توحید

It is narrated from Zayd ibn Sallam, from Abu Sallam, from al-Harith al-Ash'ari, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Allah Most High commanded Yahya (John, peace be upon him) regarding five things — that he should act upon them himself and tell the Children of Israel to act upon them too. Yahya (peace be upon him) became somewhat slow in this (that is, in telling the Children of Israel), so Isa (Jesus, peace be upon him) said: Allah Most High commanded you regarding five things — that you should act upon them yourself and also tell the Children of Israel to act upon them; so either you tell them, or else let me tell them. Yahya (peace be upon him) said: (Since I have been commanded,) I fear that if you precede me in this matter I may be swallowed up into the earth or seized by some punishment. Thereafter he gathered the people in Bayt al-Maqdis; and when it was full and people were seated even in the galleries, he said: Allah Most High has commanded me regarding five things — that I should act upon them myself and enjoin you also to act upon them. The first is that you worship Allah alone and associate nothing with Him, for the likeness of one who associates partners with Allah is that of a man who, with his own gold and silver wealth alone (with no partner), buys a slave and tells him: Look, this is my house and this is my work, so do the work and keep giving me the wage — yet he does the work but gives the wage to someone other than his master. Which of you would like his slave to be like that? And (the second is that) Allah Most High has commanded you to pray; so as long as you are in prayer do not look here and there, for Allah turns His full attention to His servant as long as the servant does not look here and there. And (the third is that) He has commanded you to fast; its likeness is that of a man in a company who has a pouch containing musk, whose fragrance everyone finds pleasing — and with Allah Most High the breath of the fasting person is dearer than the fragrance of musk. And (the fourth) He has commanded you to give charity; its likeness is that of a man whom an enemy has captured, tied his hands to his neck, and is taking him away to strike off his head, and he says: I give all that I have, little and much, in ransom for my life — and thus by paying ransom he frees his life from them. And (the fifth) He has commanded you to remember Allah (dhikr); its likeness is that of a man being pursued swiftly by an enemy, until he reaches a strong fortress and, entering it, saves his life from the enemy. Likewise, the servant cannot protect himself from Satan by any means except the remembrance of Allah.”

This hadith makes known that Prophet Yahya (peace be upon him) enjoined upon the Children of Israel these five matters, which Allah Most High commanded him, and the nation of the Children of Israel, to act upon. Among these teachings, the very first and most fundamental is that same thing for the conveying of which Allah Most High sent, with prophethood and messengership, from Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) down to the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him): namely the creed of Tawhid — that is, the affirmation with heart and tongue of the one Word, and the affirmation of the creed of Tawhid in every matter, in essence (dhat), in attributes (sifat) and in worship (ibadah). Tawhid of the essence is that Allah Most High be held to be alone, without likeness and without partner in His essence; this is stated in various ways in the Glorious Qur'an, and in Surah al-Ikhlas it is fully depicted:
“Say: He is Allah, the One; the True God, the Self-Sufficient; He begets not, nor is He begotten, and there is none equal to Him.” (Al-Ikhlas: 1–4)
Tawhid of worship is that every kind of worship be devoted to Allah alone, and none other be associated in it. In the Glorious Qur'an the word “worship” is used in two different senses. The first meaning is that every form of worship — such as prayer, prostration, vows and offerings, charity, alms, sacrifice, circumambulation, supplication, calling for aid, and seeking help — be for Allah alone. The second meaning is with respect to obedience and compliance: that in all the affairs of life, obedience and compliance be rendered only to the command and law of Allah Most High. To abandon the command of Allah Most High and follow the command or law of another — whether it be one's own self or the way of one's forefathers — is to associate a partner in the Tawhid of worship, as Allah Most High says:
“Have you considered the one who has taken his own desire as his god?” (Al-Furqan: 43)
Tawhid of attributes is that Allah Most High be held to be unique, without likeness and without partner in all those attributes which are established by the Qur'an and the hadiths. The attributes of Allah Most High are so boundless and beyond reckoning that for man it is impossible even to conceive of them, let alone count them, as the Lord of Might Himself says:
“If all the trees on the earth were pens, and the sea were ink, with seven more seas to replenish it, still the words of Allah would not be exhausted.” (Luqman: 27). It is in the Tawhid of attributes that man is most often deceived, and by not understanding it correctly he falls prey to hidden shirk (shirk khafi).

The creed of Tawhid is a creed given by Allah Most High, which He conveyed to the people through His prophets and messengers. The teachings of this creed have been one and the same from the very first day; no change or alteration has ever been made in them. However many prophets came and however many nations arose, this same fundamental teaching remained the teaching of all the prophets.