Tawheed

The oneness of Allah

التوحيد

Tawheed (tawḥīd) is the affirmation of the absolute oneness of Allah. It is the first thing a Muslim believes and the lens through which everything else is understood. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent to call people back to this single truth.

The Shahadah: the gate of Islam

Saying the testimony, with belief in the heart, makes someone a Muslim. It is the simplest and most weighty sentence a person can speak.

أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ

Ashhadu an lā ilāha illā llāh, wa ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūlu llāh

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.

Three sides of the same diamond

Scholars describe tawheed in three categories so it can be studied clearly. They are not three different beliefs; they are three windows on one truth.

Oneness of Lordship

توحيد الربوبية

Tawheed ar-Rububiyyah

Allah alone creates, sustains, gives life and death, controls the universe, and responds to prayer. He has no partners in any of this.

Oneness of Worship

توحيد الألوهية

Tawheed al-Uluhiyyah

Every act of worship (prayer, fasting, hope, fear, vows) is directed to Allah alone. This is the meaning the messengers came to confirm: nothing deserves worship except Him.

Oneness of Names and Attributes

توحيد الأسماء والصفات

Tawheed al-Asma was-Sifat

Allah is described by the names and attributes He affirmed for Himself in the Quran and through His Messenger, without distortion, denial, asking how, or comparison.

The shortest description of Allah in the Quran

قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ۝ اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ ۝ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ ۝ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ

Say: He is Allah, the One. Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.

Surah al-Ikhlas (112)

Islam is built on five

بُنِيَ الْإِسْلَامُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ: شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ، وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ، وَالْحَجِّ، وَصَوْمِ رَمَضَانَ

Islam is built on five: bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; establishing the prayer; giving the zakat; the Hajj; and fasting Ramadan.

Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim

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