Tawhid means the oneness of Allah. It is the main part of Iman (Faith) and it is beautifully expressed in the Suratul-Ikhlas of the Qur’an: “Say, He is Allah, the One. Allah is Eternal and Absolute. None is born of Him nor is He born. And there is none like Him.” (Surah 112).
Tawhid is the most important Islamic belief. It implies that everything on this earth is from the One and Only Creator, Allah, who is also the Sustainer of the universe and the Sole Source of its Guidance.
Tawhid is the belief in Allah with all His powers. Allah is All-knowing, All-wise and All-powerful. He is the Merciful and the Kind. He is with us all the time. He sees us, but we do not see Him. He is, was and always be. He is the First and the Last. He has no partner or no son. He gives life and takes away. We must return to him after death.
The first duty of a Muslim is to declare his faith that “there is no god but Allah; Muhammad is Allah’s messenger”. To make this declaration of faith a person must say in words and believe in heart – La ilaha illal Lahu Muhammadur rasulullah (there is no god but Allah; Muhammad is Allah’s messenger). The saying of these Arabic words is called Ash-Shahadah (Declaration of Faith). There are two parts of this declaration: (1) La ilaha illal Lah, (2) Muhammadur Rasulullah.
The first part of the declaration of faith is: La ilaha illal Lah. It has two aspects: i) Negative ii) Positive. La ilaha is the negative aspect, while illal Lah is the positive one.
A believer must first cleanse his heart of any other god or any other object of worship, and only then can the faith in the Oneness of Allah take root in his heart.
Let us try to understand it with an example. Suppose we have a piece of land full of weeds and bushes where we want to produce wheat. Now, if we sow very good wheat seeds in the land without first cleaning it fully, we cannot hope to get a wheat crop out of the weeds and bushes. So, what must we do? We must cultivate the land, Clear the weeds and bushes, and prepare the soil before we sow the seeds. This time, we can expect good crops.
Let us compare the land with our heart. If our heart is full of belief in false gods, we cannot expect Tawhid to take root in our heart. So we must cleanse our heart of any other god or object of worship and only then will Tawhid take root I our heart and the light of faith will flow out of it.
Tawhid shapes and regulates the entire course of our life. This is why we must understand the meaning of Tawhid.
The vast and majestic universe with its flawless system clearly indicates that there is one creator and one Supreme Controller.
When we think about the unique system and perfect order of the universe, we find there is no conflict. The sun, the moon, and the galaxy obey the same supreme Authority. The whole universe obeys the laws of this Supreme Power. There is complete co-operation and harmony in the system. Everything is nicely set in it place. No improvement can be suggested and no flaw detected. This superb and perfect combination of order and beauty is clear proof of the presence of an All-wise and All-powerful Creator and Regulator.
Had there been more than one Creator and Controller of the planets, for example, there would have been conflict and chaos. We notice no such disorder in the universe. The efficient running of a school, the steering of a car or ship, calls for one headmaster, one driver and one captain. No single institution can be run with out problems and conflict with more than one person at the same time.
The universe, made up of many planets and stars is a unit. All its components have a common origin, a common purpose; because the universe works in harmony and co-operation, like various parts of the human body seem to have different functions, but human body. The limbs of the human body seem to have different functions, but they all serve the same purpose – keeping the body fit and functioning properly.
