[One Ummah] - Tawheed, Belief and Practice

[One Ummah Network]

Submission by:  Tavis Adibudeen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Topic:               Tawheed, Belief and Practice

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Text:  

With the Name of Allah, The Merciful Benefactor, The Merciful Redeemer

All praise and thanks is due to Allah, Who is the Creator while all else is
created, Who has power over all things while nothing has power over Him,
Who is unique while all creation bears some similarities to each other, Who
knows all things while His creation knows only what He provides for it.  He
is the First but not in numerical smallness and is the Last but not because
anything greater came before Him.  He is near to His creation but not in
physical proximity and is far above it but not because He distances
Himself.  There is no god but Allah. 

Scholars, saints, mystics, and scientists have striven to know the Creator
and to understand His creation.  Over the years, they have labored great
pains to reach the honored position of servant of the Most High.  All have
fallen short.  None can know what Allah has not provided for them.  

Thus, Allah sent Prophets and Messengers, one after another, as plain
warners and examples to humanity.  They called the people to worship the
one and only true God and to turn away from associating partners with Him
and following their own desires.  Although their circumstances differed,
their message was the same.  That message was Tawheed, Oneness.  As a
result, humanity came to know of one God, the One Creator and Sustainer of
the universe and all that exists. 

This, however, is not enough.  Allah says in the Qur'an:  "Do men think
that they will be left alone on saying, 'We believe,' and that they will
not be tested?" - Qur'an 29:2  So, Allah, Most High, commanded the people
to worship Him, to abstain from excessiveness, to give in charity, and to
establish justice on earth.  

He sent the Last Prophet with a Message that was preserved so that humanity
would never go astray after it.  Tawheed thus took on two forms: Belief and
Practice.  To what extent the two go hand-in-hand is evident by the fact
that one must not only believe in Allah to be Muslim, but must also pray,
fast, give charity, and perform pilgrimage.  Therefore, the majority of
Al-Islam is comprised of deeds while belief is its foundation.  

To believe and do harm or wrong on earth is damaging to the soul, but doing
good on earth without belief and faith is just as harmful.  It is not
sufficient to verbally express Tawheed.  One must believe with full
conviction, and his deeds must be in accordance with this belief.  

"It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces Towards east or west; but
it is righteousness- to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels,
and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love
for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for
those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and
practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which ye have made; and
to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and
throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the
God-fearing."  --Qur'an 2:177 

Part of the process and application of Tawheed is in recognizing that the
Muslim Ummah is one, that the worshippers of Allah are one, and that
ultimately humanity is one.  The return of all is to Allah.  "And He is
Allah: There is no god but He. To Him be praise, at the first and at the
last: for Him is the Command, and to Him shall ye (all) be brought back."
(29:70)

A Muslim's deeds should thus be focused on serving Allah and also striving
to bring the Ummah together again.  To believe in Tawheed but not strive
for unity is ignoring the practice of Tawheed and thus ignoring the command
of Almighty Allah.  So, let us, this day, reflect on Oneness, Tawheed, and
strive to make it a part of our daily lives, insha'Allah.    

"And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the
clear proofs had come to them. It is they for whom there is an awful
torment." (3:105) 

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