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TAWHEED
(Oneness of God)

- Root of the word TAWHEED is A.H.D. The word Ahad means unique
(112:1).

- Word Wahid (root W.H.D.) is also used for God, the Unique (12:39).

- It is said that Ahd is that being who is unique as perfect person and Wahid
signifies that being who is unique in his attributes.

‫ۂ‬ ‫ا‬
‫ ر ز‬، ُ ‫ر‬، ‫و رآ‬
‫ت‬ ‫ ۂ‬،‫و رى د‬
‫ز‬ ‫دل‬
ِ ‫اس‬ ‫دو ں‬
- Oneness of God is the fundamental element of faith according to Qur’ān.
The entire edifice of Islamic faith is built on the concept of Tawheed – The
Oneness of God.

- Belief in Divine Unity is in fact an acknowledgement of the fact that God

alone is in control of the entire universe. No authority or power shares this
exclusive Divine jurisdiction (18:26 Al-Kahf).
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- Believer is that person who recognized no one else in his / her worship
except God (18:110 Al-Kahf).

- We are aware of the philosophical postulate. The incomprehensibility of

anything is not a conclusive proof of its non-existence.

- Many questions stand resolved when a Muslim affirms belief in God as an

Absolute Reality. That He is not a subjective concept but He is an
Objective Reality living outside everything (all created) in this cosmos.

- There is a four point criteria fixed by Qur’ān itself to test the existence of
God. See Surah 112 Ayaat 1 to 4:
i. He is One and Unique.
ii. He is in need of none and everything conceivable or hidden is in His
need.
iii. He neither begot nor was He begotten, and
iv. None is comparable to Him.

Whoever has these minimum basic attributes is God. This challenge made by
Qur’ān more than 14 centuries back still holds the field.

- The question is: How does Qur’ān introduce Him? The answer is simple.
Qur’ān introduces Him or you can say that Allah, in order to make the
people understand the Divine Existence discloses knowledge of some of
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His attributes. Only these qualities which can be perceived by human

intellect. The attributes are called Isma ul Husna.

- Why has He employed Isma as the medium which people can appreciate?
The answer is simple. Ism i.e., Name is that sign, token or emblem by
which a thing is recognized.

- This faculty of giving distinctive names to various things was the most
significant step to ensure human progress. For this reason God gave
capability to Adam to assign names to things and it was then that the angels
prostrated before Him.

- Is it possible to determine the properties of things which bear no name?

- Professor Ahmad Rafiq Akhtar has advanced an illustrative argument in

the field of God consciousness.

- It is the teachings of Holy Prophet PBUH which have opened for us the
gate of God consciousness. Without the Message of Qur’ān, handed over
to humanity through the Last Messenger PBUH, the concept of Godhood
was vague and hazy. Now, under the guidance provided by Qur’ān and
Sunnah, it is possible to seek proximity with God through God-given
logical processes (Agency of Aql and Naql).
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The religions before Islam and the people following those religion even after the
advent of Islam have faced two problems.

1. To what extent should religion and morals be allowed to influence secular

life.
2. To what extent intellect (human reasoning) be allowed space in the domain
of reason.

In other words there is a debate between Aql and Naql (Reasoning and
revealed text). This problem, as a consequence, divides the world into two camps:
Secular and Spiritual. There does not appear a bridge between the two.

The secular is not prepared to concede access to religion in its affairs while
the spiritual does not accept the secular point of view. This duality persisted for
centuries.

The teachings of Islam, as conveyed by Holy Prophet Muhammad PBUH,

have obliterated this dualism from human life because be it the spiritual demands
of an individual or his role in the economic, political or social life in the given
society, all these aspects are related to human life. Human life is a unity. It is a
composite whole. Life cannot be divided between into tight compartments.
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Qur’ān, in Ayah 201 Surah Al-Baqarah, Chapter 2 indicates the attitude

a believer has to adopt:

Our Lord, grant is what is good in

the world and what is good in the
world to come, and protect us from
the chastisement of fire.

Divine guidance, as given in Qur’ān, covers all aspects of human life both
during periods of Peace and the periods of Emergencies / Wars. The field of
family life, trade and commerce, administration of state, maintenance of peace
within the society as well as at international level, establishment of the institution
of justice, education, moral and ethical code, religious rituals, emphasis on
knowledge, investigation and research, study of various branches of knowledge,
the concept of creation and sustenance, the purposes of creation, the reasons why
Prophets are commissioned and may more aspects of human life find mention in
the Holy Book.

This position makes it clear that God after creating the Universe and life
has not left man without guidance. Man, not being the creator, what was the
reason behind the Master plan and what role he has to perform during his earthly
stay.

At this point of time it would be relevant to consider the relationship

between Aql and Naql from Qur’ānic perspective.
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Ayah 73 Surah Al-Furqan, Chapter 25 states as under:

(The true servants of God are

those) Who, when they are
reminded of the revelations of their
Lord, do not fall at them deaf and
dumb.

Similarly, one comes across many verses of Holy Qur’ān where Allah
prompts the believers to apply their mind to the various questions floating around
him. Allah loves those believers who enter the folds of Islam after intellectual
appreciation of the tenets of Islam.

There are some other pertinent questions regarding religion. Two such
questions are identified below:

a. In view of the conflicting assertions about the existence of God, the

question is how does it concern me; and
b. Why should I be a party to this discussion and why should I believe in Him.
What should I do and how should I live and behave are relevant questions
because my actions and omissions have an impact on the life and thinking
of others.

This question is of the fundamental significance in so far as religion in

general and Islam, as Deen, in particular is concerned. The belief in One God, a
living and sustaining God, not a personal god or man-made god but God as
Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, is a factor which determines the course of
human life.
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A person may, at any given time of his life come to a conclusion that life
has a purpose then it would be necessary to discover a manifesto or a model which
he may follow to achieve the given purpose. Nature of the purpose and the
methodology to achieve that purpose or objective have therefore to be discovered.
From where should the required guidance be sought? Either the person himself
becomes his own guide and learns from his own thoughts or may seek it from
outside.

Guidance from within is purely personal. It will be subjective and cannot

assume the status of universal truth. The other option is to get guidance from other
sources.

The seeker of knowledge in due course becomes aware that he has been
equipped with different types of potentials, which are his qualities. This aspect
distinguishes him from other created objects. Such qualities need fulfilment and
may be the purpose of his existence is the successful development of his
potentials.

In this view of the matter the best model to follow will that being who is
embodiment of such qualities in the best possible form. It is at this stage Qur’ān
provides guidance to the Salik (Seeker of Truth) through hints e.g.:

a. God has blown His spirit in man after shaping him (Reference: 15:29 Al-
Hijr and 38:72 Sād);
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b. God, after originating creation of man from clay, proportioned him and
breathed into him of His spirit, bestowed upon him ears, eyes and
(discerning) heart (Reference 32:9 Al-Sajdah);
c. God showed the Right Path to man regardless of whether he chooses to be
thankful for such guidance or refuses to seek guidance (Reference: 76:3
Al-Dahr);
d. The Colour of God is the best colour and no other colour matches His hue.
(Reference: 2:138 Al-Baqarah); and
e. That Allah has the most excellent names. Call on Him by His names. (7:180
Al-A’rāf and 70:8 Tāhā, 17:110 Bani Isra’il, and 59:24 Al-Hashr).

The term Isma-ul-Husna i.e., the goodly names may be rendered as the
attributes of perfection. The term ISM i.e. name denotes a substance or the
intrinsic quality of an object under consideration. The term Isma ul Husna is
reserved in Qur’ān for God alone.

What emerges out of the Qur’ānic clues mentioned above is that man is
manifestation of the Divine Spirit which Spirit is embodiment of perfect
attributes. Hence the pattern or model before man is to develop those attributes
to the maximum which have been infused in him.

This is the aim of life of a believer and this is what may be termed as belief
in God – a demand made repeatedly by Holy Qur’ān.

The natural consequence of adopting a common model by members of

human group will emerge in the form of universal brotherhood because the
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objective of each person will be same i.e., accomplishment of higher values as

depicted in those Divine attributes which are attainable at human level and also
entrenched in human personality.

It should be appreciated that the perfect functioning of disparate element

of nature is due to the laws of nature which control the coordinate performance
of each element. This aspect i.e. the supremacy of law (compliance with the
prescribed rules) is the only factor which can secure peace at domestic and
international level. This atmosphere of peace will in turn enable humanity to
develop its latent potential at individual and collective level.

This fact alone i.e. observance of prescribed course, which in modern legal
terminology is called Supremacy of law, Rule of law, Equality before law and
Constitutional domain, were the factors which converted the untutored people of
Arabia to develop an egalitarian society under the guidance of Prophet
Muhammad PBUH which till date is remembered as an unprecedented revolution
brought about within a span of just one decade.

Ayah 69 Surah Al-Mā’idah, Chapter 5 assures all members of humanity:

(Know well, none has an exclusive

claim to the Truth.) For all those
who believe in Allah and in the
Last Day and do good deeds –
Whether they are Muslims or Jens
or Sabeans or Christians – neither
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fear shall fall upon them, nor shall

they have any reason to grieve.

HE:

- Does not commit mistake in any situation.

- Does not change His ways.
- Does not go against His promises.
- Is in need of none in any aspect.
- Does not alter condition of a people unless they themselves make effort to
change their condition.
- Does not deny sustenance to His creation.
- Is not unjust.
- Does not close the door of repentance.
- Does not impose His will.
- Does not refuse guidance.
- Does not refuse assistance to any seeker.
- Does not exercise His authority arbitrarily.
- Does not refuse to listen supplication.
- Does not refuse Mercy.
- Does not refuse proximity to a genuine seeker.
- Does not accept false pretences.
- Does not like uncharitable attitude among people.
- Does not like indolent people.
- Does not allow Shirk.
- Does not pardon those who attribute falsehood to Him.
- Does not like those who do not follow moral code.
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- Does not like the transgressors, disobedient, miserly, coward, proud,

corrupt, oppressive, erring, self-centred, over-ambitious, block-headed,
unthinking, cruel, squabbler, and those who do not listen to reason.
- Is not affected by change in the circumstances or passage of time but to the
contrary (2:259) may direct time to have different effect on different things
co-existing is one and the same condition. Because He is All-Powerful. He
is in control of everything and dominion of the universes is in His hand.
And there is no one like Him. He is the Manifest and Hidden, an attribute
exclusive to Him.