The word 'Tawheed' (توحيد) is taken from the Arabic verb 'Wahada' (وحد) which means "to be single, unique, unmatched". However 'Tawheed' is the intensified form of 'Wahada' (وحد), thus 'Wahhada' (وحّد), which linguistically means "to unify, to make one". Basically 'Tawheed' refers to "the oneness of Allah". Tawheed is to single out Allah from all His creation and to believe in His unique being and unmatched position (His position as the only Lord of the creation, Him being the only Deity truly worthy of being worshipped and Him having names and attributes).
Allah's uniqueness : This is called "Tawheed Al Dhati" (التوحيد الذاتي). Allah is unique in His being, nothing is like Him, no other being can be compared to His Majesty, nor can a partner be associated with Him. He is His example and nothing resembles Him. This is in short the uniqueness of Allah's being. As mentioned in the Quran:
[42:11]
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِۦ شَىْءٌ
"there is nothing whatever like unto Him"
[112:1]
قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
"Say: He is Allah, the One and Only."
In Islamic terms, Tawheed is -
1. To believe that, Allah is one and without any equal, absolutely incomparable and unique.
2. To believe in his Lordship.
3. To believe in his right to be worshipped alone.
4. To believe in his names and attributes found in Quran and Sunnah.
Sheikh Saleh Al Fawzan (may Allah preserve him) writes in his book "عقيدة التوحيد" :
التوحيد : هو إفراد االله بالخلق والتدبر ، وإخلاص العبادة له ، وترك عبادة ما سواه ،
وإثبات ما له من الأسماء الحسنى ، والصفات العليا ، وتتريهه عن النقص والعيب ؛
"Tawheed is the recognition of the one and only Deity, Allah, as the supreme authority governing creation and the created world, to devotion to Him alone and to reject all other that claims the right of being worshipped. To accept that He has the Most Beautiful Names and the Most High Attributes and to believe in them without any analysis or explanation and to believe Him to be pure and free from all faults."
The scholars of Islam has catagorized Tawheed in the three following catagories:
1. Oneness of Divine Lordship (توحيد الربوبية); "Tawheed Ar Rububiyyah".
2. Oneness of Divinity (in worship) (توحيد الألوهية); "Tawheed Al Uluhiyyah".
3. Oneness of the Divine Names and Attributes (توحيد الأسماء والصفات); "Tawheed Asma was-Sifaat".
{The catagories will be discussed one by one in the upcoming parts In Shaa Allah}
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Beginners guide to Islam (Vol-01)
No FicciónIn Volume-01 of "Beginners guide to Islam", very important religious matters such as "What is Islam?", "Declaration of Faith", "Basis of Faith and its articles", "Belief in Allah" which includes "Tawheed" and "Shirk" were discussed in details and th...
