Tawheed - An Islamic Perspective on the Unity of God

INTRODUCTION

Tawheed is the central concept of the Islamic faith. Everything in Islam revolves around the Oneness of Allah. In this article we will shed some light on the various aspects of Tawheed as taught to us by the prophet (saw) and his Ahl-ul-bait (a.s).

First and foremost we must define the kinds, or levels of Tawheed. Quoting shaheed Mutahhari [1]:

“Beginning with tawhid, it has various kinds and levels: al-tawhid al-dhati (Unity of the essence), al-tawhid al-sifati (Unity of the attributes, i.e., with the essence), al-tawhid al-'af'ali (Unity of the acts), al-tawhid al-'ibadi (monotheism in worship).

Al-Tawhid Al-Dhati: It means that the divine essence is one and unique; it does not have a like or match. All other beings are God's creations and inferior to Him in station and in degree of perfection. In fact, they cannot be compared with Him. 

AI-Tawhid Al-Sifati: It means that the divine attributes such as knowledge, power, life, will, perception, hearing, vision, etc. are not realities separate from God's essence. They are identical with the essence, in the sense that the divine essence is such that the attributes are true of it, or is such that It manifests these attributes. 

Al-Tawhid Al-Af'ali: It means that all beings, or rather all acts [even human acts] exist by the will of God, and are in some way willed by His sacred essence. 

Al-Tawhid Al-'Ibadi: It means that except God no other being deserves worship and devotion. Worship of anything besides God is shirk and puts the worshipper outside the limits of Islamic tawhid or monotheism. 

In a sense al-tawhid al-'ibadi (tawhid in worship) is different from other kinds of tawhid, because the first three relate to God and this kind relates to the creatures. In other words, the Unity of Divine Essence, His Uniqueness and the identity of the Essence and Attributes, the unity of the origin of everything - all of them are matters which relate to God. But tawhid in worship, i.e. the necessity of worshipping the One God, relates to the behaviour of the creatures. But in reality, tawhid in worship is also related to God, because it means uniqueness of God as the only deserving object of worship, and that He is in truth the one deity worthy of worship. The statement "la ilaha illallah" encompasses all aspects of tawhid, although its first signification is monotheism in worship. “

We will now look at each kind of tawheed in a little more detail and will provide references from the narrations of ahl-ul-bayt (as).

Al-Tawhid al-Dhati

The essence of Allah is unique, without any match or partner. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from ‘Abbass ibn ‘Amr al-Faqimi from Hishamibn al-Hakam in the narration about the atheist who came to Imam abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) and the Imam had explained to him the following:

"You assume that there are two eternal and powerful powers (who control the universe) or that both are weak or only one of them is weak and the other is powerful. If they both are powerful why then neither one ever makes an effort to remove the other one so only one would become in control of the universe? If you would assume that one is powerful and the other is weak then it is proof that there is only one, as we believe because the weakness of the other is so apparent. Besides, if you would say that they are two then they either agree with each other in all matters or disagree in the same way. Since we see the creation works in an organized manner, the orbiting objects continue to do so, the organization is one, the day, the night, the sun and the moon all show that the organization is valid and correct. The harmony in the matter shows that the organizer is One. If your claim of two would involve you to believe that there must be a gap in between to show two things and in that case, the gap will become a third one and eternal. Thus, it will involve you in three and this will involve to say what you said about the two where you needed to have a gap and in this case it will become five and so on indefinite in number and multiplicity."

An analogy: God and Science (God and Nature)

The above hadith is a very comprehensive narration, summarizing the oneness of Allah. We can also interpret the Imam’s saying in another way. Saying that there is multiple Gods is similar to saying that there is multiple natures, or multiple sciences. It is obvious that science is science and that is the end of it. The idea of having multiple sciences is absurd. If there are two scientific theories that apparently contradict each other, we would conclude that either both are false, or at least one of them needs to be adjusted such that they are both in accordance with the laws of science. In other words all laws of science will eventually fall under one, and only one massive, all encompassing umbrella - which we call science. 

One might say that there are always exceptions to rules of science. But think again; the exception is also a part of the rule, not separate from it. In other words, say a rule states that all people must leave a room except those wearing red. In this case, people in red are not the exception to the rule of leaving. They are just part of a single grand rule of entrance which governs the behavior of all people including those wearing red - And Allah is the power that drives that rule. Imam Al-Sadiq (a.s) also mentions the idea of the power of nature in relation with God when conversing with his companion Mufaddal. Mufaddal was seeking advice from the Imam (a.s) in order to reply to the challenges of an atheist. Mufaddal himself narrates:

“I said, "Master! Some people believe that all this is the outcome of the function of nature - each organ coming into existence as and when required by nature."

He (as) said: "Just ask them whether the nature which functions in such a well-planned and well-ordered fashion possesses knowledge and power or is it devoid of also of intelligence and reason, without power and without knowledge?

If they admit that it possesses knowledge and power, then what obstructs them from a belief in the Creator? What we say 's that all things are created by One Who is Master of Knowledge and Power. They say that there is no Creator and yet admit that nature had done this with ingenuity and plan. As such nature is the cause of their creation, while they deny the Creator.

If they say that nature produces such things without knowledge and power - not knowing what it is doing nor the power to do it - in connection with the type and having design and ingenuity that subsists in all phenomena, it is inconceivable that something may be performed without the corresponding power to do it and without a knowledge thereof. As such it is obvious that the action emanates from an Omniscient Creator, Who has laid down as only a method among His creation through his Omniscience, which these people call nature. In other words, Almighty Allah has ordained a method to produce everything according to its definite cause and principle.” [3]

It is important to stress here that Allah is the driving force behind nature not nature itself. 

Quoting Mujtaba Musawi Lari:

“Once we see the dependency of the created world and realize that no phenomenon can exist unaided, we conclude that there is a necessary existent, for we are compelled to ask, "Upon what is every phenomenon ultimately dependent?"

If we answer, "On another body," then we must ask, "On what is that body, in turn, dependent?" If, then, the answer is given, "On a thing the nature of which is unknown to us," the question arises, "Is that thing simple or compound?"

If it is said to be compound, then we reply that a compound is also dependent on its parts, since first the parts must exist in order for the compound to come into being. Since nature is a compound, it cannot be the Necessary Existent.

We are, therefore, compelled to say that the first cause must be simple; it must also be coterminous with the Necessary Existent, since the chain of causality cannot continue indefinitely.” [4]

Al-Tawhid al-Sifati

Allah’s attributes are not separate from His essence. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from Muhammad ibn Khalid al-Tayalisi from Safwan ibn Yahyafrom ibn Maskan from Abu Basir who has said the following.

"I heard Abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) saying, ‘The Exalted, the Glorious, Allah, our Lord, is Eternal. Knowledge is His self even if there is nothing to be known. Hearing is His self even if there is nothing to be heard. Seeing is His self even when there is nothing to be seen. Power is His self even if there is nothing to feel the power. When He brought things into existence the perceptible objects became the objects of His knowledge, His hearing applied to audible objects, His seeing to visible objects and His power to the objects that feel power."

Abu Basir adds; "I further asked, ‘Has Allah always been in motion?' He replied, "Allah is High, exalted above that. Motion is an attribute that is created through action." I asked, "Did Allah always have the ability to speak?" He replied, " Speech is a created attribute and not an eternal one. Allah, the Majestic, the glorious, existed when there was nothing able to speak." [5]

Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from al-‘Abbass ibn 'Amr from Hisham ibn al-Hakam, who about the debate with an atheist (see Hadith No.225 - 6), has said the following:

"He asked Imam abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.), ‘Do you say that He is All-hearing and All-seeing?’ Abu ‘Abdillah said, "Allah is All-hearing, All-seeing. He hears without any organ and sees without any instrument. He Himself hears and He Himself sees. When I say He Himself hears I do not mean thereby that He is One and His self is something different. I only try to express what I have in my mind to answer a question and help you understand the answer. So I say,"His whole self hears. This does not mean that His whole has parts. In our perception whole consists of parts. It is to make you understand and express my thoughts. It all amounts to saying that He is All-hearing, All-seeing, All-knowing and All-aware, without any multiplicity in the meaning." [6]

Al-Tawhid al-Af’ali

All acts are a result of Allah’s will. Ahmad ibn Idris has narrated from Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Jabbar from Safwan ibn Yahyawho has said the following.

"I asked Abu al-Hassan (a.s.) : Enlighten me about the will of Allah and the will of His

creatures."

He said, "The will of His creatures comes from what goes in their minds and leads to action. Will of Allah, the Most High, is His inventing and nothing else because Allah does not need to reflect, deliberate or think. Such qualities do not exist with Him. They are the attributes of His creation. Allah’s will is His acts and nothing else. He says to it: Be, and it comes into existence, without any words or utterance of the tongue, any inclination and reflection. His will has no conditions just as His self has no conditions." [7]

Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from al-‘Abbass ibn ‘Amr from Hisham ibn al Hakam who has narrated the following in the debate with the atheist who asked abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) : 

"Does Allah become pleased and displeased?" Abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) replied, "Yes, but not like that which is found in His creatures. In His creatures the pleasure is a state (hal), which enters into him and changes him from one state to another. The creatures are hollow, active and compound with entrance in them. Nothing can enter into our Creator. Because He is One, a single self, a single meaning. His pleasure is His reward and His anger is His punishment without anything entering in Him to motivate and change Him from one state to another because these are of the attributes of His creatures who are weak and needy." [8]

After looking at the above hadith, it is relevant to talk about Allah being “solid” as opposed to his creatures which are “hollow”. There is a short discussion on this by Al-kulayni in Al-kafi:

“Al-Samad literally means solid as opposed to hollow which applies only to physical objects. Allah, the Most High, is far above such attributes. Had such attribute applied to Allah, the Most High, it would have contradicted with Allah’s statement that says, "There is nothing similar to Him."

Al-Tawhid al-’ibadi

Negating all deities besides Allah is the first step in the journey towards Allah. The kalima or the statement that differentiates a Muslim from all other beliefs starts with this negation.

“La ilaha ila Allah”.

The Quran also repeatedly emphasizes this reality.

إِنَّ إِلَٰهَكُمْ لَوَاحِدٌ

"Verily, your deity is indeed one" [37:4]

Allah (SWT) also gives proofs and rationales for Tawhid al-’ibadi.

لَوْ كَانَ فِيهِمَا آلِهَةٌ إِلَّا اللَّهُ لَفَسَدَتَا ۚ فَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَرْشِ عَمَّا يَصِفُون

"If there had been in them any gods except Allah, they would both have certainly been in a state of disorder; therefore glory be to Allah, the Lord of the dominion, above what they attribute (to Him)" [21:22] 

According to Imam Ali (a.s)

لو كان لربك شريك لأتتك رسله 

"If you had another Lord he would have sent you his prophets".


Proofs of Tawheed

We will now look at some proofs of Tawheed, as explained by Ayatullah Waheed Khurasani in the book titled Usul-al-Din (Principles of Faith). We have already touched upon some of these earlier, here we will present them again in one section. [10]

First Proof : 

If there were numerous gods then for each one of them to be a god, it would require them to share divinity. Each one of them requires distinction from the other to confirm duality. Thus, each one would be composed from what they both share and in what they both differ (logical fallacy). 

Second Proof: 

Existence of more than one God, without distinction, is impossible. Distinction is a cause of absence of what the other god may have of perfection. The one lacking perfection is in need. Therefore, the chain of need must end at the Self-Sufficient in essence from all dimensions.Otherwise, it would necessitate for all possible beings to be nonexistent, because the one that does not possess existence, cannot give it.

Third Proof : 

Indeed, Allāh, the Exalted, is present without limitation. As ᶜAlī (AS) says: "Limitation and end do not apply to Him", because every limited being is composed of essence and the limitation of that essence. The limitation of essence would mean absence of perfection, which is in addition to that essence. Thus, this composition is the worst of its types, as composition can be between two existing things or between one existence and one nonexistence. The supposed composition would be between an existence and a nonexistence. However, all types of compositions are impossible for Allāh, the Exalted. The existence which has no limitation must be One for which a second cannot be conceived, because conceiving a second to Him would necessitate limiting Him. A limitation is composed of existence and nonexistence. Every composed is in need of what it is composed of. Therefore, association in divinity ends in making the god in need of nonexistence. The glorified Allāh is unique in essence and attributes. Hence, He has no second to Him, neither confirmed nor conceived. 

Fourth Proof: 

Indeed, the unity in the system of all parts of the universe and in the universe as a whole proves the Oneness of the Creator. A close examination of the system and composition of every part of the categories of the universe and their connection with each other reveals that both parts of the universe and the universe as whole are created by One, Omniscient, Omnipotent and All-Wise Creator. Indeed, the formation of the parts of a tree, the parts of the body of an animal and its strength, their connection with each other, their connection with the earth and the sun, the connection of the solar system with other solar systems and the galaxy, in one sentence is: 

"Verily, from the composition of an atom and what goes on around it to the composition of the sun and the galaxies, reveal that the Creator of all is One: And He it is Who is God in the heavens and God in the earth; and He is the Wise, the Knowing. Who created you and those before you so that you may guard (against evil). Who made the earth a resting place for you and the heaven a canopy and (Who) sends down rain from the cloud then brings forth with it subsistence for you of the fruits; therefore do not set up rivals to Allāh while you know.O men! Serve your Lord"

Fifth Proof: 

Imām al-Ṣādiq (AS) was asked, “Why is it not permissible that there be more than one creator of the universe?” Thus, he (AS) replied: …Furthermore, if you claim that there are two gods, there must be a division between them both, which has always existed, and that division would have to be a third god. However, if you claim that there are three gods, then there must be two divisions between them, leaving us with five gods, and so on".

Sixth Proof:

The Commander of the faithful (AS) said to his son Al-Hasan (AS): 

"Beware, O son that if your Lord had an associate then his messengers would have certainly come to you and you would have seen signs of his sovereignty and dominion. You would have learnt his actions and attributes. However, He is One God like He has described Himself."

The outcome of the faith in Oneness of Allāh, the Exalted, is His unity of service, because other than Him do not deserve service and cannot attain it. As everything and everyone other than Him is His servant:

"There is no one in the heavens and the earth but will come to the Beneficent Allāh as a servant".

Furthermore, service to other than Allāh, the Exalted, is humiliation from the humiliated and begging from the needy. In fact, it is humiliation even for humility and is begging from the need itself. 

O men! You are they who stand in need of Allāh, and Allāh is He Who is the Self-Sufficient, the Praised One.

Verily, faith in His Oneness and that every being is from Him, due to Him and will return to Him, is summarized in three sentences: There is no god but Allāh; There is no power and no strength except Allāh; "And to Allāh all things return."

Fortunate is he who remembers these pure words constantly, and sleeps and wakes with them, and lives and dies upon them. Thus, he will succeed in reality: 

"Surely we are Allāh's and to Him we shall surely return." [10]

REFERENCES

[1] Shaheed Murtadha Mutahhari, An introduction to ilm al kalam - http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/kalam.htm

[2] Al-Kaafi - Hadith 213 (Book 3, Chapter 1, Hadith 5)

[3] The tradition of Mufaddal - http://www.al-islam.org/tradition-of-mufaddal-pearls-of-wisdom-from-imam-jafar-as-sadiq/first-session-human-being#general-organ

[4] Sayyid Mujtaba Musawi Lari, God and His attributes

http://www.al-islam.org/god-and-his-attributes-sayyid-mujtaba-musawi-lari/lesson-5-manifestations-god-nature

[5] Al-Kaafi - Hadith 284 (Book 3, Chapter 12, Hadith 1)

[6] Al-Kaafi - Hadith 291 (Book 3, Chapter 13, Hadith 2)

[7] Al-Kaafi - Hadith 300 (Book 3, Chapter 14, Hadith 3)

[8] Al-Kaafi - Hadith 303 (Book 3, Chapter 14, Hadith 6)

[9] حكم الإمام علي (عليه السلام) أو غرر الحکم ودرر الكلم — عبد الواحد الآمدي التميمي

(Hadith 7763) https://qoia.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/7763/

[10] Waheed Khurasani - Usul -al- Din