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Showing posts with label Beliefs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beliefs. Show all posts

Sunday 20 January 2019

Concept of Tawheed in Islam- The Oneness of Allah


Faith in oneness of Allah is the foremost pillar of Islam. Although all Divine religions since the Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) have revolved round the concept of oneness of Allah, there seems to have been some deviation in the concept of belief regarding God in Christianity. The concept of Trinity negates the very concept of oneness of Allah and divide the concept of God into three. Islam and followers of Old Testament (Torah) however strongly believe in oneness of one trued God, called in Arabic: Allah.

Thus the basic “doctrine of Oneness” (of Allah) is Islam’s most fundamental concept of Islam, called Tawheed. Surah Al Ikhlas, the 112th chapter of the Holy Qur'an clearly spells out the Declaration of Oneness of Allah, clearly dispelling any notion of Him being begotten or born:
Say (O'Muhammad), “He is Allah, (the) One (Ahad - In Arabic Ahad means One).   Allah, the Absolute.   He begets not, nor was He begotten;And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.”

The above surah lays down the foundation of the concept of absolute monotheism and dispels any notion of there being any equal or comparable to Allah and amply clarifies there is only Allah, like the God of Jews. But not like the God of Christians which also shares the title with two other. This, however, does not mean that the three leading religions of Jews, Christians and Muslims worship a different God , because all religions believe in One True God, though with passage of time the term has assumed different meanings due to distortions and man made beliefs and interpretations. We Muslims thus believe that there is no plurality of gods, as the polytheist society of Makkah believed before the advent of Islam.

It also negates the claims of the pagans of Makkah that angels are the off springs of Allah. The surah clearly states that Allah is far above being the progeny of anybody or having any offspring. Thus He has no son or father. He is eternal ,without beginning or end. He is such a unique being that there is nobody like Him or equal to Him in any manner whatsoever. As for the Three in One concept, Allah clearly says in the Holy Quran:
They have certainly disbelieved who say, " Allah is the third of three." And there is no god except one God. And if they do not desist from what they are saying, there will surely afflict the disbelievers among them a painful punishment. [Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:73]
The Holy Quran thus clearly asserts the existence of a single and absolute truth that transcends the world; a unique, independent and indivisible being, who is independent of the entire creation. Allah, is a universal God, rather than a local, tribal, or parochial one for Allah is an absolute, who integrates all affirmative values and brooks no evil.

The concept of Tawheed unequivocally holds that God is One (Al-ʾAḥad) and Single (Al-Wāḥid). The Arabic term Tawheed is used to describe this belief in the absolute Oneness of God. Tawheed comes from an Arabic word meaning "unification" or "oneness"—it is a complex term with many depths of meaning in Islam. The word Tawheed is derived from the Arabic verb wahhada, which means "He made it one; or called it one". The Arabs say "Wāḥid, Ahad and Waheed," all meaning one. Allah is Waahid, meaning that He has no rivals or peers in any way. So Tawheed means knowing Allah is One, with none like unto Him. Whoever does not acknowledge Allah in these terms and does not describe Him as being One with no partner or associate does not believe in Tawheed. Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran [Surah Al Baqarah 2:255]:
“Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever- Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi (literally, a footstool) extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.” 
Tawheed in nutshell is analogous to the monotheistic concept of God in Judaism, as declared in the Shema Yisrael, the Jewish declaration of faith. Tawheed is also analogous to Christian Unitarianism adhered to by a minority of Christian denominations which reject a trinitarian position of God in Christianity, which is in contrast to most Christian faiths that ascribe to the Trinity (God as three persons in one being; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). 

Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him) has also stressed the concept of Tawheed in Saheeh al-Bukhaari (7372) 
Narrated Ibn `Abbas: When the Prophet sent Mu`adh to Yemen, he said to him, You are going to a nation from the people of the Scripture, so let the first thing to which you will invite them, be the Tawheed of Allah. If they learn that, tell them that Allah has enjoined on them, five prayers to be offered in one day and one night. And if they pray, tell them that Allah has enjoined on them Zakat of their properties and it is to be taken from the rich among them and given to the poor. And if they agree to that, then take from them Zakat but avoid the best property of the people.
Therefore it is mandatory for all Muslims, specially the reverts, to know the concept of Tawheed and FIRMLY believe in Tawheed - To acknowledge Oneness of Allah, who is away from likeness and numeration and he is not divisible even in imagination. Allah must be recognized as The Lord or The Master and that He is so absolutely pure and above nature that nothing can be added to or subtracted from His being.

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
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Monday 24 December 2018

What would be the Fate of Pious Non Muslims on the Day of Judgment


One of the most sought out question both by Muslims and Non Muslims is what would be the fate of pious non Muslims on the day of Judgment - that is whether they would go to paradise for being pious and helping mankind or would face the hell fire for not accepting Islam when it had reached them?

There have been many freeness to the effect to answer the question in the Holy Qur'an and even in the Hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). The oft quoted verse from the Holy Qur'an to answer this question is found in Surah al-Bayyinah 98:6]:
“Verily, those who disbelieve (in the religion of Islam, the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad) from among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) and Al-Mushrikoon (the non believers) will abide in the fire of Hell. They are the worst of creatures”
Likewise, the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) has been quoted in saying in Sahi Muslim 153: 
“By the One in Whose hand is my soul, no one of this nation, Jew or Christian, hears of me then dies without having believed in that with which I was sent, but he will be one of the people of the Fire.” 
There are many interpretations and view point on the subject. But it is generally believed that whether Muslim or non-Muslim, if one does not adhere to the commandments of Allah in whichever form they come in and in whichever religion they are espoused in, one will have to answer for one's beliefs and faith.




This question has often crept into my mind too and I too have been looking for an appropriate answer to this query. I too have been wandering as others, for some believe Mother Tresa had her life devoted for helping the poor should stand out from the rest on the Day of Judgment for her service to mankind and humanity. While some argue that what she had been doing was to serve the cause of her religion, which shares the Jesus Christ (Prophet Eesa, peace be upon him) and the holy spirit with God, something that strictly negates the concept of One true Allah in Islam.

Watch the answer to this important and most oft asked question from Jāvēd Ahmad Ghāmidī, a Pakistani Muslim theologian, Quran scholar, Islamic modernist, exegete and educationist in the video below. Though the conversation is in Urdu, its English translation in subtitles on the screen will help non Urdu peaking to know Professor's view point:
May Allah help us know the truth no matter how bitter it may be' but one must standby the ultimate truth dispelling all prejudices, religious beliefs other than Islam and pragmatic thinking and reasoning.

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 |
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