Chapter 1: Faith in Allah The Glorious and Exalted
Faith in Allah, the Glorious and Exalted, is the firm conviction that Allah is the Lord, Creator and Master of all things; that He alone is worthy of undivided worship (which takes the form of prayers, fasting, supplication, hope, fear, submission and surrender); that He is distinguished by all the attributes of perfection and completeness and that He is above any faults or deficiencies.
Types of Tawheed (Monotheism)
Faith in Allah incorporates Tawheed in three areas: His Lordship (Rububiyyah), His worship or Uluhiyyah, His Names and Attributes (Asma' Was Sifaat). Tawheed in this context is the conviction that Allah alone possesses the qualities of Lord, god, the attributes of perfection and the names of Glory. A servant does not believe in Allah when at the same time he denies that He is the Lord of all things, and that there is no Lord but Him; that He is the god of all things and that there is no god but Him; that He is perfect in His names and attributes, and that none but He is perfect.
These are the three types of Tawheed which indicate the meaning of belief in Allah, the Exalted and Glorious. The following is a detailed account of each type:
1 - The Tawheed of Lordship (Rububiyyah)
The word 'Lord' in itself refers to a relationship of dominance and control (See: "Al-Misbaah al-Muneer''). Allah's Lordship over His creation means that He alone is their Creator, Master, and Regulator of their affairs.
To attribute Lordship solely to Allah means: conviction that He grants them life and death, who bestows benefactions and visits with hardship; the One who responds to their supplication; the One who gives and deprives and has power over them. Creation and commandment are His and to Him is all the power. Allah (سبحانه و تعالى ) says:
(His verily is all creation and commandment. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the Worlds) [Al-Aaraaf- Aayah 54.]
Incorporated in this Tawheed is the belief in predestination. That is the conviction that every happening issues from the Knowledge, Will and Power of Allah.
In other words, this Tawheed means attesting that Allah is the absolute executor of actions in the universe: through creation, organisation, administration, enforcement of change, increase, decrease, provision of life and death, and other actions in which none is associated with Allah, Glorious and Mighty is He.
Clear expression of this type of Tawheed is found in virtually every chapter of the Qur'an. It is like a foundation for all other types of Tawheed. For only the Creator, Master and Administrator, merits worship, reverence and submission, to Him alone should be all the praise, gratitude, remembrance, supplication, hope and fear. All acts of worship should be directed solely to Him Who alone possesses the power to create and to command (See: "Tafseer at-Tabaree", vol. 5, p. 395)
On the other hand, the Creator, Master and Administrator is alone worthy of the attributes of Majesty, Beauty and Perfection. These attributes belong only to the Lord of the Worlds. It is impossible for the characteristics of Lord and Master to belong to one who is not Eternal, all-Hearing, all-Seeing, Omnipotent, Omniscient, doer of whatever He wills, Wise in all His actions and words ("Fathu al-Majeed'',p. 13, and "Al-Asilah wal Ajwibah" (Questions and Answers), p. 29, 30.).
That is why we find the Qur'an has mentioned Tawheed of Lordship in the context of praising Allah, worshipping Him and surrendering and submitting to Him, as well as in the context of informing us of His Majestic attributes and glorious names.
In the context of praising, Muslims recite several times in every ritual prayer:
(Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds) [AI-Faatiha - Aayah 2].
(Then praise be to Allah, Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth, the Lord of the Worlds) [Al-Jaathiya- Aayah 36].
(Say: Verily, Allah's Guidance is the only guidance, and we have been ordered to surrender to the Lord of the Aalameen (mankind, Jinns and all that exists)) [Al-An'am- Aayah 71.]
In the context of directing one's sincere intention and will to Allah, He says:
(Say: Verily, my prayers, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the Aalameen) [Al An'am - Aayah 162].
In the context of asking for only Allah's support He says:
(Say.· Shall I choose for a protecting friend other than Allah, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, who feeds and is never fed? Say: I am ordered to be the first to surrender (unto Him). And be not (O Muhammad) of the idolaters) [Al-An'am- Aayah 14]
In the context of invocation and supplication, Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) says:
(His verily is all creation and commandment. Blessed be Allah, the Lord of the Aalameen! (O mankind!) invoke your Lord humbly and in secret. He loves not the aggressors ) [Al-A'raaf- Al-Aayataan 54-55].
In the context of worshipping Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, Allah says:
(And why should I not worship Him (Allah alone) Who has created me, and to Whom you shall be returned) [Yaaseen - Aayah 22].
(0 mankind! Worship your Lord, Who created you and those who were before you so that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious). Who has made the earth a resting place for you, and the sky a canopy; and sent down rain from the sky, thereby producing fruits as food for you. Then do not set up rivals to Allah while you know) [Al-Baqarah- Al-Aayataan 21-22].
The Creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is therein is the only One who merits being taken by worshippers for a deity and protector, One to whom they surrender themselves, supplicate and direct (their words and actions).
We also find the Qur'an combining Allah's Lordship (which is manifested in His possession of the heavens and the earth and all that is therein), His administration of them, and His glorious names and exalted attributes.
(Allah!Laa ilaaha illaa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber, nor sleep overtake Him. To Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him except with his permission? He knows what happens to them (His creatures) in this world, and what will happen to them in the Hereafter. And they will never encompass anything of His knowledge except that which He wills. His throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. And He is the Most High, the Most Great) [Al-Baqarah- Aayah 255.]
The Creator of the heavens and the earth is Alone the Living who never dies, the Self-subsisting, the omniscient, the Guardian, the Most High, the Supreme. Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) says:
(And indeed We have created man, and We know what his ownself whispers to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein (by our knowledge)) [Qaaf- Aayah 16.]
(Should He not know what He has created? And He is the Most Kind and Courteous (to His slaves), All Aware (of everything) [Al-Mulk- Aayah 14.]
There is absolutely no doubt that He who created mankind is the One who watches over them, who understands their finest mysteries and is well acquainted with all that they do.
As for those who attest to the fact that Allah is Lord and creator of everything, but do not believe in Him as the only god and associate others with Him in worship, and do not believe in Tawheed of Allah in His names and attributes, by denying them or assigning to them characteristics of human beings or make corrupt and baseless interpretations of them: to such people Tawheed is of no avail. It does not bring them out of the province of Kufr into the dominion of faith. Allah, the High and Exalted, said that the polytheists attested to the fact that Allah alone created everything yet they remained polytheist. That was because they refused to take Allah alone as their sole god and persisted in worshipping other than Him, and because they did not have Tawheed in Allah's names and attributes, rejecting and disbelieving some of them. In the Qur'an, Allah says about them:
(And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners (unto Him: that is they are Mushrikun -polytheists) [Yusuf- Aayah 106.]
Mujaahid commented on this verse, saying: ''Their belief in Allah was manifested in their saying that Allah created them, sustains them and takes their lives back.Their faith is accompanied with the polytheism of worshipping others in association with Him." (See: "Tafseer at-Tabaree", Vol. 16, p. 287)
Our early predecessors said: "When you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they say that Allah did. But, in spite of this, they continue to worship other than Him." (Ibnu Katheer mentioned it on the authority of lbnu Abbaas, Mujaahid, At'a, lqrimah, Ash-Shaabe, Qutaadah, Ad-Dahaak and Abdur Rahmaan)
Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) said that those polytheists believe that He is the Creator, Provider and Master,
(And if you ask them who created them, they will surely say: "Allah". How then are they turned away
(from the worship of Allah, Who created them)? ) [Az-Zukhruf- Aayah 87.]
{Say (unto them, 0 Muhammad): Wbo provides for you from the sky and from the earth? Or Who owns
hearing and sight? And Who brings out the living from the dead and brings out the dead from the living? And Who disposes of affairs? They will say: "Allah". Then say: "Will you not then be afraid of Allah's punishment (for setting up rivals in worship with Allah)?} [Yunus- Aayah 31.]
Thus, not everyone who attests that Allah is Lord of all things is a believer in Tawheed when it comes to His deification and His names and attributes ( "Fathu al Majeed", p. 17, and "Sharh Mallaa Ali al-Qaarree Alaa al Fiqhi al-Akbar", p. 9.) Most people do not deny the creator, or His Lordship over all creation, but most of their infidelity (Kufr) comes from their worship of other than Allah, the Exalted and Glorious. ("lhyaa Ulum ad-Deen", Vol. 1, p. 182, and "Sharh al-Aqeedah at Tahaaweyyah'', p. 78.)
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