There are three categories of Tawh=EEd (the Oneness of God) that we must
explain very clearly to the non-Muslims. First is Tawh=EEd Ar-
Ruboobeeyah (Oneness of All=E2h's Divinity or All=E2h I as the Only God
and Creator). All=E2h I is the Only Rabb, the Creator, the Sovereign,
the Sustainer, the Provider, and Manager of the whole mankind in all
affairs. Second is Tawh=EEd Al-Ulooheeyah or Tawh=EEd Al-Ibaadah (All=E2h I=
is the Only One worthy of our worship). No one deserves true worship
but All=E2h. All=E2h I created the whole mankind and the jinn to worship
Him Alone (51:56). Worship in Isl=E2m is a comprehensive term.
Everything we do in accordance with All=E2h's Law is an act of worship.
Such worship must be done sincerely for the pleasure of All=E2h I alone.
Third is Tawh=EEd Al-Asmaa wa As-Sif=E2t (All=E2h Alone deserves the most
Magnificent Names and Attributes). All praises belong to All=E2h I. No
one shares in any of His beautiful Names and Attributes, which are
found in the Qur'=E2n and Ah=E2d=EEth.
Of the three categories of Tawh=EEd, we must give emphasis on the Tawh=EEd
Al-Ulooheeyah or Tawh=EEd Al-Ib=E2dah. That is to invite or call people
to worship All=E2h I alone. This is to guide them to the Truth so that
they will fulfill their very purpose of existence/creation in this
world 3/4 i.e., to worship All=E2h I throughout their lives and
therefore avoid committing the most sinful of all sins, which is Shirk
(associating partners with All=E2h I). All=E2h the Most High tells us:
"I have created not the jinn and men except that they should worship
Me (Alone). I seek not any provision from them nor do I ask that they
should feed Me. Verily, All=E2h is the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the
Most Strong." (51:56-58)
"So glorify the praises of your Rabb and be of those who prostrate
themselves (to Him). And worship your Rabb until there comes unto you
the Hour that is certain (i.e., death)." (15:98-99)
"All=E2h forgives not that partners should be set up with Him; but He
forgives anything else, to whom He pleases; to set up partners with
All=E2h is to devise a sin most heinous indeed." (4:48)
To guide mankind to Tawh=EEd Al-Ulooheeyah, All=E2h the Most Gracious,
Most Merciful sent prophets and messengers to every nation. We read
in the Qur'=E2n:
"And verily, We have sent among every nation a messenger
(proclaiming): 'Worship All=E2h (alone) and avoid false
deities.'..." (16:36)
"And We did not send any messenger before you (O Muhammad) except that
We inspired him (to proclaim) that none has the right to be worshipped
except Me (All=E2h), so worship Me (Alone)." (21:25)
The Prophet r, just like other prophets and messengers of All=E2h I
before him [e.g., Noah (7:59 and 23:23); Abraham (2: 257 and 6: 80);
Jesus Christ, the son of Mary (5: 72)] invited people to the worship
of All=E2h I. All=E2h the Exalted tells us:
"Say (O Muhammad): 'I am but a man like yourselves, (but) the
inspiration has come to me, that your God is One God: whoever expects
to meet His Rabb, let him work righteousness, and in the worship of
his Rabb, admit no one as partner." (18:110)
In line with the above Isl=E2mic injunctions, it is imperative that we
Du'at must invite non-Muslims to Tawh=EEd. We must call those who
worship false deities as well as those who associate partners with
All=E2h I and the atheists to Tawh=EEd for the following reasons:
1. We must invite or call non-Muslims (e.g., Christians) to worship
All=E2h I alone so that they will fulfill their very purpose of
existence/creation in this world 3/4 ito worship All=E2h I throughout
their lives. All=E2h the Most High says:
"I have created not the jinn and men except that they should worship
Me (Alone). I seek not any provision from them nor do I ask that they
should feed Me. Verily, All=E2h is the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the
Most Strong." (51:56-58)
"So glorify the praises of your Rabb and be of those who prostrate
themselves (to Him). And worship your Rabb until there comes unto you
the Hour that is certain (i.e., death)." (15:98-99)
2. To invite non-Muslims to Tawh=EEd is to guide them to Isl=E2m, the
right religion and therefore refrain themselves from committing the
most sinful of all sins, which is Shirk (associating partners with
All=E2h I). All=E2h the Almighty tells us in His Book:
"You do not worship besides Him but only names which you have named
(forged), you and your fathers, for which All=E2h has sent down no
authority. The Command is for none but for All=E2h. He has commanded
that you worship none but Him, that is the right religion, but most
men know not." (12:40)
"All=E2h forgives not that partners should be set up with Him; but He
forgives anything else, to whom He pleases; to set up partners with
All=E2h is to devise a sin most heinous indeed." (4:48)
3. If the non-Muslims will believe in the Oneness of All=E2h I and will
do righteous deeds, they will be in the eternal paradise and hence
attain supreme success. They will be saved from the eternal
chastisement in the Hell-Fire, which All=E2h I has prepared for those
who disbelieve in His Oneness. All=E2h the Almighty says:
"So those who believed (in the Oneness of All=E2h) and did righteous
deeds will be in the Gardens of Delight (Paradise)." (22:56)
"But those who disbelieve and belie our Ayaat (proofs, verses, etc.):
such are the dwellers of the Fire, they shall abide therein
forever." (2:39)
4. We have to invite non-Muslims to Tawh=EEd especially Tawh=EEd Al-
Ulooheeyah (to sincerely worship All=E2h as the only God worthy to be
worshipped) because it was the message conveyed by all the prophets
and messengers of All=E2h I. All=E2h the Most Gracious, Most Merciful
sent prophets and messengers to every nation to proclaim that none has
the right to be worshipped except Him. We read in the Qur'=E2n:
"And verily, We have sent among every nation a messenger
(proclaiming): 'Worship All=E2h (alone) and avoid false
deities.'..." (16:36)
"And We did not send any messenger before you (O Muhammad) except that
We inspired him (to proclaim) that none has the right to be worshipped
except Me (All=E2h), so worship Me (Alone)." (21:25)
5. Inviting non-Muslims to Tawh=EEd is a message that is supreme. This
is a commandment from All=E2h I to His Messenger r, which we must also
follow as stated in the following Ay=E2t:
"Say (O Muhammad): 'Truly am I a Warner: no god is there but the One
All=E2h Supreme and Irresistible, the Rabb (Sustainer) of the heavens
and the earth and all between Exalted in Might Able to enforce His
will forgiving again and again.' Say: 'That is a message supreme
(above all) from which you do turn away!'" (38:65-68)
"Say (O Muhammad): 'I am but a man like yourselves, (but) the
inspiration has come to me, that your God is One God: whoever expects
to meet His Rabb, let him work righteousness, and in the worship of
his Rabb, admit no one as partner.'" (18:110)
It is imperative that we Du'at must invite non-Muslims to Tawh=EEd as it
is the Sunnah of All=E2h's Messenger r. In fact, the first thing he
enjoined one of his Companions, which we must also follow, was to
invite people to worship All=E2h I. The following authentic Had=EEth
tells us:
Ibn Abbas narrated that when All=E2h's Messengerr sent Muadh to
Yemen, he said (to him), "You are going to People of the Book. First
of all invite them to worship All=E2h (Alone) and when they come to know
All=E2h, inform them that All=E2h has enjoined on them, five prayers in
every day and night; and if they start offering these prayers, inform
them that All=E2h has enjoined on them, the Zakat. And it is to be taken
from the rich amongst them and given to the poor amongst them; and if
they obey you in that, take Zakat from them and avoid (don't take) the
best property of the people as Zakat." (Bukhari 2/537)
Isl=E2mic History tells us that for ten years, the Prophet r invited the
non-believers in Makkah to Tawh=EEd (to worship no other God but All=E2h
I). While in Makkah, he was raised to Heaven where he was given the
divine commandment to institutionalize the five obligatory daily
prayers (Salaat). He r performed the prayers in Makkah for three
years. Then, he was commanded to migrate to Madinah to build the
first Isl=E2mic State 3/4 to implement Isl=E2m in its complete and purest
way. This shows how the Prophet r stressed the need to give priority
to Tawh=EEd, which we must also follow in our Da'wah. This means to
explain to non-Muslims the concept and rationality of the absolute
oneness of All=E2h and why we need to worship Him, before explaining
other pillars of Isl=E2m as well as the articles and other teachings of
the True and Right Religion.
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