Faith in the Oneness of Allah’s Worship

What must we know about Allah?

We should recognize that Tawheed Rububiyah by itself is not enough to admit one into the fold of Islam. Another important facet of our faith is therefore to also believe in the “oneness of Allah’s worship.” Allah reminds us in the Quran that even the kuffar, the mushrikeen and iblees affirmed the Lordship of Allah. Shaikh Salih al-Fawzan writes in Mujmal Aqeedah as-Salaf, that “…even Iblees (Satan), who is the head of Kufr said (as stated in the Quran),

“O my Lord! Because you misled me…” (Surah Al-Hijr:39)

and

“By Your Might, then I will surely mislead them all.” (Surah As-Saad:82).

So, Iblees confessed the Lordship of Allah and took an oath by Allah’s Might. Similarly, by reading history we come to know that while the disbelievers such as Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab, and others confessed the Lordship of Allah, they did not believe in worshipping only Allah as the Lord of the universe. Allah says in the Quran:

“If you ask them who created them, they will surely say, ‘Allah’ (Surah Zukhruf:87)

The next step, therefore, after accepting and declaring Tawheed Rububiyah is establishment of Tawheed al-Uluhiyyah. This was the Message of all the Messengers. Shaikh Saleh ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan writes in Aqeedah at-Tawheed that “Tawheed ar-Rububiyah necessitates Tawheed al-Uluhiyah i.e., once we have declared Tawheed ar-Rububiyah and affirmed that there is no Creator, Provider or Controller of the Universe except Allah, we need to proclaim Tawheed al-Uluhiyah – i.e., no one deserves any form of worship except Allah, none is to be invoked and sought help from except Allah, none is to be relied upon except Allah, none is to be offered sacrifices and avowed to except Allah and no worship is performed except for Allah alone.’

Allah reminds us in the Quran:

“O mankind! Worship your Lord (Allah) Who created you and those who were before you so that you may become pious. Who has made the earth a resting place for you and the sky as a canopy and sent down water (rain) from the sky and brought forth therewith fruits as a provision for you. Then do not set up rivals unto Allah (in worship) while you know (that He Alone has the right to be worshiped).” (Surah Al-Baqarah:21-22)

Allah thus ordered Tawheed al-Uluhiyah, which is His worship and He presented Tawheed ar-Rububiyah as a proof and reason for that. That is because we know that Allah created the sky and the earth and all that is between them; the blowing of the wind, sending down of the rain, the growing of the plants, the production of fruits which is the provision of the slaves. So it is not befitting for man to associate partners with Allah. Allah says in the Quran:

Say, ‘In Whose Hand is the sovereignty of everything (i.e. treasures of each and everything)? And He protects (all), while against Whom there is no protector, if you know.’ They will say, ‘(All that belongs) to Allah.’ Say, ‘How then are you deceived and turn away from the truth?” (Surah Al-Mu’minoon:84]

“Such is Allah, your Lord! None deserves worship but He, the Creator of all things. So worship Him (Alone).” (Surah Al-An’aam:102)

­Many similar verses can be found in the Quran where Allah has reminded us that He is the true ilah (the one who deserves to be worshipped) and that no one shares with Him this right (of being worshipped), be it an Angel or a Prophet. It is for this reason that Allah tells us that the call of all the Prophets from the first of them to the last of them was, “La ilaha illa Allah. (there is no ilah except Allah.)”

“Verily, We have sent among every nation, a Messenger (proclaiming), “Worship Allah (Alone), and avoid Taghoot (false deities).” (Surah An-Nahl:36)

So, therefore, if someone believes in the existence of Allah and believes in the Rububiyah of Allah but worships others alongside Allah then he is not a believer in Allah until he singles out Allah in His Uluhiyyah.

“That is because Allah, He is the Truth and what they (the polytheist) invoke besides Him, it is Batil (false).” (Surah Al-Hajj:62)

It is therefore unfortunate to see many who have been misguided from Tawheed al-Uluhiyyah and returned to the Deen of the Mushrikeen by worshiping the graves and tombs, venerating saints and associating with them attributes of Lordship. Again, let’s not forget that only Allah is worthy of worship and let’s be wary of any acts directed to others that may take the form of worship.

In his book “Tawheed First”, Sheikh Muhammad Al-Albanee clarified that to translate the verse “La Ilaha IllAllah” as “there is no god but God or Allah” is incorrect because it masks certain aspects of Tawheed. In his explanation about the importance of Tawheed and its relevance to all aspects of a Muslim’s life, he stated that this is important because in the days of Jahilyaah, although people understood the meaning of “La Ilaha IllAllah” (“there is no god worthy of worship except Allah”), yet they took partners with Allah and called upon others than Allah, and accordingly sought help from others, made vows to other than Allah and so on. So, the closest translation and interpretation for “La Ilaha IllAllah” should be “there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.”

So, to summarize the concept of “Tawheed al-Uluhiyyah”, let’s not forget that as part of their beliefs, Muslims should believe what Allah has reminded the entire humanity, which is:

“Know, that indeed there is no god worthy of worship except Allah…” (Surah Muhammad:19)