Section Two Aspects of Faith Aspects of Faith
Section Two
Aspects of Faith
Aspects of Faith
THE NEED OF KNOWING THE ONENESS OF ALLAH (TAWHID)
Tawhid is the unalienable right of Allah upon His servants to worship Him alone, Who created them out of nothing, and who subjected to them all what is in the heavens and the earth, and showered His blessings, both seen and unseen, upon them.
Allah has taken it upon Himself to grant whoever accords Him this right the reward of Paradise. The Prophet once told his companion, Muadh, “Do you know the right of Allah before His servants and the right of His servants before Him?” Muadh said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” The Prophet said, “It is Allah’s right for His servants exclusively to worship Him and not associate anything else with Him, and it is then the right of servants upon their God that He punishes not those who worship Him and none other than Him”. (37)
Because it relates directly to Allah, to His Divine Names and Attributes, the science of tawhid, the Unity of Allah finds itself at the very center of Islamic learning and the most honorable knowledge to be sought. Indeed, Allah called all the prophets to teach the sublime and indivisible Unity of the Creator. “We sent never a Messenger before you except that We revealed to him that ‘There is no deity but Me; so worship Me.’” (21:25)
Knowledge of tawhid is obligatory for every Muslim since the correctness of a person’s religion depends on the correctness of the things he believes in. Allah has forbidden all that worship others than Him from entering Paradise, and will not allow anyone who worships Him alone – even when he may enter Hell - to
abide eternally in it.
Therefore, our need for a correct understanding of the absolute oneness of Allah is greater even than our need for food and water. If losing food and water means the loss of the means of living, losing the knowledge of the oneness of God means the loss of the elements of everlasting happiness in this
world and in the next.
Losing the issue of tawhid means losing the essence of happiness in this world and in the next to come, and then losing the perfect security of the soul at peace with the One. For the true guarantee for tomorrow’s salvation is worship the Creator alone through His way, without mediators between. Tawhid is the right of Allah upon you, and Paradise is the promise of Allah for whosoever implements tawhid.
The human heart can find no rest except in communion with its Lord, in drawing near to Him and to what pleases Him and in shunning what displeases Him. There can be no goodness but tawhid is its root, and there is no evil, in this world or the next, but shirk is its root and no calamity or difficulty, but can be released by tawhid and its testimony.
Jonah was saved by the word of tawhid (uttering a confirmation) of God’s oneness when he called out from the belly of the whale saying, “There is no god but You, Glory be to You, I have been indeed of those
wrongdoers.” (21:87) Allah also said, “Had he not been of those who exalt Allah [in remembrance] He would have remained inside its belly until the day they are resurrected.” (37:144) The Prophet was asked: “Is this salvation of that word special for Jonah or it is for every Muslim? He replied, “It is for every Muslim.” (Tabari V. 17 P. 65) Allah, has made this word La Ilaha Illallah (There is no God but Allah) a word of salvation and deliverance from every calamity, a key to Islam in this life, and the key to Paradise tomorrow.
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(37) Bukhari, (7373).
