[
In the Name of Allaah, the Lord of all the worlds, may His
Salaah and Salaam be upon His final Prophet
and Messenger, and upon all his family members and companions,
and those who follow his way, to proceed... ]
There
are some in our time who have divided tawheed into
four categories, saying, "Tawheed is four categories:
tawheed ar-ruboobiyyah, tawheed al-uloohiyyah, tawheed al-asmaa'
was-sifaat, and tawheed al-haakimiyyah." In order
to say this, they relay on the idea that dividing tawheed
is just a traditional way of explaining it, not something
restricted. Based on this assumption, there is nothing preventing
us from adding another category.
So
it should be said to such a person: "This division
is not a traditional explanation, rather it goes back to the
Book and the Sunnah, and the Salaf took these three categories
directly from the Book and the Sunnah."
As
for haakimiyyah, then it is true. It is obligatory
for us to rule by the Sharee'ah of Allaah, the Mighty
and Majestic. However this is included in tawheed al-uloohiyyah
because it is obedience to Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic.
The
Salaf did not leave out tawheed al-haakimiyyah so that
someone later could add it on, verily it was already with
them within tawheed al-'ebaadah (tawheed al-uloohiyyah)!
That is because obeying Allaah by ruling according to His
Sharee'ah is a form of worshipping Him, Mighty and
Majestic, so it is not made into a separate category. Otherwise,
prayer would be a separate category of tawheed, paying
zakaah would be another separate category, fasting
another, Hajj another, and all other forms of worship would
be separate categories as well, and there would be no end
to the divisions of tawheed! This is clearly wrong.
All of the forms of worship come under one category, tawheed
al-uloohiyyah. This category includes it (al-haakimiyyah),
and nothing else may be added to them.
There
exists a group of them that adds yet another category, a fifth
one. They call it itbaa' ar-rasool (following the Messenger,
sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam). This is also wrong.
Following the Messenger is obligatory and there is no way
around it, so much that following the Messenger (sallallaahu
'alayhe wa sallam) is from the things that accompany tawheed,
as no testimony of "laa ilaaha illalaah"
is valid without the testimony, "Muhammad is the Messenger
of Allaah." So this testimony about the messengership
of the Messenger accompanies the very testimony of tawheed.
So following the Messenger is from the things that are obligatory
upon the one claiming to be upon tawheed, and not a
separate category of tawheed in itself. The one who
violates tawheed is called a mushrik or a kaafir,
while the one who does not follow the messenger is a mubtadi'
(innovator).
These
are the ones who contradict Ahlus-Sunnah in the division
of tawheed, and they are either wasteful or miserly.
The wasteful one adds to the three categories of tawheed
unnecessarily, while the miserly one holds to only one category,
leaving out the other two [1]. The miserly one leaves out
the most important one, the one that we are requested to fulfill,
tawheed al-uloohiyyah.
As
for tawheed ar-ruboobiyyah, every nation has agreed
upon it, except some rare oddities from the Creation. They
have only rejected it out of pride and stubbornness, while
they inwardly affirm it. So all of the creation affirms that
Allaah is the Creator, the Provider, the Bringer of Life and
Death, and the Controller of Affairs, however this is not
the form of tawheed that is requested from us [2].
This
article was taken from BAKKAHnet (www.bakkah.net)
