AQD101: Introduction to Aqeedah Modules 22-23 (pp.

7-50)

CHAPTER 1: TAWHID (THE UNIQUE ONENESS OF ALLAH)

Tawheed (lit. unification) involves establishing the unique oneness of Allah with regard to His lordship,
divinity and names and attributes. These three aspects can be found mentioned in the below verse:

“Lord of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, so worship Him and be constant in
worshipping Him. Do you know of any who is similar to Him?” (Surah Maryam, 19:65)

Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah is the establishment of Allaah’s uniqueness regarding His acts of creation (khalq),
dominion (mulk) and management (tadbeer).

(1) His uniqueness of creation means believing that He is the only true creator.
 As for references to creation by other than Allah, they do not mean creation in the true
sense which involves bringing something into existence after its non-existence. Creation by
the creatures is merely the transformation of already existing things.

(2) His uniqueness of dominion means believing that no one owns the creation besides Him.
 Texts which confirm dominion to others besides Allaah only refer to a very limited form of
ownership of an extremely small portion of created things.
 A human being only has dominion over what he possesses and not what others possess.
Furthermore, he does not have complete ownership. Consequently, he can only use it in
ways permitted to him according to sharee‘ah.

(3) His uniqueness of management means to believe that only Allaah manages and administers the
creation
 Human administration is limited to what they possess and according to what is permitted in
the sharee‘ah.
 This aspect of Tawheed was generally not opposed by pagans to whom the messengers were
sent. Belief in a Supreme Being is found in all societies at all times throughout the ages.

Tawheed al-Asmaa was-Sifaat is the establishment of the uniqueness of the names and attributes which
belong to Allaah.

(1) Affirmation of all names and attributes which He affirmed for Himself found in His scripture or the
sunnah of His Messenger.
(2) Negation of similitude. That requires that nothing or no one be made similar to His names and
attributes. Though some may share a common basic meaning, they differ in the reality of their state

It is in this section of tawheed that many of the Muslim Nation went astray and divided into groups and
sects.

 Some denied some or all of the divine attributes claiming that in doing so they were removing any
similitude between Allaah and His creation.
 Others made Allaah similar to His creation while claiming that they were describing Him as He
described Himself. In doing so, they went astray by attributing to Allaah all the characteristics of
deficiency and weakness; they made One who is perfect from all aspects like one who is deficient
from all aspects.
 Mention of the superiority of the perfect over the imperfect lowers His value
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Tawheed al-‘Ibaadah or al-Uloohiyyah is the establishment of Allaah’s uniqueness with regard to His
worship.

 Only Allaah deserves to be worshipped because He is the only true creator and administrator of
creation.
 The dead are in need of the prayers of the living and living beings do not need to pray for the dead.
The dead do not possess the means to benefit themselves or to avert harm from themselves.
Therefore, they cannot benefit others.

Worship refers to two things:

(1) The act of worship, which refers to submission to Allaah by obeying His commands and avoiding His
prohibitions out of love for Him, respect and honor.
(2) The means of worship is – according to Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah – whatever hidden or open
statements and deeds are beloved and pleasing to Allaah.

Ibn Katheer explained: “To worship Allaah is to obey Him; to do what He orders and avoid what He
prohibited. This is the essence of the religion of Islaam, because Islaam means to submit to Allaah with
complete obedience and humility.”

Although the jinn and humans were created to worship Allaah, they were given a free will to do so or not.
They were not forced to worship Him. Allah is not in need of their worship nor does it harm Him if He is not
worshipped.

As for the well-known Sufi fabrication: “Allaah was like a lost treasure who desired to be found, so He
created humans to find Him,” it implies need on the part of Allaah, which is unacceptable. Furthermore, it
identifies the purpose of human creation as being to find God, which is in obvious conflict with the stated
texts of the Qur’aan.

Human beings and the jinn benefit from their worship of Allaah. The goal of worship is primarily to keep
them conscious of Allaah. As Allaah said: “Establish the prayer in order to remember Me.” (Soorah Taahaa,
20: 14) The reason being that when they are conscious of Allaah, they obey Him and when they forget Him
they disobey Him.

PROPHETS

Prophets were sent throughout the world, however, most of their names are unknown to us today.

Aboo Tharr once asked the Prophet, “How many prophets were sent?” The Prophet replied, “124,000 in all
and among them were 315 messengers. They were quite a large group.”

3 basic reasons for Allaah sending prophets and messengers:

(1) Establishing evidence against humankind that the purpose of their creation was conveyed to them.
(2) A mercy from Allaah whereby the scriptures were explained and demonstrated. Human beings and
the Jinn were neither left to follow their innate, divinely inspired knowledge of right and wrong.
(3) Clarification of the path leading to Allaah . Because human beings do not know the details what is
obligatory on them regarding Allaah except by way of the prophets.
AQD101: Introduction to Aqeedah Modules 22-23 (pp. 7-50)

All of the prophets conveyed a single message; that human beings and the Jinn should worship Allaah alone.
The religion which Allaah revealed to Adam, the first human being and the first prophet, is the same which
He revealed to all subsequent prophets until the final prophet, Muhammad.

TAGHŪT

Taaghoot is derived from tughyaan, which literally means, “to exceed limits”.

 ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab stated that it meant “satan”

 Jaabir ibn ‘Abdillaah said it meant “some fortunetellers on whom the evil jinn used to descend”
 Imaam Maalik explained it as “whatever is worshipped besides Allaah, the Almighty.”

The most comprehensive legal definition of taaghoot is that of Ibn al-Qayyim: “Whatever a creature exceeds
the limits in following, worshipping or obeying.”

o What was intended here is whoever is pleased with it or it is considered taghoot relative to the one
who follows, worships or obeys it.
o Examples of “following” which exceeds limits is in the case of fortunetellers, magicians and evil
scholars; of “worshipping” is in the case of idols, [people like Pharaoh, Father Divine (USA) and Sai
Baba (India) who claimed they were God]; of “obeying” is in the case of rulers who have left
obedience to Allaah.

Worship of Allaah requires the rejection of the false gods worshipped because belief in Allaah is invalidated
if others are worshipped along with Him. Almighty Allaah reiterated this need saying:

“Whoever disbelieves in false gods and believes in Allaah, has grasped the most trustworthy
handhold that will never break.” (Soorah al-Baqarah, 2: 256)

TRAVELING TO POLYTHEISTIC CIVILIZATIONS

To travel in order to see the ruins of previous civilizations like those of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Babylon,
Greece, Rome, Petra, the Aztecs and Incas of Central and South America, etc., and admire them is
unacceptable Islamically.

Allaah here gives us the correct reason for spending out of our wealth and time to visit these ruins:
 to reflect on the consequence of rejecting the reason for our creation
 to reflect on how Allaah reduced these disbelieving civilizations to lifeless ruins
 to reflect on how great they may have seemed in their day, yet they could not last forever

QADAA

Allaah’s decree (qadaa) is of two types:

(1) The Legal Decree (qadaa shar‘ee)

 This decree may occur from the one for whom it was decreed or it may not, and it involves
only what is pleasing to Allaah.
 E.g. “Your Lord has decreed that you only worship Him…” (17: 23)
Decree here means “to make a law” or “to instruct”, etc.
(2) The Creational Decree (qadaa kawnee)
 This decree must occur, and it involves what Allaah loves and what He does not love.
AQD101: Introduction to Aqeedah Modules 22-23 (pp. 7-50)

 “I decreed for the Children of Israel in the Book that they will corrupt the land twice...”
(Soorah al-Israa, 17: 4)
The decree here is creational, because Allaah does not legalize corruption in the earth nor
does He love it.

A Problematic Decree

If it is argued that, based on the above-mentioned distinction, it is obvious that Allaah has decreed in
creation what He does not love; how can that be?

The response is that what is loved may be loved for itself or for factors beyond itself. What is loved for other
than itself may be itself disliked, but it is loved because of some wisdom or benefit to be gained from it. It
therefore becomes loved from one perspective and disliked from another.

For example, the Children of Israel’s corruption in the earth is, in and of itself, hated by Allaah, because
Allaah does not love corruption nor the corrupt. However, due to some wise consequence beloved to Allaah
which their corruption will produce, it was decreed. [As in His statement: “Were it not for Allaah repelling
some people with others, the whole earth would become corrupt.” (:)]

Similar to this is starvation, sterility, sickness, and poverty, because Allaah does not love to make His
creatures suffer in any of these ways. Instead, He love ease for them. However, He decrees suffering for
them due to what will happen as a consequence of it. It is thus beloved to Allaah from one perspective and
disliked from another.

“Corruption has appeared on land and sea because of what human hands have earned, so that He
may make them taste some of what they have done in order that they may return.” (Surah ar-Rum,
30: 41)

A sick person will take the most horrible tasting, revolting-looking, foul-smelling medicine without any
hesitation as long as there is a chance for him to be cured by it. He hates its taste, look and smell, but loves it
for its curative effect.

PARENTS

“And your Lord has decreed that you only worship Him and that you be dutiful to your parents. of
them or both of them attain old age in your life, do not say to them a word of disrespect, nor shout
at them but address them in terms of honor […]” (Surah al-Israa, 17: 23-24)

The Arabic term waalidaan (parents) includes father and mother as well as grand and great-grand parents.
The mention of duty to parents after the decree of worship indicates that the most important right following
Allaah’s right is that of the parents. The Prophet’s right is included in Allaah’s right because Allaah cannot be
properly worshipped without the instructions of the Prophet

Allaah’s Messenger asked the sahabah three times: “Shouldn’t I inform you about the gravest sins?” Then he
said: “Associating partners with Allaah, disobedience to parents, and false testimony.” And he repeated it so
many times that they wished he would stop.

Great stress is placed on the duty to parents because it is the final link holding the family together. If it
breaks, the most basic building block of society crumbles. Among the signs of the Last Day mentioned by the
Prophet in the hadeeth of Gabriel was “When slave girls give birth to their masters” which some scholars
interpreted to mean that children would grow up and treat their mothers like their slaves.
AQD101: Introduction to Aqeedah Modules 22-23 (pp. 7-50)

WORSHIP ALLAH AND BE KIND

“Worship Allaah and do not join anything with Him in worship, and be kind to parents, relatives, orphans,
the poor, the neighbour who is a relative, the neighbour who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the
traveller and your right hand possessions. Indeed, Allaah does not love the proud and boastful.” (Soorah an-
Nisaa 4: 36)

 “Anything” includes, not only prophets, angels, saints, etc., but absolutely anything of the affairs of
this world. If this world becomes the greatest concern for a human being, it becomes his master and
he becomes its slave and worshipper.
 In Arabic Islamic terminology “relatives” are those who share the same great-great-great-
grandfather
 The Arabic term yateem (orphan) refers to a child whose father has died.
 This phrase could refer to either the spouse or one’s travelling companion.
 The traveller whose funds have run out and has become stranded.
 Right hand possessions include slaves and animals, both of which should be treated kindly.
 This last sentence indicates that one of the main causes for people not fulfilling Allaah’s instructions
regarding worship and social responsibility is pride.

“Say: Come [and] I will recite what your Lord has prohibited you from [doing]: Do not worship anything along
with Him; be good and dutiful to your parents; do not kill your children because of poverty, for I provide
sustenance for you and for them;”

 Fear of poverty was mentioned because that was the most common reason for killing children in the
time of ignorance. This remains a common reason for abortion in this era also as parents claim that
another child will reduce the provision for the already existing children.

“do not come near shameful acts whether committed openly or secretly,”

 This is a stronger prohibition than stating not to do a particular act because it prohibits also acts and
things that can lead to the forbidden act.
o Allaah instructed males and females to lower their gaze and avoid staring at each other.
o The Prophet also declared a woman who leaves her home perfumed a fornicator until she
returns home.
o Islaam prohibited males and females, who can marry each other, from being alone together.
o Shaking hands between men and women who can marry was also forbidden.

“and do not kill anyone whom Allaah has forbidden, except by a valid right. This He has commanded you that
you may understand.”

 The “valid right” to take a life is that which Allaah has defined and the invalid right is that which the
Sharee‘ah has not confirmed.
o Prophet: “It is not permissible to take the life of a Muslim who bears witness that there is no
god worthy of worship but Allaah and that I am the Messenger of Allaah, except in three
cases: the married fornicator, a life for a life, the deserter of the religion who splits the
community.”
o Extra-judicial killing of any person is a great sin, whatever the reason. The phenomenon of
“honor killing” common in Jordan and Pakistan has no place in Islaam.
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o The argument of terrorists who kill innocent women and children that they are justified,
since the enemy kills Muslim women and children, is false.
o Islaam has rules for military conflict which must be observed, regardless of what the enemy
does:
 Ibn ‘Umar related that a woman was found killed in one of the battle campaigns so
the Prophet prohibited the killing of women and children.
 Muslims are not permitted to act treacherously to those whom they have
guaranteed protection. For example, under the white flag, or during a truce.
 Burning the enemy with fire (e.g. use of flame throwers) is not permissible based on
the Prophet’s statement: “If you find so-and-so, kill him, but do not burn him with
fire. For only Allaah punishes with fire [rightfully].”
 It is not permissible to mutilate the dead bodies of the enemy as the Serbs did to
Muslims during the war in Bosnia, for example.

“And do not come near to the orphan's property, except to improve it, until he attains the age of full
strength; and give full measure and full weight with justice. I do not burden any soul, beyond its capacity.”

 Consequently, if someone commits an error after exerting himself to do what is best, he is not to be
blamed or reproved.
o Because of this principle, suicide is absolutely forbidden by God. “Do not kill yourselves.”
The penalty is eternal punishment in Hell according to many statements of the Prophet to
that effect.
o One who commits suicide generally considers life unbearable. They feel that God has been
unfair to them by burdening them beyond their capacity. Such thoughts are in direct
contradiction to Allaah’s promise not to oppress anyone.
 Whether it is done under the heading of “mercy killing” or “assisted suicide”, or
“suicide bombing”, it is fundamentally haraam in Islaam.
 Suicide by gradual or slow means, whereby a person consumes or does something
that he knows will likely kill him eventually, is also forbidden. E.g., smoking.

“And whenever you give your word, say the truth even if a near relative is concerned, and fulfil the Covenant
of Allaah. This He commands you that you may remember. Indeed, this is My straight path, so follow it, and
do not follow [other] paths, for they will separate you away from His path.

 Say the truth whether judging between people or giving evidence.

 Allaah’s covenant is that He alone be worshipped and that His laws be obeyed.
 “The Straight Path is the religion of Islaam.” Thus Allaah orders us to follow the Straight Path that He
made possible through Prophet Muhammad and His legislation; the Path whose end will be
Paradise.
 The Prophet drew a line in the earth then said: This is the straight Path of Allaah. Then he drew lines
to its right and left, and said: These are paths at the head of each is a devil calling to it.

WAY OF THE PROPHET

There is only one way to follow Islaam; the way of the Prophet.

It is reinforced by the hadeeth of the seventy-three sects in which the Prophet confirmed that there would
appear among his nation seventy-three sects, seventy-two of which lead to Hell and only one leads to
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paradise. When he was asked about the one, he replied: “The one I am following today and my
Companions.”

Since the Prophet’s companions best knew his way, their understanding of “The Way” is the best and most
correct understanding. This approach to understanding Islaam is referred to as the way of the Salaf.

Concealment of knowledge is fundamentally prohibited. Allaah curses those who hide knowledge the
Qur’aan and the Prophet was reported to have said, “Whoever concealed knowledge, Allaah will make him
wear a bridle of fire on the Day of Judgment.”