This is the Fundamental Thing every Muslim should Know and Implement

And let them not turn you (O Muhammad SAW) away from (preaching) the Ayat (revelations and verses) of Allah after they have been sent down to you. And invite (men) to (believe in) your Lord [i.e: in the Oneness {Tauhid} of Allah (1) Oneness of the Lordship of Allah; (2) Oneness of the worship of Allah; (3) Oneness of the Names and Qualities of Allah]. And be not of Al- Mushrikoon (those who associate partners with Allah, e.g. polytheists, pagans, idolaters, those who disbelieve in the Oneness of Allah and deny the Prophethood of Messenger Muhammad SAW). — Qur’an 28[Qasas]:87

It doesn’t matter how good your intention is. If you don’t build a solid foundation, then the actions are null. The basic foundation of the Islamic faith is At-Tauhid. Without having this rooted in the heart, one isn’t a Muslim. This is the unity of God in unique worship; absolute Lordship and incomparable Attributes.

A kid needs to learn the alphabets as as a fundamental to literacy. The same way Muslims need to learn At-Tauhid as a basis to knowing and worshiping God. The prophet was promulgating the message of At-Tauhid for thirteen good years. And the companions received, comprehended and implemented effectively. This was why they attained supreme success in both worlds.

Do not delude yourself! The basic purpose of our creation is to worship God and avoid false deities. For this singular reason, God sent prophets and messengers to guide mankind. This is well emphasized several times in the Qur’an. For indeed, At-Tauhid is the negator of shirk. The heart that breathes At-Tauhid has no space to breed polytheism. This is one reason why it is important that every Muslim takes At-Tauhid as a matter of concern.

Teaching kids At-Tauhid

The Noble Messenger brought up his followers upon At-Tauhid from the time of childhood. He once said to his cousin ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, “O young man! …When you ask, then ask Allah. And when you seek help, then seek help from Allah. Know that the whole world will not be able to profit you with anything except for what is decreed by Allah. And know that the whole world can not harm you with anything, except for what is decreed by Allah.” [Hasan Sahih, Tirmidhi].

A few weeks ago, I took a voluntary job to teach Islamiyyah at Taqwah Weekend School. In one of the sessions with boys aged 6–8 years, I tried to refresh their memories on previous lessons learned. The question was: who is Allah?

Alex responded: “Allah is One!” That’s always his response to any question related to Allah. Oumar added, “Allah is Al-Mussawir — The Image Maker”. Daniyal who was new to the class intercepts; “does Allah have cameras?” You know how kids can be inquisitive, so I watched as they interacted.

Kadir responded, “No! Allah is the One Who made You have white skin and Mr. Abdulkabeer has a dark skin. And He made Alex have long hair like a girl and mine is thick and bushy”. Everyone laughed at that beautiful illustration by Kadir.

Then Hudhaifa contributes: “Allah is Al-Khaliq — The Creator. He made everything we see like the sun and the moon. He also made those we can’t see like the angels and jinn”.

I was awe-inspired by their interaction. This was a lesson we had barely a week ago. If we take the knowledge of At-Tauhid serious for our kids, we’ll go a long way in leaving better kids for the world.

Benefits of At-Tauhid

Here is the story of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (Rahimahullah) and a baker. It reflects blessings derived from At-Tauhid.

One day, Imam Ahmad was traveling to ash-Shaam and on the way, he stops by a Masjid to spend the night. The guard of the Masjid told him, “You need to get out, the Masjid is closing”. “I have no where to go,” said Imam Ahmad. “Ukhruj! Get out!!” The guard exclaimed.

Now, Imam Ahmad could have said, “Oh, by the way, I’m Ahmad ibn Hanbal” but he didn’t. Instead, he took his belongings and went to sleep on the steps of the Masjid. The guard came outside and told him to get off the steps and go somewhere else. Imam Ahmad didn’t know what to do.

This guard then picked up Imam Ahmad by his legs and dragged him to the middle of the street then dropped him there. So Imam Ahmad was like… “uhh! Okay…” Suddenly, a man who owned a bakery across the street saw Imam Ahmad and said, “You can stay in my bakery tonight. I’ll be doing some work. You can come sleep there”. So he opened the way for him.

Imam Ahmad observed this man carefully. While he was putting the dough together and placing it in the oven through every step of the process. While kneading, forming, and baking, the man was always saying:

SubhanAllah, Alhumdulillah, La ilaha il Allah, Allahu Akbar …

SubhanAllah, Alhumdulillah, La ilaha il Allah, Allahu Akbar …

SubhanAllah, Alhumdulillah, La ilaha il Allah, Allahu Akbar …

Through out the night, he was making tasbeeh, tahmid, tahlil and takbir of Allah subhanahu wata’ala.

Imam Ahmad got caught with shock. He then asked him, “How long have you been in this situation?” He says, “Which situation?” “Making tasbeeh of Allah?” The man said: “My whole life!”. Imam Ahmad asked him a second question: “What have you seen from Allah as a result of all this action?” The baker answered: “I never made du’a to Allah for anything except that He answered it.”

Imam Ahmad said, “SubhanAllah! You never made du’a to Allah for anything except that he gave it to you? And the baker repeated: “I never made du’a to Allah for anything except that He gave it to me … except for one thing…”

Imam Ahmad (rahimahullah) said, “And what is that?” The baker said, “To have a chance to see Imam Ahmad”. On hearing this, Imam Ahmad broke down to tears. He embraced this man and said: “SubhanAllah…Here is Allah! He brought you Ahmad, dragging him by his feet to your bakery. If it wasn’t for you, I could have slept in peace at the Masjid”.

Learning from Kitabu Tauhid

After reading the book Kitabu Tauheed, by the noble sheikh Muhammad Abdulwahab. I came to a conclusion: If every Muslim studied and committed to the lessons derived from this book, the world will be a better place for every living creature.

Among the benefits derived from the book are:

• Simplification of the meaning and condition of the testimony of faith: La illaha illa Allah.
• In-depth understanding of Tauhid as a concept of Islamic monotheism.
• Demystifying shirk (polytheism) and its various manifestations

If you’d like to increase your knowledge on one of the most important topics in Islam, then download a copy here. It’s best to study the book under tutelage of a scholar with sound creed.

Conclusion

Tauhid is the preoccupation of a Muslim while he breathes. So he begins his life with Tauhid and he ends his life with it. His task in life is to establish Tauhid with a sincere call to it. Tauhid unifies the believers upon the statement: La ilaha illa Allah Muhammadu rasulullah.

So we ask Allah to make the statement of Tauhid our last words in this world. And we equally ask Him to gather the Muslims upon the statement of Tauhid. It’s only in Tauhid we can achieve supreme success — jannah!