Tawhid

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"Oneness of God" redirects here. For the concept of monotheism, see monotheism.

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Glossary of Islamic terms

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Tawḥīd (Arabic: توحيد; also transliterated Tawheed and Tauheed; Turkish: Tevhid) is the Islamic idea of monotheism. In Islam, Tawhīd means to assert the unity of Allah. The opposite of Tawhīd is shirk, which means "making something as comparable" (to God) in Arabic, referring to idolatry.

Contents

[edit] Etymology

In the Arabic language, Tawhīd means 'unification' and is derived from the root word, ahad, which made of three Arabic letters. Al-Wahid, one of the 99 Names of Allah, is made of the root word and describes wihdat or the oneness of Allah. Tawhidullah means the literal assertion of Allah's oneness and monotheistic existence.

[edit] Definition

Muslims believe that Allah cannot be held equal in any way to other beings or concepts. This monotheism is absolute, not relative or pluralistic in any sense of the word. It is for this reason that Muslims reject the concept of the Trinity held by most Christians.

[edit] Verses from the Qur'ān

Many passages of the Qur'an refer to Tawhīd.

The Qur'an, chapter 112 (Al-Ikhlas), verse 1 to 4:
“ Say: [1] Say: He, Allah, is One. [2] Allah is He on Whom all depend. [3] He begets not, nor is He begotten. [4] And none is like Him.— translated by M. H. Shakir


”

This passage is commonly recited as part of the five daily prayers, known as salat.

[edit] Muslim view

Part of a series on the Islamic creed:
Aqidah
Five Pillars of Islam

Shahādah - Profession of faith
Salah - Prayer
Zakâh - Paying of alms (giving to the poor)
Sawm - Fasting during Ramadan
Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca
Sunni Six articles of belief

Tawhīd - Oneness
Nabi and Rusul - Prophets and Messengers
Kutub - Divinely Revealed Books.
Malā'ikah - Angels
Qiyâmah - Judgment Day
Qadr (Predestination)
Shi'a Twelvers
Principles of the Religion (Usul al-Din)

Tawhīd - Oneness
Adalah - Justice
Nubuwwah - Prophethood
Imamah - Leadership
Qiyâmah - Judgment Day
Shi'a Twelvers
Practices of the Religion (Furu al-Din)

Salah - Prayer
Sawm - Fasting during Ramadan
Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca
Zakâh - Poor-rate
Khums - One-fifth tax
Jihad - Struggle
Amr-Bil-Ma'rūf - Commanding good
Nahi-Anil-Munkar - Forbidding evil
Tawalla - Loving the Ahl al-Bayt
Tabarra - Disassociating Ahl al-Bayt's enemies
Shi'a Ismaili 7 pillars

Walayah - Guardianship
Taharah - Purity & cleanliness
Salah - Prayers
Zakâh - Purifying religious dues
Sawm - Fasting during Ramadan
Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca
Jihad - Struggle
Others

Kharijite Sixth pillar of Islam.

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Both Shi'a and Sunni Muslims agree that the most fundamental aspect of Islam revolves around the total acceptance of an "Absolute and Perfect Creator". The Muslim profession of faith, or Shahadah (Lā 'ilāha 'illā lāh -- There is no god but Allah" is an expression of Tawhīd.

[edit] Sunni View

Sunni Muslims regard Tawhīd as one of six major aspects of Aqidah.

[edit] Seeing God

Sunni Muslims believe that Allah cannot be seen, imagined or perceived in any way in the present life of this world. Rather, they believe that only the righteous believers will see Allah on Judgment Day (after they have died).[1] [2]

The Qur'an says:

"Some faces that Day shall be Nâdirah (shining and radiant). Looking at their Lord (God)."[3]
"Nay! Surely, they (evil-doers) will be veiled from seeing their Lord that Day."[4]

In a hadith, Abu Huraira reports:

The people said to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him): Messenger of Allah, shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection? Muhhamad said, "Do you feel any trouble in seeing the moon on the night when it is full?" They replied, "Messenger of Allah, no." Muhammad continued, 'Do you feel any trouble in seeing the sun, when there is no cloud over it?" They said, "Messenger of Allah. no." Muhammad said: Verily you would see Him like this (as you see the sun and the moon).[5]

[edit] Qur'an and Tawhid

Sunnis believe that the Qur'an is uncreated[clarify], and that this view is fully compatible with Tawhid. The Hanbalis hold the view that

"Not only were the words and sounds of the Quran eternal, so that even its recital was uncreated, but its parchment and binding shared the same qualities''[citation needed].

Abu Hanifa expressed:

We confess that the Quran is the speech of Allah, uncreated, His inspiration, and revelation, not He, yet not other than He, but His real quality, written in the copies, recited by the tongues. The ink, the paper, the writing are created, for they are the work of man."[6]

Following Qur'anic literalism, Ibn Taymiya taught that God does not have body parts, but also that he has features loosely corresponding to hands, eyes and a face. Sunnis believe that God is above the heavens and above his "throne".[7]

[edit] Shi'a view

Tawhīd is among the five Shia Roots of Religion. According to Ali, the first Shi'a Imam:

“ The foremost in religion is the acknowledgement of Him, the perfection of acknowledging Him is to testify Him, the perfection of testifying Him is to believe in His Oneness, the perfection of believing in His Oneness is to regard Him Pure, and the perfection of His purity is to deny Him attributes, because every attribute is a proof that it is different from that to which it is attributed and everything to which something is attributed is different from the attribute. Thus whoever attaches attributes to Allah recognises His like, and who recognises His like regards Him two; and who regards Him two recognises parts for Him; and who recognises parts for Him mistook Him; and who mistook Him pointed at Him; and who pointed at Him admitted limitations for Him; and who admitted limitations for Him numbered Him.

Whoever said in what is He, held that He is contained; and whoever said on what is He held He is not on something else. He is a Being but not through phenomenon of coming into being. He exists but not from non-existence. He is with everything but not in physical nearness. He is different from everything but not in physical separation. He acts but without connotation of movements and instruments. He sees even when there is none to be looked at from among His creation. He is only One, such that there is none with whom He may keep company or whom He may miss in his absence.[8]

 ”

[edit] Attaching attributes

Shi'a do not believe that God can or will ever be seen, and also reject the notion of him having body parts, or any parts whatsoever.

Some verses of the Qur'an that seem to ascribe God body parts, for example verse (28:88) of which says: "Every thing is mortal except His face", Shi'a interpret as meaning "except His person". Shi'a argue that the verse is not to be taken literally, arguing that it can't be said that only the face of God will remain, while his other so-called limbs (either physical or not) will die. Similarly, Shi'a argue that God has used the word 'hand' (Arabic: Yad) in several places in the Qur'an, where it means his power and his mercy, as in the verse (5:64): "But His hands are outspread". Shi'a quote in support of the verses being allegorical:

The Qur'an, chapter 3 (Aale Imran), verse 7:
“ He it is Who has revealed the Book to you; some of its verses are decisive, they are the basis of the Book, and others are allegorical; then as for those in whose hearts there is perversity they follow the part of it which is allegorical, seeking to mislead and seeking to give it (their own) interpretation. but none knows its interpretation except God, and those who are firmly rooted in knowledge say: We believe in it, it is all from our Lord; and none do mind except those having understanding.— translated by M. H. Shakir


”

Shi'a believe that "those who are firmly rooted" are the Ahl al-Bayt, meaning that they are the ones need to consulted for detailed information[9] One of the most respected Shi'a collection, the Nahj al-Balagha, contains a sermon where Ali is quoted as giving a long and detailed account of Tawhid, part of it being:[10]

“ Whoever attaches attributes to God recognises His like, and who recognises His like regards Him two; and who regards Him two recognises parts for Him; and who recognises parts for Him mistook Him; and who mistook Him pointed at Him; and who pointed at Him admitted limitations for Him; and who admitted limitations for Him numbered Him. ”

The sermon is one of the most complicated description of God, it maintains attributes should not be attached to God, since it would create a duality. However, Shi'a do not understand this as the notion that God lacks attributes. A modern similitude to energy would be that attributes can not be attached to energy, for example saying that energy has redness, creating a duality between energy and the color red; rather it should be said that energy can be red. In the same way, Shi'a maintain that it should not be said that God has strength or wisdom, creating a duality and nullifying Tawhid. Rather, it can be said that God is strong and wise. The thought of God having body parts is completely rejected and seen as shirk.

Shaykh Saduq, one of the most distinguished of Shi'a scholars expressed:[11]

“ Verily, God is One, Unique, nothing is like Him, He is Eternal; Hearing, Seeing, Omniscient, Living, Omnipotent, above every need. He cannot be described in terms of substance, nor body, nor form, nor accident, nor line, nor surface, nor heaviness, nor lightness, nor color, nor movement, nor rest, nor time, nor space. He is above all the descriptions which can be applied to His creatures. He is away from both extremes: Neither He is just a non-entity (as atheists and in a lesser degree Mutazilites implied), nor He is just like other things. He is Existent, not like other existing things. ”

[edit] List of attributes

Shi'a list some positive attributes to God:[12]

  1. Qadím: God is eternal, with neither a beginning nor an end.
  2. Qadir: God is omnipotent.
  3. 'Alim: God is omniscient.
  4. Hai: God is alive and will remain alive forever.
  5. Muríd: God has his own discretion in all affairs and does not act out of compulsion.
  6. Mudrik: God correctly perceives everything in the universe.
  7. Mutakalim: God is the "Lord of the Worlds". He can create speech in anything: the burning bush for Musa and the curtain of light for Muhammad.
  8. Sadiq: God is honest.

And some negative attributes:

  1. Sharík: God has no partners.
  2. Murakab: God is neither made, nor composed, of any material.
  3. Makán: God is not confined to any place and has no body.
  4. Hulúl: God does not incarnate into anything or anybody.
  5. Mahale hawadith: God is immutable.
  6. Marí: God is not visible.
  7. Ihtiyaj: God is not dependent; he has no needs.
  8. Sifate zayed: God does not have added qualifications. The attributes of God are not separate from his being.

[edit] Non-eternal actions

Shi'a distinguish between eternal and non-eternal attributes of God: first those attributes which denote his person, and second, those attributes which denote his actions. Shaykh Saduq says:[13]

“ For example, we say that God was from ever Hearing, Seeing, Omniscient, Wise, Omnipotent, Having power, Living, Self-existent, One and Eternal. And these are His personal attributes. and we do not say that He was from ever Creating, Doing, Intending, pleased, displeased, Giving sustenance, Speaking; because these virtues describe His actions; and they are not eternal; it is not allowed to say that God was doing all these actions from eternity. The reason for this distinction is obvious. Actions need an object. For example, if we say that God was giving sustenance from ever, then we will have to admit the existence of sustained thing from ever. In other words, we will have to admit that the world was from ever. but it is against our belief that nothing except God is Eternal." ”

[edit] Qur'an and Tawhid

Shi'a further say that God creating and sending the Qur'an is of the non-eternal acts of God, hence Shi'a believe the Qur'an to be a creation, in contrast to Sunnis. Shi'a quote a Hadith where Muhammad is quoted as:

"(There was a time when) God existed, and there was nothing beside Him".

Even so, Shi'a believe the Qur'an to be perfect, in the same way that they believe God created other perfect objects, for example, the angels and the prophets.

[edit] Muslim critiques of some views of Tawhid

[edit] Critique of the Sunni view

Shi'a view some Sunni beliefs as deviation from the truth, occurring due to acceptance of the teaching of other than the Ahl al-Bayt. Shi'a do not go as far as saying Sunnis are polytheistic (Arabic: mushrik), but claim that they are mistaken.

[edit] Attaching attributes

Shi'a criticize the Sunni for regarding as authentic hadith God's possession of body parts such as a body, face, hands, fingers, and legs.[14] Some of this hadith include the hadith by Abu Huraira where God is said to move:

...God waits till when one-third of the first part of the night is over; He descends to the lowest heaven and says: It there any supplicator of forgiveness?... [15]

In this hadith, also narrated by Abu Huraira, God compressed Hell with "His Foot" to accommodate for more inhabitants:

... (that the Prophet said) "It will be said to the Hell, 'Are you filled?' It will say, 'Are there any more (to come)?' On that God will put His Foot on it, and it will say 'Qati! Qati! (Enough! Enough!)." [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25]

[edit] Uncreated Qur'an

While Sunnis believe the Qur'an is the uncreated word of God, Shi'a view this as claiming the Qur'an co-existed with God, in other words as shirk. Shi'a claim that this confusion stems from Sunni scholars not differentiating between non-eternal actions of God and God's eternal attributes.[26]

[edit] Critique of the Shi'a view

[edit] Deifying Ali

Among the views on Shi'a Islam, there is the claim that some Shi'as breach Tawhīd by deifying Ali.[27]

[edit] Calling on the dead

A common criticism of Shi'a is Tawassul through people who have passed away with expressions such as Ya Muhammad and Ya Ali.[28] Critics equate asking the dead for help with shirk:

"As far as the Sunni Muslims are concerned, when they are in distress, they only call: "O God!" They do turn to Him only in their quest for help as they appeal for aid from Him only to remove their agony. They do that with clear perception that supplication to the Only One God is one of the aspects of worship as the Messenger of God (Peace be upon him) prescribed for them. In this respect, supplication to other than God the Omniscient is ipso facto worshipping other than Him." [29] [30]

[edit] Non-Muslim uses

Refer to Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.islamtomorrow.com/why_we_donot_see_allah.asp
  2. ^ http://www.islamweb.net/ver2/Fatwa/ShowFatwa.php?lang=E&Id=2597&Option=FatwaId
  3. ^ Al-Qiyama 22-23
  4. ^ Al-Mutaffifin 15
  5. ^ Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Number 349
  6. ^ Revelation and Reason in Islam by A.J. Arberry
  7. ^ http://www.islamicinvitationcentre.com/FAQ/Allah/FAQ_Allah.html
  8. ^ Nahj al-Balagha [1]
  9. ^ [2]
  10. ^ Nahj al-Balagha sermon 1
  11. ^ Shi'ite Creed (al-Itqadat al-Imamiyyah), by Shaykh Saduq on Al-islam.org [3]
  12. ^ [4]
  13. ^ Shi'ite Creed (al-Itqadat al-Imamiyyah), by Shaykh Saduq [5]
  14. ^ http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/chapter9/1.html
  15. ^ http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/004.smt.html#004.1657 004.1657-004.1660
  16. ^ http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/060.sbt.html#006.060.371 006.060.371
  17. ^ http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/060.sbt.html#006.060.372 006.060.372
  18. ^ http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/060.sbt.html#006.060.373 006.060.373
  19. ^ http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/078.sbt.html#008.078.654 008.078.654
  20. ^ http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/093.sbt.html#009.093.481 009.093.481
  21. ^ http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/093.sbt.html#009.093.541 009.093.541
  22. ^ http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/040.smt.html#040.6819 40.6819
  23. ^ http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/040.smt.html#040.6821 040.6821
  24. ^ http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/040.smt.html#040.6823 040.6823
  25. ^ http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/040.smt.html#040.6825 040.6825
  26. ^ http://www.al-islam.org/encyclopedia/chapter9/1.html
  27. ^ Alawite. Encyclopedia Britannica.
  28. ^ Omer Iqbal, Muhammad. "Calling "Ya Ali/Ya Muhammad" For Help." February 19, 2007.
  29. ^ http://www.ansar.org/english/ya.htm
  30. ^ http://www.allaahuakbar.net/shiites/ya_allah_or_ya_ali_ya_hussain.htm

[edit] External links

Sunni links:

Shi'a links:

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