Tauheed

Tauheed is the fundamental basis of Islam. This is the criterion by which Islam differs itself from all other religions in the world. Tauheed is an Arabic word derived from ‘wahhada’ which means to make one/establish oneness of something or somebody.

Technically it means the oneness of Allah in his ‘uloohiyyat’ (divinity) and its particulars. The divinity means to be deserving ‘ibadat’ (worship) from the creatures. (Abdul Hakeem 66)

Ibadat means the maximum level of servitude to someone. The maximum level of servitude is only reasonable to the being with maximum power over everything. So to be a God means to have absolute power over everything in the universe. Then, while we assert that there is no God but Allah it means He is the only source of absolute power over every thing. The particulars of divinity are the attributes which should necessarily be in God. For example, to be the Creator of the universe and all the things in it, and to be the life giver of all the animate beings, and to be able to do any thing.

The holy Qur-an stresses the Tauheed by mentioning it about 200 times. If anyone keeps the creeds of the Islam except the Tauheed he cannot be a perfect Muslim.

The mere belief in oneness of Allah does not make one a believer. But that oneness should be understood in the light of Quranic teachings. Lets take the 112^th Sura(chapter) of Quraan. It reads:

قُلۡ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ (١) ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ (٢) لَمۡ يَلِدۡ وَلَمۡ يُولَدۡ (٣) وَلَمۡ يَكُن لَّهُ ۥ ڪُفُوًا أَحَدُۢ (٤)

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

[1]   Proclaim, "He is the One and only GOD.

[2]   "The Absolute GOD.

[3]   "Never did He beget. Nor was He begotten.

[4]   "None equals Him."

The attribute ‘Absolute’ (Samad) means He is one who does not depend on any one, but is depended by everyone (Tafseer Abussuood).

This Sura teaches us that the oneness of Allah should be attached with the attribute of absoluteness. Though all of us are ones we are not absolute ones because our oneness is relative. Our existence has no independent entity. It is depending upon the will of The Creator. It has beginning and end. But God has no beginning and no end. This absoluteness is the criterion by which the attributes of Allah are distinguished from those of the creatures. For example, Allah is hearing and seeing. And these attributes can be used to the creatures also. But what makes both different is the absoluteness of Allah’s hearing and seeing and the dependence of the creatures’ attributes. That is, we hear and see with the ability which is given by Allah. But Allah hears and sees on his own because he is in no need of the creatures.

Shirk

‘Shirk’ literally means to seek partner.

And technically it is a term for ascribing partner to Allah in His divinity and His absolute existence. That is, to establish partner/partners in his Zaat (being), Sifaat(attributes) and Af’aal (actions). To be a Mushrik (polytheist) one need not to establish all the divine attributes in the creatures. If one believes that a person can see/hear as Allah does (ie, with his absolute power) he will be a Mushrik. But there are some ignorant people who argue that some special attributes should not be applied to the creatures. For example Allah is Mustaghath (who is sought help from). So, they say, none should be sought help from other than Allah. They forget many instances in which the Sahaba (the followers) sought help from Allah’s Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallama) in his life time and after. So one can not blindly argue that seeking help from the creatures is Shirk. Before calling him a Mushrik we should weigh and consider his attitude to the object of his calling. If he ascribes the absoluteness to the object, no doubt, it is Shirk.

Attributes of Allah

There are many attributes in Quraan which are ascribed to Allah. But all those attributes should be understood in right perspective, ie, all of the attributes of Allah are absolute. If they lose that ‘absoluteness’ they can be attributed to the creatures also. For instance Quraan presented Allah as ‘Raoof’ and ‘Raheem’ (Quraan 2:143). The same attributes are established in Quran itself to The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) in Sura Tauba:128. So how can these attributes be differentiated?. Only by the above criterion, ie, the absoluteness of Allah’s mercy and forgiveness, because those attributes of the Messenger are given while those of Allah are not dependent on any one.

And below is a chart which shows the same attributes (superficially) are ascribed to both the Creator and the creatures.

These and the like verses give us the message that the attributes of Allah should be taken in right meaning. All these verses should be understood in the light of the Sura Al-Ikhlas.