Salafi Research Institute SRI
Translated by
Abu Abdullah
The Definition of Tawhid
In the arabic language: It comes from the source وَحَّدَ يُوَحِّدُ which means to make something one, or to single out.
For example: If you say (in arabic):
لا يخرج من البيت أحد إلا محمد
“No one exited from the house except for Muhammad.”
You have singled out Muhammad only from exiting the house.
And if you say (in arabic):
لا يقم من المجلس أحد إلا خالد فقط
“No one stood up from the gathering except for khalid.”
You have also singled out khalid only from the gathering.
In Islamic terminology: (Tawhid means):
Singling out Allah in:
-Lordship.
-Divinity (worship).
-Names and Attributes.
The Types of Tawhid
Tawheed is catergorised into three types:
-Tawheed Rububiyyah (Lordship).
-Tawheed Uloohiyyah (Divinity/worship).
-Tawheed Asmaa wa Sifaat (Names and Attributes).
And the following is an explanation of each catergory with evidences:
Tawheed Rububiyyah (Lordship): it is to single out Allah in: Creation, dominion and governance (of the universe). Or we can say: it is the singling out of Allah most glorious in His actions. Some examples of His actions are: Creating the creation, providing for the creation, giving life and death to the creation and sending down the rain and producing vegetation from the earth and other than that.
The evidence for this are the following at
“Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command; blessed is Allah, Lord of the worlds.” (Surah 7:54)
And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is over all things competent. (Surah 3:189)
Say, “Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? Or who controls hearing and sight and who brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living and who arranges [every] matter?” They will say, ” Allah ,” so say, “Then will you not fear Him?” (Surah 10:31)
Tawheed Uloohiyyah -and it is also referred to as: Tawheed al-‘ibadah- (Divinity and worship): it is to single out Allah most glorious with worship and divinity. For example: Salah (prayer), Siyaam (fasting), Hajj (pilgrimage), Tawakkul (trust), Nadhr (oath), Khawf wa Rajaa (fear and hope) and Muhabbah (love) anf other than that.
The evidence for this are the following at
And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. (Surah 51:56)
Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, (surah 4:36)
And We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, “There is no deity except Me, so worship Me.”(Surah 21:25)
Tawheed Asmaa wa Sifaat (Names and Attributes): it is to attribute to Allah what He attributed to Himself, and what His Messenger (peace be upon him) attributed (to Allah), from attributes of perfection and majestic description, without likening them to the creation, or asking about their nature, and without distorting or denying them.
The evidence for this are the following at
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing. (Surah 42:11)
And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them. And leave [the company of] those who practice deviation concerning His names. They will be recompensed for what they have been doing. (Surah 7:180)
Important benefits
- The three types of tawheed are متلازمة (incorporated), meaning any category cannot be separate from the other. So whoever holds the belief in one of these categories, apart from the other(s), is not considered as a Muwahhid (person with complete belief in Tawheed).
- That you know that the disbelievers whom the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) fought, affirmed the belief in Tawheed Rububiyyah (Lordship). So they knew that Allah was the Creator, the Provider, the Giver of life and death, the One who gave benefit and harm, and the One who controls and manages all the affairs (of the universe)…but even with that belief, it did not enter them into Islam, and the evidence for this is the statement of the Most High:
Say (O Muhammad, to the polytheists), “Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? Or who controls hearing and sight and who brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living and who arranges [every] matter?” They will say, ” Allah ,” so say, “Then will you not fear Him?” (Surah 10:31)
- Tawheed Uloohiyyah (divinity/worship) is the fundemental theme and call of all the messengers; because it is the foundation that all of ones actions are built upon, and without its correct implementation all of the actions (good deeds) will not be correct. And if it (tawheed uloohiyyah) is not correctly implemented, its opposite, Shirk (polytheism), will occur. And the dispute between the messengers and their people was around this topic of Tawheed (uloohiyyah), so it is obligatory to take caution (in learning it) and learning issues pertaining to it and understanding its origins.
At-Tawhid al-Muyassar. التوحيد الميسر (p. 7-9)
