Looking Back at Tawheed Principle

[Nur]

eNuri Past Publications

 

Revisited, for a new audience

 

 

From eNuri Archives ( Somaliaonline edition, some changes appear from original version for clarification)

 

 

Fourteen centuries ago, Allah SWT sent a Messenger(SAWS) to mankind, A man who was raised in Makkah, present day Saudi Arabia, and who belonged to a tribe called Quraish, the decendants of Prophets Ismail and Abraham (aleyhimaa assalam).

 

The Messenger of Allah was sent to an Arab speaking people, and naturally, he communicated with them in Arabic language. Every messenger also did communicate with his people by way of their respective language and culture with examples they could understand and relate it to their lives. The reason is that Allah intended the message to be understood, and his teachings followed. Whe we fail to address people with analogies they understand we fail to deliver the true meaning of our message and confusion shrouds our minds. That is why some of our respected Ulema fail to convince the new generation of Muslims and non Mulsims, because the Ulema are "NOT CONNECTED" to the same media, nor speak the lingo of the times, as a result, a great deal of knowledge remains untransmitted, and not utilized. Based on the above prelude, I am about to convey the history of Tawheed with analogoies that cann be understood by residents of North America, and to an extent most westernized Somalis, specially my cousins in Qurac Dheer, Somali Peninsula, who listen to Heavy Metal in their tents.

 

 

The Arabian Tribe Quraish was the center of attention of all Arabs at the time as it controlled the holly shrine Kaaba, which represented a tribute erected by Prophet Abraham and his son Ismail for the remembrance and reverence of Allah ALONE on earth.

 

These days, life was simple, there was no TV, Radio, newspapers, sitcoms, tabloids and Somaliaonline.

 

So people communicated one-on-one and they enjoyed poetry and oratory in public places, similar to the ancient Greeks and Romans lavish theaters.

 

They mastered the language early in their childhood, and as adults they were quick to understand the meaning of every spoken word.

 

When the prophet SAWS called them for Islam, they asked him about the essense of his message.

 

The prophet told them ( My message is laa ilaaha illa Allahu)

 

A bedouin responded, (then all Arabs and non Arabs wil fight against you).

 

The bedouin knew the meaning of the word ILAAH in Arabic language.

 

In Suuratl Jinn, aayah 19, Allah says " And when the Abdullah Servant of Allah stood up to calling for his (ilaah), (the polytheists) almost ganged up against him"

 

This brings us to the core issue, TERMINOLOGY. understanding these terminology the way the SALAF understood it, will make us do what they did. The Salaf were proficient in their language, lived their times and fulfilled their commitment to their best. Can the same be said about us? When we speak about Islam do we live our times? are we taking our responsibilities seriously as they did to make Islam interwoven throughout our lifestyle? are we fulifilling our responsibility to Allah? or are we wishy washy people?

 

SALAF were not a group of people, it was a period of time in history, in which Islam blossomed, and the word of Allah reached the corners of the world. Generally it is referred to the first three generations of Saxaabah and the taabiciin, and taabicu taabiciin.

 

Today we are trying to understand what used to drive these people to do monumental achievements recorded to their credit in every sphere of life. They were more pious in ibaadah, more involved in community and political environment, more accomplished in jurisprudence Fiqh, sciences, the arts, and business, they were leaders for humanity, they freed Europe from darkness and corrupt Kings and Church leaders, they traded with asia with honesty and fairness which resulted mass conversion of Asians to Islam, the religion of common sense.

 

The key to understanding what motivated these Salaf generation lies in the components of the very word that changed history

 

The Word was :

 

 

" Laa ilaaha Ilaa Allah)"

 

 

Once Quraish heard the word, they became alarmed.

 

why? because they understood its far reaching meaning more than most muslims understand today.

 

This strategy to present this Word before all the detais of Islam's social change was not the choice of our prophet Muhammad SAWS. Nor did it happen thoughtlessly. The Messenger was commanded to do it that way. And there is a wisdom for us to ponder. In contrast, today, the first thing we tell non Muslims is the Hijaab, or Sharia, we fail to set up the right comminications link between man and his maker, the link of Tawheed, laa ilaaha ilaa Allah, which can transform the human being from a defiant to a humble person.

 

Imagine, the Messenger SAWS sitting on the corner of Yamaaniyah of the Kaaba, making ibaadah (worship), and around him ther are circumventing female naked pilgrim women making tawaaf and all he is asking people to do was " SAY , LAA ILAAHA ILLAA ALLAH" not to cover up their bodies, because he was ordered to address the root cause of man's rebellion against his maker which is his ignorance of his maker.

 

He knew if they accept this word, and its requirements, that all evil will be wiped. and in twenty three short years, it was.

 

 

So, We may ask, how was it possible that the decendants of the father of TAWXIID, Prophet Abraham, Peace be upon him, The honorable tribe of Quraish, put three hundered and sixty idols asnaam (Gods) inside a house dedicated to the sole reverence of Allah, the one and only god?

 

It is all about terminology.

 

Just like Satan persuaded Adam and Eve, to eat from the forbidden tree, calling it ( Shajaratul Khuld), Satan inspired Quraish to worship extensions of Allah through what they have claimed as his daughters, just as Christians today ascribe a son to Allah as an extension of the Real Ilaah (subhaanahu wa tacalaa camma yaquuluuna culuwan kabeera).

 

So Satan inspired them to select the names of these goddesses from the root name of Allah, to make it easy for people ta accept it (like copying a trade mark with slight change, like naming your supermarket SAFESTWAY instead of SAFEWAY, or naming your autopart shop TRECKAUTO instaead of TRAKAUTO).

 

So they named the first godess ( Al Laata, from Allah and Al Uzza, From Al Azeez etc.)

 

This tactic in Arabic language is called ILXAAD, Allah mentioned in the Quraan saying " Inna ladeenu yulxiduuna fee asmaa'ih laa yakhfowna calaynaa)". (Those who change the purpose behind the meaning of His Names, are not hidden from our view)

 

Therefore Ilxaad It means changing the purpose behind the meaning of a word, just like Sodomy is called GAY today.

 

 

Just like unsuspecting SAFEWAY Supermarkets customers can shop at a phony store cashing illegaly on someone else's trade mark, by naming his supermarkets SAFESTWAY, The decendants of Abraham were tricked by SATAN to worship others beside Allah therby satan scored a point to support his promise to to Allah that he will mislead mankind.

 

When Prophet Muhammad came with his message, he challenged the tribe of Quraish that all but Allah is fake as an ILAAH. This caused a major problem.

 

But what does ILAAH mean.

 

The root meaning of the word ILAA caomes from the Arabic word (ALIHA) the masdar of this word means among others:

 

1. To seek a protection ( Like an infant seeks mother's love , wormth and protection)

2. To seek a rescuer ( in times of distress)

3. To seek the highest authority, no one scapes from ( Jurisdiction and Sovreighnty).

4. It meant leadership. ( ZACIIM UL QOWM)

5. Any thing one follows even desires is called ilaah

 

Now when all these meaning were assigned to Allah alone, Quraish had a reason to be alarmed. After all they were the masters of the Arabs at the time. They controlled the trade routes, the Pilgramage and the business it created, The slave trade, Gambling, fornication, drinking and all social evils. They were the losers if the system changed and Muhammad came with a very radical view of the world and how it should be run.

 

They offered him to lead Quraish as their Zaciim, if he stops this word.

 

They offered him money, and most beautiful women.

 

But Mohammad SAWS was not looking for power, presidency, good life, rather he had a mission and a message to deliver, and against it nothing could distract him, so he said his famous statement

 

" If they place the sun on my right palm, and the moon on my left palm, to stop my mission, I would not stop preaching the message that man should surrender to his creator willingly)

 

(note that all creatures are submiting to Allah unwillingly since they have no control over their creation and death and all natural causes that are limiting their freedom).

 

" and then Allah ( ISTAWAA) on the heavens while it was smoke ( Dust particles) and said to them and the earth "surrender willingly or unwillingly" they said, we surrender willingly,....."

 

Before Mohammad SAWS, Prophet Jesus (aleyhi salam) delivered the same message, and the Romans with the help of Jews, planned for his murder, but Allah lifted him up to the heavens and saved him from their wickedness.

 

Today, the Tawheed word exists, but there is no correspondense between this word and the reality of those who say it, hence, saying shahaada today is like a tenant signing a rental agreement he did no understand,

 

Is such a document binding? scolars say NO.

 

A further proof for the above observation is that this word has not stirred in our lives, what it has stirred in the lives of the SALAF AL SAALIX, before us.

 

They said the word, and its effects were detected in their lives and the entire world.

 

We also said the word, and it has no significant effect on our lives.

 

A wise person shouldn't then fool themselves that the King has still some clothes.

 

A good way to measure understanding of this word, is a measure of actions it creates in our lives.

 

If the actions are not there. It may mean that there is no gold reserves in the Bank to validate the currency in circulation. The root cause, the meaning of the word and the belief may not be there.

 

 

Nur

 

2003 eNuri Communications

 

Paradise is Possible Summer Campaign

[Nur]

Flying Still Sister

 

Have you read this aqeedah topic yet?

 

Nur

[Xafsa]

I just did walaal...that was really informative.

thank you

[Nur]

flying Still

 

 

....and after reading the Tawheed piece, any feedback? , walaashey qimaha badneyd? I need to know if my communication needs further simplification or if its very clear, either way, I would be thankful if you can point any ambiguity that you came across the passage, or any thoughts that you may have, Shukran in advance.

 

 

By the way, It just dawned on me the far reaching meaning of your tagline, you should add the following:

 

Scientists have discovered,........who can do the Job of five men without a complaint and without boasting how important her job is, and willing to work for half of one man's pay, in addition to raising kids, cooking food and cleaning her family's habitat alone.

 

 

Nur

[Xafsa]

I'm sorry walaal I should have giver you my feedback right away.

 

This article touches on the essence of islam...alot of times we put so much emphasis on the orders instead of the heart of islam itself...which or coarse is the belief in one god. Once you have that down then everything else shall follow. What I really got from this artcle is that we as muslims take the shahaada too lightly...we say the words " ther is no god but god" but we don't really understand the meaning and the duties that come with that.

This reminds me of an argument I had with my mom when I was 10, I was trying to say that I can still believe in allah with out having to actually obey his orders...that the two had nothing to do with each other. I told her that I believe she exists and that she is my only mother but that doesn't automatically mean I will obey her. ( I was so chidish). Anyways...after along discussion my mom explained to me that you can't really believe and love allah with out also believing in his word.

 

I think I went off track....anyways Nur brother...your article made perfect sense...masha alaah you have a way of simplifying things. Thanky you for that.

 

 

About my Tagline---I'm glad you understand...some people mistake it for being an attack on men.

 

 

Salaam

[Abdinuur]

" and then Allah ( ISTAWAA) on the heavens while it was smoke ( Dust particles) and said to them and the earth "surrender willingly or unwillingly" they said, we surrender willingly,....."

I'm just little confused here. Is this when the creatures/nature chose to surrender unwillingly...and humans chose to surrender willingly?

 

Thanks.

[Nur]

Brother Kafi

 

There was several incidents before this surrender.

 

1. Allah SWT says: Didn't the unbelievers take a note that that the heavens and the earth (all plantets and heavenly bodies) were unseperable, and then we separeted them, and made water abase of all living things, shouldn't they not believe?"

 

That was the result of KUN FA YAKUUN, the big bang

later, all creatures of the physicl universe was asked to conform to KUN FA YAKUUN, which is the physical laws of the nature around us, the chemical laws, the bilogical laws of nature, and all things responded that theay are willingly surrendering to their maker.

 

Later, Allah SWT created angels, Jinn, and mankind and animals.

Angels are creatures with intelligence, but with no desires.

 

Animals are creatures with desires but no imtelligence.

 

Jinn and mankind have a dual nature, desires and intelligence, which is the essence of accountability and freedom to choose the path of goodness or evil.

 

Satan was a member of the Jinn, he disobeyed Allah arrogantly, he never repented

 

Mankind, in the person of Adam also disobeyed Allah out of passion and lust, he repented later.

 

In conclusion, as humans. our strength is in our ability to repent and surrender willingly, before we are forced to surrender our bodies to bateria.

 

 

Nur

[Nur]

Walaal Flying Still

 

You write:

 

" a lot of times we put so much emphasis on the orders instead of the heart of islam itself...which or coarse is the belief in one god. Once you have that down then everything else shall follow. What I really got from this artcle is that we as muslims take the shahaada too lightly...we say the words " ther is no god but god" but we don't really understand the meaning and the duties that come with that."

 

 

You hit at the heart of the topic, the connection between belief and action. We say we baleif in:

1. Allah

2. Angels

3. Books

4. Messengers

5. Day of Judgement

6. Qader ( Good and bad)

 

 

motivation:

 

When I tell you " Traffic is bad down King Street" This is an information that if you indeed believe it, you would avoid and instead take another less crowded street.

 

 

Question:

 

The above set of believes, what action do they trigger in out behaviour:

 

Believe in Allah being the SOLE Ilaah ( Which we defined as the leader, caring and loving, sovreign lawmaker" what will the belief in these attributes change in our behaviour?

 

Belief in Angels. that they are asssigned to record our deeds

 

Belief in the sctiptures in general and Quran in particular as a code of life

 

Belief in Messengers in general and Muhammad SAWS in particular as a teacher, guide, mercy and a model to emulate

 

The Qader, and the fact that Allah has accounted and calculated everything so that nothing happens out of his order and because of his knowledge that is not bounded by time and space he has knbowledge of what has been, is and what will be forever and accordingly he said about Propphet Musa Aleyhi salaam: " and you came (in time) according to Qader , O Musa"

 

 

Your thoughts to further elaborate will be appreciated.

 

 

Walaalkaa

 

 

Nur

[Xafsa]

Originally posted by Nur:

Question:

 

The above set of believes, what action do they trigger in out behaviour:

 

Believe in Allah being the SOLE Ilaah ( Which we defined as the leader, caring and loving, sovreign lawmaker" what will the belief in these attributes change in our behaviour?

 

Belief in Angels. that they are asssigned to record our deeds

 

Belief in the sctiptures in general and Quran in particular as a code of life

 

Belief in Messengers in general and Muhammad SAWS in particular as a teacher, guide, mercy and a model to emulate

 

The Qader, and the fact that Allah has accounted and calculated everything so that nothing happens out of his order and because of his knowledge that is not bounded by time and space he has knbowledge of what has been, is and what will be forever and accordingly he said about Propphet Musa Aleyhi salaam: " and you came (in time) according to Qader , O Musa"

 

 

Your thoughts to further elaborate will be appreciated.

 

 

Walaalkaa

 

 

Nur

I think all those pillers of Imaan go hand in hand and all help to inhance the same action.

The heart of it all is believing in your hear of hearts that there is no Allah except Allah....once you have that branded in your heart and in your mind then most of your actions follow islam. Things start to make sense to you....you start to understand why some things are what they are...why allah has ordered this and not that.

You have faith that no matter what happens if your niyah is pure than so will be your actions.

 

SO to me every action has a root in those powerful words ( laa ilaaha ila laah)....and it helps you in getting closer to allah.

 

hope that made some sort of sense.

 

Salaam.

[Nur]

Caakifa sis

 

 

You write:

 

"SO to me every action has a root in those powerful words ( laa ilaaha ila laah)....and it helps you in getting closer to allah.

 

hope that made some sort of sense."

 

 

Walaal

 

That is so true, every action we do is deeply rooted on a belief, in that regard.

 

1. If our actions are good, they are rooted in iimaan of Allah

2. If they are bad, they are rooted in a poor iimaan ( Please refer to Nurtel Opticians)

 

So the qustion i wanted answered was.

 

How can we justify our actions to be based on the belief of Tawheed?

 

Because actions speak louder, what we say we belief does not count as much as what we do in real terms.

 

And if you look around today and see the actions of the people who say " We Believe" it makes a non believer not interested in Islam.

 

So, how can we reconcile this problem?

 

The question is addressed to all concerned readers.

 

 

Nur

[Nur]

Nomads

 

Tawheed prinicple is simple, its natural, its compatible with common sense, while Shirk is a degenerate complex, a fallacy, a complex and artificial concept.

 

Your thoughts are further solicited, so share your knowledge here.

 

 

Nur

[Viking]

Nur,

What say you about the hidden elements of Shirk? For example the keen following of certain things with vigor and zeal; I'm specifically referring to things that don't bring you closer to Allah SWT in any way.

[raula]

Bismillah!

 

Asalamu Aleikum waraxmatulahi wabarakatu.

 

Nur you write “Today, the Tawheed word exists, but there is no correspondense between this word and the reality of those who say it, hence, saying shahaada today is like a tenant signing a rental agreement he did no understand,…†I strongly concur with this insight because as you said compared to the Quraysh’s time-we are indeed living a complex life that has dispersed the mere human soul into myriads beliefs. As my sister Xafsa suggested, without NIYA many ‘Muslims’ strength of IMAN is disordered hence their believe exists in vacuity-although some still hold esteem TAWHEED (La ilaaha ila lahu).

 

On that note, since the meaning of Kaafir/kufaar/kufr-is a deliberate act of rejection (Allah’s faith) in seeking the truth, or to be ungrateful of his kindness/goodness, or to blaspheme -unworthy natures attributed to Allah S.W. –how is SHIRK so much different from such translation? From my understanding, for one to be submit, there has to be zealous desire to attain an inclusive spiritual path- a free will-and not be easily swayed by the influences of the worldly desires.

 

How are the terms Kufr and Shirk very much different? In particular on the subject of the Quraysh who venerated LAT, MANAT, and UZZA (SANAM’s –Idols) to emulate Allah s.w. (Subxanalah)-an insult to Allah’s supreme glory in comparison to a ‘progressive muslim’ who believes that women should lead prayers (acuudu bilaahi mina sheydani rajiim). For indeed Allah s.w. says in Suratul Baraqah “Ina ladiina kafaru sawaa’u caleyhim a’ndartuhum am lam tandiiruhum la yuuminuun (6)-As to those who reject Faith, it is the same to them whether warned or not, they will not believe†Aren't they both rejecting the truth?

 

 

***My intention is just to get some clarifications and I mean this by all goodness in my heart (certainly innalaaha calimuun bidaati sudur). –and I seek Allah’s forgiveness for he is abundant in forgiveness.

 

Allah s.w. knows best.

[Nur]

Raula dadayangu

 

 

You write:

 

Originally posted by raula:

[qb] Bismillah!

 

Asalamu Aleikum waraxmatulahi wabarakatu.

 

Nur

 

How are the terms Kufr and Shirk very much different?

 

 

Raula Dada

 

Kufr linguistically means to cover a something, farmers are referred in the Quraan as Kuffar, because they cover seeds in sand to grow crops. Legally kufr means the denial of pre-programmed instinct of the belief in the ONE true God. Kufr can be different:

 

1. Kufr that is denial of confirmation of Nima ( Goodness given to us by Allah SWT) is called minor kufr.

 

2. Kufr that is the denial of Allah's authority over our lives is called Major Kufr.

 

The first Kufr does not mean one who committed it is Kaafir, it means they committed a grave sin.

 

The Second Kufr, is degenerate, it conflicts with the essence of our faith, that person is Kaafir without dispute.

 

Shirk on the other hand means that one gives part of his allegiance to other than Allah, consdiders Allah as one of the recipients of his honoring and worship, considers others than Allah in matters that Allah alone should be considered. Shirk is a description of Kufr in action, while Kufr is the fundemental aqeedah of Shirk. Every Mushrik is Kafir, but not all Kyffaar ar Mushkriks, an example is although Jews are monotheists in worship to Allah alone, they are considered kuffaar for denying the messendership of Prophet Muhammad SAWS. While some so called Muslims commit Shirk by worshipping dead saints in their graves beleiving that these dead saints can save their souls.

 

As you have noticed, The Shahaada terms are not understood by many present day " Muslims", their actions show how ignorant ther are about the Tawheed principle, because, Shahaada means witnessing of a fact, if the fact of the tawheed is fuzzy in their perception, how can they become witnesses?

 

 

You write:

 

How are the terms Kufr and Shirk very much different? In particular on the subject of the Quraysh who venerated LAT, MANAT, and UZZA (SANAM’s –Idols) to emulate Allah s.w.

 

Dada

 

Una ona dada, the worship of Allah is a natural instinct in all human beings, we are born with it, its our arch enemy Satan that corrupts this belief and drags mankind to comkit Shirk with Allah SWT. Satan is very resourceful, to lead mankind away from the right course, Satan follows the crowd until they take his adviced at which point he misleads them away to Shirk or Kufr. One of his tactics is to infringe on Allah's trade marks, Allah's creatures. Allah SWT says " Fala yughayirunna Khalqallah " " mankind will obey Satan by tampering with Allah's creations". This verse was revealed when the Mushriks deformed some of the animals and claimed that they were to be sacrificed to their dieties who they considered to be Allah's partners in worship. Trademark infringement for the purpose of stealing customers away from Allah SWT is one of Satan's tactics.

 

Today, there are no physical idols that people worship in the Muslims world, does that mean that Satan closed shop in our Muslim land? Not really, Satan found other tricks to confuse Muslims to loose sight of their commitment to Allah SWT. The main motivation Satan uses for this job is terrorizing Muslims with poverty, and as a result he promises them wealth only if they adopt other ways of life that non Muslims have attained financial successes. By far this tactic is the deadliest in terms of its devastating power as only few people stand a chance lasting out this temptation.

 

When you look at what a progressive Muslim mean, first we need to define which way are we to progress? Progress in terms of fulfilling which need? and the sponsor of such progress.

 

You will be surprised to know that this hoopla of progress emanates from non Islamic philosophy that considers Islam as a not worthy way of life, hence any departure from islam is seen as a progress, the more one cuts ties with islamic principles, the more progressive one is seen.

 

 

To be continued .........................................................................................

 

 

Nur

[raula]

^^^nimekufahamu ndugu-JZK

 

Shirk is a description of Kufr in action, while Kufr is the fundemental aqeedah of Shirk. Every Mushrik is Kafir, but not all Kyffaar ar Mushkriks, an example is although Jews are monotheists in worship to Allah alone, they are considered kuffaar for denying the messendership of Prophet Muhammad SAWS

I see-not that I didn't know the difference but a bit mixed-up about the entailings of the terms applications.