What is the ruling on one who limits himself to establishing the oneness of lordship, without the oneness of worship and the oneness of the names and attributes, and speaks about the virtues of deeds?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad.
As for what follows:
What is the ruling on one who establishes for people the oneness of lordship, but does not speak about tawhid in general with its three categories, nor does he establish it for those who speak of it, and he speaks about the virtues of deeds? And when he is discussed on this, he says: People do not benefit from your speech; we want to guide people to good deeds, and we want to guide them to this hadith which says: May Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh : One who limits himself to establishing the oneness of lordship without the oneness of worship and the oneness of the names and attributes is undoubtedly deficient or shortcoming. The oneness of lordship does not suffice in place of the oneness of worship. If it had sufficed in place of the oneness of worship, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would not have fought the polytheists in his time, because the polytheists in his time acknowledged the oneness of lordship. Allah the Exalted said:[Az-Zukhruf 43:87] [Luqman 31:25] They acknowledge lordship and know that Allah is the sole Lord with no partner, but in terms of worship they do not acknowledge it; they say: Therefore, it is necessary to establish the oneness of lordship, the oneness of worship, and the oneness of the names and attributes when needed. This is necessary.
There is no doubt that mentioning the virtues of deeds stirs the soul and makes it desire righteous deeds. But if a person has righteous deeds, yet he is deficient in tawhid, on what does he build his righteous deeds? Tawhid is the foundation. For this reason, the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said to Mu'adh ibn Jabal when he sent him to Yemen:Sahih al-Bukhari 2157 Therefore, both are necessary: establishing and affirming the oneness of lordship, and affirming and establishing the oneness of worship. Do you see if a person believes in the lordship of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with complete faith, but he prostrates to an idol, prostrates to a wali (close friend of Allah)? Do we say: This is a monotheist? No, we do not say he is a monotheist. We say: This is a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah). Allah has forbidden Paradise for him, and his abode is the Fire.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : If this man is a Sufi and dislikes this tawhid, saying that this is something Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Najdi innovated, what do we answer him with, and how do we guide him?
The Shaykh : We answer him by saying: Did Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Najdi come before the Qur'an or after the Qur'an?
The questioner : After the Qur'an.
The Shaykh : He will say after the Qur'an. The entire Qur'an is filled with establishing the oneness of worship.
Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad.
As for what follows:
What is the ruling on one who establishes for people the oneness of lordship, but does not speak about tawhid in general with its three categories, nor does he establish it for those who speak of it, and he speaks about the virtues of deeds? And when he is discussed on this, he says: People do not benefit from your speech; we want to guide people to good deeds, and we want to guide them to this hadith which says:
Whoever initiates a good sunnah (recommended practice), he will have its reward and the reward of whoever works by it until the Day of Resurrection.
من سن سنة حسنة فله أجرها وأجر من عملها إلى يوم القيامةThe Shaykh : One who limits himself to establishing the oneness of lordship without the oneness of worship and the oneness of the names and attributes is undoubtedly deficient or shortcoming. The oneness of lordship does not suffice in place of the oneness of worship. If it had sufficed in place of the oneness of worship, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would not have fought the polytheists in his time, because the polytheists in his time acknowledged the oneness of lordship. Allah the Exalted said:
And if you asked them who created them, they would surely say, "Allah."
وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَنْ خَلَقَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُAnd if you asked them, "Who created the heavens and earth?" they would surely say, "Allah."
وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُHave He made the gods one god? Indeed, that is a great thing
أَجَعَلَ الْآلِهَةَ إِلَهاً وَاحِداً إِنَّ هَذَا لَشَيْءٌ عُجَابٌThere is no doubt that mentioning the virtues of deeds stirs the soul and makes it desire righteous deeds. But if a person has righteous deeds, yet he is deficient in tawhid, on what does he build his righteous deeds? Tawhid is the foundation. For this reason, the Messenger (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said to Mu'adh ibn Jabal when he sent him to Yemen:
to testify that None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and Muhammad is His Apostle
وليكن أول ما تدعوهم إليه شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله وأن محمداً رسول اللهThe questioner : ...
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : If this man is a Sufi and dislikes this tawhid, saying that this is something Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Najdi innovated, what do we answer him with, and how do we guide him?
The Shaykh : We answer him by saying: Did Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Najdi come before the Qur'an or after the Qur'an?
The questioner : After the Qur'an.
The Shaykh : He will say after the Qur'an. The entire Qur'an is filled with establishing the oneness of worship.