Discussion of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), its categories, and the explanation of tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship).
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions. We ask Allah to conclude our affairs and yours with tawhid (the oneness of Allah).
his family and all his Companions.
He said (may Allah have mercy on him): "The Book of" Tawhid. Tawhid is a verbal noun from wahhada, yuwahhid, meaning to make something one. This is in the linguistic sense. In the Shari'ah, it means singling out Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with what is specific to Him of lordship, worship, names, and attributes. Singling out Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) with what is specific to Him of lordship, worship, names, and attributes. For this reason, the scholars divided it 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). As for tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), it is singling out Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with ownership, creation, and management. Singling out Allah with creation, ownership, and management. Singling Him out with creation means that a person believes that there is no Creator except Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Allah the Exalted said:[Al-A'raf 7:54] This phrase implies exclusivity. The method here is the advance of the predicate, because the rule in rhetoric is that "advancing what is properly delayed implies exclusivity". Likewise, His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): [Fatir 35:3] This implies that creation is exclusive to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). What is mentioned in the Book and the Sunnah regarding the affirmation of a Creator other than Allah does not contradict this, such as His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): [Al-Mu'minun 23:14] And such as the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the image-makers: They are told: Because this creation that comes from the created is not creation in the true sense; rather, it is transforming a thing from one state to another, not bringing it into existence after non-existence. Furthermore, it is not complete, as it is limited to what a person can manage and confined within a narrow circle that is not comprehensive. Therefore, this does not contradict our statement: singling out Allah with creation. Likewise, singling Him out with ownership means that we believe that no one owns the creation except their Creator (Glorified and Exalted is He). Allah the Exalted said: [Ali 'Imran 3:189] [Al-Mu'minun 23:88] There are many verses indicating that the One who is singular in ownership is Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). This also is not contradicted by the affirmation of ownership for some of the created, such as His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): [Al-Mu'minun 23:6] And such as His saying: [An-Nur 24:61] And similar to that. This is because the ownership of the created is not like the ownership of the Creator, for it is limited ownership, limited in scope, not encompassing but a very small portion of these creations. A person owns what is in his hand, but he does not own what is with others, is that not so?
The student : Yes
The Shaykh : Then this ownership is also deficient in terms of description, because a person does not have complete ownership of what is with him. For this reason, he does not dispose of it except according to what he has been permitted by the Shari'ah. If a person wanted to burn his wealth, for example, we would say it is not permissible. If he wanted to torture an animal under his control, we would say it is not permissible. But Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is the One who owns all of that, and His ownership is general and comprehensive. Likewise, He is the One who is singular in management. The One who manages the affair is Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). The management that occurs for a person is, as we said before regarding ownership, management limited to what is in his hand. It is also management that is not absolute, as he does not have management except according to what he has been permitted by the Shari'ah. With this, it is established that our statement is correct: tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) is singling out Allah with what? With creation, ownership, and management. Know that the polytheists among whom the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent did not oppose this category of tawhid; rather, they were affirming it.[Az-Zukhruf 43:9] They affirm that Allah is the One who manages the affair and that the dominion of the heavens and the earth is in His hand. They affirm all of this. But this did not bring them into Islam. No one from the children of Adam is known to have denied it except by way of stubbornness, as happened with Pharaoh when he denied the Lord (Mighty and Majestic) and said: [Ash-Shu'ara 26:23] And he said to his people, yes. And he said to his people: And he said to them: [An-Nazi'at 79:24] This was stubbornness, because he knew that the Lord was other than him, as Allah said about them: [An-Naml 27:14] And Moses said to him while debating with him: [Al-Isra 17:102] And despite that, he did not deny what was said. I did not know this. So in his own self, he was affirming that the Lord is Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but he denied it by way of stubbornness, refuge with Allah. And no one from the creation said that the world has two creators. That is, there is no one who denied tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) by way of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes) or by way of shirk (associating partners with Allah), ever. Who denied it by way of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes)?
The student: The Jahmiyyah
The Shaykh : Pharaoh. We are speaking about lordship, not about names and attributes. Pharaoh denied it by way of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes). He denied Allah of His lordship and denied the existence of Allah. And those who denied tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) by way of shirk (associating partners with Allah) are the Majus (the Zoroastrians). The Majus (the Zoroastrians) said that the world has two creators: Darkness and Light. And despite that, they did not make these two creators equal. So whoever does not affirm tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) falls into two groups: a group that denied it, and this is called shirk of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes), or rather it is truly denial, like Pharaoh. And another group affirmed it but with shirk (associating partners with Allah), like these Majus (the Zoroastrians). And with this, the Majus (the Zoroastrians) did not say that the world has two equal creators, ever. They say that Light is better than Darkness because it creates good, and Darkness creates evil, and the one who creates good is better than the one who creates evil. They also say that Darkness is non-existence and Light is existence, so it is more perfect in its essence. It is more perfect in its essence because Darkness is non-existence that does not illuminate, and Light is illumination, so it is more perfect in its essence. They also say, in a third difference, that Light is ancient according to the terminology of the philosophers, as for Darkness, they differed on it: is it created or ancient? There are two opinions. With this detail, did they affirm for the world two equal creators?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : Never. And thus we return to the fact that the requirement of reason is that the world should not have but one Creator. And Allah indicated that by His saying:[Al-Mu'minun 23:91] And thus, if we affirmed for the world two creators, each creator would want to be singular with what he created and independent of it, as is the custom of kings. It is not possible for him to be pleased for anyone to share with him. And if he is independent with it, he also wants another thing, which is that the authority be his, and no one shares with him in authority. And thus, if he wants authority, either each of them is incapable of the other, or one of them dominates the other. Is that not so? Good. If one of them is incapable of the other, lordship is established for whom?
The student: For the capable one.
The Shaykh : For the capable one, is that not so? If one of them is incapable of the other, lordship is established for the capable one. And if each of them is incapable of the other, lordship is removed from both of them entirely, because it becomes clear that each of them is incapable, and the incapable one cannot be a Lord. Yes, this is tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship).
his family and all his Companions.
He said (may Allah have mercy on him): "The Book of" Tawhid. Tawhid is a verbal noun from wahhada, yuwahhid, meaning to make something one. This is in the linguistic sense. In the Shari'ah, it means singling out Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with what is specific to Him of lordship, worship, names, and attributes. Singling out Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) with what is specific to Him of lordship, worship, names, and attributes. For this reason, the scholars divided it 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). As for tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), it is singling out Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with ownership, creation, and management. Singling out Allah with creation, ownership, and management. Singling Him out with creation means that a person believes that there is no Creator except Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Allah the Exalted said:
Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command
ألا له الخلق والأمرIs there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the heaven and earth?
هل من خالق غير الله يرزقكم من السماء والأرضSo blessed is Allah, the best of creators.
فتبارك الله أحسن الخالقينBring to life what you have created.
أحيوا ما خلقتمAnd to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth
ولله ملك السماوات والأرضSay, "In whose hand is the realm of all things
قل من بيده ملكوت كل شيءExcept from their wives or those their right hands possess
إلا على أزواجهم أو ما ملكت أيمانهم[from houses] whose keys you possess
أو ما ملكتم مفاتحهThe student : Yes
The Shaykh : Then this ownership is also deficient in terms of description, because a person does not have complete ownership of what is with him. For this reason, he does not dispose of it except according to what he has been permitted by the Shari'ah. If a person wanted to burn his wealth, for example, we would say it is not permissible. If he wanted to torture an animal under his control, we would say it is not permissible. But Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is the One who owns all of that, and His ownership is general and comprehensive. Likewise, He is the One who is singular in management. The One who manages the affair is Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). The management that occurs for a person is, as we said before regarding ownership, management limited to what is in his hand. It is also management that is not absolute, as he does not have management except according to what he has been permitted by the Shari'ah. With this, it is established that our statement is correct: tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) is singling out Allah with what? With creation, ownership, and management. Know that the polytheists among whom the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent did not oppose this category of tawhid; rather, they were affirming it.
And if you should ask them, "Who has created the heavens and the earth?" they would surely say, "They were created by the Exalted in Might, the Knowing."
ولئن سألتهم من خلق السماوات والأرض ليقولن خلقهن العزيز العليمAnd what is the Lord of the worlds?"
وما رب العالمينI know of no god for you but me
ما علمت لكم من إله غيريI am your most exalted lord."
أنا ربكم الأعلىAnd they rejected them, while their [inner] selves were convinced thereof, out of injustice and haughtiness
وجحدوا بها واستيقنتها أنفسهم ظلما وعلواYou have already known that none has sent down these [signs] except the Lord of the heavens and the earth as evidence
لقد علمت ما أنزل هؤلاء إلا رب السماوات والأرض بصائرThe student: The Jahmiyyah
The Shaykh : Pharaoh. We are speaking about lordship, not about names and attributes. Pharaoh denied it by way of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes). He denied Allah of His lordship and denied the existence of Allah. And those who denied tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) by way of shirk (associating partners with Allah) are the Majus (the Zoroastrians). The Majus (the Zoroastrians) said that the world has two creators: Darkness and Light. And despite that, they did not make these two creators equal. So whoever does not affirm tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship) falls into two groups: a group that denied it, and this is called shirk of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes), or rather it is truly denial, like Pharaoh. And another group affirmed it but with shirk (associating partners with Allah), like these Majus (the Zoroastrians). And with this, the Majus (the Zoroastrians) did not say that the world has two equal creators, ever. They say that Light is better than Darkness because it creates good, and Darkness creates evil, and the one who creates good is better than the one who creates evil. They also say that Darkness is non-existence and Light is existence, so it is more perfect in its essence. It is more perfect in its essence because Darkness is non-existence that does not illuminate, and Light is illumination, so it is more perfect in its essence. They also say, in a third difference, that Light is ancient according to the terminology of the philosophers, as for Darkness, they differed on it: is it created or ancient? There are two opinions. With this detail, did they affirm for the world two equal creators?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : Never. And thus we return to the fact that the requirement of reason is that the world should not have but one Creator. And Allah indicated that by His saying:
Allah has not taken any son, nor has there ever been with Him any deity. [If there had been], then each deity would have taken what it created, and some of them would have sought to overcome others.
ما اتخذ الله من ولد وما كان معه من إله إذاً لذهب كل إله بما خلق ولعلا بعضهم على بعضThe student: For the capable one.
The Shaykh : For the capable one, is that not so? If one of them is incapable of the other, lordship is established for the capable one. And if each of them is incapable of the other, lordship is removed from both of them entirely, because it becomes clear that each of them is incapable, and the incapable one cannot be a Lord. Yes, this is tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship).