What are the categories of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and is it necessary for a person to know them?
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Question:
The questioner from Libya: (Abdullah A. A.) says: Your Eminence! What are the categories of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and is it necessary for a person to know them?
Answer:
The categories of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) are three: tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), and tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes).
If the believer knows them, or even if he does not know the categories, as long as he has made Allah one, and believes that Allah is his Lord, his God, and his true object of worship, and that He is the possessor of the best names and the highest attributes, with no one resembling Him and no one equal to Him; that is sufficient even if he does not know the categories. But if he knows them, it is good knowledge.
The first category is tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), which the polytheists acknowledged. It is for the servant to believe that Allah is the Creator and the Provider, He who created everyone, the All-Knowing Creator who created the earth, and created the heavens, and created the jinn, and created the children of Adam, and created everything, as He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: [Surat al-Ra'd: 16]. The polytheists acknowledged this. Allah the Exalted said: [Surat al-Zukhruf: 87]. And He the Exalted said: ... meaning: Say to the polytheists: [Surat Yunus: 31].
Meaning: They acknowledge that their Lord, Allah, is the Creator, the Provider, the Giver of life, the Giver of death, the One who provides for them and the One who manages affairs. They acknowledged this, but they did not include it in Islam; because they did not come with the second tawhid, which is tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), which is dedicating Allah alone to worship, which is the meaning of: "There is no god but Allah," and its meaning is: There is no true object of worship but Allah. This is the meaning of His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He) in Surat al-Hajj: [Surat al-Hajj: 62], and the meaning of His saying: [Surat al-Bayyinah: 5], and the meaning of His saying: [Surat al-Zumar: 2], and the meaning of His saying: [Surat al-Isra: 23], and the meaning of His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): [Surat al-Fatihah: 5]. This is necessary, and this is what the polytheists denied and rejected, and they argued against it, and enmity and hatred arose between them and the messengers. And Allah guided whom He willed to be guided from those for whom happiness had preceded, which is the belief that there is no true object of worship but Allah. This is the meaning of: "There is no god but Allah," meaning: There is no true object of worship but Allah.
He (Exalted and Majestic is He) said: [Surat al-Baqarah: 163], and He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: [Surat Muhammad: 19], and He (Exalted and Majestic is He) said about the polytheists: [As-Saffat 37:35] And they say: "Are we really to leave our gods for a mad poet?" [Surat al-Saffat: 35-36], and He said in Surat (Sad) about the disbelievers that they said: [Surat Sad: 5]. So the polytheists denied this because they were accustomed to worshipping idols, the sun, the moon, and the stars. Disbelievers are of different types, and the disbelievers of the Arabs were accustomed to worshipping idols, the dead, stones, and trees, as Allah the Exalted said: And Manat, the third of the others. Is it for you the male and for Him the female? That, then, is an unfair division. They are nothing but names which you have named, you and your fathers. Allah has not sent down any authority for them. They follow nothing but assumption and what their souls desire. And there has certainly come to them from their Lord the guidance. [Surat al-Najm: 19-23]. So al-Lat: was a righteous man who mixed the flour for the pilgrims. He was kind to the pilgrims, mixing their flour, so they worshipped him, and they worshipped the stone on which he mixed it.
And al-Uzza: was a tree between Ta'if and Makkah that they worshipped. Quraysh worshipped it and called upon it. There were jinn in it who confused them and spoke from within it.
And Manat: was a stone ... at Qudayd on the road to al-Madinah. The Ansar and others worshipped it, the Aws and the Khazraj and others. So Allah sent down what He sent down regarding it and invalidated it.
And around the Ka'bah, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered it and Allah opened it for him, there were three hundred and sixty idols, all around the Ka'bah. Among them was Hubal, whom they exalted. Abu Sufyan said on the day of Uhud: "O Hubal!" The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them, say: He said: "We have al-Uzza, and you have no al-Uzza." The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them on the day of Uhud, say: Sahih al-Bukhari 4043, 4044.
So these gods which they worship besides Allah are all invalid, whether they are from trees, or from stones, or from the dead, or from stars, or otherwise. This is called tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), which is the meaning of: "There is no god but Allah." It is what the polytheists denied, and they argued against it and fought, and the messengers came with it and the messengers called to it. Allah the Exalted said: [Surat al-Nahl: 36], and Allah the Exalted said: [Surat al-Anbiya: 25].
And along with this tawhid, it is necessary to believe in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and to testify that he is the Messenger of Allah, and that he is the Seal of the Prophets ... this is necessary. It is also necessary to believe in everything that Allah and His Messenger informed about, what has been and what will be. Tawhid and faith are not complete except with this, meaning: it is necessary to believe in everything that Allah and His Messenger informed about in the Qur'an, or in the authentic Sunnah, regarding the Hereafter, Paradise, Hellfire, the Reckoning and the recompense, the Sirat (the bridge over Hellfire), and others. It is necessary to believe that Allah sent the messengers and sent down the books, as He clarified in His great Book, such as the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, and the Scrolls of Ibrahim and Musa. All of this is necessary, meaning: with everything that Allah and His Messenger informed about.
And the third tawhid: tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes), which is believing in everything that Allah and His Messenger informed about regarding His names and attributes. It is necessary to believe in that, and that He (Glorified and Exalted is He) has the best names, and He has the highest attributes, with no one resembling Him, no one equal to Him, and no one comparable to Him, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said : [Surat al-A'raf: 180]. He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said, "In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy": [Al-Hashr 59:23] He is Allah, the Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner. To Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. [Surat al-Hashr: 23-24]. It is necessary to believe in these names and their meanings, so He has the best names and He has their meanings. He is the Possessor of mercy, the Possessor of knowledge, the Possessor of power, the Possessor of might, the Possessor of forbearance.
The names have meanings:
So al-Rahman means: mercy.
And al-Ilah means: that He is the God of creation and their object of worship.
And al-Aziz means: the Mighty One who cannot be overcome, rather He has overcome everything.
And al-Rahim: the One who has vast mercy .
And al-Hakim: the One who has wisdom, He does not do anything in vain or for nothing, but everything is with wisdom, not in vain.
And so is al-Alim: the One who knows everything and nothing is hidden from Him , and so on. These are the three categories of tawhid (the oneness of Allah).
The presenter: May Allah reward you and bless you, O Shaykh.
The questioner from Libya: (Abdullah A. A.) says: Your Eminence! What are the categories of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and is it necessary for a person to know them?
Answer:
The categories of tawhid (the oneness of Allah) are three: tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), and tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes).
If the believer knows them, or even if he does not know the categories, as long as he has made Allah one, and believes that Allah is his Lord, his God, and his true object of worship, and that He is the possessor of the best names and the highest attributes, with no one resembling Him and no one equal to Him; that is sufficient even if he does not know the categories. But if he knows them, it is good knowledge.
The first category is tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship), which the polytheists acknowledged. It is for the servant to believe that Allah is the Creator and the Provider, He who created everyone, the All-Knowing Creator who created the earth, and created the heavens, and created the jinn, and created the children of Adam, and created everything, as He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said:
Allah is the Creator of all things
اللَّهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍAnd if you asked them who created them, they would surely say, "Allah."
وَلَئِنْ سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَنْ خَلَقَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُSay, "Who
قُلْ مَنْ"Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? Or who controls hearing and sight and who brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living and who arranges [every] matter?" They will say, "Allah,"
من يَرْزُقُكُمْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالأَرْضِ أَمَّنْ يَمْلِكُ السَّمْعَ وَالأَبْصَارَ وَمَنْ يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَمَنْ يُدَبِّرُ الأَمْرَ فَسَيَقُولُونَ اللَّهُMeaning: They acknowledge that their Lord, Allah, is the Creator, the Provider, the Giver of life, the Giver of death, the One who provides for them and the One who manages affairs. They acknowledged this, but they did not include it in Islam; because they did not come with the second tawhid, which is tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), which is dedicating Allah alone to worship, which is the meaning of: "There is no god but Allah," and its meaning is: There is no true object of worship but Allah. This is the meaning of His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He) in Surat al-Hajj:
That is because Allah is the Truth, and that which they call upon other than Him is falsehood
ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْحَقُّ وَأَنَّ مَا يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِهِ هُوَ الْبَاطِلُAnd they were not commanded except to worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion, inclining to truth
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءَSo worship Allah, [being] sincere to Him in religion.
فَاعْبُدِ اللَّهَ مُخْلِصًا لَهُ الدِّينَAnd your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him
وَقَضَى رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُIt is You we worship and You we ask for help.
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُHe (Exalted and Majestic is He) said:
And your God is one God; there is no deity except He, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
وَإِلَهُكُمْ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الرَّحْمَنُ الرَّحِيمُSo know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin
فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لِذَنْبِكَIndeed they, when it was said to them, "There is no deity but Allah," were arrogant
إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا إِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ Have He made the gods one God? Indeed, this is something of great importance.
أَجَعَلَ الآلِهَةَ إِلَهًا وَاحِدًا إِنَّ هَذَا لَشَيْءٌ عُجَابٌHave you then considered al-Lat and al-'Uzza?
أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ اللَّاتَ وَالْعُزَّى And al-Uzza: was a tree between Ta'if and Makkah that they worshipped. Quraysh worshipped it and called upon it. There were jinn in it who confused them and spoke from within it.
And Manat: was a stone ... at Qudayd on the road to al-Madinah. The Ansar and others worshipped it, the Aws and the Khazraj and others. So Allah sent down what He sent down regarding it and invalidated it.
And around the Ka'bah, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered it and Allah opened it for him, there were three hundred and sixty idols, all around the Ka'bah. Among them was Hubal, whom they exalted. Abu Sufyan said on the day of Uhud: "O Hubal!" The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them, say:
Allah is higher and greater
الله أعلى وأجلAllah is our Helper and you have no helper
الله مولانا ولا مولى لكمSo these gods which they worship besides Allah are all invalid, whether they are from trees, or from stones, or from the dead, or from stars, or otherwise. This is called tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship), which is the meaning of: "There is no god but Allah." It is what the polytheists denied, and they argued against it and fought, and the messengers came with it and the messengers called to it. Allah the Exalted said:
And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], "Worship Allah and avoid Taghut."
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَسُولًا أَنِ اُعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَAnd We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, "There is no deity except Me, so worship Me."
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِAnd along with this tawhid, it is necessary to believe in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and to testify that he is the Messenger of Allah, and that he is the Seal of the Prophets ... this is necessary. It is also necessary to believe in everything that Allah and His Messenger informed about, what has been and what will be. Tawhid and faith are not complete except with this, meaning: it is necessary to believe in everything that Allah and His Messenger informed about in the Qur'an, or in the authentic Sunnah, regarding the Hereafter, Paradise, Hellfire, the Reckoning and the recompense, the Sirat (the bridge over Hellfire), and others. It is necessary to believe that Allah sent the messengers and sent down the books, as He clarified in His great Book, such as the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, and the Scrolls of Ibrahim and Musa. All of this is necessary, meaning: with everything that Allah and His Messenger informed about.
And the third tawhid: tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes), which is believing in everything that Allah and His Messenger informed about regarding His names and attributes. It is necessary to believe in that, and that He (Glorified and Exalted is He) has the best names, and He has the highest attributes, with no one resembling Him, no one equal to Him, and no one comparable to Him, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said :
And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them
وَلِلَّهِ الأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى فَادْعُوهُ بِهَاHe is Allah, other than whom there is no deity, the Sovereign, the Pure, the Perfection, the Bestower of Faith, the Overseer, the Exalted in Might, the Compeller, the Superior. Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him.
هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ The names have meanings:
So al-Rahman means: mercy.
And al-Ilah means: that He is the God of creation and their object of worship.
And al-Aziz means: the Mighty One who cannot be overcome, rather He has overcome everything.
And al-Rahim: the One who has vast mercy .
And al-Hakim: the One who has wisdom, He does not do anything in vain or for nothing, but everything is with wisdom, not in vain.
And so is al-Alim: the One who knows everything and nothing is hidden from Him , and so on. These are the three categories of tawhid (the oneness of Allah).
The presenter: May Allah reward you and bless you, O Shaykh.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.