). They have followers who follow them and do not depart from their words, even if the truth becomes clear.
And the reality is that it is obligatory for a person to follow what the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) indicate. And he is not excused if he opposes that for the sake of the saying of so-and-so and so-and-so. So-and-so and so-and-so among the followed may err in an error for which they are excused. But the follower for whom the truth has become clear is not excused in following those who erred.
And I, from this pulpit, the pulpit of "Noor 'ala al-Darb" (Light on the Path) on the Saudi Arabian Broadcasting Corporation, call upon all my brothers who have studied in this knowledge, the knowledge of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), the knowledge of 'aqidah (creed). I call upon them to fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and to follow the path of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions, from the Rightly Guided Caliphs and others, in this great and serious chapter. Because this chapter is based on pure report. There is no room for intellects in it except in a general sense. For intellects are guided in a general sense to the fact that Allah is described with attributes of perfection and is free from every deficiency and flaw. But they do not grasp this in detail. Rather, that is taken from the Book and the Sunnah.
And if this is the reality, and that what concerns the attributes of Allah and His names is pure report, then it is obligatory upon us not to deviate from what came in the Book and the Sunnah by the width of a hair or the thickness of a hair. Rather, it is obligatory upon us to accept what came in the Book and the Sunnah without tahrif (distortion of a text's meaning), ta'til (denial of the divine attributes), takyif (asking how an attribute is), or tamthil (comparing Allah to creation).
And we have seen that those who deviate from this path and stumble blindly in the chapter of the names of Allah and His attributes, we have seen that they are greatly misguided, and their condition leads them to doubt and confusion. As we have transmitted that from many of their leaders. Until al-Fakhr al-Razi, who is one of their heads, said, as was transmitted from him, either in poetry or as a report:
"The end of the feet of intellects is a halt, and the most of the striving of the people of the world is misguidance.
And our souls are in loneliness from our bodies, and the end of our worldly life is harm and calamity.
And we did not benefit from our research over our whole life except that we gathered in it 'they said' and 'they said'." .
I have reflected upon the paths of the mutakallimeen (theologians) and the philosophical methodologies, and I did not find them to quench thirst or cure illness. And I found the closest path to be the path of the Qur'an. I read in affirmation: And I read in negation: And whoever has tried as I have tried will know as I know.
And the other says:
"By my life, I have traveled through all the academies and directed my gaze among those worlds.
And I did not see except one placing the hand of a confused person on his chin, or one striking the teeth of a regretful person." .
And this indicates that these mutakallimeen (theologians) who went to judge Allah the Exalted with their intellects in what they describe Him with, were in severe confusion. And that whoever reached the limit in the knowledge of kalam (theology) returned to the truth, which is what the Salaf (the earliest generations) of this community were upon: affirming what Allah has affirmed for Himself or what His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) affirmed for Him, and negating what Allah has negated from Himself or what His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) negated from Him, and remaining silent about what has not come with affirmation or negation. And this is the proper conduct with Allah and His Messenger.
So it is upon us all to repent to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and to return to the methodology of our righteous Salaf (the earliest generations) in this great and serious chapter. And we ask Allah for us and for our brothers safety and success for the methodology of the righteous Salaf (the earliest generations), and that He cause us to die upon what He loves and is pleased with.

The questioner : O Allah, amen.

The Shaykh : Indeed, He is Generous and Kind.

The questioner : O Allah, amen.

The Shaykh : And I hope that the brother questioner does not consider this answer long, because of the great benefit in it and the strong need for it. And let him be upon what the righteous Salaf (the earliest generations) were upon. May Allah firm all of you upon that.

The questioner : O Allah, amen.

The Shaykh : Indeed, He is Generous and Kind, and all praise is to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.

The questioner : O Allah, send prayers and blessings, and increase and bless upon our Prophet and our beloved Muhammad.
Thank you, O honorable Shaykh Muhammad, for your generosity.