بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Recap:
الإيمان بالله = توحيد الله (Belief in Allah = Monotheism)
Many people claim that they believe in Allah, but المؤمن should be الموحد.
Evidence: Surah Ghafir [40:10-12]:
"Those who disbelieve will be addressed (at the time of entering into the Fire): "Allah's aversion was greater towards you (in the worldly life when you used to reject the Faith) than your aversion towards one another (now in the Fire of Hell, as you are now enemies to one another), when you were called to the Faith but you used to refuse."
"They will say: "Our Lord! You have made us to die twice (i.e. we were dead in the loins of our fathers and dead after our deaths in this world), and You have given us life twice (i.e. life when we were born and life when we are Resurrected)! Now we confess our sins, then is there any way to get out (of the Fire)?"
"(It will be said): "This is because, when Allah Alone was invoked (in worship, etc.) you disbelieved, but when partners were joined to Him, you believed! So the judgement is only with Allah, the Most High, the Most Great!"
Tawheed will not be considered Tawheed, until two parts are fulfilled:
1) نفي - Negation
2) إثبات - Affirmation
E.g. In Surah Najm [53:43]:
"And that it is He (Allah) Who makes (whom He wills) laugh, and makes (whom He wills) weep;"
The Action of Allah: "أضحك"
"No one brings the means of happiness except Allah"
The Action of Allah: "أبكى"
"No one brings the means of grief except Allah"
E.g. "No one removes distress from us except Allah"
"No one feeds us except Allah"
Actions of Allah are of two types:
1) Actions related to the Creation
E.g. Creating, Guidance, Healing, Providing
2) Actions related to His Essence
E.g. "استوى على العرش" (Rising over the Throne), Coming on the Day of Judgement to Judge the people, etc.
Tawheed Al-Asmaa Wa Sifat
Allah has Names and Attributes, and we need to practice Tawheed with them. And Tawheed consists of Negation and Affirmation.
1) Allah has Names and Attributes which are particular to Him; no one else can be named or attributed with them.
E.g. Names: الرحمن، الصمد، القيوم، الواحد، الأحد
E.g. Attributes: القيومية, الصمدية، الخلق
2) Allah has Names and Attributes which are common between the creation and Allah.
E.g. In Surah Yusuf [12:55]:
"[Yusuf (Joseph)] said: "Set me over the storehouses of the land; I will indeed guard them with full knowledge" (as a minister of finance in Egypt, in place of Al-'Aziz who was dead at that time)."
"حفيظ" = Guardian
"عليم" = Knowing
We know that one of the Names of Allah is الحفيظ and another of His Names is العليم.
E.g. In Surah Hud [10:75]:
"Verily, Ibrahim (Abraham) was, without doubt, forbearing, used to invoke Allah with humility, and was repentant (to Allah all the time, again and again)."
We know that Allah is الحليم, and Allah calls Ibrahim حليم in this verse.
From this, we know that humans can be named with the same names as Allah.
So how do we practice Tawheed in this instance?
By singling Allah out with Perfection in that Attribute.
E.g. You say: Yes, he is عليم, but no one has perfect knowledge except Allah. Yes, he is generous, but no one can be perfect in his generosity, except Allah. (Negation + Affirmation)
People are deficient in their attributes. They have knowledge, but their knowledge is deficient. Their knowlege is not perfect like Allahs Knowledge.
We should negate the Perfection of every Name and Attribute of Allah that is mentioned in the Qur'an and Sunnah from the creation and affirm its perfection to Allah alone.
-> The Attribute of الملك (Ownership) <-
This is a common attribute between Allah and the creation. But Allah is the True Owner. As a test and trial, He allowed us to own things - we own money, houses, cars, children, etc. Compare your ownership to the ownership of Allah in order to perfect your Tawheed.
There are many problems associated with our ownership:
1) As soon as Allah allows us to own something, we forget that Allah is the True Owner, and believe that we earned what we own. We think that the money we have is because of our own effort and work - not that Allah granted it to us. This is just a trial for us. In Surah Al-Fatihah [1:3]:
"The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)"
On the Day of Judgement, the ownership of everything will go back to its True Owner - Allah. On that day you will realize that everything you owned did not belong to you; it belongs to Allah.
Qarun thought that he earned his treasure; that it was due to his knowledge and intelligence. He thought that he brought this favour on himself. And this is a فتنة.
2) Another problem is that when someone in this world owns something, people call him "The Owner", so he hears that until he believes he really is an owner, and forgets the True Owner. In reality, Allah is the One who granted it to him, the One who preserved it for him, and the One who makes him benefit from what he owns.
3) When we own something, we think we can keep what we own and preserve it, that it will remain with us forever, and that we can benefit from it whenever we want.
E.g. You think that if you become sick, you can, with your money, go to any good doctor and get cured; forgetting that no one can get benefit from what he owns unless Allah gives him permission to. The hungry person cannot benefit from the food in the refrigerator unless Allah benefits him from that.
E.g. He is intelligent and think he can understand whatever he wants, whenever he wants to. He does not know that التفهيم (understanding) is an action of Allah - he will not be able to understand unless Allah allows him to understand.
E.g. A person has many children and thinks he can benefit from his children when he is old. Yet there are people who have many children, and when they are sick in hospital, none come to visit. And there are people who had no children, and when they are sick, Allah subjects strangers to come and help them. We cannot benefit from everything we own.
E.g. Sometimes we buy a gift for someone, and after some time, it ends up going to someone else. Because it is not us who benefits the people, it is Allah who مدبر الأمور. This little things we go through daily in life, tells us that Allah is the one who gives permission to benefit people with what we own.
E.g. How many times do we buy a lot of food, put it in the fridge, and after a week it gets spoilt. We do not end up benefiting from it. This tells us that only when the True Owner gives permission for us to benefit from what we 'own' will we able to get benefit out of it.
E.g. The Athan. With whatever strength we have, we will not be able to use it to pray, unless Allah gives it to us. That is why we say "لا حول و لا قوة الا بالله" (There is no changing of condition and might except by Allah).
E.g. A person might have a comfy bed and yet suffer at night from sleeplessness. He has the means but cannot benefit from what he owns. We will benefit from the favour given to us when we acknowledge that we only will be able to benefit from it when Allah, the True Owner gives it to us.
In Surah Al-Hadid [57:2]:
"His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, It is He Who gives life and causes death; and He is Able to do all things."
In Verse 5:
"His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. And to Allah return all the matters (for decision)."
Between these two verses, Allah tells us about Himself - His Names and Attributes. What is the wisdom behind the repetition of "له الملك السماوات و الأرض"? The answer is in Verse 7:
"Believe in Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad ﷺ), and spend of that whereof He has made you trustees. And such of you as believe and spend (in Allah's Way), theirs will be a great reward."
After learning about Allah in the first 6 verses in Surah Al-Hadid, you are told to believe in Him and the Prophet ﷺ, and spend from what He has given you. Because you are a مستخلف - A trustee over this money.
(The meaning of a مستخلف: Imagine that there is a safe full of money, and you have been appointed as a keeper of this safe. You are told to spend from this money. If you do not and die, someone else will be put as a trustee over it. It is temporary. It will go to the next person and next person until "و لله ميراث السماوات و الأرض" - it goes back to Allah)
Allah tells you that He is the Owner of the Heavens and Earth. The money you have in your hand belongs to Allah, so why are you not spending from it? You are just a مستخلف. If you knew this, you would spend and you would not be afraid of this money finishing.
These verses clearly tells us that we do not own what we have. We are granted it temporarily as a test. In Verse 10:
"And what is the matter with you that you spend not in the Cause of Allah? And to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth...."
In the end Allah will inherit what is in your hand and the hands of the people. So these verses teach us to spend in the cause of Allah, because we are going to leave it behind us soon. Our real name with regards to what we own is مستخلفين. And the True مالك is Allah.
The Monotheist (الموحَّد) knows:
1) الملك ملك الله - The Kingdom is the Kingdom of Allah
2) We should not be proud of what we own, nor show ingratitude, nor be covetous (طمع) towards what is in the hand of the people.
3) Sometimes you have money but do not spend, other times you want to buy something and you do not have money, or you buy something for someone and it goes to someone else, or you buy something for yourself and you do not benefit from it. This shows us that only Allah can benefit us from what we own.
The Prophet ﷺ said to Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه:
"وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الأُمَّةَ لَوِ اجْتَمَعَتْ عَلَى أَنْ يَنْفَعُوكَ بِشَيْءٍ لَمْ يَنْفَعُوكَ إِلاَّ بِشَيْءٍ قَدْ كَتَبَهُ اللَّهُ لَكَ"
"...Know that if the entire creation were to gather together to do something to benefit you- you would never get any benefit except that which Allah had written for you...." [At-Tirmithi]
No one can benefit anyone else unless Allah gives them permission to benefit each other. Our problem is in Tawheed - and specifically the negation part of Tawheed. We do not negate perfect attributes from everyone else and affirm it to Allah. Especially when we are dealing with people who are in front of us.
E.g. There is a very generous, very kind, very merciful person in front of you. How do I practice Tawheed in this situation? You tell yourself: Although she is merciful, kind, generous, Allah is Perfect in His Mercy, Kindness, Generosity.
And you tell yourself: No one gave her that attribute except Allah. No one made her merciful except Allah, who is the True Merciful. No one made her kind, except Allah, who is perfect in His Kindness.
E.g. You see someone who is knowledgeable. You tell yourself:
- Altough she is knowledgeable, Allah has Perfect Knowledge. Her knowledge in comparison to Allah is deficient.
- No one granted her knowledge except Allah.
And this is to protect your heart from getting attached to people. Our problem in this world is our attachment. As soon someone says a good word to us or helps us, our heart is with them. We need to practice Tawheed. No one made this person kind to you except Allah. No one taught us except Allah. Allah is the True Provider. He is المنّان.
This is a Jihad (Struggle) in ourselves, in order to prevent our hearts from getting attached to people.
When we grow older we know the reality of people. But the youth, as soon as someone does something good to them, they see them as perfect. But the problem with us, when we grow old, is that although we know the reality of people, we start to think that there is no one there to help me - so let me guarantee a future for myself. Let me build a house, because what if my children throw me on the street? Let me guarantee a permanant income for myself.
This is considered Bad Thinking about Allah. Allah gave you shelter in the beginning of your life, how can you think that He will forsake you when you are old. If you devote yourself to Allah, Allah will never let you down. He will subject something or someone to help you. You do not know how, but be sure that Allah will never let down His believing slaves.
Even if you collect money, how do you know you will live long enough to enjoy your money? How do you know you will benefit of that money? Only when Allah, the True Owner, gives permission, will you benefit from this money. We should remove our trust from everyone and direct it to Allah alone.
Generally: Whenever you see any good quality in a person say: Allah is the One who gave them and no one else. They were poor and Allah enriched them and no one else. You do not need to say this with your tongue, just your heart.
This is not an easy battle. When you see that your children are well mannered, do not attribute it to yourself. Allah is the One who granted you children, took care of them, and He is the One who benefits you with them.
Those who commit Major Shirk committed it because they first attributed Perfection to the deities they worship. Perfection only belongs to Allah and no one else.
Allahs sent the Messenger ﷺ to be our leader. The companions followed him. The followers followed the companions. And so on. So should we worship the Prophet ﷺ or follow him? But the Sufis saw the Prophet ﷺ as a perfect human and did not negate this perfection.
In Surah Al-A'raf [7:188]:
"Say (O Muhammad ﷺ): "I possess no power of benefit or hurt to myself except as Allah wills. If I had the knowledge of the Ghaib (unseen), I should have secured for myself an abundance of wealth, and no evil should have touched me. I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings unto people who believe."
If the Prophet ﷺ could benefit anyone, he would have benefitted his uncle Abu Talib by converting him to Islam.
But he does not even own intercession. He will not even be able to intercede for people on the Day of Judgement except after Allah gives him permission.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"أَنَا فَرَطُكُمْ عَلَى الْحَوْضِ، لَيُرْفَعَنَّ إِلَىَّ رِجَالٌ مِنْكُمْ حَتَّى إِذَا أَهْوَيْتُ لأُنَاوِلَهُمُ اخْتُلِجُوا دُونِي فَأَقُولُ أَىْ رَبِّ أَصْحَابِي. يَقُولُ لاَ تَدْرِي مَا أَحْدَثُوا بَعْدَكَ"
"I am your predecessor at the Lake-Fount (Kauthar) and some men amongst you will be brought to me, and when I will try to hand them some water, they will be pulled away from me by force whereupon I will say, 'O Lord, my companions!' Then the Almighty will say, 'You do not know what they did after you left, they introduced new things into the religion after you.'" [Bukhari #7049]
Also, the Prophet ﷺ has no knowledge of what is occurring after his death. And he cannot even hear those who invoke him; in Surah Fatir [35:22]:
"Nor are (alike) the living (believers) and the dead (disbelievers). Verily, Allah makes whom He will hear, but you cannot make hear those who are in graves."
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