Tawhid:
Faith in the Unity of God
Abul A'La Mawdudi, Towards
Understanding Islam
The most fundamental and the most important teaching of
Prophet Muhammad (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him) is
faith in the unity of God. This is expressed in the primary
Kalimah of Islam as "There is no deity but Allah" (La
ilaha illallah). This beautiful phrase is the bedrock of
Islam, its foundation and its essence. It is the expression of
this belief which differentiates a true Muslim from a kafir
(unbeliever), mushrik (one who associates others with
God in His Divinity) or dahriyah (an atheist).
The acceptance or denial of this phrase produces a world of
difference between man and man. The believers in it become one
single community and those who do not believe in it form an
opposing group. For the believers there is unhampered progress
and success in this world and in the hereafter, while failure
and ignominy are the ultimate lot of those who refuse to believe
in it.
But the difference between the believers and the unbelievers
does not result from the mere chanting of a few words.
Obviously, the mere utterance of a phrase or two is not in
itself important. The real difference lies in the conscious
acceptance of this doctrine and complete adherence to it in
practical life. Mere repetition of the word 'food' cannot dull
hunger; mere chanting of a medical prescription cannot heal the
disease.
In the same way, if the Kalimah is repeated without
any understanding, it cannot work the revolution which it is
meant to bring about. This can occur only if a person grasps the
full meaning of the doctrine and accepts and follows it in
letter and spirit. We avoid fire because we know that it burns;
we keep away from poison because we know that it can kill.
Similarly, if the real meanings of Tawhid are fully
grasped, we avoid, in belief as well as in action, every form of
disbelief, atheism and polytheism. This is the natural
consequence of belief in the Unity of God.
The Meaning of the Kalimah
In Arabic the word ilah means 'one who is
worshipped', that is, a being which on account of its greatness
and power is considered worthy to be worshipped: to be bowed to
in humility and submission. Anything or any being possessing
power too great to be comprehended by man is also called
ilah. The concept ilah also includes the
possession of infinite powers and conveys the sense that others
are dependent on ilah and that he is not dependent on
anyone else. The word ilah carries, too, a sense of
concealment and mystery. The word Khuda in Persian,
Deva in Hindi and God in English have similar
connotations. Other languages also contain words with a similar
meaning.
The word Allah, on the other hand, is the essential
personal name of God. La ilaha illallah literally means
"There is no ilah other than the One Great Being known
by the name Allah." It means that in the whole of the
universe, there is absolutely no being worthy to be worshipped
other than Allah, that it is only to Him that heads should bow
in submission and adoration, that He is the only Being
possessing all powers, that we are all in need of His favour,
and that we are all obliged to seek His help. He is concealed
from our senses, and our intellect cannot perceive what He is.
Now we know the meaning of these words, let us look more
closely at their real significance.
From the earliest known history of man as well as from the
oldest relics of antiquity that we have been able to obtain, it
appears that in every age man recognised some deity or deities
and worshipped them. Even today every nation, from the most
primitive to the most advanced, believes in and worships some
deity. Having a deity and worshipping him is ingrained in human
nature. There is something within man's soul which forces him to
do so.
But the question is: what is that thing and why does man feel
impelled to do so? The answer to this question can be discovered
if we look at the position of man in this huge universe. Neither
man nor his nature is omnipotent. He is neither self-sufficient
nor self-existing; nor are his powers limitless. In fact, he is
weak, frail, needy and destitute.
He is dependent on a multitude of forces to maintain his
existence, but all of them are not essentially and totally
within his powers. Sometimes they come into his possession in a
simple and natural way, and at times he finds himself deprived
of them. There are many important and valuable things which he
endeavours to get, but sometimes he succeeds in getting them,
while sometimes he does not, for it is not completely in his own
power to obtain them. There are many things injurious to him;
accidents destroy his life's work in a single moment; chance
brings his hopes to a sudden end; illness, worries and
calamities are always threatening him and marring his way to
happiness. He attempts to get rid of them, and meets with both
success and failure.
There are many things whose greatness and grandeur overawe
him: mountains and rivers, gigantic animals and ferocious
beasts. He experiences earthquakes, storms and other natural
disasters. He observes clouds over his head and sees them
becoming thick and dark, with peals of thunder, flashes of
lightning and heavy rain. He sees the sun, the moon and the
stars in their constant motions. He reflects how great, powerful
and grand these bodies are, and, in contrast to them, how frail
and insignificant he himself is!
These vast phenomena, on the one hand, and the consciousness
of his own frailty, on the other, impress him with a deep sense
of his own weakness, humbleness and helplessness. And it is
quite natural that a primitive idea of divinity should coincide
with this sense. He thinks of the hands which are wielding these
great forces. The sense of their greatness makes him bow in
humility. The sense of their powerfulness makes him seek their
help. He tries to please them so that they may be beneficial to
him, and he fears them and tries to escape their wrath so that
he may not be destroyed by them.
In the most primitive stage of ignorance, man thinks that the
great objects of nature whose grandeur and glory are visible,
and which appear to be injurious or beneficial to him, hold in
themselves the real power and authority, and, therefore, are
divine. Thus he worships trees, animals, rivers, mountains,
fire, rain, air, heavenly bodies and numerous other objects.
This is the worst form of ignorance.
When his ignorance dissipates to some extent and some
glimmers of light and knowledge appear on his intellectual
horizon, he comes to know that these great and powerful objects
are in themselves as helpless and dependent, or rather, they are
still more dependent and helpless. The biggest and the strongest
animal dies like a tiny germ, and loses all his power; great
rivers rise and fall and become dry; the highest mountains are
blasted and shattered by man himself; the productiveness of the
earth is not under the earth's control - water makes it
prosperous and lack of water makes it barren. Even water is not
independent. It depends on air which brings the clouds. Air,
too, is powerless and its usefulness depends on other causes.
The moon, the sun, and the stars are also bound by a powerful
law outside whose dictates they cannot make the slightest
movement.
After these considerations man's mind turns to the
possibility of some great mysterious power of divine nature
which controls the objects he sees and which may be the
repository of all authority. These reflections give rise to
belief in mysterious powers behind natural phenomena, with
innumerable gods governing various parts and aspects of nature
such as air, light and water. Material forms or symbols are
constructed to represent them and man begins to worship these
forms and symbols. This, too, is a form of ignorance, and
reality remains hidden to the human eye even at this stage of
man's intellectual and cultural pilgrimage.
As man progresses still further in knowledge and learning,
and as he reflects more and more deeply on the fundamental
problems of existence, he finds an all-powerful law and
all-encompassing control in the universe. What a complete
regularity is observed in sunrise and sunset, in winds and
rains, in the motions of stars and the changes of seasons! With
what a wonderful harmony countless different forces are working
jointly. And what a highly effective and supremely wise law it
is according to which all the various causes in the universe are
made to work together at an appointed time to produce an
appointed event! Observing this uniformity, regularity and
complete obedience to one great law in all fields of Nature,
even a polytheist finds himself obliged to believe that there
must be a deity greater than all the others, exercising supreme
authority. For, if there were separate, independent deities, the
whole machinery of the universe would be upset.
He calls this greatest deity by different names, such as
Allah, Permeshwar, God,
Khuda-i-Khuda'igan. But as the darkness of ignorance still
persists, he continues worshipping minor deities along with the
Supreme One. He imagines that the Divine Kingdom of God may not
be different from earthly kingdoms. Just as a ruler has many
ministers, trusted associates, governors and other responsible
officers, so the minor deities are like so many responsible
officers under the Great God Who cannot be approached without
winning the favour of the officers under Him. So they must also
be worshipped and appealed to for help, and should in no case be
offended. They are taken as agents through whom an approach can
be made to the Great God.
The more a man increases his knowledge, the greater becomes
his dissatisfaction with the multiplicity of deities. So the
number of minor deities begins to decrease. More enlightened men
bring each one of them under the searchlight of scrutiny and
ultimately find that none of these man-made deities has any
divine character; they themselves are creatures like man, though
rather more helpless. They are thus eliminated one by one until
only one God remains.
But the concept of one God still contains some remnants of
the elements of ignorance. Some people imagine that He has a
body as men have, and is in a particular place. Some believe
that God came down to earth in human form; others think that
God, after settling the affairs of the universe, retired and is
now resting. Some believe that it is necessary to approach God
through the media of saints and spirits, and that nothing can be
achieved without their intercession. Some imagine God to have a
certain form or image, and they believe it necessary to keep
that image before them for the purposes of worship.
Such distorted notions of godhead have persisted and
lingered, and many of them are prevalent among different people
even today.
Tawhid is the highest conception of godhead, the
knowledge of which God has sent mankind in all ages through His
Prophets. It was this knowledge with which, in the beginning,
Adam was sent down to earth; it was the same knowledge that was
revealed to Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus (God's blessings be
upon them all). It was this knowledge which Muhammad (blessings
of Allah and peace be upon him) brought to mankind. It is
Knowledge, pure and absolute, without the least shade of
ignorance. Man became guilty of shirk, idol-worship and
kufr only because he turned away from the teachings of
the Prophets and depended on his own faulty reasoning, false
perceptions or biased interpretations. Tawhid dispels
all the clouds of ignorance and illuminates the horizon with the
light of reality.
Let us see what significant realities the concept of
Tawhid - this little phrase: la ilaha illallah -
embraces: what truth it conveys and what beliefs it fosters.
First, we are faced with the question of the universe. We are
face to face with a grand, limitless universe. Man's mind cannot
discern its beginning or visualise its end. It has been moving
along its chartered course from time immemorial and is
continuing its journey in the vast vista of the future.
Creatures beyond number have appeared in it - and go on
appearing every day. It is so bewildering that a thinking mind
finds itself wonderstruck. Man is unable to understand and grasp
its reality by his unaided vision. He cannot believe that all
this has appeared just by chance or accident. The universe is
not a fortuitous mass of matter. It is not a jumble of un-co-ordinated
objects. It is not a conglomeration of chaotic and meaningless
things. All this cannot be without a Creator, a Designer, a
Controller, a Governor.
But who can create and control this majestic universe? Only
He can do so Who is Master of all; Who is Infinite and Eternal;
Who is All-Powerful, All- Wise, Omnipotent and Omniscient; Who
is All-Knowing and All-Seeing. He must have supreme authority
over all that exists in the universe. He must possess limitless
powers, must be Lord of the universe and all that it contains,
must be free from every flaw and weakness and none may have the
power to interfere with His work. Only such a Being can be the
Creator, the Controller and the Governor of the universe.
Second, it is essential that all these divine attributes and
powers must be vested in One Being: it is impossible for two or
more personalities having equal powers and attributes to
co-exist. They are bound to collide. Therefore, there must be
one and only one Supreme Being having control over all others.
You cannot think of two governors for the same province or two
supreme commanders of the army! Similarly, the distribution of
these powers among different deities, so that, for instance, one
of them is all- knowledge, the other all-providence and still
another life-giver - and each having an independent domain - is
also unthinkable. The universe is an indivisible whole and each
one of such deities will be dependent upon others in the
execution of his task. Lack of co-ordination is bound to occur.
And if this happened, the world would fall to pieces. These
attributes are also un-transferable. It is not possible that a
certain attribute might be present in a certain deity at one
time and at another time be found in another deity. A divine
being who is incapable of remaining alive himself cannot give
life to others. The one who cannot protect his own divine power
cannot be suited to govern the vast limitless universe.
The more you reflect on the problem, the firmer must your
conviction be that all these divine powers and attributes must
exist in one and the same Being alone. Thus, polytheism is a
form of ignorance that cannot stand rational scrutiny. It is a
practical impossibility. The facts of life and nature do not fit
in with it. They automatically bring men to Reality, that is
Tawhid, the Unity of God.
Now, keeping in mind this concept of God, look closely at
this vast universe. Exert yourself to the utmost and say if you
find among all the objects that you see, among all the things
that you perceive, among all that you can think, feel or imagine
- all that your knowledge can comprehend - anyone possessing
these attributes. The sun, the moon, the stars, animals, birds
or fishes, matter, money, any man or a group of men - does any
of them possess these attributes? Most certainly not! For
everything in the universe is created, controlled and regulated,
is dependent on others, is mortal and transitory; its slightest
movements are controlled by an inexorable law from which there
can be no deviation. Their helpless condition proves that the
attire of divinity cannot fit their body. They do not possess
the slightest trace of divinity and have absolutely nothing to
do with it. It is a travesty of truth and a folly of the highest
magnitude to attribute divine status to them.
This is the meaning of La ilaha, (i.e. there is no
god) no human and material object possesses the divine power and
authority deserving worship and obedience.
But this is not the end of our quest. We have found that
divinity is not vested in any material or human element of the
universe, and that none of them possesses even the slightest
trace of it. This leads us to the conclusion that there is a
Supreme Being, over and above all that our eyes see in the
universe, Who possesses Divine attributes, Who is the Will
behind all phenomena, the Creator of this grand universe, the
Controller of its superb Law, the Governor of its serene rhythm,
the Administrator of all its workings: He is Allah, the Lord of
the Universe and no one and nothing is associated in His
Divinity. This is what illallah (but Allah) means.
This knowledge is superior to all other kinds of knowledge
and the greater you exert yourself, the deeper will be your
conviction that this is the starting-point of all knowledge. In
every field of inquiry - be it that of physics, chemistry,
astronomy, geology, biology, zoology, economics, politics,
sociology or the humanities, you will find that the deeper you
probe, the clearer become the indications of the truth of La
ilaha illallah. It is this concept which opens up the doors
of inquiry and investigation and illumines the pathways of
knowledge with the light of reality. And if you deny or
disregard this reality, you will find that at every step you
meet disillusionment, for the denial of this primary truth robs
everything in the universe of its meaning and significance.
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