Explanation of the Oneness of Lordship.

The Shaykh : The oneness of lordship: It means singling out Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) in three matters: in creation, ownership, and management. This is the oneness of lordship: singling out Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) in three matters: in creation, ownership, and management.
In what, O Bukhari? The oneness of lordship: singling out Allah in what?
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : No.
The student: In creation.

The Shaykh : Yes, help him, O Abdul Aziz.
The student: In creation and ownership.

The Shaykh : And management in creation, ownership, and management; this is the oneness of lordship. The evidence for this is the saying of Allah the Exalted: The indication from the verse is that the news which is right to be delayed was brought forward in it, and the rule of rhetoric states that bringing forward what is right to be delayed indicates restriction.
Then consider the beginning of this verse with , which indicates attention and emphasis: not for anyone else. Creation is this, and the matter, which is management, as for ownership, it is like the saying of Allah the Exalted: So this indicates His singling out (Glorified and Exalted is He) in ownership The indication from this verse, as mentioned before, is bringing forward what is right to be delayed.
So the Lord (Mighty and Majestic) is singular in creation, ownership, and management.
If you say: How do you combine what you have established with attributing creation to other than Allah, such as the saying of Allah the Exalted: And such as the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the image-makers: And an example of the saying of Allah the Exalted in the Holy Hadith: How do you combine your saying that Allah is singular in creation with these texts?!
The answer is to say: Creation is bringing into existence, whereas transforming a thing from one form to another is not complete creation, even if it is called creation in terms of formation, but in reality it is not complete creation, because creation is bringing into existence. For example: This carpenter made a door from wood; it is said: he created it. But who created the material of this craft? Allah (Mighty and Majestic). All people, no matter how much power they reach, cannot create a single stick of acacia, nor can they create an atom, nor can they create a fly. Listen to the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): Look, our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) says: For this great example .
Look, those you call upon: this is a relative name encompassing everything called upon besides Allah, whether human, stone, tree, angel, or other; each one calls upon besides Allah Good, and if each one were to be alone in that, it would be even more so Allah is the Greatest. Even those they call upon besides Allah, if a fly took something from them, they would not be able to rescue it from this weak fly. If the fly landed on the head of the strongest king on earth, yes, it landed on his head anointed with perfume and sucked from this perfume, can this king extract the perfume from this fly? No, never. Or if it landed on his food and sucked something from it, can he extract it from it? No. So to whom does the ownership belong? To Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is the Creator So it is now clear that the creation of what is called creation regarding the created beings is not considered real creation, because its limit is that it is transforming a thing from this to that, whereas the elements and the material, the one who created them is Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
Also, I said: Allah is singular in ownership, but how do you combine my saying with attributing ownership to the created, such as the saying of Allah the Exalted: ?
The answer: The combination between them is from two aspects, because the combination appears through the difference:
First: The ownership of a person for a thing is not general and comprehensive, because I own what is under my hand and I do not own what is under your hand, so ownership is not general, is it not? This book that is with me is mine, but the book that is with you is not mine, and the ownership of all of it belongs to whom? To Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So in terms of comprehensiveness, the ownership of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is more comprehensive and wider, and it is complete ownership.
Second: My ownership of this thing is not real ownership where I deal with it as I wish, but rather I deal with it as the Shari'ah commands, as permitted by the original, real owner, who is Allah (Mighty and Majestic). I cannot deal with it as I please. If I sold a dirham for two dirhams, do I own this? No, I do not own this, and it is not permissible for me to do so. So my ownership of this thing is limited, even to what is under my hand. Likewise, this ownership, just as I do not deal with it according to the Shari'ah except by the permission of the first owner, who is Allah (Mighty and Majestic), I also do not own anything in it from the aspect of divine decree, because the disposal belongs to Allah. Can I say to my sick slave: Be cured from the illness, and he is cured? No, it is not possible. If I do not own it, and if I owned it, that he would be cured.
Can I say to my healthy, stingy slave: Be ill, here? No, I cannot. If I said it, he did not become ill, but Allah (Mighty and Majestic), if He says: Be cured, he is cured; if He says: Be ill, he becomes ill. So I do not own absolute disposal, neither according to the Shari'ah nor in reality. So my ownership at that time is limited in terms of disposal and limited in terms of comprehensiveness and generality. And at that time, it becomes clear to us how the singling out of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in ownership is clear. Good.
Management: The management for a person is management, but we say: This management is limited, like the two previous aspects in ownership. I do not own management in everything, but rather I own management of what? What is under my possession and ownership. And also, I do not own its management except in accordance with the Shari'ah that permitted me this management.
And at that time, it becomes clear that our saying: "Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is singular in creation, ownership, and management" that this statement is a general absolute that nothing is excluded from it, is it not? Because all of this that we have mentioned does not contradict what is established for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) of that.
The oneness of lordship: I said: The messengers (peace be upon them) did not come to establish it, because it is not denied, even by Pharaoh who said to his people: to the end of it, and the one who said to them: acknowledges that Allah is Lord, he acknowledges his Lord. Allah the Exalted said: But they denied it with injustice and arrogance, and they do not know in the depths of their souls that Pharaoh is not a Lord, and they know that there is a Lord other than him. Clear, good.
And Pharaoh said to him while he was arguing with him, and Moses said to him while he was arguing with Pharaoh: Did he deny it and say: I did not know? No, he did not deny it and did not say: I did not know. And as for his denial in his saying: it is because his people were with him, and he was saying this to mislead, so he did not deny Look, the speech of the one who is with Allah is strong by Allah, he says before this arrogant, disbelieving tyrant Pharaoh cannot speak before these verses except by way of force The result is that the oneness of lordship is established in the minds and sound innate dispositions, and no one denies it. The thing in which many people have fallen short, and for which the messengers were sent to establish it, is the oneness of worship.