The Concept of Tawhid ( توحيد )  Literally Tawhid means "unification" (making something one) or "asserting oneness“. It comes from the Arabic verb (wahhada) which itself means to unite, unify or consolidate. However, when the term Tawhid is used in reference to Allah it means asserting and maintaining Allah's absolute oneness in all of man's actions which directly or indirectly relate to Him. 1

 It is the belief that Allah is One, without partner in His dominion and His actions (Rububiyyah), One without similitude in His essence and attributes (al-Asma’ wa Sifat), and One without rival in His divinity and in worship (Uluhiyyah/‘Ibadah). 2

Tawhid in Rububiyyah  This category is based on the fundamental concept that Allah alone caused all things to exist when there was nothing; He sustains and maintains creation without any need from it or for it; and He is the sole Lord of the universe and its inhabitants.  It is the belief that there is only One God, who is the creator of everything in the heaven and on the earth.  The belief that this creator is the sustainer ( الرزاق ), manager of the affairs of the whole universe. He is the only One who gives life and takes it away. He is All-knowing. He is merciful and does what He wishes, because He is the creator of everything. Everyone is dependent on Him whether in heaven or earth. 3

“ “ اللهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيءٍ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلّ شَيءٍ وَكِيل “Allah created all things and He Is the agent on which all things depend.“ (al-Zumar 39:62) “ “ وَاللهُ خَلَقَكُم وَمَا تَعمَلُون “And Allaah created you all and whatever you do” (al-Saffat 37:96) 4

Tawhid in Uluhiyyah (al-Ibadah)  It is the belief in the unity of Allah's worship. He is the one, who deserves to be worshipped. He is the one who sets the way how we worship Him and we should follow His instruction and Shari ‘ ah as He ordered and instructed us to do.  All forms of worship must be directed only to Allah because He alone deserves worship, and it is He alone who can grant benefit to man as a result of His worship. Furthermore, there is no need for any form of intercessor or intermediary between man and God. 5

 Allah emphasized the importance of directing worship to Him alone by pointing out that this was the main purpose of man's creation and the essence of the message brought by all the prophets.  Allah says: "" وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالإِنْسَ إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُونِ ” “I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me.” (al-Dhariyiat: 51:56) "Verily, We have sent to every nation a messenger (saying), 'Worship Allah and avoid false gods'.“ " قَالَ أَفَتَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لا يَنْفَعُكُمْ شَيْئًا وَلا يَضُرُّكُمْ " 'Do not worship besides Allah that which can not help or harm you." (al-Anbiya’: 21:66) 6

Tawhid in al-Asma wa-al- Sifat  It is the belief that God has attributes and names. And one should worship Him and do supplication to Him using His names and attributes. No one has the right to tell us about His names, and attributes except His messengers who came to teach people the names and attributes through using the revelation which God sent to them.  We cannot imagine a God and give Him names and attributes such as the way of Arab before Islam made idols and gave them names and attributes and worship them. This is not correct because only Allah can tell us about this names and attribute. 7

 Allah must be referred to according to how He described Himself or how His Prophets have described Him. “ لَيسَ كَمِثلِهِ شَيء وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِير ” “ There is nothing like Him and He is hearer and seer of all. “ (42:11) 8

 Every Muslim should believe in the unity of Lordship, worship, and names and attributes. And if one denies one of them or all, he is considered as unbeliever ( كافر ). 9

Shirk شِـرك  The study of Tawhid cannot be considered complete without a careful analysis of its opposite, Shirk.  Shirk literally means partnership, sharing or associating, but Islamically it refers to the act of assigning partners to Allaah in whatever form it may take.  Some modern Muslim scholars interpret the concept of shirk to include all forms (kinds) of worshipping others with God, such as worshipping the material aspect of life and fearing people more than God and associating themselves in any act of Satan (Shaitan الشيطان ). 10

 Every sort of worship of whim, prestige, position, money, or personality is shirk.  Because the sin of Shirk denies the very purpose of man's creation, it is to God the gravest of sins; the unforgivable sin. “ إ ِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُّشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَّشَاءُ وَمَن يُّشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمً ” "Surely Allah will not forgive the association of partners (Shirk) with Him, but He forgives (sins) less than that of whomever He wishes.“ (al-Nisa’, 4:48) Because the sin of Shirk denies the very purpose of man's creation, it is to God the gravest of sins; the unforgivable sin 11

Shirk in Rububiyyah  This category of Shirk refers to either the belief that others share Allah's Lordship over creation as His equal or near equal, or to the belief that there exists no Lord over creation at all.  Most religious systems fall into the first aspect of Shirk in Ruboobeeyah while it is the philosophers who tend to fill the second aspect. 12

 (A) Shirk by Association  Beliefs which fall under this sub-category are ones in which a main God or Supreme Being over creation is recognized, however His dominion is shared by other lesser gods, spirits, mortals, heavenly bodies or earthly objects. Such belief systems are commonly referred to by theologians and philosophers as polytheistic (having more than one God). 13

 (B) Shirk by Negation  This sub-category represents the various philosophies and ideologies which deny the existence of God either explicitly or implicitly. That is, in some cases God's non- existence is stated (Atheism), while in other cases His existence is claimed, but the way in which He is conceived actually denies His existence (Pantheism). 14

Shirk in al-‘Ibadah  In this category of Shirk, acts of worship are directed to other than God and the reward for worship is sought from the creation instead of the Creator.  As in the case of the previous categories, Shirk in al-‘Ibadah has two main aspects: 15

Al-Shirk al-Akbar (Major Shirk):  This form of Shirk occurs when any act of worship is directed to other than Allah. It represents the most obvious form of idolatry which the prophets were specifically sent by Allah to call the masses of mankind away from. This concept is supported by Allah's statement in the Qur'an: “ وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولاً أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ " "Surely we have sent to every nation a messenger saying, worship Allaah and avoid Taghut (false gods)” (16: 36)  Taghut actually means anything which is worshipped along with Allah or instead of Allah. For example, love is a form of worship which, in its perfection, should only be directed to Allah. In Islam, the love of God is expressed by total obedience to Him. 16

Al-Shirk al-Asghar( Minor Shirk):  The Prophet said: "The thing I fear for you the most is ash-Shirk al-Asghar (minor shirk)." The companions asked "Oh! messenger of Allah, what is minor Shirk?" He replied "Al-Riya’ (showing off), for verily Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection when people are receiving their rewards, 'Go to those for whom you were showing off in the material world and see if you can find any reward from them. 17

Shirk in al-Asma wa-al-Sifat  Shirk in this category includes both the common pagan practice of giving Allah the attributes of His creation as well as the act of giving created beings Allah's names and attributes  It takes many forms. The most important are:  To deny any names or attributes of God, or to give to God other names and attributes, which are not authorized by Shari ’ ah. 18

 When you make similarity between names and attributes of God and those of His creatures, then you are committing an act of Shirk, because there is no similarity between the creator and what he created.  when you describe God and attribute to Him some human qualities like eating, drinking, marriage, having kids, being jealous of other, being injustice, this is considered another form of Shirk. 19

Kufr كفر  Kafara literally means ‘ to cover, ’ ‘ to hide something; ‘ to ignore knowingly the benefit which one has received, ’ and thence, ‘ to be unthankful ’.  The root KFR ( كفر ) has been used in the Qur ’ an in either of the two, but conceptually linked, basic meanings: ‘ ingratitude ’ and ‘ disbelief ’. 20

 A Kafir is a person who, having thus received God ’ s benevolence, shows no sign of gratitude in his conduct, or even acts rebelliously against his Benefactor. He covers the truth of Islam and doesn ’ t submit to the will of Allah.  He is the person who knows that Allah is the creator, but he denies the unity of worship of Allah ( الأُلوهية ).  He is the person who acknowledges that God is the creator, but he rejects to worship Allah and to follow his Shari ‘ ah 21