Kitaab At-Tawheed
"The Book of Tawheed" translated by Sameh Strauch
Brief Overview
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Foreword All praise be to Allah (swt ) `The Exalted, the Rabb of the worlds, and our Prophet, Muhammad (saas ) `Blessings and Peace be upon him', and upon all his family and companions. When I embraced Islam in 1983, by the grace of Allah (swt ), one of the first books which I was given to read was a translation of Kitaab At-Tawheed by the renowned scholar, Muhammad Ibn `Abdil Wahhaab: I understood very little of it and was driven to the conclusion that this was because I was new to Islam and therefore lacked knowledge. It was only later, when I was fortunate enough to study the book, Taiseer Al-'Azeez Al-Hameed in Arabic, that I realized that not even Arabic speakers try to understand Kitaab At-Tawheed without the benefit of an explanation. It has therefore been in my mind for some time to try to provide English-speakers with an explanation of this great work, but unfortunately, other projects diverted me until now. In compiling this explanation, I have relied mainly on Al-Jadeed Fee Sharh Kitaab At-Tawheed by Shaikh Muhammad Al-Qar'aawi, Tafseer Ibn Katheer and a number of books of Hadith. I ask Allah (swt ) that He accept this humble effort from me and make it of benefit to my brothers and sisters in Islam.
On Tawheed Allah (swt ), says:
Allah (swt ), informs us that it is He (swt ) Who created the jinn and mankind, and that the wisdom behind that creation was that they worship Him (swt ), Alone and reject the worship of any other, and that He (swt ) did not create them for any benefit for Himself, but in order that they should worship Him (swt ); and He (swt ) has undertaken to provide sustenance for them, and He (swt ) is the Most Truthful in keeping His (swt ) Promises and Able to fulfill them, for He (swt ) is Strong. Benefits Derived from This Verse
Relevance of This Verse to the Subject of Tawheed That these Qur'anic verses show the wisdom behind the creation of the jinn and mankind is worship of Allah (swt ), Alone and the rejection of all objects of worship besides Him. ..ooOOoo.. Allah (swt ), says:
Allah (swt ), informs us in these Qur'anic verses that He has sent to every community of mankind a Messenger (saas ), who conveyed to them the Message and ordered them to believe in only One God – Allah (swt ) and to reject all those false gods besides Him (swt ). And the people who heard from these Messengers (saas ) are divided into two groups: The first, those whom Allah (swt ) guided to goodness and who responded positively to the guidance of the Messenger (saas ) and abstained from all that was forbidden to them; the second group were forbidden from success and rejected the truth, and therefore they were losers, both in this world and the Hereafter. And whoever travels throughout the earth, seeking to learn from it, will see the evidence of Allah's Retribution upon some of those who stubbornly rejected the Guidance of Allah (swt ) and His Messengers (saas ), such as `Aad, Thamood 2 and Fir'aoun.3 Benefits Derived From This Verse
Relevance of This Verse to the Subject of Tawheed That these Qur'anic verses prove that worship of Allah (swt ) is of no benefit if the worship of others besides Him is not rejected. ..ooOOoo.. Allah (swt ), says:
Allah (swt ), commands all those obligated to obey Him to worship Him, Alone and to observe filial piety and devotion; and He affirms the right of parents upon their offspring immediately after mentioning His right upon His slaves. Then He describes some of the types of filial piety, especially when they become frail and elderly, such as not displaying annoyance with them and not raising one's voice or scolding them, speaking to them in tones of gentleness and kindness and supplicating Allah (swt ) on their behalf - both while they are alive and after their death. Benefits Derived from These Verses
Relevance of These Verses to the Subject of Tawheed That these Qur'anic verses prove the obligation of worshipping Allah (swt ), Alone, without partners. ..ooOOoo.. Allah (swt ), says:
Sincerity is the foundation upon which true religion is built and Allah (swt ) has commenced this Surah by commanding sincerity in worship and rejection of all false deities and He has followed this up by mentioning the obligation of filial piety because they (our parents) are the means by which we are brought into the world; and He (swt ) has not neglected the rights of the kinfolk for they are the most deserving of his (the Muslim's) benevolence and kindness. And in order that the rest of his brothers and sisters in Islam be not downhearted, Allah (swt ) has enjoined upon him kindness to the orphans and poor, whether close relatives or not. Then Allah (swt ) has made clear the rights of those close to him in this life, mentioning first the neighbour who has Islamic rights and familial rights over the Muslim, then the nearby resident who has rights of a neighbour only - and he is the zimmi .4 Then Allah (swt ) mentions the rights of the close relatives such as the wife, the travelling companion etc. And Islam has encouraged the Muslim to travel in the land with the intention of doing business and of taking heed of the punishment meted out to former peoples, and because of this Allah (swt ) has obliged the Muslim to help the traveller who is in need of it - whether it be material or otherwise. He (swt ), also affirms the obligation of fairness and justice in dealing with other Muslims; but Islam has not forgotten the slaves: In fact, Allah (swt ) requires us to give them all their rights, to treat them with gentleness and mercy and to recognize their human rights. And because these deeds are righteous deeds, they bring about a fear of Allah (swt ), and prevent the Muslim from becoming proud and self-absorbed because these two attributes would cause the reward of the deeds to be lost. Benefits Derived From This Verse
Relevance of This Verse to the Subject of Tawheed That these verses prove the obligation of sincerity and purity of worship for Allah (swt ) Alone, and the rejection of all other objects of worship. Note:- The neighbour falls into three categories:
..ooOOoo.. Allah (swt ), says:
Allah (swt ), orders His Prophet Muhammad (saas ) to call the people to come forth and listen to the Commands of Allah (swt ), concerning what has been prohibited for them; and because it is the idolator who most often opposes all good deeds, Allah (swt ) has begun by warning them to abstain from associating partners with Him, then He (swt ) has mentioned many of the evil deeds which they are wanted to commit and forbade them from doing so. He (swt ), orders them to be kind and dutiful to their parents and forbids them from killing their offspring, for such acts are evil and result in the cutting of the family tree - and He has mentioned poverty here because the fear of poverty was the most common reason for the killing of children in the days of ignorance. And the extra-judicial killing of any person is a great sin, whatever the reason. And because fear of poverty was the most common reason for the killing of one's young, Allah (swt ) has undertaken the responsibility of sustaining them and their children; then He (swt ), has prohibited all acts of disobedience - both open and secret. And because unlawful killing causes many problems in society, such as breakdown of law and order, social unrest, revenge killing, vigilantism, etc., Allah (swt ) has laid great stress upon the prohibition of unlawful killing, by His saying: " This has He commanded" - that His slaves may understand and act in accordance with it. Benefits Derived From This Verse
The Relevance of This Verse to the Subject of Tawheed That the verse warns against Shirk in any shape or form. ..ooOOoo.. It is reported on the authority of Mu`aaz Ibn Jabal (ra ) `May Allah be pleased him', that he said: "I was riding behind the Prophet (saas ) on a donkey when he said to me: "Oh, Mu`aaz! Do you know what is the right of Allah (swt ) upon His slaves and what is the right of the slaves upon Allah (swt )?" I said: "Allah (swt ) and His Messenger (saas ) know best." He (saas ) said: "The right of Allah (swt ) upon His slaves is that they worship Him and do not associate anything with Him; and the right of the slaves upon Allah (swt ) is that those who do not associate anything with Him will not be punished." I said: "Oh, Messenger of Allah (saas )! Shall I not inform the people (of this)?" He (saas ) said: "Do not inform them, in case they rely upon it." (Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim) Mu`aaz Ibn Jabal (ra ) informs us that one day he was riding behind the Prophet (saas ) on a donkey, and he (saas ) wished to favour him with the answers to certain important questions: In order to do this, he (saas ) chose to ask Mu`aaz some rhetorical questions to arouse his curiosity. Mu`aaz did not venture an opinion on a matter of which he had no knowledge, and so he replied that Allah (swt ) and His Messenger (saas ) know best. So the Prophet (saas ) explained to him two important Truths: The obligation which Allah (swt ) has placed upon His slaves, and the Bounty and Grace which He has made incumbent upon Himself. And because Mu`aaz cared so much about the welfare and happiness of the Muslims, he asked the Prophet's permission to inform them of this good news, but the Prophet (saas ) refused his request for he feared that the Muslims might depend upon this promise and stop competing with each other in the performance of good deeds which wipe out their bad deeds and elevate them in status. However, eventually, Mu`aaz informed them of this, fearful of concealing anything of the Guidance from them although the reason for the Prophet's warning his people against depending upon these words is clear. Benefits Derived From This Hadith
Relevance of This Hadith to the Subject of Tawheed That the Hadith proves that the right of Allah (swt ) upon His slaves is that they worship Him, and do not associate any partners with Him. The Virtue of Tawheed and What Sins It Removes Allah (swt ), says:
Allah (swt ), informs us that whoever practised Tawheed, without confusing their faith with Shirk, verily, Allah (swt ) has promised him safety from the Fire in the Hereafter, and He will guide him to the Straight Path in this life. Benefits Derived From This Verse
Relevance of This Verse to the Subject of Tawheed That the verse proves that whoever dies practising Tawheed, having turned to Allah (swt ) in repentance from any major sins he may have committed, will be saved from any punishment in the Fire; and whoever dies practising Tawheed, having committed major sins without having repented, will be saved from eternal damnation in the Fire (although he may be first punished therein, or forgiven as Allah (swt ) Wills). ..ooOOoo.. It is reported on the authority of `Ubadah Ibn As-Saamit (ra ) that he said: "Allah's Messenger (saas ) said:
This Hadith tells us that whoever pronounced the shahadah, 10 understanding its meaning and acting in accordance with it in his worship, affirming his belief in the status of Muhammad (saas ) as Allah's slave and Messenger and likewise believing in Eisa's status as slave and Messenger of Allah (swt ) and that he was created by Allah's Word: "Be!" from Maryam (may Allah's peace be upon both of them) and that He absolved her from the charges levelled against her by the iniquitous Jews, affirmed his belief in Paradise for the Believers and Hell for the disbelievers, and he who dying in this state of belief will enter Paradise, in spite of his deeds.
Benefits Derived From This Hadith
Relevance of This Hadith to the Subject of Tawheed That the Hadith proves that whoever dies, practising Tawheed will enter Paradise, whatever his deeds may have been. ..ooOOoo.. `Itban (ra ) reported that the Prophet (saas ) said:
This Hadith informs us that Allah (swt ), will save from the punishment of the Hell-fire all those who confirm His Oneness and act in accordance with that, intending nothing thereby except to get close to Allah (swt ), without riyaa' 12 and without sum'ah. 13 Benefits Derived From This Hadith
Relevance of This Hadith to the Subject of Tawheed That the Hadith proves that whoever died, believing sincerely in the Oneness of Allah (swt ) will be saved from the Hell-fire. ..ooOOoo.. It is reported on the authority of Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri (ra ) from the Messenger of Allah (saas ) that he said: "Moosa said: "Oh, Rabb! Teach me something by which I may remember You and supplicate You." Allah (swt ) Said: "Say, oh, Moosa: "Laa ilaaha illAllah." 14 Moosa Said: "Oh, Rabb! All of Your slaves say that." Allah (swt ) said: "Oh, Moosa! Even were the seven heavens and all that they contain other than Me 15 and the seven earths as well all put in one side of a scale and Laa ilaaha illAllah put in the other, the latter would outweigh them." 16 Our Prophet (saas ) informs us that Allah's Messenger, Moosa (as ) requested Allah (swt ) to teach him a special act of worship by which he might worship Allah (swt ) and praise Him and get closer to Him; and so Allah (swt ) taught him the words of sincerity, which are: Laa ilaahah illAllah. But Moosa (as ) asked Allah (swt ) to teach him something else, because the shahadah was well-known to all the people, at which Allah (swt ) told him that were this shahadah, to be weighed against the seven heavens and the seventh earths and all that is in them, it would outweigh them, for it is the essence of every religion and the foundation of every community. Benefits Derived From This Hadith
Relevance of This Hadith to the Subject of Tawheed That the Hadith proves that the words of Tawheed: Laa ilaaha illAllah are the best zikr and the weightiest in value. ..ooOOoo.. It is reported that Anas (ra ) said: "I heard Allah's Messenger (saas ) say: "Allah (swt ), Said: "Oh, son of Adam (as )! Were you to come to Me with the world full of sins, and meet Me without associating any partner with me, I would come to you with a similar amount of forgiveness."17 Allah (swt ), informs us in this Hadith Qudsi18 that whoever dies, sincerely believing in the Oneness of Allah (swt ), having rejected all manner of Shirk, Allah (swt ) will replace all his bad deeds with good, even were his sins to fill the earth or to almost fill it. Benefits Derived From This Hadith
Relevance of This Hadith to the Subject of Tawheed That the Hadith proves that whoever died, without being guilty of any kind of Shirk, will enter Paradise, even if his sins were great enough to fill the earth. Footnotes 1. Taaghoot: All that is worshipped or obeyed in disobedience to Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saas). There are many kinds of Taaghoot: Their leader is Iblees - Allah's curse be upon him - and all those who change the judgement of Allah (swt); and all those who judge by other than that which Allah (swt) has revealed; and all those who call to the worship of others besides Allah (swt); and all those who are worshipped besides Allah (swt) and they are pleased with that worship.2. 'Aad and Thamood: Communities of old, whom Allah (swt) destroyed, because of their disbelef and rejection of the Messengers.3. Fir'aoun: Pharoah.4. Zimmi: A non-Muslim living under the protection of a Muslim State.5. Narrated by Ahmad and Ibn Majah.6. Shirk: Associating partners with Allah (swt).7. This does not mean that abortion before forty days is legal, but that before forty days it is not considered murder, but is still forbidden, unless there is some life-threatening danger to the mother.8. Narrated by Abu Dawood - The import of this Hadith being that it is not permissible to take the life of a Muslim except for three reasons: (i) Adultery, (ii) apostasy and (iii) murder.9. Narrated by Abu Dawood.10. Shahaadah: The declaration made by every Muslim: That none has the right to be worshipped but Allah (swt) and that Muhammad (saas) is His Messenger.11. Such as the deviant Braillawis of the Indian Subcontinent who have elevated him e to the status of a deity - may Allah (swt) save us from such blasphemy!12. Riyaa`: Lesser Shirk: Performing good deeds in order to be seen doing so.13. Sum'ah: Performing good deeds in order to gain a good reputation.14. Laa ilaaha illAllah: None is worthy of worship except Allah (swt).15. This must not be understood to mean that Allah (swt) is contained in His creation, as Allah (swt) has confirmed in innumerable places in the Qur`aan that He is Above His creation.16. Narrated by Ibn Hibbaan and Al-Haakim, who declared it authentic.17. Narrated by At-Tirmizi, who declared it hasan (good).18. Hadith Qudsi: A Hadith in which the Prophet (saas) says: "Allah (swt) said..."19. Shirk Akbar: major Shirk.20. Shirk Asghar: minor Shirk. |