The statement “La illaha illa Allah” has been distorted in such a way that most people have no idea what it actually means, what it rejects and what it affirms.
Its meaning, conditions and purpose have been buried under so much falsehood that for one to understand it, they have to first uncover and remove all the falsehood. It's only after the falsehood has been removed that the pure meaning of this statement becomes apparent.
In this article, we compare the perverted and distorted version of Tawheed that’s taught by the mainstream scholars with the Tawheed according to the Qur’an and Sunnah. Through this document that exposes falsehood and uncovers the truth, anyone seeking the truth will be able to understand the meaning of Tawheed according to the Quran and Sunnah. Sure, things will sound strange because the truth always sounds strange in the face of falsehood.
To understand Tawheed, a person has to first understand the meaning of the words that relate to this foundation of Islam according to the Quran and Sunnah. This is because most of the meanings of these words have been distorted, removed or both in the mainstream “Tawheed.” This is an important step to misguide the masses because ignorance of the real meaning of these words means ignorance of the meaning of “La illaha illa and Allah” and everything it represents. That is why it’s important to know the definitions (which are added as links) of these words to fully understand Tawheed according to the Quran and Sunnah.
The perverted distortion of Tawheed how it is taught in the mainstream narrative
Tawheed has 3 categories, namely:
Tawheed Ar-Ruboobiyyah (Lordship)
Tawheed Al-Uloohiyyah (Worship)
Tawheed Al-Asma` Wa-Sifaat (Names and Attributes)
Tawheed has 7 or 8 conditions, namely:
Knowledge (Ilm)
Certainty (Yaqeen)
Acceptance (Qabool)
Submission (Inqiyaad)
Truthfulness (Sidq)
Sincerity (Ikhlaas)
Love (Mahabbah)
Kufr bi Taghout (to make tafkeer on Taghout i.e. anything that's worshipped besides Allah)
Ibaadah is restricted to acts like
prayer
fasting
hajj
sila ar rahm (keeping ties of kinship)
dhikr
Shirk is given a very narrowed down definition, which almost always is worshiping graves. If they talk about taghut, which very rarely happens, they restrict it to one or two things (like taghut is shaytan) or they just give a general explanation (taghut is everything that is worshiped besides Allah) without giving a detailed explanation of what taghut actually is.
Although only parts of Tawheed are taught and preached, they don't even fully address these parts. They also distort many aspects of these parts of Tawheed. For example:
While teaching Tawheed Ar-Ruboobiyyah, for example, they mention that Allah is Ar-Razzaq (The Provider), but they never mention that the widespread belief of “you must attain higher school/education in order to get a good job and thus being able to pay your bills,“ which directly contradicts with the belief in Allah is Ar-Razzaq. Islam isn’t against planning, but religiously following the schooling system of the kuffar that focuses on dunya, indoctrinates minds, and convinces them that their only chance of success is through this system, contradicts the principles of Islam on a fundamental level.
While teaching the conditions of Tawheed, the first one of them being Knowledge, at the same time they come up with the adventurous theory that being ignorant about Tawheed is an excuse and that a person who is ignorant about Tawheed still can be a Muslim. How can the absence of something which is a condition for the validity of this very thing (and thus the presence of the opposite of this very thing) be an excuse? The condition of being a driver is knowing how to drive, so can someone who doesn't know how to drive still be a driver?
Although they talk a lot about worshiping graves and dead people and their books and lectures are filled with this very topic, they never go a step further and talk about the very person who actually worships graves. They just scratch the surface by naming the act of grave-worshiping shirk (which is correct), but they don't call the individual who worships graves and thus does an act of shirk a mushrik.
Although they claim to believe in Tawheed Al-Asma` Wa-Sifaat, they consider people and groups who reject some or many of the Names and Attributes of Allah as Muslims. For example, they consider people who believe that Allah is everywhere still as Muslims, despite the clear evidence that Allah is in the heavens. Or, they consider those who deny that Allah has two hands still as Muslims.
Many parts of Tawheed Al-Uloohiyyah, such as legislation, ruling, and judging are never talked about.
Other aspects of Tawheed, such as Tawheed al Wilāyah, the Oneness in Loyalty, are not even mentioned in their books and / or lectures. And Tawheed al Hakimiyyah, the Oneness of Legislation, if they mention it, is considered bidah and terrorism.
They hardly talk about Kufr bi Taghut and if they do, they give it very distorted meanings like, “staying away from worshiping graves”.
According to them, takfir, which is a direct requirement of Kufr bi Taghut, is reserved for scholars only.
According to them, part-taking in un-Islamic rituals and festivals like birthdays, gender reveal parties, bridal showers, New Year’s etc. are either considered haram or more commonly considered as something harmless that has no religious implications.
They look at certain things like movies and music only from a fiqh perspective, hence they say that music is haram due to the instruments, and movies are haram if there is any haram in it. They don’t address the shirk and kufr in music and movies where many of them mock the signs of Allah. They also don’t speak about the gaming industry, if some of them speak briefly about it, they only mention that it is time wasting.
Tawheed according to the Qur'an and Sunnah
Although it is not wrong to categorize Tawheed into the above mentioned 3 categories, it is possible and helpful to expand the spectrum to the following categories (especially if the 3 categories are not discussed in detail):
Tawheed Ar-Ruboobiyyah (Oneness of Lordship)
Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah or Tawheed al-‘Ibaadah (Oneness of worship)
Tawheed al-Asma’ wa’l-Sifaat (Oneness of Allah's names and attributes)
Tawheed al-Ma’rifah wa’l-Ithbaat (Oneness of knowledge and affirmation, to single out Allah with knowledge of Him and affirmation of His Names and Attributes)
Tawheed al-Qasd wa’l-Talab (Oneness of object and aim, to single out Allah with one’s intent and actions, and with seeking and asking)
Tawheed al-Hakimiyyah (Oneness of legislation, which means that Allah Alone Has the right to legislate)
Tawheed al Wilayah (Oneness in Loyalty, which means only to take Allah alone as Wali (ally, helper, protector etc.) and the Muwalah (loyalty, alliance, love) to His allies, and enmity to His enemies)
Tawheed ash Sha’āir wa Nusuk (Oneness in rituals of worship)
All these categories have evidence from the Quran and Sunnah, which show their precondition for the correctness of one’s Islam.
Failure to fulfill even one of the conditions of Tawheed invalidates one’s Islam.
Ibadah includes forms of worship like prayer, fasting, Hajj etc, but has a much more detailed and comprehensive meaning. Read here to learn more about the meaning of ibadah.
Although shaytan is a taghut, taghut and the meaning of taghut is not restricted to shaytan. As there is no Islam without rejecting taghut - because rejecting taghut is the first condition to enter Islam - knowing the exact definition of taghut is crucial. Read here to learn more about the meaning of taghut and why there can no Islam without this fundamental part of “La illaha illa Allah.”
While worshiping graves or idols is shirk, it is not the only form of shirk. There are more and other forms of - sadly very widespread - forms of shirk. Read here to learn more about shirk and its many faces.
Takfir is part of Kufr bi Taghut. Without Kufr bi taghut there is no Islam, hence there also can’t be Islam without takfir. How can takfir be reserved for scholars (or a group of other people), when it is a condition for the validity of ones’ Islam? Read here to learn more about takfir and why there can be no Islam without this fundamental pillar of “La illaha illa Allah.”
Part-taking in the rituals and festivals of the kuffar like birthdays, christmas, valentine’s day, mothers day, baby shower, new years eve etc. is kufr. Not only are these festivals rooted in paganism, but they’re also imitating the kufar, which is kufr.
The whole entertainment industry (movie, music and gaming) is one of the biggest tawagheet of our time. The songs, films and many of the games not only promote immorality, but also promote kufr and shirk, and mock Islam.
Here are the distinctions between the mainstream “Tawheed” and Tawheed according to the Quran and Sunnah in a table form for ease of understanding and comparison:
