Overview
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “O Mu’adh! Do you know what Allah’s Right upon His slaves is?” I said, “Allah and His Apostle know best.” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “To worship Him (Allah) Alone and to join none in worship with Him (Allah). Do you know what their right upon Him is?” I replied, “Allah and His Apostle know best.” The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Not to punish them (if they do so).” (Sahih Bukhari)
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Tawhid in Arabic means attributing Oneness to Allah and describing Him as being One and Unique, with no partner or peer in His Essence and Attributes.
The Arabs say wahid, ahad and wahid, all meaning one. Allah is Wahid, meaning that He has no rivals or peers in any way. So Tawhid means knowing Allah is One, with none like unto Him. Whoever does not acknowledge Allah in these terms and does not describe Him as being One with no partner or associate does not believe in Tawhid.
With regard to the Shar’i definition of Tawhid, it means believing in Allah Alone as God and Lord and attributing to Him Alone all the attributes of Lordship and divinity.
It may be defined as follows: Believing that Allah is One with no partner or associate in His Lordship (rububiyyah), divinity (uluhiyyah) or names and attributes (al-asma wa’l-sifat) which will be discussed in this section.
This word (Tawhid) and its derivatives are used with this meaning in the Quran and Sunnah. For example:
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say (O Muhammad): He is Allah, (the) One [Ahad]. Allah-us-Samad [Allah — the Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, (He neither eats nor drinks)]. He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him”
“And your Ilah (God) is One Ilah [ilahun wahidun] (God — Allah), La Ilaha illa Huwa (there is none who has the right to be worshipped but He), the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”
“Surely, disbelievers are those who said: ‘Allah is the third of the three (in a Trinity).’ But there is no Ilah (god) (none who has the right to be worshipped) but One Ilah [ilahun wahidun] (God —Allah). And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall on the disbelievers among them”
And there are many similar verses.
In Sahih al-Bukhari (7372) and Sahih Muslim (19) it is narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent Mu’adh ibn Jabal to Yemen, he said to him: “You are going to people from among the People of the Book, so let the first thing to which you call them be belief in Allah alone (Tawhid). If they accept that, then tell them that Allah has enjoined on them five prayers every day and night. If they pray then tell them that Allah has enjoined on them zakah from their wealth to be taken from their rich and given to their poor. If they agree to that then take it from them but avoid the best of people’s wealth.”
In Sahih Muslim it is narrated from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Islam is built on five (pillars) : belief that Allah is One, establishing regular prayer, paying zakah, fasting Ramadan and Hajj.”
What is meant by Tawhid in all these texts is affirming the meaning of the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, which is the essence of the religion of Islam with which Allah sent His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), based on the evidence of the words of the Quran and Sunnah.
In some versions of the hadith of Muadh quoted above it says: “You will come to some people from among the People of the Book so when you come to them, call them to bear witness that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”
According to another version of the hadith of Ibn ‘Umar: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Islam is based on five (pillars): the testimony that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger...”
This indicates that Tawhid is the essence of the testimony that there is no god except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and that this is Islam with which Allah sent His Prophet to the two races of mankind and the jinn, other than which Allah will not accept any religion from anyone.
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Truly, the religion with Allah is Islam”
“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers”
Sources:
Al-Hujjah fi Bayan al-Mahajjah, 1/305.
Lawami’ al-Anwar al-Bahiyyah, 1/57.
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