Oneness of Allah SWT

Dear brothers and sisters, we have discussed this topic before and the oneness of Allah SWT is a foundation of our belief. However, in today’s reminder, the topic is expanded further into three sections.

The first is how the Oneness of Allah SWT is in relation to the one who is worshipped, the second is the meaning of Allah in that who sustains and finally it is on the attributes of Allah SWT which are mentioned in the Quran.

The first part is in relation to one who must be worshipped. The imam mentioned the 21st ayat of Sura Baqara which is translated to say:

O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous –

Dear brothers and sisters, if we analyse the first point then we are being told that through worship of Allah SWT we will become righteous.

Could it be that one can demonstrate righteousness in any other way? Of course this is possible. After all, we live in a society where the majority do not worship Allah SWT. And yet they show examples of righteous behaviour.

So what can we learn from this ayat? One of the lessons here is that the definition of what is righteous or what is deemed as good behaviour comes also from Allah SWT, the Creator and not the creation.

When we take the Creator and what He defines as righteous then we not only demonstrate we are worshipping Him but we are also contributing to a stable society and way of living.

For example, if tomorrow the act of stealing became lawful. The media, teachers, neighbours, friends etc all started saying stealing is absolutely fine. On top of that those who steal began to be praised by the media and revered in our society and those who didn’t steal were picked on for being backward. How would be react?

It’s a silly example but its deliberately stated to demonstrate that to put the definition of what is right, what is good in the hands of the creation is submitting to our nafs, our desires and would only lead to examples like this one which would make our society chaotic.

It makes logical sense that only the Creator can ever set the guidelines on what is right and wrong. It is only through following His commandments that we become righteous and good. And by doing so we not only function as He made us to function but we demonstrate worship of Him by following his commandments.

Second point made by the imam was of Allah SWT being one who sustains. The imam mentioned the following ayat 95 from Sura Al-Anam which is translated to say:

Indeed, Allah is the cleaver of grain and date seeds. He brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living. That is Allah ; so how are you deluded?

Dear brothers and sisters, if we analyse this ayat it is warning us of a delusion. An incorrect way of thinking. And what is that incorrect mindset? It is the belief that we are in charge of our sustinence. That our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing is independent of our Creator.

It seems like a simple point. After all, we here are all believers and so why could this point be relevant in today’s reminder?

It is about the practical application of this point. An example here is if one of us loses their job. We can become sad, despondent and depressed at our misfortune. This is an example of failing to rely on He who is in charge of our sustinence. We ought to use this opportunity to thank Allah SWT for our change in fortune as we ought to have faith that something better will come from this change in direction in our lives.

Another reaction to this example is the opposite behaviour. Those of us who take a job loss and plan to bounce back. Obviously this is a good reaction in theory, they brush up on their CV, start applying for new jobs etc. However, they focus their effort on the physical act of reacting to the situation. They fail to recognise that even all this positive behaviour will only manifest into a change of fortune with the permission of Allah and so they miss out on this important point.

Dear brothers and sisters, each day we are given examples in our lives of reasons to thank Allah SWT and to recognise that He is the sustainer. Let’s not forget this, regardless of how we react and thus avoid the warning of delusion mentioned earlier.

Thirdly, the oneness of Allah SWT is about the 99 names or attributes of Allah SWT. But why do we have 99 attributes?

To answer this question we need to ask ourselves, how is one introduced to someone they don’t know? For example, if I am introduced to someone for the first time, they may say my name and then say this Adeel, he is half-decent at talking in front of people. What is that doing to the other person? It’s giving them a picture of me before I have even had a chance to say hello. It’s allowing their mind to paint a picture of me and understand the kind of person I am.

Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t see Allah SWT. Not in this life. But by having 99 attributes, it is allowing us to create a complete picture of who our He is. For most of us, we can’t even list 99 characteristics to describe ourselves but in the Quran, Allah SWT is listing 99 attributes of Himself. This is so there is no ambiguity in our minds as to who our He is. By understanding them all, we paint in ourselves a perfect picture that eliminates the need to see Him. With these attributes we know exactly who Allah SWT is.

And alongside knowing the 99 names, we can then use the one that is applicable to us when talking to Him. Whether it is Al-Wali which means the protecting friend when we are feeling vulnerable to Al-Razzaq which means the sustainer when we are having money problems, there is a name or attribute for all our problems and needs.

Dear brothers and sisters, today’s reminder on Tawheed or the Oneness of Allah is focused on us opening our eyes to the blessings we have in our lives. Lets not overlook the fact that all that we have, have had and will have comes from He who is worthy of our everlasting thanks and our everlasting praise.

Read More

Oneness of Allah SWT – His Name and His Attributes

The imam spoke of three types of belief in Allah SWT’s Oneness. The first is the meaning of the word Rabb which is mentioned in the Quran, the second is the meaning of Allah which again we will expand upon and finally it is on the attributes of Allah SWT which are mentioned in the Quran.

The first third of this reminder expands upon the meaning of Rabb. We recite this definition of God every single prayer we pray in the first Sura of the Quran and when we read it’s translation we sometimes read Owner or Master for this word.

However, this is doing a disservice as the meaning of the word Rabb isn’t just Owner. After all, we could use the word Malik to define Owner as is done later in the Sura. No, Rabb is actually a bigger, richer word in it’s meaning and so we remind ourselves what it means to say Rabb.

Rabb is someone with a complete authority. So, is it possible to be an owner but not have complete authority? Of course, for example we have a car which we may own but we don’t have complete authority over it because if we get caught speeding enough times we won’t be able to use it anymore, despite being owners of it. Rabb is both Owner and Complete Authority.

Rabb also means to ensure growth. Allah SWT is telling us as Rabb, He looks after us from birth, throughout life and even beyond this life. This is Rabb. It also means to guide, to ensure existence and to grant gifts. Our life and all that we have are gifts from Him. This complete meaning of Rabb enables us to understand the richness of this word and what we as Muslims who believe in our Rabb also believe He is capable of.

The Imam reminded us of Sura Fatir, ayat 3 which says:

Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the heaven and earth? There is no deity except Him, so how are you deluded?

The second part of today’s reminder is about the word Allah. How does this differ? To answer this is to first talk about the word itself as it is open to discussion amongst the scholars. Some say that the word Allah has always been the name from before mankind. Others say it is the word that is derived from Al-Ilah.

Quick explanation of this. Al meaning The and Ilah meaning someone to be worshipped. Therefore Allah being The One to be Worshipped, i.e. just the word Allah SWT is the definition of there is no-one else to be worshipped.

But looking at it from another perspective tells us, Ilah comes from the root verb in Arabic that is Aliha which means love. And there’s an interesting point worth making here.

Before Islam, old Arabs used to have 10 degrees of Love. The lowest level was called Hubb and the highest level of love was that which killed you, the type of obsessive love that makes psychos out of people, an unhealthy love.

However, the 9th degree, the highest healthy level was called Yallah or Allah and it is from which Ilah comes from. This kind of love is the kind that when you have it you don’t feel pain, you don’t feel sadness.

Therefore by saying Bismillah then, we are expressing our love for our Creator and acknowledging that if we truly love Allah SWT then all of our problems are going to feel like nothing.

Dear brothers and sisters, we all have problems, problems with family money, legal, health, career and study. Some people even get anxiety as they are always thinking of their problems.

However, we ought to remind ourselves that when we call on Allah SWT by saying Bismillah Al-Rahman, Al-Raheem, that Allah SWT will remove this tension from us. It will be replaced by the reliance on Allah SWT and the problems will get sorted and everything will be OK.

You see, we know that Bismillah is said at the start of suras in the Quran. But in the story of Sulaiman, it is used in the middle. The story itself is outside of today’s reminder but to summarize the Prophet Sulaiman is going to transfer the throne of a Queen thousands of miles away in the blink of an eye. And the bit that is key is that it says “This is because of Bismillah” i.e. this is what Bismillah can do.

Dear brothers and sisters, what is the lesson here? It is that if that is what the reciting of the name of Allah can do in the blink of an eye, then imagine what it can do for you and me. It means we have no reason to ever be pessimist as we have been gifted this from our Creator.

Thirdly, the oneness of Allah SWT is about the 99 names or attributes of Allah SWT. But why do we have 99 attributes?

To answer this question we need to ask ourselves, how is one introduced to someone they don’t know? For example, if I am introduced to someone for the first time, they may say my name and then say this Adeel, he is half-decent at talking in front of people. What is that doing to the other person? It’s giving them a picture of me before I have even had a chance to say hello. It’s allowing their mind to paint a picture of me and understand the kind of person I am.

We can’t see Allah SWT. Not in this life. But by having 99 attributes, it is allowing us to create a complete picture of who our He is. For most of us, we can’t even list 99 characteristics to describe ourselves but in the Quran, Allah SWT is listing 99 attributes of Himself. This is so there is no ambiguity in our minds as to who our He is. By understanding them all, we paint in ourselves a perfect picture that eliminates the need to see Him. With these attributes we know exactly who Allah SWT is.

And alongside knowing the 99 names, we can then use the one that is applicable to us when talknig to Him. Whether it is Al-Wali which means the protecting friend when we are feeling vulnerable to Al-Razzaq which means the sustainer when we are having money problems, there is a name or attribute for all our problems and needs.

Dear brothers and sisters, today’s reminder is the cornerstone of our lives and how we should be living it. We are equipped with the names of Allah SWT in both worshipping Him and understanding Him. Let’s reconnect to our Creator by understanding the Oneness of Allah SWT through his Name and his Attributes and be of the people who are referenced by Him in Sura Al Anam, ayat 162 which says:

Say, “Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.

May Allah enable us to understand the importance of Tawheed. May Allah SWT develop our understanding of Him in our hearts. May Allah SWT give us the ability to demonstrate this in our actions and our worship.

Ameen wal hamdullilahi rabilalameen.

Read More

Tawheed – Oneness of Allah SWT

Tawheed briefly described is the Oneness of Allah SWT in Divinity, in Worship, in His Names and Attributes. Belief in the Oneness of Allah SWT is the focal point around which the religion of Islam revolves.

Submission to Allah SWT alone and the dedication of worship to Him alone, elevates the believers’ character and mind. It saves him from a heart that wanders astray, from desires that become corrupted, and from the darkness of ignorance.

The Imam referenced ayat 36 of Sura An-Nahl in which it is translated to say:

And indeed, within every community we have We raised up an apostle [entrusted with this message]: “Worship God, and shun the powers of evil!” And among those [past generations] were people whom God graced with His guidance, just as there was among them [many a one] who inevitably fell prey to grievous error: go, then, about the earth and behold what happened in the end to those who gave the lie to the truth!

Dear brothers and sisters, tawheed comes from loving Allah SWT and to love Allah SWT is a duty for us all. The reasons to love Allah SWT is all around us. Take time out to ponder all that He has blessed each and every one of us with. Our health, our freedom, our family and our wealth. We have so much to be thankful for and so much to love Him for.

Equally so, only Allah SWT can protect us from troubles or pain that we may be going through. Only He is worthy of our pleas.

However, we can sometimes fall into the bad habit of forgetting Allah SWT in times of hardship and instead begin to despair but this is not the correct way a Muslim should behave.

What we sometimes don’t realize is that a person may feel hardship or pain but not know the good that may come of it. Only Allah SWT is knowledgeable of this and it is vital we remember that and Him in such times.

Allah SWT has told us He will test us in life to see if the person displays patience, humility and return to Him through worship. Allah SWT has told us He wants us to constantly return to Him with sincerity in repentance and to Him alone.

The imam spoke of ayat 25 in Sura Al-Anbiya which is translated to say:

And We sent not before you any messenger except that We revealed to him that, “There is no deity except Me, so worship Me.”

Dear brothers and sisters. We need to sincerely testify with our hearts that it is only Allah SWT that we turn to. Nobody else is worthy of our gratitude and nobody else is worthy of our prayer.

The Oneness of Allah SWT comes by the realisation that whatever we may be experiencing in our lives comes from Him. It is the belief that only He has the power to change it and only He is the one who we must thank for it.

The imam mentioned the following hadith in which the Prophet SAWS said:

Oh people say there is no Lord expect Allah and you will succeed

With that being said, this reminder concludes with 7 conditions that need to be met in order for Tawheed to be established.

  1. Knowledge that ends ignorance about who is the divine. To know Allah SWT is the start of faith. Who He is. Why We were created and What we must believe. This is the first condition.
  2. Certainty that cures doubt about the divine and His plan for us individually and collectively. We believe that only He is in control of our lives and the future for us all.
  3. Acceptance of the consequences towards the belief in Allah SWT and his Messengers (peace be upon them all) and that there are divinely ordained laws of living that must be observed.
  4. Submission to that which you accept from certain knowledge you have about Allah SWT. You hear, obey and seek to distinuguish yourself in that.
  5. Truthful to the faith and the Divine. You do what Allah SWT seeks without hypocrisy or to win favour with other creations of Allah SWT. You keep your faith even when you are alone and nobody else can see or hear.
  6. Sincerity to Allah SWT in all acts of devotion. You remove all superstition and reliance upon all others from your life.
  7. Love the One the Almighty through your ritual worship that is ordained upon you and grow in love for Allah SWT through living at peace with his creation.

Dear brothers and sisters, declaring the Oneness of Allah SWT with our hearts and our minds is the most important thing for us to grasp in life. For if we learn how to trust and worship Allah SWT with sincerity, then and only then, will we escape from the slavery and captivity of this life.

May Allah SWT develop the love for Him in our hearts. May Allah SWT develop the resolute affirmation of the oneness of Allah SWT in our hearts. May Allah SWT give us the ability to demonstrate this in our actions and our worship.

Read More

Tawheed- Oneness of Allah

Tawheed briefly described is the Oneness of Allah SWT in Divinity, in Worship, in His Names and Attributes. Belief in the Oneness of Allah SWT is the focal point around which the religion of Islam revolves.

Submission to Allah SWT alone and the dedication of worship to Him alone, elevates the believers’ character and mind. It saves him from a heart that wanders astray, from desires that become corrupted, and from the darkness of ignorance.

The Imam referenced ayat 64 of Sura Al-Imran in which it is translated to say:

Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him).

Dear brothers and sisters, tawheed comes from loving Allah SWT and to love Allah SWT is a duty for us all. The reasons to love Allah SWT is all around us. Take time out to ponder all that He has blessed each and every one of us with. Our health, our freedom, our family and our wealth. We have so much to be thankful for and so much to love Him for.

Equally so, only Allah SWT can protect us from troubles or pain that we may be going through. Only He is worthy of our pleas.

By avoiding associating any partners with Allah SWT, we are able to grasp the reality of the life that we have been given. It is to take all our experiences, good and bad, as a means to return to the one and only worthy of return, Allah SWT.

However, we can sometimes fall into the bad habit of forgetting Allah SWT in times of hardship and instead begin to despair but this is not the correct way a Muslim should behave.

What we sometimes don’t realize is that a person may feel hardship or pain but not know the good that may come of it. Only Allah SWT is knowledgeable of this and it is vital we remember that and Him in such times.

Allah SWT has told us He will test us in life to see if the person displays patience, humility and return to Him through worship. Allah SWT has told us He wants us to constantly return to Him with sincerity in repentance and to Him alone.

 

The imam spoke of ayat 48 in Sura Al-Nisa which is translated to say:

“Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him (in worship), but He forgives anything else, to whom He wills; and whoever sets up partners with Allah in worship, he has indeed invented a tremendous sin”

Dear brothers and sisters, these ayats demonstrate the both the mercy of our Lord and the severity of worshipping other than Allah SWT. We need to sincerely testify with our hearts that it is only Allah SWT that we turn to. Nobody else is worthy of our gratitude and nobody else is worthy of our prayer.

The Oneness of Allah SWT comes by the realisation that whatever we may be experiencing in our lives comes from Him. It is the belief that only He has the power to change it and only He is the one who we must thank for it.

So practically, is there any habit that may exist that puts us in danger to today’s reminder? Yes, there is a popular habit which has been highlighted in today’s reminder and it is mentioned through the warning in the following hadiths:

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Verily! Allah forbids you to swear by your fathers. If one has to take an oath, they should swear by Allah or else keep silent.

And

Whoever swears by anything other than Allah has committed Shirk, i.e associated partners with Allah SWT

Dear brothers and sisters, it’s common for some, when declaring an oath or giving a promise to say something along the lines of “I swear on my life” or “I swear on my mum’s life” or ”I swear on my dad’s life”.

The practical reminder for today is that there is only one permissible oath that can be given when one is wanting to give an oath and that is to swear on Allah SWT alone. Anything other than this risks the dangers mentioned in the hadiths referenced by the imam.

Dear brothers and sisters, declaring the Oneness of Allah SWT with our hearts and our minds is the most important thing for us to grasp in life. For if we learn how to trust and worship Allah SWT with sincerity, then and only then, will we escape from the slavery and captivity of this life.

May Allah SWT develop the love for Him in our hearts. May Allah SWT develop the resolute affirmation of the oneness of Allah SWT in our hearts. May Allah SWT give us the ability to demonstrate this in our actions and our worship.

Read More

Oneness of Allah

Tawheed briefly described is the Oneness of Allah SWT in Divinity, in Worship, in His Names and Attributes.

Belief in the Oneness of Allah SWT is the focal point around which the religion of Islam revolves.

Submission to Allah SWT alone and the dedication of worship to Him alone, elevates the believers’ character and mind. It saves him from a heart that wanders astray, from desires that become corrupted, and from the darkness of ignorance.

Allah SWT says in Ayat 165 of Sura Al-Baqara:

And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allah as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allah . But those who believe are stronger in love for Allah . And if only they who have wronged would consider [that] when they see the punishment, [they will be certain] that all power belongs to Allah and that Allah is severe in punishment.

To love Allah SWT is a duty for us all. The reasons to love Allah SWT is all around us. Take time out to ponder all that He has blessed each and every one of us with. Our health, our freedom, our family and our wealth. We have so much to be thankful for and so much to love Him for.

Equally so, only Allah SWT can protect us from troubles or pain that we may be going through. Only He is worthy of our pleas.

By avoiding associating any partners with Allah SWT, we are able to grasp the reality of the life that we have been given. It is to take all our experiences, good and bad, as a means to return to the one and only worthy of return, Allah SWT.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, advised the companions on the following supplication to perform before sleep and it emphasises todays topic completely:

O Allah,1 I submit myself to You, entrust my affairs to You, turn my face to You, and lay myself down depending upon You , hoping in You and fearing You . There is no refuge , and no escape, except to You. I believe in Your Book (the Qur’an) that You revealed, and the Prophet whom You sent

We can sometimes fall into the bad habit of forgetting Allah SWT in times of hardship and instead begin to despair but this is not the correct way a muslim should behave.

What we sometimes don’t realize is that a person may feel hardship or pain but not know the good that may come of it. Only Allah SWT is knowledgeable of this and it is vital we remember that and Him in such times.

Allah SWT has told us He will test us in life to see if the person displays patience, humility and return to Him through worship. Allah SWT has told us He wants us to constantly return to Him with sincerity in repentance and to Him alone.

In Sura Saad, ayat 41-44, Allah SWT details to us the manner in which we must be toward Him:

“And remember our servant Job, when he called to his Lord, “Indeed Satan has touched me with hardship and torment.”

So he was told, “Strike the ground with your foot; this is a spring for a cool bath and drink.

And We granted him and his family and a like number with them, mercy from Us and a reminder to those of Understanding.

We said “And take in your hand a bunch of grass and strike with it and do not break your oath.” Indeed we found him patient, an excellent servant. Indeed he was one repeatedly turning back to Allah.

These ayats demonstrate the manner in which a servant of Allah SWT should be in times of hardship. We need to strive to turn to Allah SWT in both times of hardship and in times of happiness and blessings.

Above all else though, we need to sincerely testify with our hearts that it is only Allah SWT that we turn to. Nobody else is worthy of our gratitude and nobody else is worthy of our prayer.

The Oneness of Allah SWT comes by the realisation that whatever we may be experiencing in our lives comes from Him. It is the belief that only He has the power to change it and only He is the one who we must thank for it.

Understanding the Oneness of Allah SWT is the most important thing for us to grasp. For if we learn how to trust and worship Allah SWT with sincerity, then and only then, will we escape from the slavery and captivity of this life.

May Allah SWT develop the love for Him in our hearts. May Allah SWT develop the resolute affirmation of the oneness of Allah SWT in our hearts. May Allah SWT give us the ability to demonstrate this in our actions and our worship.

Read More