True Monotheistic Concepts – Tawheed, Shirk, Islam

 

Tawheed (montheism)

The term is derived from
the three consonants root w-h-d, which
serves as the vehicle for the basic concept of ‘oneness,’ or
‘unity,” along with the closely related ideas of ‘singularity’
and ‘uniqueness.’ These root letters are clearly apparent in
the numerical adjective wahid [one]. In the words of
the Qur`an:

Your God is surely
One.
(37:4) inna
Ilaaha-kum-la-Wahid

The term Tawheed
demands a lengthier translation, namely: “the
realization-and-affirmation-of-Oneness. The Unity of God, the Divine
Unity, Unity in its most profound sense. Allah is The Real, The
Absolute. Allah is One in His Essence, His Attributes and His Acts.
Before the existence of the universe there was nothing but The
Creator. 

The Qur`an declares that
“Nothing is like Him” (42:11). Allah is omniscient and all-powerful.
All of Allah’s attributes belong to Him exclusively. He is the first
and there is no last but His oneness. He is the First without
anything before Him. He is the Last without anything after Him. The
end is with Him alone, and He is the End. He is All-Existing: with
him there is no end. Allah is now as He was before. He is
Eternal.

Tawheed can be viewed from the
perspectives of:

•  
  • Tawheed
    al-Rububiyah
    – Unity of
    Lordship
  • Tawheed al-
    Uluhiyah
    – Unity of
    Worship
  • Tawheed al- Asma wa
    Sifaat
    – Unity of His Names and His
    Attributes
  • Tawheed al
    Itabaa
    – Unity in the following the
    Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him

 

Tawheed undoubtedly is the
central theme and message of the Qur`an, the Book of Allah and it is
repeated in many other verses.

The Arabs in Mecca and later
the Jews in Medina inquired from Allah’s Rasul (SAW), who is Allah?
Allah revealed in Surah Ikhlas (S: 112) as
follows:

In the name Of Allah, The most
Gracious, The Most
Merciful.

Say, Allah is One,
Allah The Everlasting, The
Eternal,
He has not given birth and was not born,
And no
one is comparable to
Him

In another verse, Surah
(chapter) 24:35, an image of spiritual discernment of Allah is
mentioned,

Allah is
the Light of the heavens and the earth………..  Light upon
Light! And Allah guides to His Light whom He
will.

These verses confirm the
Unitary belief, which is the mainspring of Islam and the core of
The Qur`an.

Further, only in total
acquiescence in Allah’s good pleasure, renunciation of one’s own
will, and surrender to His will and guidance is
Tawheed made perfect. Allah’s absolute unity
is the beginning and the end of the spiritual life for
Muslims.

The Unity of Allah is a
magnificent and a beautiful concept, and Muslims reaffirm their
adherence to it many times a day. To acknowledge the fact of the
“affirmation-of-Oneness” renew your faith by frequent invocation
of  “La ilaha illa llah” [there is
non worthy of worship accept Allah] will be the means to
eradicate Shirk [polytheism].

It is a powerful and effective
concept for focusing and organising one’s worldview and epitomising
a religious and psychological orientation and authentically
expressive of an important facet of the spirit of
Islam.

Shirk –
Polytheism

The opposite of
Tawhid is expressed by the Arabic term
Shirk
(polytheism), derived from the
root Sh-r-k which conveys the notion of
“sharing” or “partnerships.” The word Sharik
(plural shurakaa) means “partner” or
“associate.” It encompasses far more than the more blatant forms of
idolatry and denial of Allah’s Unity. The term
Shirk means associating partners with Allah,
and the related term mushrik is applied to
someone guilty of such polytheistic
association.

Forms of
Shirk:

Major Shirk Includes

• Shirk ad
  Du’a –
  invoking or supplicating to a false deity besides Allah
  
• Shirk al-Niyah wa Iraada
  wal Qasd – having the intention and determination to
  deliberately worship a deity other then Allah.
• Shirk at-
  Ta’a –
  obeying any created being against the command of
  Allah.
• Shirk
  al-Muhabbah – loving a created being or an object more
  than Allah

• Hidden Shirk as:Shirk al-
  khafi means the hidden, or covert, association of
  partners with Allah, the One and Only God. This is an insidious
  form of Shirk.

Minor forms of
Shirk as:

Shirk ar- rea –carrying out religious acts for
worldly gain, e.g. showing off.Shirk at- Tasmee
– swearing by other then Allah.Allah says in the
Noble Qur`an that Shirk is the greatest sin. (S 31: 14)He
also says that He will forgive all other sins if He wishes, except
Shirk (S 4: 49)Muslims must understand the term
Shirk (polytheism) and be conceptually and practically
clear that it is diametrically opposed to, Tawheed, the
affirmation to the Oneness of Allah.

January 1,
2000

Islam (Surrender, Submission, Obedience, Sincerity, Peace)

Islam is an Arabic word and
its means ‘peace’ and submission. Peace from the root word
Salaam.

Allah says in the Qur`an: ‘The only 'deen' ('way of Islamic religion' or 'way of life') approved by
Allah is Submission…. (S 3: 19)

Submitting to the divine will and guidance of the One Creator
Allah (SWT). Islam connotes total obedience and surrender of
the entire creation that obeys the law of
Allah.

The
whole universe, therefore, literally follows the way of
Islam.

Man
through submission to the divine will and guidance of Allah, finds
Peace in His Creator, peace within himself and peace with Allah’s
creation.

The
definition of Islam is grasped in a Hadith Qudsi, which
explains the essence of the ‘divine’ plan. Allah says that He was a
hidden treasure and wished to be known thus; He created Man and Jinn
purely to worship Him. A clear understanding of this Hadith is the
basis for all creation, which is love, obedience and worship of
Allah.

Allah is the one God. He has no partner. He is All Powerful,
Absolutely Just. He is The First, The Last and The Everlasting, He
was when nothing was, and will be when nothing remains. He only
grants life and knows what is in the Heavens and the earth. He knows
what is in our hearts and listens to the entire creation. He sent
all the prophets to guide man to Worship only
Him.

Islam is the religion of Allah, which permeates
peace:

Islam simply means
Peace.

One
who accepts and follows the way of Islam is known as a Muslim.
Muslim is an adjective to Islam, which means Peaceful and one who
submits to the divine, will and guidance to no other god
(ilah) accept Allah.

One
of Allah’s name is As – Salaam which means
Peace.

A
supplication by His creation is Ya – Salaam which affects and
enables one to inculcate a character of
Peace.

The
daily greeting of Muslims and Angels are Peace be upon
everyone.

Islam is a religion of Unity, which is in the affirmation of
the Oneness of Allah; a Unity, which is a consistent message in the
worship of Allah, forms the origin of
creation.

Islam enjoys a unique distinction that it is not a product of
a human mind. It’s message and meaning, that whosoever submits to
the One Creator and follows the divine order of creation,
recognising and submitting to His guidance and divine will, are
Muslims. It’s a way from the beginning of creation to the end of the
divine plan.

Islam is the natural religion of man, the way of nature; it
is not associate with any one person, people, period or place. All
Allah knowing and truth loving Men have believed and lived this
religion. They were all Muslims as all the prophets from Adam to Nuh
to Ibrahim to Musa to Essa to Muhammad on all be Peace were
Muslims.

All
of mankind, like all creatures are born Muslims and invariably obey
the injunctions of Allah and Men is further bound as everything in
creation to remain a Muslim.