Articles Of Faith

Unity and Oneness of Allah

This is the first article of faith for the Muslim, who expresses it in these words:

"There is no god but Allah and Hazrat Muhammad [SAWS] is the Messenger of Allah."

It is the first part of the Muslim's Declaration of faith, LA ILLAHA ILLALLAH which literally

means that there is no God except Allah. Allah is not a name; it is just the Arabic word for "the

one God." There are 99 names of Allah, but these do not signify different persons but God's

characteristics and attributes.

Allah is Mighty and Supreme; Allah asks us to know Him, to love Him, and to follow His law, to

worship Him alone and no one else.

Tauheed

The most important and fundamental teaching of Islam is the belief in the Oneness of Allah-that

is termed as Tauheed. This is explained in Kalimah, the first article of faith: there is no god; there

is no worthy of worship except Allah.

Islam attaches great importance to this pillar of faith- concerning the Unity of God and the

finality of Prophet Hood. This is the foundation and the bedrock of Islam. The expression of

belief in this article of faith distinguishes a believer from a non- believer. A true believer of

Islam is always firm on his belief that Allah is the Only Supreme authority and there is none like

unto Him. It has three main aspects.

a) Oneness of Lordship of Allah

Muslims believed in the existence of One Supreme and Eternal God, the Creator, Sustainer and

Provider. Allah is the Lord of the worlds, who is merciful and compassionate, and the Ruler of

the Day of Judgment. Allah has no equals, He is the all-knowing, the Beneficent, and He is God

of all mankind.

The Holy Quran speaks of Allah as under:

“And have they not looked into the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and all things that

Allah has created?” (7:185)

And it is again said in Surah Fatiha, the first chapter of the Holy Quran, namely, Rabbul

Aalameen, Ar-Rahman, Ar-Rahim, and Malik-i-Yaumiddeen. Rabbul Aalameen means 'Lord of

all the worlds'. Ar-Rahman means 'the Gracious'. Ar-Rahim means 'the Merciful', and Malik-i-

Yaumiddeen means 'Master of the Day of Judgment'. As verse of throne says,

“There is no God but He.”

b) Oneness in Worship of Allah

As Allah is the only Creator and Lord, so He is the only one worthy of worship. Allah says,

“It is Allah besides whom none has the right to be worshipped…… He is Allah, the Creator, the

Inventor of all things, the Bestower of forms….” (59:23-4)

On the other hand, transgressor of the Power and Authority of Allah will exhibit arrogance and

defiance (by ridiculing and casting doubt on revelation) and it is said:

 “It is he who would be at loss and not Allah. In Surah Al-Qamar 54:2,”

Allah says:

“And if they see a sign they turn away and say: This is continuous magic.” In the same Surah at

54:43.

It is also revealed:

“Are your disbelievers (O Quraish) better than the nations of Nuh, Lut, Salih and the people of

Fir’aun who were destroyed.”

Allah is One and Almighty. He alone is worthy of worship. And Allah says for Himself:

“You alone we worship and you alone we ask help from.”

c) Oneness of names and attributes of Allah

We must not call Allah with names other that defined by the Prophets. And we must not attach

qualities of Allah to some other person. Finally we must believe in all the characteristics of Allah

told by His messengers or stated in His Books. He has no partners. He begets not nor is He

begotten. He is Eternal. He listens to our prayers and accepts them. He gives life and causes

death. He created us in the best form. He has neither wife nor children. He is Perfect. He loves us

all and shows mercy to us. He has knowledge of everything. He sends {is guidance to us through

His Prophets. He is Master of the Day of Judgment. No sleep or slumber ever overtakes Him. He

has neither beginning nor end. He is All-Knowing, All-Seeing and Just. Quran endorses this at

many places as:

“There is nothing whatever like unto Him and He is the one who hears and sees (all things).”

“He is the First and the Last,the Evident and the Hidden.”
The teachings of Tauheeed teach us to seek God’s help only as we constantly need His help and

guidance. This means that we should always remember that Allah has created us, is sustaining us

and will call us back one day for accountability. So, a true belief in Tauheed infuses in us a spirit

of submission, obedience and thankfulness so that we can remember Him and avoid all those evil

acts that are likely to displease Him.

Proofs for Existence and oneness of Allah

In a day and age when nothing seems acceptable without proof, we find many aspects of our

religion are based on complete faith. We are required to believe in many things with or without

proof. From amongst these things, is the belief that Allah exists and that He is the creator of this

world and that He has no partner in His being or any of his infinite qualities. We have to not only

believe this, but also proclaim it.

As we look into the lives of the pious predecessors, we find that they have been asked as to how

Allah exists. They have answered in many different ways:

1. Imam Abu Hanifah [Radi Allahu Anhu] was posed with this question in a debate with an

atheist. The time and date was set for the debate. The whole village gathered but the Imam did

not turn up on time. When he eventually arrived, the atheist began to taunt him that he was

scared and that is why he turned up late. The Imam answered calmly: “I was on my way but

encountered a river. There was no bridge or boat to cross the river. To my amazement, I see a

tree coming out of the ground and begin to shape itself in the form of a boat that enters the water;

I was able to board it and cross the river”. The atheist began to laugh and disgrace the Imam. The

Imam said the real joke is on you. If this is not possible then how can this whole world come into

existence and be maintained in this order without a creator.

2. Imam Malik [Radi Allahu Anhu] was asked the same question. He replied that I see a

cow, a silk worm, and a honey bee, all eat the same leaf but they all produce different products.

This proves to me that there is a creator who has the power to do this.

3. Imam Shafi [Radi Allahu Anhu] replied to this question that the different language that

people speak and use to communicate proves to me that this world has a creator.

4. Imam Ahmed [Radi Allahu Anhu] on being asked this question replied that once I took

three eggs of a chicken and three of a duck and placed them with the mother hen. When they

hatched, they were taken to a pond. The ducks without hesitation jumped into the water but the

chicks remained on the bank. Who taught the duckling to jump in the water and who taught the

chicks to refrain from this? There surely has to be a creator. Besides this, if a person truly

ponders on creation, he himself will find many signs guiding him to the belief that Allah exists

and that he is One.

These signs include uniqueness of fingerprints of all the human beings for all the time. Our

brains, signaling systems, rain from skies, change of winds, clouds, earth and cycles of day and

night all are signs of His uniqueness. As Allah says,

“It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon nor can the Night outstrip the Day, each

swim along in (its own) orbit (according to Law).”

Everything is created in given ratio with perfect balance. Allah says,

“Verily all things have We created in proper measure.”

The delicate discipline of the world can be maintained by supreme powers of Allah. There is

someone who preserves this equilibrium and harmony.

Shirk

The opposite of Oneness or Unity of Allah is Shirk which means associating partners with the

Supreme Lord. The Holy Quran considers Shirk to be an unpardonable sin. It says:

“Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him, but He forgives anything else to

whom He pleases; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin most heinous indeed.” (4:48)

The Islamic belief of Oneness of Allah or Tawheed contradicts the stand of the atheists who

claim that this universe came into being as a result of some accident and would continue to

function in a mechanical manner till it completes its circle of life and dissolves into oblivion.

What Exactly is Tawheed:

Man has always had an inner need to worship some deity. It is ingrained in his nature. This is

because: (a) Man is weak, frail, needy and destitute. (b) He is dependent on hundreds of forces

for survival. In primitive times, man started to worship objects governing various parts of nature,

e.g. rivers, trees, the wind etc. But soon he learned that these objects were more dependent than

he himself was e.g. rivers dry up, trees fall in a tempest etc. After this stage, he will notice what

striking regularity there is in the universe e.g. the precise movement of the stars, the currents of

wind, water etc. This leads to belief in a Supreme Being. However, man still believes (like the

Arabs not long ago) that along with the Supreme God, there are hundreds (even thousands!) of

minor gods or goddesses who, like governors of a province, manage on behalf of the Higher

Authority. Still, some people think that God has a human body and has ‘settled’ on earth. Others

think His image must be worshipped. Others believe that he can only be approached through

saints, spirits and sages. This all is shirk and opposite to Tauheed.
Shirk is also divided into three categories: (1) Shirk in the existence of Allah. (2) Shirk in

attributes. (3) Shirk in worship.

The eternal punishment for shirk is also mentioned in Quran that states:

“whoever joins other gods with Allah, Allah will forbid him the garden (i.e. Paradise) and the

Fire will be his abode.”

Shirk is also an expression of ingratitude to God, an attribute of Satan as endorsed by Quran:

“and Satan is to his Lord ungrateful.”

So, if a believer follows the footsteps of Satan, his fate will be like that of Satan. This means

Shiek, in its accumulative effect, weakens the faith in God supremacy, sovereignty, authority and

power to create, sustain and nourish all the creatures. This weakness gradually results in an

irreversible loss of true faith in Tawhid.

Effects of Tawheed on a person’s life:

1. Obeys Allah’s laws and commands. He knows that Allah is watching his every move and that

He is “closer to him than his own jugular”. Nothing can evade the Lord of the Throne.

2. Best illustration of Tawheed is found in Surah Ikhlas and its correct manifestation is

contained in Surah Fatiha wherein one has to say: “Iyya ka na’budu wa iyya ka nastaeen”. If

one strictly follows this in life, then he is surely on the Right Path (Sirat-e-Mustaqeem) as he

worships no one but Allah and seeks help from no one but Allah.

3. Open-mindedness. He understands that everything is a subject of his Lord and his love or

interest doesn’t remain confined to any particular group.

4. Self-esteem. Believer understands that only Allah has power over his affairs and only He

wields authority. He never bows his head or stretches his hand.

5. Modesty and humbleness. He knows that everything he has is given to him by Allah and He

can take it back whenever he wants.

6. Virtuous and upright. He knows that Allah is his only means of success and salvation. He

does not look to others as his gateway to prosperity.

7. Optimistic / does not despair. Faith in dependence on Allah and that Allah will never leave

his side if he is struggling for a good cause.

8. Determination, perseverance, Trust in Allah. Strong belief that Allah will help him through

every step and is always watching him.

9. Bravery. Because: Fear of death and love of safety. Idea that someone else can take his life.

are destroyed since (i) only Allah holds the power of giving and taking life, and (ii) every

living being has a time appointed for him to die and go back to his Lord.

10. Peace and contentment, removal of jealousies, hatreds etc. Believer understands that Allah

bestows wealth and fortunes as He, and ONLY He, wishes and everything happens with His

orders.