The Importance of Tawheed and the Punishment for the Abandonment of It

One may say, and it has been said, what is it with you people always concerning yourselves with Tawheed and increasing your da'wah too it. And you do not deal with condition of the Muslims in our present time, in which they are being killed and made homeless on the earth. And the kaafir countries are hunting them in every place on the earth. 

So we say, and with Allah is Success:
Tawheed is the foundation upon which this true Religion has been built, so concern with it is concern with the foundation. And if we reflect upon the Qur‘aan, we will find that it has explained Tawheed completely. To the point that we do not pass a soorah(2) from the soorahs of the Qur‘aan except that it deals with the topic of Tawheed, and a declaration for it and prohibition for its opposite (shirk). And the Imaam Ibnul-Qayyim (rahimahullaah) had acknowledged that the Qur‘aan in its entirety deals with Tawheed, because it is either informing us about Allah and His names and Attributes, and this is the Tawheed of knowledge, which is called Tawheedur-Ruboobiyyah (the Oneness of Allaah's Lordship). Or it is an order to worship Allah, alone, with no partners, and a forbiddance of shirk, and this is Tawheed of action, which is called Tawheedul-Uloohiyyah (Tawheedul-Ibaadah, Oneness of Allaah's Worship), which has been demanded from us. Or it is an order to obey Allah and His Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) and a prohibition of disobeying them, and this from the rights of Tawheed and from that which completes it. Or it tells us about what Allaah has prepared for the monotheists from comfort and success and victory in this world and the hereafter. Or it informs us about how Allaah has afflicted the polytheists with exemplary punishment in this life and what has been prepared for them in the hereafter from everlasting punishment and eternal existence in the hell fire. And the first is for the one who has established Tawheed while the second is for the one who has ignored it. 

So then it is established that all of the Qur‘aan revolves around Tawheed. And if you were to look closely to those soorahs that were revealed in Makkah, you would find most of them are concerning Tawheed, because the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) remained in Makkah for thirteen years calling to Tawheed and forbidding shirk. Most of the commandments (faraa‘id) from zakaat and fasting and hajj and other than that from halaal and haraam and matters of conduct and behavior were not revealed until after hijrah to al- Madeenah. The exception being the Salaat, which was obligated on the night of mi'raaj, when he was raised to the heavens but even this was only a little time before hijrah. And because of this, most of the soorahs that were revealed in Makkah before hijrah, all of them are concerning matters of Tawheed, and this proves the importance of Tawheed. And the commandments were not revealed until Tawheed had been established and deeply rooted in the souls, and the correct 'aqeedah (beliefs) made clear, because actions are not correct except with Tawheed, and they are not established except upon Tawheed. 

And the Qur‘aan has made it clear that the first thing the Messengers of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alayhim wa sallam) started their call with before anything else was Tawheed. 


Allaah has said
“And verily, We have sent among every Ummah a Messenger, “Worship Allaah (alone) and avoid Taaghoot (false deities).” [Sooratun-Nahl 16:36](3) 

And He said, 

“And We did not send any Messenger before you (O Muhammad) but We inspired him (saying): There is none that has the right to be worshipped except I, so worship Me.” [Sooratul-Anbiyaa‘ 21:25] 

And every Prophet said to his people, 

“O my people, worship Allaah! You have no other God but Him.” [Sooratul-A'raaf: 59] 

This was the condition of the Messengers in starting their call with Tawheed. 

And the same is the case with the Messengers from the callers to Islaam and the righteous. The first thing that they give importance to is Tawheed, because any da'wah (call) that does not stand on Tawheed will be a fruitless call, and it will not attain its goals, and it will not have an outcome. Every da'wah that sidelines Tawheed and does not concern itself with it, then verily that da'wah will be hopeless in attaining an outcome. And this is something that is witnessed and known. And every da'wah that focuses on Tawheed will be successful with the permission of Allaah; it will bear fruit and prove to be beneficial for the masses. And this is something that is known historically. 

And we do not ignore the condition of the Muslims, rather we give it importance. And we help them and try to remove harm from them in any way possible. It is not easy upon us that the Muslims are being killed and made homeless. But dealing with the affairs of the Muslims does not mean that we cry or pretend to cry, and that we fill the world with speech and writings, screaming and wailing, because this will not be beneficial in anyway. 

The correct cure for the affairs of the Muslims is to firstly find the reasons because of which these punishments have been allowed to befall upon the Muslims. And their enemies have been made rulers over them. What is the reason that the enemy has been given power over the Muslims? 

When we look in the Muslim world, we will not find most of those whom attach themselves to Islam, holding on to it, except the one that Allah has mercy upon. Verily they are Muslims by name, so the 'aqeedah with most of them is missing. They worship other than Allah; they depend upon the Awliyaa‘ (friends of Allah) and the righteous, and the graves and tombs. And they do not establish the prayer, or pay the zakaat, or fast, and they do not establish that which Allah has commanded them with and from that is the gathering of strength for jihaad against the kuffaar. This is the condition of many people who attach themselves to Islam. They have neglected their religion so Allah has neglected them. 

And the most important reason for the befalling of these punishments is because they have ignored Tawheed, and have fallen into Shirkul-Akbar (the greater shirk), and they do not stop it or reject. The one who does not deal with shirk does not reject it either, so much so that they do not see it to be from shirk! And an explanation to this will follow. So these are the most important reasons for the befalling of these punishments upon the Muslims. 

And if they were to adhere to their Religion, and establish their Tawheed and beliefs upon the Qur‘aan and the Sunnah, and grab on to the rope of Allaah together and not be divided, what has befallen them would never have befallen them. Allaah the Glorified and Exalted says, 

“Verily, Allaah will help those who help Him (His cause). Truly, Allaah is All Strong, All Mighty. Those who if We give them power in the land, (they) order for the prayers to be established, to pay zakaat, and the enjoin Ma'roof (what we have been ordered with) and forbid Munkar (what we have been forbidden from).” [Sooratul-Hajj: 40-41] 

So this makes it clear that we will not achieve Allaah's help for the Muslims until we establish what Allaah has mentioned in this verse and that is: the establishment of Prayer, the paying of zakaat, the ordering of good and the forbiddance of evil.

And where are these things with the Muslims today? Where is the Prayer with most of the Muslims? And where are the correct beliefs with those who call to Islaam? 

Allah the Glorified and Exalted has said, 

“Allaah has promised those among you who believe, and do righteous good deeds, that he certainly will grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the earth, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practice their religion that which He has chosen for them (Islaam). And He will indeed give them a safe security after their fear . . .” But what is the condition for this promise, 

“They worship Me and do not associate anything with me (in worship)” [Sooratun-Noor: 55] 

So it was made clear that this succession and peace will not be achieved until its condition is fulfilled, and that condition is the worship of Allaah with no partners, and this is what Tawheed is. So no one will achieve these generous promises except the one who establishes Tawheed by worshiping Allaah with no partners. And the Prayer, and zakaat, and fasting and all other things that require obedience (to Allaah and His Messenger) fall under the worship of Allaah. 

And Allah did not only say worship me, but He followed that with “not associating anything with me”. And this is because worship is not beneficial when shirk is involved. Rather it is a must to avoid shirk, no matter what type it is, what face it takes, or what its called. And shirk is, “The giving of worship to other than Allaah the Glorified and Exalted.” 

And this is the reason for victory and peace on the earth, the correction of beliefs and actions. And without this, then verily the punishments and catastrophes will befall the one who violates anything from that which Allah has mentioned from this condition (to worship Him upon Tawheed). And these catastrophes, and the enemy having power over us is because the Muslims have violated this condition, and because of their negligence for their beliefs and their religion, and them being satisfied attachment to Islaam by name only.



Footnotes 

1 This section is taken from Duroos min al-Qur'ann al-Kareem by Shaykh Salih Fawzaan bin Fawzaan. 
2 Soorah : A chapter from the Qur'aan. 
3 All translations are taken Muhammad Muhsin Khan's translation

Tawheed in the Glorious Qur'aan 

Author : Sheikh Saalih Fawzaan bin Fawzaan 
Source : Lessons from the Glorious Qur'an(1)
Translated by: Kashif bin Hazoor Khan As Salafi 

Posted in: islamic article