Components of Tawheed: Allah Is Maintaining And Controlling Everything In The Universe
By Dr Muhammad Anowar
Zahid
20th
September 2020
Islam is
the complete code of life prescribed by Allah, the Lord of the universe, to be
practiced in the way of His Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). It
regulates all aspects of life from birth to death. And its following will be
rewarded by an eternal blissful abode after death, that is, the Heaven.
However,
the basic structure of Islam is based on five pillars, namely Imaan (Faith), Salah (Obligatory Prayers), Zakah
(Obligatory Charity), Sawm
(Obligatory Fasting), and Hajj
(Obligatory Pilgrimage). The first Pillar requires a person to believe in a few
articles of Faith. Those are (1) Oneness of Allah (Tawheed), (2) Prophethood of all prophets (Peace be upon them), in
particular Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) being the last and universal Prophet, (3)
Angels, (4) all Divine Books, (5) Resurrection and Day of Judgment, and (6)
Destiny (Jahangir 2017 p. 85). Today, we would reflect partially upon the first
article of Faith, i.e., Tawheed.
The essence
of Tawheed is that The Ever-Living and Ever-Lasting Being, Allah, is The
Creator and Sustainer of all things with all-comprehensive Names and Attributes
and hence absolutely deserves worship from His creations. From this statement,
we may discern three components of Tawheed:
Tawheed of Lordship (Tawheed ar-Ruboobeeyah)
Tawheed of Names and Attributes (Tawheed
al-Asmaa was-Sifaat)
Tawheed of
Worship (Tawheed al-‘Ibaadah)
The first
two components are the Knowledge aspect of Tawheed and the third is the Action
or Worship aspect of Tawheed (Jahangir 2017; Jahangir 2002).
Now, the
rest of the paper will reflect upon the first component of Tawheed.
Tawheed of Lordship
Here
“Lordship” (Ruboobeeyah) includes the sole power of Allah to create, sustain,
maintain and control everything in the universe. No one else has any share with
Him in this respect. He is the Creator and everything else is the created
(Jahangir 2017 and Philips n.d.).
The Qur’an
and Sunnah speak extensively of His omnipotence. For example, the Qur’an starts
with praising Allah as the Lord of the worlds (Qur’an 1:1), which may include
the worlds of angels, men, jins, animals, birds, flies, and things we may or
may not know of. These created worlds testify the fact of His Lordship. Allah
calls upon the humans to ponder over the creation of the animals, heavens,
mountains, and the earth (Qur’an 88:17-20). Here, among from the myriads of
signs of His being the Creator, we may cite a few below:
Allah has
created the heavens and the earth (Qur’an 16:3) and adorned the heavens with
stars (Qur’an 37:6). He has created everything in pairs (Qur’an 51:49) like the
heavens and the earth, the day and the night, the sun and the moon, the land
and the sea, light and darkness, faith and disbelief, life and death, fortune
and misfortune, Hell and Heaven, etc. (Ibn Kathir 2019).
He created
man from sperm-drop (Qur’an 16:4) and made relations between them by blood and
by marriage (Qur’an 25:54). Allah created husband and wife relationships so
that they can live in rest and peace. He has also created love and compassion
between them (Qur’an 7:189; 30:21). He has created the nations of Jinns from
fire free from smoke (Qur’an 55:15). Allah has created every living creature
from water, some of whom walk on the belly, some on two feet, and some on four
(Qur’an 24:45). He has created the grazing livestock from which humans reap
benefits (Qur’an 16:5). Besides, He has created so many things that we do not
know (Qur’an 16:8) nor can we count up (Qur’an 16:18). In His creation, there is no fault (Qur’an
67:3). He can create whatever He likes (Qur’an 24:45).
After
creation, Allah is maintaining and controlling everything in the universe. He
directs (all) affairs from the heavens to the earth (Qur’an 32:5). He merges
the night into the day and the day into the night (Qur’an 35:13). If He
perpetuated the night for us until the Last Day of the world, who could bring
us light? None but He (Qur’an 28:71).
Allah
brings the living out of the dead and the dead out of the living (Qur’an
30:19). He takes our souls for the night when we are in sleep and raises us up
from sleep for the day (Qur’an 6:60). He grants power and kingdom to anyone He
wills and takes the same away from whomsoever He wants (Qur’an 3:26). He gives
honour to whomever He wants and humiliates whomsoever He pleases (Qur’an 3:60).
Allah makes
people strong and again turns them weak (Qur’an 30:54). He makes them laugh and
again makes them weep (Qur’an 53:43). He shows the lightening, makes the heavy
clouds, sends thunderbolts (Qur’an
12-13), rain (Qur’an 30:48), and gives life to the earth after its lifelessness
(being dry up) (Qur’an 57:17). Every living and non-living being is in His
total control, such as the heavens and the earth (Qur’an 35:41), and the living
creatures (Qur’an 11:56).
Thus He is
the Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever in between (Qur’an 19:65).
He has total dominance and power over everything (Qur’an 48:11). Nobody can go
beyond the limits of the heavens and the earth without His authority. Wherever
he/she goes with Allah’s sanction, that is the kingdom of His (Qur’an 55:33).
Nothing can happen without His leave. Even a single leaf does not fall without
His knowledge (Qur’an 6:59). Nor does any calamity strike except by His
permission (Qur’an 64:11). Thus whatever He wants must happen. Nobody can bring
any change to His decision or action. In this connection, the Prophet’s (PBUH)
following direction is instructive:
“Be aware
that if the whole of mankind gathered together in order to do something to help
you, they would only be able to do something for you which Allah had already
written for you. Likewise, if the whole of mankind gathered together to harm
you, they would only be able to do something to harm you which Allah had
already written to happen to you.” (cited in Philips n.d. )
To
conclude, Allah is the Only and Absolutely Only Creator and Lord of the whole
creation without any parallel to Him. His kingdom and power rein over
everywhere and everything. He is above any need. Rather everything in the
heavens and the earth is in need of Him. He shines in Splendour every day
(Qur’an 55:29).
References:
Primary Sources:
The Holy Qur’an
Sunnah
Secondary Sources:
Ibn Kathir, Imaduddin (2019), Tafsir Ibn
Kathir (Bengali translation by Hafez Munir Uddin Ahnad), 7th vol. London:
Qur’an Academy.
Jahangir, Khondokar Abdullah (2017),
Qur’an-Sunnaher Aloke Islami Aqida (in Bangla) (Islamic Creed in the Qur’an and
Sunnah. Jhenidah: As-Sunnah Publications.
Jahangir, Khondokar Abdullah (2002),
Imam Abu Haneefah’s Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar: The (Bengali) Translation and
Explanation. Jhenidah: As-Sunnah Publications.
Philips, Abu Ameenah Bilal (n.d.), The
Fundamentals of Tawheed (Islamic Monotheism) at https://www.cia.gov/library/abbottabad-compound/84/84575EAC059788C5E8DFA51FEF117E4A_The%20Fundamentals%20of%20Tawheed.pdf
retrieved on 11 September 2020.
Original Headline: The Components of Tawheed
with Special Focus on the Lordship of Allah
Source: The Muslim Vibe
URl:
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