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Nullifying the Tripartite Division of Tawheed (Islamic Monotheism)
Author : Dr. Hassan Abu_Arqoub
Date Added : 14-09-2021

Nullifying the Tripartite Division of Tawheed (Islamic Monotheism)

 

Some claim that Tawheed is divided into three categories: (i) Tawheed Ur Ruboobyah (Lordship) (ii) Tawheed Ul Uloohiyyah (Worship). (iii) Tawheed Asma Wa Sifaat  (Divine Names and Attributes). They have also claimed that the Prophets (Peace be upon them) weren`t sent save for Tawheed Ul Uloohiyyah, which is believing that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah alone. As for Tawheed Ur Ruboobyah, which is believing that there is only one Lord for the universe, there is no disagreement on this amongst Muslims and polytheists. They have based their view on the verse in which Allah Says (What means): "If indeed thou ask them who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law), they will certainly reply: "God". How are they then deluded away (from the truth)?" [Al-Ankabut/61].

 

The proponents of this division started accusing Muslims who sought intercession from the Prophets and saints with disbelief under the pretext that they turned to the latter instead of Allah. This way, they have become like the polytheists who didn`t commit disbelief on account of Tawheed Ur Ruboobyah as they believe that Allah is the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe. Rather, they left Tawheed Ul Uloohiyyah by ascribing partners to Allah in worship, as this group claimed.

 

If we reflect on the Quran, the Sunna, and the views of the Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet), the Tabiin (The Successors), and the Tab'i At-Tabi'in (Those who came after the Tabiin), we realize that there is no mention of such division either in word or meaning. Rather, it is an invented heresy that Muslims didn`t come to know until the Seventh Century of Hijrah.

 

Whoever ponders on the Quran and the Sunna of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) finds no difference between Tawheed Ul Uloohiyyah and Tawheed Ur Ruboobyah.

 

The evidence from the Quran is reflected in the following verses:

 

First: "Nor would he instruct you to take angels and prophets for Lords and patrons. What! would he bid you to unbelief after ye have bowed your will (To God in Islam)?" [Al-Imran/80].

 

Second: "O my two companions of the prison! (I ask you): are many lords differing among themselves better, or the One God, Supreme and Irresistible?" [Yousef/39].

 

Third: "Saying, "I am your Lord, Most High"." [An-Nazi`at/24]. "Pharaoh said: "O Chiefs! no god do I know for you but myself: therefore, O Haman! light me a (kiln to bake bricks) out of clay, and build me a lofty palace, that I may mount up to the god of Moses: but as far as I am concerned, I think (Moses) is a liar!" [Al-Qasas/38].

 

Fourth: "O Messenger. proclaim the (message) which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord. If thou didst not, thou wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission. And Allah will defend thee from men (who mean mischief). For Allah guideth not those who reject Faith." [Al-Ma`idah/67].

 

The evidence from the Prophetic Sunna is reflected in the following narrations:

 

First: Narrated Anas Bin Malik:

One-day Allah's Messenger (PBUH) came out (before the people) and `Abdullah bin Hudhafa stood up and asked (him): "Who is my father?" The Prophet (Peace be upon him) replied: "Your father is Hudhafa." The Prophet (Peace be upon him) told them repeatedly (in anger) to ask him anything they liked. `Umar knelt down before the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and said thrice: "We accept Allah as (our) Lord and Islam as (our) religion and Muhammad as (our) Prophet." After that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) became silent." [Bukhari].

 

Second: Al-‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-Muttalib (May Allah Be Pleased with him) reported God’s messenger as saying: "He who is well-pleased with God as Lord, with Islam as religion, and with Muhammad as messenger will experience the savour of faith." [Moslim].

 

Third: Abu Dawood narrated in his Sunn (Book) the following:

We went out with the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) accompanying the bier of a man of the Ansar. When we reached his grave, it was not yet dug. So the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) sat down and we also sat down around him as if birds were over our heads. He had in his hand a stick with which he was scratching the ground. He then raised his head and said: Seek refuge with Allah from the punishment in the grave. He said it twice or thrice.

The version of Jabir adds here: He hears the beat of their sandals when they go back, and at that moment, he is asked: O so and so! Who is your Lord, what is your religion, and who is your Prophet?...." [An-Nawawi explanatory].

 

Based on the aforementioned, we conclude that the polytheists believe that Allah exists but ascribe partners to Him in worship claiming that this brings them closer to Him. This led the proponents of the tripartite division to understand that the polytheists` belief is tantamount to Tawheed Ur Ruboobyah although it has nothing to do with Tawheed/Monotheism. Rather, it is believing that God exists. Associating partners with Allah Indicates that they believe that He exists but worship another God along with Him. Therefore, Allah Ordered in the following verse Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him) to say (What means): "Say: "What thing is most weighty in evidence?" Say: "God is witness between me and you; This Qur’an hath been revealed to me by inspiration, that I may warn you and all whom it reaches. Can ye possibly bear witness that besides God there is another God?" Say: "Nay! I cannot bear witness!" Say: "But in truth He is the one God, and I truly am innocent of (your blasphemy of) joining others with Him." [Al-`An`am/19].

 

He The Almighty also Said: "Say: "Bring forward your witnesses to prove that God did forbid so and so." If they bring such witnesses, be not thou amongst them: Nor follow thou the vain desires of such as treat our signs as falsehoods, and such as believe not in the Hereafter: for they hold others as equal with their Guardian-Lord.

 

Conclusion:

 

First: The tripartite division of Tawheed is an invented heresy that has no basis in the Quran, the Sunna, and the views of the Sahabah, the Tabiin and the Tab'i Al-Tabi'in.

 

Second: In the Quran, the Sunna, and the views of the Sahabah, the Tabiin, and the Tab'i Al-Tabi'in, Al-Uluhiyah and Al-Rububiyah are used interchangeably.

 

Third: There is no Tawheed (Monotheism) without Tawheed. A person is either a monotheist or a polytheist, which are opposites that contradict one another.

 

Fourth: Every monotheist believes in the existence of Allah, but not every believer in the existence of Allah is necessarily a monotheist.

 

Fifth: The polytheists believed in the existence of Allah but associated partners with Him in worship, as described by Allah, so the proponents of the tripartite division of Tawheed called this Tawheed Ar-Rububiyah, which contradicts the Quranic texts.

 

Sixth: The polytheists believe in the existence of Allah, but this belief is distorted with ascribing partners to Him, denying the Messengers, the Scriptures, the hereafter, the resurrection, and describing the angels as females, and by doing so they failed to realize a single tenet of faith to be saved by before Allah. Still, someone would claim that their problem is the alleged Tawheed of Al-Uluhiyah?!

 

Seventh: The danger of this division lies in the fact that it makes the polytheists amongst the people of Tawheed Ar-Rububiyah although they definitely aren`t for they don`t have true faith. This also contradicts with the texts of the Quran and the Sunnah. In addition, the proponents of this false division have made it a basis for tagging Muslims with disbelief just because they disagreed with them over secondary issues of Islamic jurisprudence, such as seeking intercession from Prophets and saints, in addition to purely jurisprudential issues that have nothing to do with the Islamic doctrine.

 

 

The published article reflects the opinion of its author

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the correct point at which to raise the hands when standing up for the third rak‘ah (after the middle tashahhud)?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Raising the hands while saying the takbīr [when rising for the third rak‘ah] is a recommended sunnah, and omitting it does not affect the validity of the prayer. The proper time for this is after rising from the middle tashahhud, once one has fully stood up.
It is stated in I‘ānat aṭ-Ṭālibīn (Vol.1/P.158): "His statement, 'and rising from the first tashahhud' — meaning, this manner [of raising the hands] is also a sunnah when he rises from the first tashahhud, that is, when he stands upright from it.
Consider [the question]: when precisely does the raising of the hands begin? Is it at the very start of rising from the first tashahhud, or after he has reached the minimum position of rukū‘ [i.e., once fully upright]? The apparent, [correct] view is the latter — even though the outward wording [of the text] might suggest the former — because at the very start of his rising, he is still relying on both hands [to push himself up, and therefore cannot yet raise them]."
It is stated in ‘Umdat as-Sālik (p. 53): "If his prayer extends beyond two rak‘ahs, he sits after them in the iftirāsh position, recites the tashahhud, and sends blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ alone, without [mentioning] his family [at this point]. He then stands while saying the takbīr, supporting himself with his hands; and once he has stood upright, he raises them level with his shoulders." And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

Is it permissible to agree with a butcher to purchase the meat of an animal after it has been slaughtered — for instance, by buying the meat of a sheep at a price determined by the weight of its meat following slaughter, at a fixed rate per kilogram? And what is the ruling if the animal is being purchased with the intention of it being an uḍḥiyyah (sacrificial offering)?

 
 
 
 
 

All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is not permissible to sell livestock in the manner of pricing each kilogram of meat after slaughter at a fixed rate, because the meat within the animal prior to slaughter is unseen and unknown. This leads to jahālah (ignorance of the subject matter) and gharar (contractual uncertainty), both of which are among the invalidating factors in sales transactions.
However, it is permissible for the buyer to issue a promise to purchase the meat of the animal after slaughter at a specified price per kilogram, with the actual sale being concluded at the time of weighing the meat — at which point both the quantity of the goods and the total price become known. There is no Sharī'ah objection to this arrangement.
The jurists have stipulated that for a sale to be valid, both countervalues must be present and observable. Al-Khaṭīb al-Shirbīnī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states:
"It is valid to sell a heap of grain whose total measure is unknown to both contracting parties at a rate of one sā' per dirham. This sale is valid because the subject of sale is present and observable, and ignorance of the total price is not harmful since it is known in detail — and uncertainty is thereby lifted."— [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj, Vol.2/P.355]
As for the uḍḥiyyah, the 'aqīqah, and vowed blood sacrifices (al-dam al-mandhūr) — full ownership of the animal must be established prior to slaughter. It is not valid for such animals to be slaughtered while still in the ownership of the butcher. Rather, the animal must be purchased alive and then slaughtered with the intention of uḍḥiyyah or the like. And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on wiping the front of the head beneath the ḥijāb, and is it permissible to wipe over the ḥijāb if it was put on while in a state of purification (wudu`)?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is permissible to wipe the front portion of the head (nāṣiyah) with the fingertips. It is likewise sufficient to place a wet hand over a head covering (ḥijāb), provided the moisture actually reaches the hair beneath it — if it does not, it does not suffice. A head covering is not treated in the same manner as leather socks (khuff) and may not be wiped over in lieu of the head itself.
Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.1/P.407): "If a person is wearing a turban and does not wish to remove it — whether for a valid reason or otherwise — he should wipe the entire front portion of the head... The same ruling applies to whatever a woman wears on her head. If, however, he confines himself to wiping over the turban without wiping any part of the head itself, this does not suffice — and there is no disagreement among us on this point." He further states: "A woman is like a man in the manner of wiping the head... She should insert her hand beneath her head covering so that the wiping falls upon the hair itself. If she places her wet hand over her head covering, our scholars stated: if the moisture does not reach the hair, it does not suffice her." And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on opening an account in a commercial bank in order to deposit a sum and use it for personal purposes, such as transfers and electronic payments?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is forbidden for a Muslim, if he has a choice, to open an account in an interest-based (ribawī) bank, even if the account earns no interest, because doing so assists in ribā, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted (which means): “And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.” [al-Māʾidah/2]
This is because such banks invest deposited funds in forbidden ribā-based transactions, and depositing with them is therefore a form of assisting them in what is unlawful. Assisting in what is unlawful is prohibited by the Sharīʿah. However, if there is a pressing need to open an account in an interest-based bank and it is not possible to open one in an Islamic bank, there is no objection to doing so.
The ruling on bank interest and the prizes distributed by interest-based banks was previously explained in Fatwa no. (471). And Allah Almighty knows best.

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