Rights of Monotheism upon us
Dear brothers, the concept of monotheism is the backbone of our faith. However, we are used to hearing the Arabic term for this and that is the term Tawheed.
Literally speaking, the word Tawheed means to make something one or call it one. In English, when something is made one, it is considered unified.
However, in Islamic terminology, Tawheed is the belief that Allah SWT is the one and only true God, and He alone is worthy of worship.
We expand on the definition of the above by going further and saying that no other entity can, in any way, have Allah’s perfect attributes or be equivalent or even, for that matter, in competition with Him.
That right upon us as Muslims and as believers of this mission statement on our faith means that all acts of worship we do should be directed to Allah SWT or for Allah SWT alone.
For example, from when we pray, the prayer should only be directed to Allah SWT to even the act of smiling to one another should be for the sake of Allah SWT.
Therefore, dear brothers, tawheed is the central concept upon which all of Islam rests. It is the core belief around which everything revolves.
So, as muslims we need to be conscious of the concept of monotheism and the obligations this places upon us.
What follows then, dear brothers, are 7 pointers of how we can keep this importance concept in our hearts.
- Love Allah SWT through your ritual worship that is ordained upon you and grow in Love for Allah SWT through living at peace with his creation. I think a valid point to add here also is the tolerance we must show for one another. This is highlighted in the Quran and one example is Sura Tauba, ayat 11 when speaking of your brothers and sisters:But if they repent, establish prayer and give Zakat, then they are your brothers in religion; and We detail the verses for a people who know.
- Knowledge that ends ignorance about who is the Divine. To know Allah SWT, dear brothers, is the start of faith. Who He is, Why you were created and What you believe is the starting blocks from which the journey of acquiring Tawheed in your heart must begin.
- Certainty that cures doubt about the divine and His plan for us both individually and collectively. We as muslims believe not only in Allah SWT, but what is planned for us by Him and have faith that it is for our best interests even if we do not understand it.
- Acceptance of the ramifications towards the belief in Allah SWT and His Messengers. Just believing in Allah SWT is not enough dear brothers. We must also believe in the outcomes of our actions and accept that there are divinely ordained laws that must be observed with no question.
- This leads us on to Submission to that which you accept from the knowledge you have about Allah SWT. To submit ourselves to the will of Allah SWT is practically done by us hearing, obeying and seeking to distinguish ourselves in all that we know of Allah SWT and his obligations placed upon us.
- Truthful to Allah SWT and to the religion He has delivered through the messenger SAWS. As muslims, our lives are actually quite simple and lack any complexity. We are simply instructed to do what Allah SWT seeks without hypocrisy or without an audience to win favour from. We do it for Allah SWT alone and so we keep to our faith even when we are alone.
- And lastly, we do and say everything with Sincerity. All acts of worship and devotion to Allah SWT is done with sincerity. This is the key to peace in this life. Once we attain sincerity in our actions, and that is all actions, not just actions of worship, then we will experience the peace in life which we all strive to achieve.
We can all start this journey with something very simple though. Let’s get the following on our lips and on our tongues. Just the regular recitation of La ilaha illallah, which translates to none has the right to be worshipped except Allah SWT, is us declaring our belief in Islamic Monotheism.
And so to end this khutba, our beloved Prophet SAWS, is recorded in a hadith to have said the following regarding Monotheism:
“Musa said: ‘O my Lord, teach me something by which I can remember You and supplicate to You.’ Allah answered: ‘Say, O Musa, La illaha illallah.’ Musa said: ‘O my Lord, all your slaves say this’. Allah said: ‘O Musa, if the seven heavens and all of their inhabitants besides Me, and the seven earths were in a pan, and La ilaha illallah was in another pan, La ilaha illallah would outweigh them’”
May Allah SWT enable us to understand the concept of Tawheed. May Allah SWT keep us firm upon Tawheed. And May Allah SWT bless us for it.
Ameen wal hamdullilahi rabilalameen.
