The Three Categories of Tawhid and Their Evidence from the Book and the Sunnah

The student: ...

The Shaykh : If you hear the sound of the clock I have with me, count five minutes.
The Reader: "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet, and upon his family and his companions. As for what follows, I have read the valuable, concise creed"...

The Shaykh : No, no... a commendation...
The Reader: "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and the final outcome is for the righteous, and no transgression is except against the wrongdoers. And I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah, alone, having no partner, the King, the Truth, the Manifest. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, the seal of the prophets and the imam of the righteous. May Allah send blessings and peace upon him, his family, his companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows:
Indeed, Allah the Exalted sent His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) with guidance and the religion of truth, a mercy to the worlds, a model for the workers, and a proof against all the servants. He clarified through him and through what He revealed to him of the Book and wisdom everything that brings well-being to the servants and rectifies their conditions in their religion and their worldly affairs, from correct beliefs, upright deeds, noble morals, and high etiquette. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) left his Ummah upon the clear path, its night like its day, and none deviates from it except one who is destroyed. So his Ummah who responded to Allah and His Messenger proceeded upon that, and they are the choice of creation from the Companions, the Tabi'un, and those who followed them with excellence. They established his Shari'ah, held fast to his Sunnah, and bit upon it with their molars in belief, worship, character, and etiquette. So they became the group who remain manifestly upon the truth, and those who fail them or oppose them will not harm them until the command of Allah the Exalted comes, and they are upon that.

The Shaykh : We begin in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his companions, and those who follow him with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows, this is the beginning of the start of this small message in wording but large in meaning and content. Its content is the belief of the people of the Sunnah and the community regarding the attributes of Allah the Exalted, and what relates to the matter of the Hereafter, and what will pass by you, if Allah wills.
And know that the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) divided tawhid (the oneness of Allah) 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). They divided it this way based on tracking and induction, and taking as a reference the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He: . Indeed, this noble verse contains the three types of tawhid. What is this?
The Student: Lordship.

The Shaykh : Lordship, yes. Lordship. Also follows the names and attributes, because the meaning of is that you do not know for Him any equal or peer in His names and attributes. And some people have said that dividing tawhid into these three categories is a bid'ah (religious innovation) because that was not reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). And whatever matters of religion were not reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), it is a bid'ah.
But we answer this by saying that many things were arranged by the scholars that were not arranged in the time of the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him), and this does not go beyond being an explanation and clarification. Those who divided it into three categories did not bring something extra, nor did they deny something established. Rather, they brought what the Book and the Sunnah brought, but they divided it and divided it considering the difference of people in it, as will be clarified, if Allah wills. And if we followed the path that this deviant followed, we would also say that counting the conditions, pillars, and obligations of prayer, and the pillars, obligations, and prohibitions of Hajj, and the like, would be from the innovations. And we do not mention this in worship of Allah by it, but we mention it to bring the knowledge closer to our students. So it is a means and not an end. Therefore, the correct view, without doubt, is that dividing tawhid into three categories and mentioning the conditions, pillars, obligations, and invalidators in acts of worship, all of this is permissible because it is from the chapter of what?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : It is from the chapter of means and bringing closer, and enumerating things for the student of knowledge. And we mention that the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) used to mention things limited in number, such as and the like, and this is a type of division. As for tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), no one among the people denies it. No one has denied it. Everyone who affirms that this creation has a Creator has not denied it except out of stubbornness, and stubbornness has no benefit. For example, Pharaoh denied that there is a Lord and said to his people: . But this denial is denial by the tongue; it is rejection with certainty in the heart that the matter is otherwise. And the proof of this is the saying of Allah the Exalted: What is it? And Moses, while debating Pharaoh, said to him: . He said to Pharaoh, and Pharaoh did not deny this. So that indicates that no one affirms, no one denies the rububiyyah (lordship) of Allah the Glorious and Exalted, from among those who believe that this creation has a Creator. As for those who deny it completely, this is contrary to the fitrah (the innate natural disposition), and these deniers are not considered from the children of Adam or from those of... at all. As for tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), some intelligent people denied it, who have cognitive intellect, not guiding intellect, such as those
The student: ...

The Shaykh : such as the polytheists, the disbelievers of Quraysh, who denied tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship) while affirming tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) completely. But they denied tawhid al-uluhiyyah and made another god alongside Allah. And that which the messengers were sent for and the books were revealed for is this tawhid. Allah the Exalted said: What is it?
The third category is tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes). All Muslims affirmed it, but some groups, some sects of Muslims, meaning those who affirm tawhid al-uluhiyyah and tawhid al-rububiyyah, denied something of tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat. Some of them denied the attributes (ta'til) and some likened Allah to creation (tashbih). So the people divided in the chapter of names and attributes into three groups: those who liken, those who deny, and the third are the people of Hadith and Sunnah who affirm in a manner befitting Allah. So the scholars were compelled to divide tawhid into these categories to clarify to people who differed in this tawhid and who agreed. And upon this, the Islamic Ummah, with its people of the Sunnah and its people of innovation, is all a Muslim Ummah, as long as the innovation does not reach the level of takfir (declaring someone a disbeliever). They affirm tawhid al-rububiyyah and tawhid al-uluhiyyah, but they delved deeply into the names and attributes and divided into great sects in it. So the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) were compelled to write in the chapter of names and attributes and clarify to people the truth in it, some concise, some medium, and some lengthy, until the truth settles in the hearts of the believers. And from that is this message.