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Tawīd (Arabic: ; also transliterated Tawheed and Tauheed; Turkish: Tevhid) is the Islamic concept of monotheism. In Islam, Tawhīd means to assert the unity of God. The opposite of Tawhīd is shirk, which means "division" in Arabic, referring to idolatry. Etymology In the Arabic language, Tawhīd means 'unification' and is derived from the root word, ahad, which is made up of three Arabic letters. Al-Wahid, one of the 99 Names of God, is made up of the root word and describes wihdat or the oneness of God. Tawhidullah means the literal assertion of God's oneness and monotheistic existence. Definition Muslims believe that God cannot be held equal in any way to other beings or concepts. This monotheism is absolute, not relative or pluralistic in any sense of the word. It is for this reason that Muslims reject the concept of the Trinity held by most Christians, which describes God as three persons. Verses from the Qurān Many passages of the Qur'an refer to Tawhīd. This passage is commonly recited as part of the five daily prayers, known as salat. Nullification (shirk) The nullification of Tawhīd is shirk, which means "division" in Arabic. Acts of shirk can be classified as major and minor, varying depending on methodology. Muslim view Both Shi'a and Sunni Muslims agree that the most fundamental aspect of Islam revolves around the total acceptance of the Absolute and Perfect Creator. The Muslim profession of faith, or Shahadah (Lā 'ilāha 'illā lāh -- There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah) is an expression of Tawhīd. Sunni View Sunni Muslims regard Tawhīd as one of seven major aspects of the Islamic creed (Arabic: Aqidah). Fakhrud-Din Ibn ^Asakir, a prominent scholar on Ashariyy Creed, in his book Brilliance of the Minarets translation can be found at 1 and 2 wrote the following on Sunni creed: Explanation can be found at 3. * * * Seeing God Sunni Muslims believe that God cannot be seen, imagined or perceived in any way in the present life of this world. Rather, they believe that only the righteous believers will see God on Judgment Day (after they have died). * *. The Qur'an says: "Some faces that Day shall be Nâdirah (shining and radiant). Looking at their Lord (God)." (Qur'an 75:22-23) "Nay! Surely, they (evil-doers) will be veiled from seeing their Lord that Day." (Qur'an 83:15) In a hadith, Abu Huraira reports: The people said to the Messenger of God (may peace be upon him): Messenger of God, shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection? The Messenger of God (may peace be upon him) said: Do you feel any trouble in seeing the moon on the night when it is full? They said: Messenger of God, no. He (the Messenger) further said: Do you feel any trouble in seeing the sun, when there is no cloud over it? They said: Messenger of God. no. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Verily you would see Him like this (as you see the sun and the moon).Sahih Muslim 001.0349 Quran and Tawhid Sunnis believe that the Qur'an is uncreated, and that this view is fully compatible with Tawhid. The Hanbalis hold the view that "Not only were the words and sounds of the Quran eternal, so that even its recital was uncreated, but its parchment and binding shared the same qualities'. Abu Hanifa expressed: We confess that the Quran is the speech of God, uncreated, His inspiration, and revelation, not He, yet not other than He, but His real quality, written in the copies, recited by the tongues. The ink, the paper, the writing are created, for they are the work of man" Revelation and Reason in Islam by A.J. Arberry, pp 26-27. Sunni Salafi view Tauhid (Islamic Monothesism) has three aspects: This belief is very similar to the beliefs held by several sects of Christianity, including the Calvinists of Protestant Europe and the Puritans who settled in the British North American colonies of New England in the early 1600s. Those groups also regarded mankind as being totally dependent on God for all things. This aspect of Tawheed is expressed in the following verses from the Quran. "God is the Creator of everything. He is the guardian over everything. Unto Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth." (Qur'an, 39:62-63). "No creature is there crawling on the earth, but its provision rests on God. He knows its lodging place and it repository." (Qur'an 11:6). 22) "He is God; there is no god but He, He is the Knower of the unseen and the visible; He is the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate. 23) He is God, there is no god but He. He is the King, the All-Holy, the All-Peace, the Guardian of Faith, the All-Preserver, the All-Mighty, the All-Compeller, the All-Sublime. Glory be to God, above that which they associate! 24) He is God the Creator, the Maker, the Shaper. To Him belong the Names Most Beautiful. All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifies Him; He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise." (The Holy Qur'an, 59:22-24). "Do you worship what you have carved yourself?" (Qur'an 37:95). "Or have you taken unto you others beside Him to be your protectors, even such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves?" (Qur'an 13:16). For some Muslims, such as the Salafis, the following acts may be considered as shirk: Following Qur'anic literalism, Ibn Taymiya taught that God does not have body parts, but that He has the following attributes that the Qur'an and Hadeeth nonetheless: "Hands", "Eyes", "a Face", but that they are unlike anything we know of, as they are in a manner that befits God's majesty. Just like God Hears, and humans hear, God has a Hand, and humans have a hand, but they are different from each other as much as God is different from humans. Salafis believe that God is above the Heavens, upon the Arsh (Throne), and His Feet are at the level of the Kursi (Footstool).*. Shia view Tawhīd is among the five Shia Roots of Religion. According to Ali, the first Shi'a Imam: Attaching Attributes Shi'a do not believe that God can or will ever be seen, and also reject the notion of Him having body parts, or any parts whatsoever. Some verses of the Qur'an that seem to ascribe God body parts, for example verse (28:88) of which says: "Every thing is mortal except His face", Shi'a interpret as meaning "except His person". Shi'a argue that the verse is not to be taken literally, arguing that it can't be said that only the face of God will remain, while His other so-called limbs (either physical or not) will die. Similarly, Shi'a argue that God has used the word "Hand" (Arabic: Yad) in several places in the Qur'an, where it means His power and His Mercy, as in the verse (5:64): "But His hands are outspread". Shi'a quote in support of the verses being allegorical: Shi'a believe that "those who are firmly rooted" are the Ahl al-Bayt, meaning that they are the ones need to consulted for detailed information One of the most respected Shi'a collection, the Nahj al-Balagha, contains a sermon where Ali is quoted as giving a long and detailed account of Tawhid, part of it being The sermon is one of the most complicated description of God, it maintains attributes should not be attached to God, since it would creat a duality. However, Shi'a do not understand this as the notion that God lacks attributes. A modern similitude to energy would be that attributes can not be attached to energy, for example saying that energy has redness, creating a duality bettween energy and the color red; rather it should be said that energy can be red. In the same way, Shi'a maintain that it should not be said that God has strength or wisdom, creating a duality and nullifying Tawhid. Rather, it can be said that God is strong and wise. The thought of God having body parts is completely rejected and seen as shirk. Shaykh Saduq, one of the most distinguished of Shi'a scholars expresed List of attributes Shi'a list some positive attributes to God And some negative attributes: Non-eternal actions Shi'a distinct between eternal and non-eternal attributes of God: first those attributes which denote His person, and second, those attributes which denote His actions. Shaykh Saduq says Quran and Tawhid Shi'a further say that God creating and sending the Qur'an is of the non-eternal acts of God, hence Shi'a believe the Qur'an to be a creation, in contrast to Sunnis. Shi'a quote a Hadith where Muhammad is quoted as: "(There was a time when) God existed, and there was nothing beside Him". Even so, Shi'a believe the Qur'an to be perfect, in the same way that they believe God created other perfect objects, for example, the angels and the Prophets. Critique of the Sunni view Shi'a view some Sunni beliefs as deviation from the truth, occurring due to acceptance of the teaching of other than the Ahl al-Bayt. However, Shi'a do not go as far as saying Sunnis are polytheist (Arabic: mushrik) , rather, that they are mistaken. Attaching attributes Shi'a critizice the Sunni for regarding as authentic hadith where God is given body parts such as a body, face, hands, fingers, and legs *. some of this hadith include the Hadith of seeing God as the clear as the sun, and another by Abu Huraira where God is said to move: ...God waits till when one-third of the first part of the night is over; He descends to the lowest heaven and says: It there any supplicator of forgiveness?... Sahih Muslim 004.1657-004.1660 In this hadith, also narrated by Abu Huraira, God compressed Hell with "His Foot" to accommodate for more inhabitants: ... (that the Prophet said) "It will be said to the Hell, 'Are you filled?' It will say, 'Are there any more (to come)?' On that God will put His Foot on it, and it will say 'Qati! Qati! (Enough! Enough!)." Sahih Bukhari 006.060.371, 006.060.372, 006.060.373, 008.078.654, 009.093.481, 009.093.541, Sahih Muslim 40.6819, 040.6821, 040.6823, 040.6825 Shi'a have a presented a set of questions to Sunnis regarding their view on Tawheed Uncreated Quran While Sunnis believe the Qur'an is the uncreated word of God, Shi'a view this as claiming the Qur'an co-existed with God, in other words as shirk. Shi'a claim that this confusion steems from Sunni scholars not differentiation between non-eternal actions of God and God's eternal attributes al-islam.org. Deifying Ali Among the views on Shi'a Islam, there is the claim that the Shi'a breach Tawhīd by deifying Ali, while it is the Alawis that do so. (The Alawis believe that God incarnated as their imams, starting with Ali.) Tawassul Salafis claim that the Shi'a and traditional Sunni Muslims breach Tawhīd in other ways. For example, there is the claim that Shi'a and traditional Sunnis are polytheists (Arabic mushrik) when they pray through an intermediary (Arabic: Tawassul) with expressions such as Ya Muhammad and Ya Ali *. They equate asking Ali for help with worshiping Ali: As far as the Sunni Muslims are concerned, when they are in distress, they only call“O God!” They do turn to Him only in their quest for help as they appeal for aid from Him only to remove their agony. They do that with clear perception that supplication to the Only One God is one of the aspects of worship as the Messenger of God (Peace be upon him) prescribed for them. In this respect, supplication to other than God the Omniscient is ipso facto worshipping other than Him ansar.org, allaahuakbar. Shi'a answer that martyrs (Arabic: Shahid) should not be called dead according to the Qur'an. Shi'a also consider it illogical to be accused of polytheism on the mere account of asking Muhammad or Ali for help, arguing that it is at worst a call that will not be heard, not worse than asking a deaf person (who is alive) for help. Further, they claim that Salifis utter outright lies when they claim that Sunnis condemn this practice answering-ansar.org. Critique of the Sunni Salafi view Some, Shi'a in particular, are known to accuse Salafis to have abandoned many parts of Islam, and using threats of Shirk as motivation. For example, Shi'a use the Mawlid as a great festivity, used to commemorate what they perceive as the greatest prophet of God, and believe that the Salafi ban of the festivity for fear of deifying Muhammad is not only exaggerated, but also robs people of an occasion to bond with Muhammad. Salafis claim that Muhammad didn't celebrate his own birthday, nor did Muhammad's companions celebrate Muhammad's birthday, and conclude that celebrating the Birthday of the Prophet is a Bid'ah. Non-Muslim uses Refer to Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. See also | |||||||
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