[
In the Name of Allaah, the All-Merciful, may His Salaah
and Salaam be upon His final Messenger, to proceed...
]
Someone
may say, and it actually has been said, "What is it
with you that you always focus on tawheed and you talk so
much about it?! And you don't take into consideration the
condition of the Muslims in our day and time, those who are
being killed and caused to flee all over the earth, those
being persecuted by the empires of disbelief in every place?!"
So
we say, and with Allaah lies success:
Tawheed
is the foundation upon which this upright religion has been
built, so focusing on it means to focus on the very core itself.
For if we were to reflect over the Noble Qur'aan we would
find that it expounds on issues of tawheed repetitively,
so much so that there does not exist a single soorah
in the Qur'aan that does not mention tawheed, clarifying
it and prohibiting what opposes it. It was Al-Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim
who pointed out that the entire Qur'aan is about tawheed,
since it is only made up of the following:
*
Information about Allaah and His Names and Attributes - This
is the tawheed that we are to have knowledge of, called
tawheed ar-ruboobiyyah.
*
Commands to worship Allaah alone with no partners and prohibitions
of worshipping other than Him - This is the tawheed
that we must put into action, called tawheed al-uloohiyyah.
*
Commands to obey Allaah and His Messenger (sallallaahu
'alayhe wa sallam) and prohibitions of disobeying Allaah
and His Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) -
These are the ways that tawheed is actualized and completed.
*
Information about what Allaah has prepared for the people
of tawheed, the delights, success, salvation, and triumphs
in this life and the Next, and the punishments that are in
store for the people of shirk in this life, and the
eternal torture prepared for them upon their one-way entrance
into the Hellfire - The first is for those who actualize tawheed,
the latter is for those who do not. [1]
Therefore
the entire Qur'aan is centered around tawheed. If you
were to think about the soorahs revealed in Makkah,
you would find that most of them focus entirely on tawheed.
That is because the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam)
stayed in Makkah for 13 years calling to tawheed and
warning against shirk. The vast majority of the religious
obligations like zakaah, fasting, Hajj, the affairs
of halaal and haraam, business transactions,
etc. were not revealed until after the Hijrah to Al-Madeenah.
The legislation of the prayer is an exception to this, as
it was made an obligation while the Prophet (sallallaahu
'alayhe wa sallam) was still in Makkah on the Night of
Al-Mi'raaj, when he (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam)
was taken by night (to Jerusalem) [2], but that was only a
short time before the Hijrah.
So
the majority of the soorahs revealed before the Prophet
(sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) made hijrah
were focused entirely on tawheed, thus showing how
truly important the subject is. Furthermore, the religious
obligations were not revealed until tawheed was presented
and established within the souls of the people, and the proper
'aqeedah had taken root. For verily actions can not
be correct except with tawheed, nor can they have other
than tawheed as their foundation.
The
Qur'aan has illustrated that the Messengers ('alayhim As-Salaatu
was-Salaam) all began their missions by inviting the people
to tawheed before anything else, as Allaah says [3]:
(
And We sent a messenger to every nation (proclaiming):
'Worship Allaah and shun false deities!' )
Allaah
also says [4]:
(
And We never sent any messenger before you, except that we
revealed to him that 'There is no deity worthy of worship
except Me, so worship Me!' )
And
every prophet used to say to his people [5]:
(
O my people - Worship Allaah as you have no other deity worthy
of worship! )
So
this was the affair of the messengers - they began with
tawheed.
Similarly
the callers and revivalists who followed the messengers used
to begin by focusing on tawheed. That is because every
single da'wah that is not built upon tawheed is
a fruitless call that does not fulfill its purpose, and there
is no positive result to it. Every da'wah that does
not focus on tawheed is a lost call, with regards to
its end results. This is something well known and seen all
over.
On
the other hand, every da'wah centered around tawheed
is a truly successful call, by Allaah's Permission, a cal
that benefits the society and bears many fruits. History bears
witness to this.
So
we are not neglecting the issues of the Muslims, rather we
are very concerned about them. We are assisting them and trying
to prevent every harm from reaching them using all our resources.
It is not something light on us that the Muslims are being
killed and exiled, but it is not true concern for the situation
of the Muslims that we force ourselves to shed tears insincerely,
or that we fill the world with speeches and writings, screaming
and wailing… for verily this does not accomplish a thing.
Finding
the real solution to the Muslims' problems requires us to
seek out the reasons that have led to the punishments afflicting
the Muslims at the hands of their enemies.
What
is causing the enemies of the Muslims to gain and hold authority
over them?
When
we look to the Muslim world, we do not see any serious commitment
to Islaam with most of those who ascribe to it, except the
few that Allaah has had Mercy on. What we see are Muslims
by name only, the 'aqeedah of most of them is lost.
They worship other than Allaah, calling on saints and righteous
people, clinging to graves and tombs, not establishing the
prayer, not paying zakaah, not fasting, etc. They are
not fulfilling the basic obligations Allaah asked of them,
they are not even gathering their strength or preparing physically
to fight the disbelievers! This is the case with the majority
of those who ascribe themselves to Islaam - they have lost
their religion, so Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, caused
them to be lost.
The
most significant factor that has led them to be subjected
to these punishments is their heedlessness regarding affairs
of tawheed and their falling into major shirk,
to the point that they do not prohibit each other from it,
nor do they even show any contempt for it! Those who do not
fall into it themselves still condone it or do not consider
it shirk. An explanation of this is forthcoming, in
shaa' Allaah. So know that this is the primary reason that
the Muslims have been subjected to such punishments.
If
they were to hold firmly to their religion, actualizing tawheed
and establishing their 'aqeedah upon the Book and the
Sunnah, holding together to the Rope of Allaah, shunning division,
then verily what has been allowed to befall them will not
be allowed to befall them anymore, as Allaah says [6]:
(
And verily Allaah will make those who aid His Cause victorious,
for verily He is All-Powerful and Mighty. (They
are) those who, when given power
in the land, establish the prayer, pay zakaah, command
what is good, and forbid what is evil, and with Allaah is
the end result of all affairs. )
So
Allaah has made it clear that victory will not be given to
the Muslims unless they focus on what He mentioned - establishing
the prayer, paying zakaah, commanding what is good,
and forbidding what is evil.
Where
are these affairs with the Muslims and their current situations
today? Where is the establishment of the prayer by most of
the Muslims? Or even more importantly, where is the correct
'aqeedah for most of those who claim Islaam as their
religion?!
Allaah
says [7]:
(
Allaah has promised those of you who believe and do righteous
deeds that He will cause them to rule the earth just as He
caused those who came before them to rule it, and He will
grant them the ability to practice their religion, the one
He chose for them, and He will change their fears into safety…
)
But
where is the very first condition for this promise? [7]
(
…they worship Me without ascribing a single partner to
Me )
So
He clarified that this gaining of authority and fortification
will only come to pass when this condition is fulfilled -
that they worship Him alone without any partners, and this
is the essence of tawheed. These generously promised
things will not be granted except to those who understand
and apply tawheed, worshipping Allaah alone with no
partners, with acts of worship including prayer, zakaah,
Hajj, and all other acts of obedience.
Note
that Allaah, Glorified and Exalted, did not say, "They
worship Me," only, rather He followed that up with
His Statement [7]:
(
…without ascribing a single partner to Me )
That
is because worship is of no benefit with the presence of
shirk. All forms of shirk must be avoided, no matter
what shape, form, or name. Shirk simply means to perform
an act of worship for other than Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic.
This
is what brings about true salvation, safety, victory, and
strength in the land - correcting the 'aqeedah and
then correcting the deeds. Without this, disasters and punishments
will continue to befall whoever does not completely fulfill
the condition (for Allaah's Aid). Being conquered by the enemies
is only the result of the Muslims not fulfilling this necessary
condition, their lack of proper concern for their 'aqeedah
and Religion, and their contentment with carrying Muslim names
and nothing more.
This
article was taken from BAKKAHnet (www.bakkah.net)
