Linguistically Tawheed means: "To make something one, or to assert the oneness
of something."7 However, what we are concerned with here is the Sharee'ah
or technical meaning of Tawheed, which is: "To single out Almighty God
alone for worship."8
Al-Bayjowree - may God have mercy on him - said: "It is to single-out al-Ma'bood
(the One to be worshipped - i.e. Almighty God) with worship, along with belief and
affirmation in the oneness and uniqueness of His Dhaat (Essence), Sifaat
(Attributes) and Actions."9
Shaykh al-Ghunaymaan - may God protect him - said: "It is to single Him out with
worship, with love, lowliness and submissiveness to Him, by complying with His commands
and submitting to them."10
The Divisions of Tawheed
And Tawheed - with the Salaf and the Scholars of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah
has three divisions.
'Allaamah as-Safaareenee (died 1112H) - may God's mercy be upon him - said: "Know
that Tawheed has three divisions: Tawheedar-Ruboobiyyah (the Oneness of God
in His Lordship), Tawheed al- Uloohiyyah (to single-out Almighty God alone for
worship) and Tawheed al-Asmaa was-Sifaat (the uniqueness of God's Names and
Attributes)."11
"And God has gathered these three divisions in His - the Most High's- saying: "Lord
of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, so worship Him alone and be
constant and patient in the worship of Him. Do you know of any who is similar to
Him?"12"13
"So Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah implies: A firm and definite belief that Almighty
God alone is the Creator, the Master and Owner, and the Command is for none but Him."14
"And Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah is to single-out God alone for all worship and not
to worship anything along with Him, whether it be an angel, a Messenger, a prophet, a
pious person, a tree, a stone, the sun, the moon, or other than these."15
"And Tawheed al-Asmaa was-Sifaat is the uniqueness of Almighty God - the Most
High - with regards to His Names and His Attributes, by affirming that which God has
affirmed for Himself - whether in His Book (i.e. the Qur'aan) or by the tongue of
His Messenger - may the peace and blessings of God be upon him - without tahreef
(distorting the Names and Attributes), ta'teel (denial of the Names and
Attributes), takyeef (saying how they are), or tamztheel (making any
resemblance with the creation)."16
Tawheed in Knowledge and Action
The above three divisions of Tawheed have been grouped - by some of the Scholars -
into two types: the first type deals with knowing Almighty God through His Names,
Attributes and Actions (i.e. Tawheerd al-Asmaa was Sifaat and Tawheed
ar-Ruboobiyyah), and the second deals with actualising and manifesting
this Tawheed through singling out God alone for worship (i.e. Taawheed al-
Uloohiyyah). The first type of Tawheed is connected with knowledge,
whilst the second type is connected with action.
Ibn al-Qayyim (died 756H) - may God's mercy be upon him - said: "As regards the Tawheed
which the Messengers called to and which the Books were sent down with, then it is of two
types: Tawheed fil-Ma'rifah wal-lthbaat (the Tawheed of Knowledge and
Affirmation) and Tawheed fit-Talab wal-Qasd (the Tawheed of Actions and
Intentions).
So the first type affirms the reality of the Dhaat (Essence) of the Lord - the Most
High - along with His Names, His Attributes, His Actions, His speaking in His Books and
His speaking to whomsoever He wishes from His servants. It also affirms the all-embracing
nature of His Predestination and Pre-Decree and His wisdom. The Qur'aan has
completely clarified this type of Taheed - as occurs at the start of Soorah
Hadeed and Soorah Taa Haa, at the end of Soorah al-Hashr, at the
beginning of Soorah Sajdah, at the beginning of Soorah Aal 'Imraan and all
of Soorah al-Ikhlaas, and other than these.