Explaining the Importance of Tawhid

Question:
We ask you, Your Eminence, to issue a call to the people in which you clarify the importance of calling to Allah and explain the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah).

Answer:
In the great Book of Allah lies the great sufficiency and the call to this great truth, for their Lord (Glorified and Exalted is He)in His great Book, in many verses, to worship Him alone. And so His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) called them to that in Makkah and al-Madinah for a period of twenty-three years, calling to Allah and making the people understand their religion, as He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said:[al-Baqarah:21], and He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said:[al-Baqarah:163], and He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said:[al-Isra:23], and He (Exalted and Majestic is He) said: Know that to Allah alone belongs pure religion[al-Zumar:2-3], and He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said:[Ghafir:14], and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:: [Muhammad:19] in many verses. He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said:[al-Bayyinah:5].
And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: It is agreed upon that it is authentic. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
It is obligatory for all the people of the earth who are accountable to worship Allah alone, and to say: "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah), and to testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and to single out Allah for their supplication, their fear, their hope, their seeking of aid, their fasting, their prayer, and the rest of their acts of worship. Likewise, their circumambulation of the Ka'bah; they circumambulate the Ka'bah to draw near to Allah and to worship Him alone (Glorified and Exalted is He). And they should beware of calling upon other than Allah, whether through the people of the graves, or idols, or prophets, or anything else. For worship is the right of Allah alone, and it is not permissible for anyone to direct it to other than Him (Glorified and Exalted is He).
And worship is a comprehensive name for everything that Allah loves and is pleased with, from words and deeds, both apparent and hidden. Prayer is worship, fasting is worship, charity is worship, Hajj is worship, fear of Allah is worship, hope in Him is worship, a vow is worship, and slaughter is worship. And so, one does not call for aid except to Allah, and does not seek help except from Allah ; for He is his Creator, his Lord, and his worshipped One, the Truth . And Allah sent all the messengers with this, from the first of them to the last, from the first, Nuh, to the last, Muhammad, upon them be the best of prayers and peace. All of them call people to the oneness of Allah, as He, the Exalted, said: : [al-Nahl:36], and He, the Exalted, said: [al-Anbiya:25].
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say to the people of Makkah: This is the obligation upon all the accountable, from men and women, from non-Arabs and Arabs, from jinn and humans, in all the land of Allah. It is obligatory upon them to worship Allah alone, and to say: "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah), and to single Him out for worship (Glorified and Exalted is He), and not to worship with Him anything else, neither an idol, nor a prophet, nor an angel, nor a jinn, nor a tree, nor anything else.
Worship is the right of Allah alone: [al-Isra:23]. This is the obligation upon all those who are accountable, from jinn and humans, from Arabs and non-Arabs, from males and females, from kings and common people. It is obligatory upon all of them to worship Allah alone, and to single Him out with their supplication, their fear, their hope, their reliance, their calls for aid, their vows, their slaughter, their prayers, their fasting, and the like. As He, the Exalted, said: : [al-Nisa:36], [al-Isra:23], [al-Fatihah:5], [al-Bayyinah:5].
But the fear of a person regarding what harms him, and taking causes, is not included in worship. His fear of a thief, so that he locks the door and takes a guard, there is no harm in that. As Allah said about Musa (Moses) when he feared Pharaoh: [al-Qasas: 21], fearing the evil of Pharaoh. And the fear of tangible matters, and the fear of oppressors, and taking causes, this is not included in worship. So if he fears thieves and locks his door and places a guard over his wealth, or if he fears thieves or highway robbers when he travels and carries a weapon and takes the safe road, all of this is permissible. Likewise, if he fears hunger he eats, and if he fears thirst he drinks, and if he fears cold he wears what warms him, and the like of these known tangible matters, there is no harm in that.
And likewise, if he seeks the help of his brother in his farm, in repairing his car, in building his house, these are ordinary matters not included in worship. As He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: [al-Qasas: 15] to Musa (Moses). These are ordinary matters that the created being is capable of. Dealing with the present, living created being in things he is capable of, such as cooperation in building, in farming, in jihad, and the like, this is not included in what pertains to worship. But calling upon the dead, calling upon trees, calling upon idols, calling upon jinn, calling upon angels, calling upon prophets; seeking their aid, this is major shirk (associating partners with Allah). Or calling upon the living in matters they are not capable of, believing that they have control over the universe, as some of the Sufis do with their shaykhs, calling upon them with Allah and believing that they have control over the universe, that they have a secret by which they can know the unseen or benefit people with what only Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is capable of. These are matters of shirk (associating partners with Allah) even with the living. We ask Allah for safety.