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"Labbayka Allahumma labbayk. Labbayka la sharika Laka
labbayk. Inna al-hamda wan-ni`mata Laka wal-mulk. Laa sharika Lak."
What a beautiful intoning of Muslims going to Hajj,
"Here I am at Your service,
O Allah; here I am. Here I am.
You have no partner; here I am.
Verily, Yours alone are all praise and
all bounty and the dominion; You have no
partner."
Let's take a break to remind ourselves of the importance
of the one message of all the messengers; the core message included in Talbyah;
the tawheed.
This is the purpose of our lives. It is the message of all the
prophets and messengers. Negating it takes you outside the fold of Islam and
into eternal punishment, while fulfilling it promises you Paradise. It is
the cure for the ills of this Ummah.
It is the means to success in this life and the Hereafter. Tawheed is
our forgotten gold.
Sheikh Ibn Taymiyah said,
Tawheed that the messengers came with comprises
affirming that divinity and worship belong to Almighty Allah alone, such
that a person witnesses that none has the right to be worshipped except
Allah, and that none is worshipped except Him, nor depended upon other
than Him, nor are alliances or enemies made except for Him, nor is an
action done except for Him. This affirmation also covers those Names and
Attributes which Allah affirms for Himself, as Allah the Most High says,
(Your
Allah is One Allah; there is no Allah save Him, the Beneficent, the
Merciful.)
(Al -Baqarah
2:163)
The importance of tawheed in Islam is shown through the
Qur’an. Every surah mentions tawheed, whether it is with regards to
Allah's Lordship, His Names and Attributes, His command to worship Him alone
or the consequences of committing shirk.
In fact, this was the same message that all the prophets and
messengers brought. Almighty Allah says,
(And We sent no messenger before thee
but We inspired him, (saying): There is no Allah save Me (Allah), so worship
Me.) (Al-Anbiyaa’21:25).
He the Almighty also says,
(And verily We have raised in
every nation a messenger, (proclaiming): Serve Allah and shun false
gods.) (An-Nahl
16:36).
Worshipping Almighty Allah alone without associating anything
with Him is the very purpose of our existence. Almighty Allah tells us in
the Qur’an: (I created the jinn and humankind only that they might
worship Me.) (Adh-Dhariyat 51:
56).
Associating partners with Allah is shirk
and it is the
worst sin; the only sin that Almighty Allah does not forgive. Almighty
Allah says,
(Lo! Allah forgiveth not that a
partner should be ascribed unto Him. He forgiveth (all) save that to
whom He will. Whoso ascribeth partners to Allah, he hath indeed invented
a tremendous sin.)
(An-Nisaa’ 4:48).
Contrary to what some may believe, tawheed cannot be
understood in the course of one thirty minute class. It is a subject so
deep that it can take years to be studied and understood. Even Prophet
Muhammad's companions spent 13 years learning the message of tawheed.
This was the Makkan phase
of the revelation, when no regulation of Shari`ah
had yet been sent down, except the ruling of salah.
In this phase, the message consisted only of `aqeedah
(beliefs), and tawheed was paramount.
This allowed the belief in tawheed to be inculcated in the
companions’ hearts, making their faith firm and made them dedicated to
Almighty Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
Afterwards, they were able to accept immediately and apply all the
regulations of Shari`ah
revealed in the Madinah
phase of the message because their hearts were
firmly established upon tawheed.
Knowing this, we as Muslims must make greater efforts to
understand tawheed and know the nature of shirk
so that we can protect ourselves from a sin
that may ruin our religion.
When you acknowledge that Allah created you to worship
Him, then you know that worship is not (regarded as) worship except
with tawheed. Just as prayer is not (regarded as) prayer except
with purification,” said Shayhk Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab in his
treatise, The Four Principles. So when shirk enters into
worship it corrupts it just like impurity when it enters something
pure.
Indeed, these great words of wisdom show us that without
first understanding and accepting tawheed, our actions will not be
accepted. Therefore, because Allah’s acceptance of our actions is
dependent on tawheed, seeking knowledge of tawheed should be
the first path to knowledge that we should embark upon and the first words
we call to in our da`wah
to and within Islam.
After seeking knowledge of tawheed, affirming with
one’s heart, attesting with one’s tongue and conforming to it with
one’s actions, the believer is granted Paradise. This is proven by the
authentic hadith, “Whoever says La ilaaha illa Allah sincerely
will enter Paradise." (Reported by Bazzar and declared authentic
by Al-Albani in Sahih AI-Jami`).
Also, this statement: “There is nothing worthy of worship
except Allah” is what will grant us what we long for: eternal success.
As Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Say:
None has the right to be worshipped except Allah and thus be successful..."
(Ahmad).
Let us not be complacent, but instead return to what the
prophets called to, that which corrected the actions and lives of the
Companions, that which brought them success and conquest in this life and
Paradise in the Next, that which through time was buried and forgotten,
and that which today we shall revive. Let us return to our forgotten gold.
Let us return to the real tawheed.
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