A Simple Guide to ISLAM
Tawheed – The Oneness of God
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Tawheed
has two aspects to it:
tawheed fi az-Zat
and
tawheed fi
as-Sifat,
that is, oneness of being and oneness of attributes. This
means that God is alone in His Being as well as in His attributes.
The attributes of God are called
Al Asmaul Husna,
or the excellent
names. The Quran says: “But God’s are excellent names, call on
Him thereby.” (7:179) Abu Hurayrah, a companion of the Prophet,
has narrated a saying of the Prophet to this effect: “Verily, there
are ninety nine names of God.’
Islam enjoins the believers to worship one Allah alone. No other
being or object is worthy of being worshipped. No other being
should be associated with Allah. Idolatry or
shirk
is to worship or
hold in reverence anything other than God. It is strictly forbidden
in Islam, and is regarded as the worst of all sins.
THE FAR REACHING EFFECT OF TAWHEED
By believing in one true God man is saved from worshipping many
false gods.
Tawheed
enables man to establish a direct link between
God and man.
Belief in
tawheed
makes man humble and modest instead of being
proud and arrogant. It is because belief in one Great God implies
that man is His humble servant and that modesty alone befits him.
Believers know that they must submit to Allah, on whom they
depend utterly. Submission to one God results in individual
freedom and dignity, for, all human beings become equal and all
deserve our respect. There is only one God and all of us are
servants of the same God. Belief in the oneness of Allah helps
