Tawheed is Boring? – Shaykh Ahsan Hanif
One thing we must all know as part and parcel of our religion and our faith, is that there is nothing more precious and important than the Tawheed of Allah SWT. It is the principle and the foundation upon which our very existence is built. If a person was to have every single pleasure and blessing of this dunya; they had all of its wealth and delights, but that person doesn’t have the Tawheed of Allah SWT then in reality they are destitute and penniless. Whereas on the other hand if a person has the belief of Allah SWT in their heart and they manifest that in their actions- even if they have nothing else to their name in the sight of Allah, they are rich and successful.
The Tawheed of Allah SWT is the single most important issue that you can give your attention to. Unfortunately, in our time many of us consider the subjects of Tawheed and belief to be a boring subject. Most of us don’t pay too much attention to this because we don’t consider it to be something which applies to us because we are already Muslims. However, when we know that our success or failure can be determined upon this one factor, then what else could be more important? What else should hold our interest more than Tawheed?
If you were to look throughout the history of nations of the past, the stories of whom we have in the Quran and the Sunnah we realise that whenever they took their focus off of Tawheed, then that is when shirk became manifest and rampant upon them. When we think that Tawheed is not important this is dangerous to our families, children, and the Muslim Ummah.
It was narrated that Abu Sa’eed said:
“Shall I not tell you of that which I fear more for you than Dajjal?’ We said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Hidden polytheism, when a man stands to pray and makes it look good because he sees a man looking at him.” (Sunan Ibn Majah 4204, Book 37, Hadith 105.)
That is why our Prophet SAW told us in the Hadith Tirmidhi:
“The Hour shall not be established until tribes of my Ummah unite with the idolaters, and until they worship idols. (Jami at Tirmidhi 2219, Book 33, Hadith 62)
This may seem inconceivable that there will be Muslims who wake up in the morning worshipping idols, but if we reflect on the situation of the Muslims across the world today; you will see that there are Muslims making duah to other than Allah, sacrificing to other than Allah, making oaths by other than Allah’s name, and making tawaf around the graves of the dead. Maybe then, it’s not such a leap for those people to turn towards idolatry.
Shirk manifests itself in many ways and many forms. Idolatry and idol worship are what the average Muslim would think to stay away from but shirk isn’t just that. The Prophet SAW said:
“O Abu Bakr, there is idolatry among you more hidden than the crawling of an ant.”
Abu Bakr said, “Is there idolatry other than to make another god alongside Allah?” The Prophet said,
“By one in whose hand is my soul, there is idolatry more hidden than the crawling of an ant. Shall I not tell you something to say to rid you of it both minor and major? Say: O Allah, I seek refuge in you that I associate partners with you while I know, and I seek your forgiveness for what I do not know.” (al-Adab al-Mufrad 715)
The Prophet SAW his whole life was geared towards this one issue of Tawheed. We have countless narrations in which the Prophet SAW would warn his Ummah and teach people in one way or another about the dangers and manifestations of Shirk.
“When there used to die a righteous man or servant from amongst them, they would build over his grave a place of worship – and they would make in it these pictures. They are the worst of creatures in the sight of Allah.” (Bukhari 427, Muslim 528)
To know the distinguishing factor between Tawheed and shirk is something which is extremely important. That is why if you look at the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW), if he found amongst his companions even the whiff of shirk, he would speak out against it. If the Prophet SAW thought that people would misunderstand even the station that Allah SWT gave to him- he would connect it to the Tawheed of Allah SWT.
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“The most blessed of people to have my intercession on the Day of Resurrection are those who say there is no God but Allah, sincerely from the heart.” (Sahih al Bukhari 99)
One of the very last things that the Prophet SAW spoke about was Tawheed. So, each and every day it is the duty of each and every single one of us that this is an issue that we should study and learn about and remember.
Allah SWT only created us for the one reason of worshipping him alone. When you focus on the issue of Tawheed and keep it front and centre of your mind, insha’Allah you will be kept safe from shirk. However, if it is something that you neglect and take for granted then it becomes easy for shirk to creep in. It is mentioned in many verses in the Quran as well as Ahadeeth and Sunnah that the distinguishing factor between the people of salvation, and the people of damnation is the Tawheed of Allah SWT.