Clearing a Misconception

Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (died 728H) said: "The Tawheed with which the Messengers came with comprises of affirming that Divinity and worship belong to Almighty God alone, such that a person witnesses that none has the right to be worshipped except Almighty God, 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 Almighty God affirms for Himself, as God - the Most High - says: "And the God to be worshipped is only one God. None has the right to be worshipped except Him, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy."³⁸ And God - the Most High - says: "Do not take two objects of worship. Indeed, Almighty God is the only Deity to be worshipped, so fear Him."³⁰. And He - the Most High - says: "Whosoever calls upon (i.e. supplicates or prays to) other than God, for which he has no proof, then his reckoning is only with his Lord. Indeed the disbelievers will not be successful."⁴⁰ Almighty God - the Most High - also says: "And ask those of our Messengers whom we sent before you: 'Did We ever appoint objects of worship besides the Most Merciful?'"⁴¹

And Almighty God informed us about every Prophet from amongst the Prophets that they called the people to the worship of God alone, having no partner, as He said: "Indeed there is an excellent example for you in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people: 'Indeed we are free from you and whatever you worship besides Almighty God. We have rejected you, and there has arisen between us and you, hostility and hatred forever - until you believe in God alone."⁴² And God said about the mushriks (pagan idolaters): "When it is said to them: 'None has the right to be worshipped except Almighty God', they become arrogant. And they say: 'Are we to abandon those deities that we worship because of a mad poet?"⁴³ And this occurs a lot in the Qur'aan.

And what is meant by Tawheed is not merely Tawheed ar-Roobubiyyah - the belief that Almighty God alone is the Creator - which is what some of the people of Kalaam (speculative theology) and the Sufis think! So they think that if they affirm this type of Tawheed, along with its proofs, then they have affirmed the utmost limits of Tawheed and that if they bear witness to this and become absorbed in it, then they have absorbed themselves in the limits of Tawheed! However, this is not the case. Since even if a person agreed to those attributes which are befitting to the Lord, and declared Him free from everything He should be declared free from and affirmed that He alone is the creator of everything - then still such a person would not be a muwahid (a person of Tawheed) until along with this, he witnesses that the only Ilaah (i.e. object of worship) is Almighty God (Allah) - (i.e. none has the right to he worshipped except God alone) - affirming that Almighty God alone is the Ilaah deserving off all worship, adhering to this worship and associating no partners with Him. Also affirming that this Ilaah (object of worship) is He who is deified and worshipped and who deserves worship and it is not that Ilaah merely with the meaning: "The One who has the power to create and originate."⁴⁴

So if an explainer (of the Qur'aan) explains Ilaah to mean: "The One who has the power to create and originate" and believes that this is the most particular description of Ilaah and affirms this to be the limits of Tawheed - as is done by the people of Kalaam (speculative theology), and it is what they say from Abul-Hasan al-Ash'aree⁴⁵ and his followers - then they do not know the true reality of the Tawheed with which Almighty God sent His Messengers, since the Arab mushriks (pagan idolaters) used to agree that Almighty God alone is the Creator of everything. Yet despite this, they were still mushriks, as God - the Most High - says: "Most people do not believe in God except that they commit shirk (i.e. associate others with Him in belief and worship).''⁴⁶