THE DAILY ISLAMIC REMINDERS. Yaum Al-ithnayn, 19th day of Rabeeul Awwal 1440, (Monday, 26th November, 2018). WHAT IS THE MEANING OF TAWHEED AND WHAT ARE IT'S CATEGORIES?. BismilLah. TAWHEED in Arabic means attributing Oneness to ALLAH and describing HIM as being ONE and UNIQUE, with no partner or peer in HIS Essence and Attributes. The Arabs say waahid, ahad and waheed, all meaning one. ALLAH is Waahid, meaning that HE has no rivals or peers in any way. So Tawheed means knowing ALLAH is One, with none like unto HIM. Whoever does not acknowledge ALLAH in these terms and does not describe HIM as being One with no partner or associate does not believe in Tawheed.  It may be defined as follows: Believing that ALLAH is One with no partner or associate in HIS Lordship (ruboobiyyah), divinity (uloohiyyah) or names and attributes (al-asma’ wa’l-sifaat).  This word, Tawheed and its derivatives are used with this meaning in the Qur’aan and Sunnah. For example:  ALLAH says:  “Say (O Muhammad): HE is ALLAH, (the) One [Ahad]. ALLAH ‑us‑Samad, the Self‑Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, (HE neither eats nor drinks)]. HE begets not, nor was HE begotten. And there is none co‑equal or comparable unto HIM ” [al-Ikhlaas 112:1-3]. “And your Ilaah (God) is One Ilaah [ilaahun waahidun] (God, ALLAH), Laa Ilaaha illa Huwa (there is none who has the right to be worshipped but HE), the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful” [al-Baqarah 2:163]. “Surely, disbelievers are those who said: ‘ALLAH is the third of the three (in a Trinity).’ But there is no Ilaah (god) (none who has the right to be worshipped) but One Ilaah [ilaahun waahidun] (God, Allaah). And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall on the disbelievers among them” [al-Maa'idah 5:73]. From this verse we've just learned that whoever believe in trinity is a disbeliever not part of Ahlul kitaab. And there are many similar verses.  In Saheeh al-Bukhaari (7372) and Saheeh Muslim (19) When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent Mu’aadh ibn Jabal to Yemen, I guess you know the instructions the prophet gave him on how to do daawah to the Ahlul kitaab. What is meant by Tawheed is affirming the meaning of the testimony that there is no god but ALLAH and that Muhammad is the Messenger of ALLAH, which is the essence of the religion of Islam with which ALLAH sent HIS Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of ALLAH be upon him), based on the evidence of the words of the Qur’aan and Sunnah. Once this is understood, it should be noted that the scholars have divided Tawheed into three categories, as follows:  Tawheed al-Ruboobiyyah (Oneness of Divine Lordship), Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah (Oneness of Divinity) and Tawheed al-Asma’ wa’l-Sifaat (Oneness of the Divine Names and Attributes).  Tawheed al-Ruboobiyyah (Oneness of Divine Lordship): means believing in Allaah as One and Unique with regard to His actions such as creation, sovereignty, control, giving life and death, and so on. There is a great deal of evidence to support this in the Qur’aan and Sunnah. Whoever believes that there is any creator other than ALLAH or any sovereign controlling this universe and disposing of its affairs other than ALLAH has denied this aspect of Tawheed and disbelieved in ALLAH.  The kuffaar of old accepted this aspect of Tawheed in general terms, although they differed with regard to some of its details. The evidence that they used to accept this is to be found in several verses of the Qur’aan such as the following:  “And if you were to ask them: ‘Who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon?’ they will surely reply: ‘ALLAH.’ How then are they deviating (as polytheists and disbelievers)?”[al-‘Ankaboot 29:61].  In the verse ALLAH states that the kuffaar affirm that HE is the Creator, Sovereign and Controller, but despite that they do not worship HIM alone (Tawheed of worship), which points to the graveness of their wrongdoing and lies, and the weakness of their reasoning. For if there is One Who is described in such terms, none should be worshipped except HIM alone and none should be described as being one and unique except HIM; may HE be glorified above those that they associate with HIM.  So whoever affirms this Tawheed in the true sense must inevitably also affirm the Oneness of Allaah’s Divinity (Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah).  Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah means devoting all acts of worship, both inward and outward, in word and deed, to ALLAH Alone, and not worshipping anything or anyone other than ALLAH, no matter who he is. ALLAH says:  “And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but HIM” [al-Isra’ 17:23]. “Worship ALLAH and join none with HIM (in worship)”[al-Nisa’ 4:36]. It may be described as devoting all one’s actions to ALLAH alone.   It is called Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah because it is based on ta’alluh lillaah which is worship and devotion of ALLAH accompanied by love and veneration.  It is also called Tawheed al-‘Ibaadah (oneness of worship) because it means that a person worships ALLAH by doing that which HE has commanded and avoiding that which HE has forbidden.  With regard to Tawheed al-Asma’ wa’l-Sifaat (Oneness of the Divine Names and Attributes), this means affirming the names and attributes of ALLAH and believing that there is none like unto ALLAH in HIS names and attributes. This Tawheed is based on two principles:  1. Affirmation: i.e., affirming that which ALLAH has affirmed for HIMSELF in HIS Book or that HIS Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has affirmed of HIS beautiful names and sublime attributes in a manner that suits the Majesty and Greatness of ALLAH, without distorting them, twisting their meanings, denying their reality or discussing how they are.  2. Denial: i.e., denying that ALLAH has any faults and denying any shortcomings that HE has denied HIMSELF. The evidence for that is the words of ALLAH:  “There is nothing like HIM, and HE is the All‑Hearer, the All‑Seer” [al-Shoora 42:11]. So HE has denied that HE bears any resemblance to HIS creation, and affirmed that HE has attributes of perfection in a manner that befits HIM, may HE be glorified. MAY ALLAH (Al-Haadi, The Guide) Keep guiding us all and protect us from any satanic influences. Aameen.