Chapter: What has come regarding the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) calling his ummah (the Muslim community) to tawhid (the oneness of Allah), Blessed and Exalted is He.

The reciter: Chapter: What has come regarding the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) calling his ummah (the Muslim community) to tawhid (the oneness of Allah), Blessed and Exalted is He.

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) concluded this book, the Sahih (valid) collection, with this, just as he began it with revelation, because revelation is the beginning, and acting upon it is the goal. For this reason, whoever dies and his last words are "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no deity but Allah) will enter Paradise. Tawhid (the oneness of Allah) comes from the root wahada, yuwahhid, meaning to make something one. This is in the linguistic sense. Tawhid is not complete unless it includes two things: negation and affirmation. Because negation alone is ta'til (denial of the divine attributes) and vacating, and affirmation alone does not prevent shirk (associating partners with Allah). So there is no tawhid except with affirmation and negation. The ways of negation and affirmation are many, such as and "Your God is one God." The important point is that the ways of tawhid, or the ways of affirmation and negation, are many. But tawhid is not complete except with two things: negation and affirmation. Why? Because negation alone is ta'til (denial of the divine attributes) and vacating, and affirmation alone does not prevent shirk (associating partners with Allah). This becomes clear with an example. If I say, "There is no one standing in the house," this is negation, meaning that standing is negated for whoever is in the house. If I say, "Zayd is standing," this is affirmation, and it does not prevent someone else from also being standing. If I say, "There is no one standing in the house except Zayd," this is negation and affirmation, including Zayd's standing and the non-participation of others with him in that. This is in the Arabic language. The example again: "There is no one standing in the house," "Zayd is standing in the house," "There is no one standing in the house except Zayd." So the last one is tawhid. For this reason, it must have two pillars: negation and affirmation, as you heard. The ways of negation and affirmation are many and are not restricted to a specific formula. This is in the Arabic language. As for in the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law): Tawhid of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is singling out Allah with what is specific to Him in knowledge and belief, whether that relates to His names and attributes, His actions, or His worship. What is specific to Allah, Allah must be singled out with it, and it is not permissible to associate with Him anyone else. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) divided tawhid into three categories: tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes), and tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), also called tawhid al-'ibadah (oneness of worship). As for tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship): It is singling out Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, with creation, ownership, and management, by believing that there is no creator except Allah, no owner except Allah, and no manager except Allah. If someone asks: How do we answer the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding those who make images: and His saying, the Exalted: ? We say: The creation attributed to Allah is not the creation attributed to the created. The creation attributed to Allah is bringing into existence from nothing, and no one possesses this. The creation attributed to the created is changing and transforming, transforming a thing from one state to another, or changing it, and it is not bringing into existence. An example of this is this door in front of us now. Who created it by bringing it into existence? Allah created it from wood, and no one possesses the ability to create wood so that this door can be made from it. But the carpenter's creation of this door is considered transformation and change, meaning he transformed the wood that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, caused to grow into a specific form, so it is not creation. Then, the carpenter's creation of it was by his power, meaning by the carpenter's power, knowledge, and will. And who deposited knowledge, will, and power in him? Allah, Mighty and Majestic. So the creation of the human, or the creation of the carpenter of this door, is a branch of the creation of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, because this is among the attributes and characteristics of the carpenter, and the human is created by Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in his essence, attributes, and actions. So it is now clear that all creation revolves around whom? Around Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Similarly, ownership: The ownership attributed to Allah is not the ownership attributed to the human. So the human owns, as He, the Exalted, said: But the human's ownership of a thing is not like Allah's ownership of a thing. Allah's ownership of a thing is absolute, comprehensive, and general; He does in His ownership what He wills. And the human's ownership of a thing is restricted, not complete or comprehensive. For example, the human owns his book, but he does not own another person's book. And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, owns everything in the heavens and the earth. The human owns the book, but he does not dispose of the book as he wills; rather, his disposal of the book is restricted by legal limits. For this reason, if he wants to burn this book without a legal reason, he is prevented from doing so. If his ownership were complete, he would do what he wills. The human owns a camel, so he rides it, benefits from it, slaughters it, and eats its meat, but he does not own the right to torment it. If he wanted to dig a wound in its back, he would not be able to do so. And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, does He own this or not? He owns this. He causes a gland to appear on the camel's back, which gets injured, and the camel suffers from it and may even die. So it is now clear that the ownership attributed to the Creator is not like the ownership attributed to the created. Similarly, in management: The human has management; he manages, saying to his son, "Do such and such," and to his other son, "Do such and such," and he directs. But absolute management belongs to Allah alone. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, manages as He wills, according to what His wisdom requires, and there is no one who can overrule His decree, unlike the human. And with this, the singling out of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, with creation, secondly ownership, and thirdly management, becomes clear. Tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes) is, in reality, part of the completion of tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), but the scholars mentioned it explicitly because there is disagreement among the people of the qiblah. Who are the people of the qiblah? That is: the Muslims. So they made it an independent category, otherwise it relates to the essence of the Lord, so it is part of the completion of lordship. But considering that the people of the religion, meaning the ummah (the Muslim community) that faces the same qiblah (the direction of prayer), disagreed on it, they made it an independent category in itself. What is tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes)? Singling out Allah, Mighty and Majestic, with His names and attributes, such that we affirm them for Him with affirmation without tamthil (comparing Allah to creation), and with purification without ta'til (denial of the divine attributes). That is, we affirm them for Allah in a way that does not resemble what the created have of that. An example is the hand: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has a hand, and the created has a hand, but we must single out Allah with His hand, such that we affirm for Him a hand that does not resemble the hands of the created. Because if you made the hand of the created like the hand of Allah, or the hand of Allah like the hand of the created, you would thereby be a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah). So tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes) is affirming what Allah affirmed for Himself of names and attributes, without likening them to what the created have of that. A human may be called al-Aziz (the Mighty), as He, the Exalted, said: And Allah, the Exalted, also named Himself al-Aziz (the Mighty). But is al-Aziz (the Mighty) by which humans are named like al-Aziz (the Mighty) by which Allah is named? The answer is no; it differs greatly. The created may be called al-Aziz (the Mighty) without having any might, whereas the Creator is named al-Aziz (the Mighty) due to the perfection of His might. And the created may be called al-Salih (the Righteous) without having righteousness, and called al-Khalid (the Immortal) while he dies. But the names of Allah include their full meanings. So by that, the difference is achieved between what is affirmed for Allah of names and what is affirmed for the created. And similarly, we say regarding the attributes. This is tawhid of Allah, the Exalted, with His names and attributes.
The third category: Singling out Allah, Mighty and Majestic, with worship, by not worshipping anyone other than Allah, whoever that worshipped one is, whether it is an angel, a messenger, a wali (close friend of Allah), a righteous person, a ruler, a mother, a father, or otherwise. No one is worshipped except Allah alone, with no partner for Him.
The scholars mentioned this as a distinct category because there was disagreement between the Muslims and the polytheists. There was no disagreement between the Muslims and the polytheists regarding the oneness of lordship. The disagreement between the Muslims and the polytheists occurred regarding the oneness of worship. The disagreement regarding the oneness of the names and attributes occurred among the Muslims. Thus, these became three categories based on the agreement of people upon them. It is not valid to object to this classification by saying that some people denied the existence of the Creator, because whoever denies the existence of the Creator has denied [the attributes] in a final manner, and the discussion is with those who affirm the Creator. As for those who deny Him, there is no discussion with them, because they do not affirm the Lord or anyone else, such as the materialist atheists and many others. Now, did a disagreement occur between the Muslims and the polytheists regarding the oneness of lordship? The answer is: No, because Allah explicitly stated in many verses that they acknowledge the oneness of lordship: , , . So they fully acknowledge the oneness of lordship. But do the Muslims and the polytheists agree on the oneness of worship? No, because the polytheists associate partners with Allah in the oneness of worship; they worship others alongside Allah, such as al-Lat, al-Uzza, Manat, Hubal, and other specific idols, or unspecified ones. That is, the polytheists had specific idols, such as al-Lat and al-Uzza and the like, and they had unspecified idols. Among their foolishness was that when a person would settle in a land, he would take four stones, make three of them for the hearth, and make the best of them a god to worship. What foolishness, what astonishing foolishness.
Now, regarding the names and attributes, the dispute is between whom? The Muslims, who face the same qiblah. These are the categories of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) mentioned by the people of knowledge. Someone might say: What is the evidence for this classification? I say: It is based on tracking and induction. That is, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) tracked and inducted the types of shirk (associating partners with Allah) that occurred and found them to be in these categories.
There is a version and a refutation of the Jahmiyyah, the followers of Jahm ibn Safwan. And Jahm ibn Safwan was not the origin of the matter regarding ta'til (denial of the divine attributes); rather, the origin of the matter regarding ta'til was his teacher, al-Ja'd ibn Dirham. But Jahm was eloquent, fluent, and active, so he stirred up this call, the call of ta'til, and spread it, debated it, and argued for it. So the school was attributed to him, even though the school originally came from al-Ja'd ibn Dirham.
And the beginning of this evil principle is based on two things:
Denying love, and denying speech for Allah.
They said: Allah does not love, and He does not speak. This is the destruction of the entire religion. If He does not love, then the believer and the disbeliever are equal in the sight of Allah. If He does not speak, then the laws and creation are equal, meaning that His cosmic decree and His legislative decree are equal. And this is clear ta'til. Based on this, we say: al-Ja'd ibn Dirham claimed that Allah did not take Ibrahim as a close friend, and did not speak to Musa with a command. He said that Allah did not take Ibrahim as a close friend. This is a denial by figurative interpretation, not a denial by outright rejection. Because if he had intended outright rejection, he would have declared himself a disbeliever, since whoever denies a single letter of the Qur'an is a disbeliever. But he denied it by figurative interpretation and said: Allah does speak, and Allah did take Ibrahim as a close friend, but not in the meaning you intend. He took him as a close friend from the word *khil* (with a kasrah on the khah), which is need and poverty, and not from *khulah* (with a dammah on the khah), which is love or the highest type of love. And He did not speak to Musa with a command, meaning speech that is heard. But He spoke to him, meaning He wounded him with the claws of wisdom. What is this speech? Because *kalim* in the language means a wound, and from this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): So the meaning of *kallama* (spoke to) is: He wounded. And this is by way of metaphor in his speech, as if wisdom is a beast with claws, and Allah wounded Musa with it. And there is no doubt that this speech is a great denial, but Allah has sealed his heart so that he does not see falsehood as falsehood, and I seek refuge in Allah.
It is said that when Khalid ibn 'Abd Allah al-Qasri came out on one of the days of 'Id al-Adha, and al-Ja'd ibn Dirham had been imprisoned, he brought him out bound and addressed the people: O people! Sacrifice, so that Allah may accept your sacrifices, for I am sacrificing al-Ja'd ibn Dirham. He claimed that Allah did not take Ibrahim as a close friend and did not speak to Musa with a command. Then he came down from the pulpit and slaughtered him. And we ask 'Aqil: Does this sacrifice suffice or not? For how many does it suffice? Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
And for this reason, Khalid al-Qasri sacrificed for al-Ja'd,
On the day of the sacrificial offerings.
When he said Ibrahim is not his close friend,
Nor is Musa the one spoken to by the Near One.
Every follower of the Sunnah thanks for the sacrifice,
May Allah reward you, O brother of the sacrificial offering.
And we thank Him that he sacrificed for this man who is the head of bid'ah (religious innovation), this great bid'ah.
So al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Tawhid and the refutation of the Jahmiyyah." It is understood from this statement that in the view of al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him), the Jahmiyyah are not among the people of tawhid, since he said: "Tawhid and the refutation of the Jahmiyyah."
And many scholars have explicitly stated the disbelief of the Jahmiyyah, and that they are disbelievers. Some of them distinguished and said: The independent reasoner (mujtahid) is a disbeliever, and the layperson who follows without knowledge is not a disbeliever. Some of them added a condition to the independent reasoner and said: The independent reasoner who calls to his bid'ah is a disbeliever, and the one who does not call to it, whose bid'ah is only for himself, is not a disbeliever. And this issue, namely the declaration of disbelief of the Jahmiyyah, the Mu'tazilah, the Khawarij, the Rafidah, and the like, requires deep consideration in each specific case, because the general declaration of disbelief may include someone who is not a disbeliever, and the denial of disbelief may exclude someone who is a disbeliever. And disbelief is a ruling from among the rulings of Allah, and it is not permissible for us to declare it upon anyone unless we know that he deserves this description. Just as making things lawful and forbidden is from the rulings of Allah, so it is not permissible to declare something haram (forbidden) or halal (lawful) unless we have proof from Allah regarding it. Indeed, disbelief is greater, because disbelief is above haram, above major sins.
Then he said: "The chapter on what came regarding the supplication of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for his ummah (community) to the tawhid of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He)." It appears that in the Prophet is for the mental covenant, and not for generality, as evidenced by the context of the hadiths. And it is correct to make it for generality, meaning the supplication of every prophet for his ummah to the tawhid of Allah. And if we make it for generality, then the evidence for that is like His saying, the Exalted: , and He said, the Exalted: وما أرسلنا من قبلك من رسول إلا نوحي إليه أنه لا إله إلا أنا فاعبدون ، فكل الرسل جاؤوا لتحقيق هذا التوحيد نسأل الله لنا ولكم.
تحقيق التوحيد مهم جدا عبادة الله وحده ، وإخلاص العبادة له أمر عظيم جدا وليس بالسهل وليس اليسير ، ولهذا قال بعض السلف: " ما جاهدت نفسي على شيء مجاهدتها على الإخلاص "، النفس تحتاج إلى جهاد في تحقيق هذا التوحيد الذي جاءت به الرسل، ونزلت به الكتب بل من أجله خلق الجن والإنس، قال تعالى: وما خلقت الجن والإنس إلا ليعبدون فجميع الرسل دعوا أممهم إلى التوحيد كل الرسل وعلى رأسهم خاتمهم محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم فقد دعا إلى التوحيد في مكة وفي المدينة بالقول وبالفعل. فمن ذلك ما قال البخاري اقرأ. And We sent no messenger before you except that We revealed to him that there is no deity but I, so worship Me. Thus, all the messengers came to establish this tawhid (the oneness of Allah). We ask Allah for us and for you. Establishing tawhid is very important; worshipping Allah alone and being sincere in worship to Him is a tremendous matter, not easy and not simple. For this reason, some of the Salaf (the earliest generations) said, "I have not striven against my self in anything as I have striven against it in sincerity." The self needs striving in establishing this tawhid which the messengers came with and the books were revealed for; indeed, the jinn and mankind were created for it. Allah the Exalted said: "And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me." All the messengers called their nations to tawhid, all the messengers, and at their head is their seal, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). He called to tawhid in Makkah and in al-Madinah by word and by deed. Among that is what al-Bukhari said: Read.