Tawhid & Oneness

Tawhid — singling out Allah for worship and believing in His oneness — is the essence of Islam and the pivot of the message of every prophet from Adam to Muhammad ﷺ. Scholars have agreed that tawhid encompasses three integrated dimensions:

First — Oneness of Essence: Allah is one in His essence, not multiple, not divisible. He has no partner in creation, no equal in existence, no son and no father. Allah said: 'Say: He is Allah, [who is] One' (112:1) — and this 'ahadiyya' (absolute oneness) is deeper than mere numerical singularity; it is an absolute indivisible unity.

Second — Oneness of Attributes: No created being shares in Allah's attributes. His knowledge does not resemble our knowledge, His power does not resemble our power. No one possesses true knowledge of the unseen or true creative power except Allah.

Third — Oneness of Acts: Allah alone is the Creator, Provider, Giver of life, and Cause of death. The deeds of servants are created by Allah in the sense that He brought them into existence, though they are acquired by the servant in the sense that they choose them. There is no truly independent agent in existence except Allah.

Opposed to tawhid is its greatest opposite: shirk — associating partners with Allah in worship, attributes, or acts. Shirk comes in two main forms: • Major shirk (al-shirk al-akbar): such as worshipping idols or seeking from the dead the fulfilment of needs directly. • Minor shirk (al-shirk al-asghar): such as riya' — performing worship to earn people's praise rather than sincerely for Allah.

It is worth noting that Ash'ari scholars distinguish between lawful tawassul — seeking supplication from the living, or seeking intercession through the rank of the Prophet ﷺ — and prohibited tawassul that makes the deceased an independent intermediary apart from Allah, such as calling upon graves for direct healing. This is a matter of scholarly disagreement that should be approached with knowledge and courtesy.

At the centre of all this is the testimony: La ilaha illallah — containing a negation and an affirmation: negating divinity from everything other than Allah, and affirming divinity for Allah alone. 'Ilah' here does not only mean 'Creator' — it means 'the One truly worthy of worship'.

For this reason Allah said: 'I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me' (51:56) — the purpose of creation is worship, and worship is only valid on the foundation of tawhid.

In every prayer you recite: 'You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help' (1:5) — this is the living, renewing tawhid in your heart at least seventeen times a day.