“Labbayka Allahumma labbayk. Labbayka la sharika Laka labbayk. Inna al-hamda wan-ni`mata Laka wal-mulk. Laa sharika Lak.”
What a beautiful intoning of Muslims going to Hajj,
“Here I am at Your service, O Allah; here I am. Here I am.
You have no partner; here I am.
Verily, Yours alone are all praise and all bounty and the dominion; You have no partner.”
Let’s take a break to remind ourselves of the importance of the one message of all the messengers; the core message included in Talbyah; the tawheed.
This is the purpose of our lives. It is the message of all the prophets and messengers. Negating it takes you outside the fold of Islam and into eternal punishment, while fulfilling it promises you Paradise. It is the cure for the ills of this Ummah. It is the means to success in this life and the Hereafter. Tawheed is our forgotten gold.
Sheikh Ibn Taymiyah said,
Tawheed that the messengers came with comprises affirming that divinity and worship belong to Almighty Allah alone, such that a person witnesses that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah, and that none is worshipped except Him, nor depended upon other than Him, nor are alliances or enemies made except for Him, nor is an action done except for Him. This affirmation also covers those Names and Attributes which Allah affirms for Himself, as Allah the Most High says, (Your Allah is One Allah; there is no Allah save Him, the Beneficent, the Merciful.) (Al-Baqarah 2:163)
The importance of tawheed in Islam is shown through the Qur’an. Every surah mentions tawheed, whether it is with regards to Allah’s Lordship, His Names and Attributes, His command to worship Him alone or the consequences of committing shirk.
In fact, this was the same message that all the prophets and messengers brought. Almighty Allah says,
(And We sent no messenger before thee but We inspired him, (saying): There is no Allah save Me (Allah), so worship Me.) (Al-Anbiyaa’21:25).
He the Almighty also says,
(And verily We have raised in every nation a messenger, (proclaiming): Serve Allah and shun false gods.) (An-Nahl 16:36).
Worshipping Almighty Allah alone without associating anything with Him is the very purpose of our existence. Almighty Allah tells us in the Qur’an: (I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me.) (Adh-Dhariyat 51: 56).
Associating partners with Allah is shirk and it is the worst sin; the only sin that Almighty Allah does not forgive. Almighty Allah says,
(Lo! Allah forgiveth not that a partner should be ascribed unto Him. He forgiveth (all) save that to whom He will. Whoso ascribeth partners to Allah, he hath indeed invented a tremendous sin.) (An-Nisaa’ 4:48).
Contrary to what some may believe, tawheed cannot be understood in the course of one thirty minute class. It is a subject so deep that it can take years to be studied and understood. Even Prophet Muhammad’s companions spent 13 years learning the message of tawheed. This was the Makkan phase of the revelation, when no regulation of Shariah had yet been sent down, except the ruling of salah. In this phase, the message consisted only of aqeedah (beliefs), and tawheed was paramount. This allowed the belief in tawheed to be inculcated in the companions’ hearts, making their faith firm and made them dedicated to Almighty Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Afterwards, they were able to accept immediately and apply all the regulations of Shari`ah revealed in the Madinah phase of the message because their hearts were firmly established upon tawheed.
Knowing this, we as Muslims must make greater efforts to understand tawheed and know the nature of shirk so that we can protect ourselves from a sin that may ruin our religion.
When you acknowledge that Allah created you to worship Him, then you know that worship is not (regarded as) worship except with tawheed. Just as prayer is not (regarded as) prayer except with purification,” said Shayhk Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab in his treatise, The Four Principles. So when shirk enters into worship it corrupts it just like impurity when it enters something pure.
Indeed, these great words of wisdom show us that without first understanding and accepting tawheed, our actions will not be accepted. Therefore, because Allah’s acceptance of our actions is dependent on tawheed, seeking knowledge of tawheed should be the first path to knowledge that we should embark upon and the first words we call to in our da`wah to and within Islam.
After seeking knowledge of tawheed, affirming with one’s heart, attesting with one’s tongue and conforming to it with one’s actions, the believer is granted Paradise. This is proven by the authentic hadith, “Whoever says La ilaaha illa Allah sincerely will enter Paradise.” (Reported by Bazzar and declared authentic by Al-Albani in Sahih AI-Jami`).
Also, this statement: “There is nothing worthy of worship except Allah” is what will grant us what we long for: eternal success. As Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Say: None has the right to be worshipped except Allah and thus be successful…” (Ahmad).
Let us not be complacent, but instead return to what the prophets called to, that which corrected the actions and lives of the Companions, that which brought them success and conquest in this life and Paradise in the Next, that which through time was buried and forgotten, and that which today we shall revive. Let us return to our forgotten gold. Let us return to the real tawheed.
By Aya Sallat
Excerpted with kind permission from sisters-magazine.com
