The superiority of Tauhid
Allah the Most Exalted said:
“It is those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah and worship none but Him Alone) and confuse not their belief with Zulm (wrong i.e., by worshipping other besides Allah), for them (only) there is security and they are guided ones.” (6: 82)
Narrated Ubadah bin As-Samit (R.A.) that Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said:
“Whoever testifies that there is nothing worthy of worship in truth (no God) except Allah Alone, Who is without (peer or) partner, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, and that ‘Isa (Jesus) is the slave of Allah, His Messenger, and His Word which He bestowed in Maryam (Mary) and a spirit (created) from Him, and that Paradise & Hell-fire are realities, Allah will admit him into Paradise, whatever his deeds might be.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 3252)
Itban (R.A) narrated that the Prophet (SAW) said:
“Indeed Allah has forbidden for Hell the person who testifies: ‘There is nothing worthy of worship in truth (no true God) but Allah’, seeking thereby nothing but Allah’s Face (pleasure).”
(Al-Bukhari, Muslim)
Abu Sa‘id Al-Khudri (R.A.) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said:
“Musa (Moses) (A.S.) said: ‘O my Rabb, teach me something through which I can remember You and supplicate to You.’ Allah answered: ‘Say O Musa, La ilaha illa-Allah’. Musa said: ‘O my Rabb, all your slaves say these words’. Allah said: ‘O Musa , if the seven heavens and all they contain other than Me (Ghairy)[1] and the seven earths as well, were all put in one side of a scale and La ilaha illa-Allah put in the other the latter would overweigh them.”
[This Hadith has been reported by Ibn Hibban, and Al-Hakim declared it Sahih].
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[1] This phrase (Ghairy) is the exception from what is in the heavens. It should not be misunderstood that Allah is contained within the heavens or earth since He has described Himself in the Qur’an as the Transcendent, Most High, Above All, i.e., in 2:255, 20:5, 25:59 and many places elsewhere in His Book. Indeed the statement is another proof that Allah cannot be considered within the creation. [Detailed explanation can be seen in “Fath-ul-Majid Sharh Kitab-ut-Tauhid- Translator].
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At-Tirmidhi reports from Anas (R.A.) : He heard Allah’s Messenger (SAW) saying:
“Allah the Most Exalted said: ‘O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with the world full of sins and meet Me without making anything partner to Me (Shirk), I would come to you with a similar amount of forgiveness.”
Important issues of the Chapter
1) Abundance of Allah’s favor.
2) The abundant reward of Tauhid towards Allah.
3) Besides earning rewards, Tauhid recompenses sins.
4) Explanation of the verse 82 in Surat Al-An‘am.
5) Ponder the five points mentioned in the Hadith narrated by Ubadah (bin As-Samit R.A.).
6) If you look at the Ahadith from Ubadah and ‘Itban (R.A.) and what follows altogether, the meanings of La-ilaha illa-Allah become clear to you along with the error of those who are the deceived ones (Al-Maghrurin).
7) Take note of the condition in Itban’s Hadith.
8) That the Prophets needed to be apprised of the tremendous virtue of La ilaha illa-Allah (There is no true God but Allah).
9) The point of overweighing of the Kalimah (La ilaha illa-Allah) in respect to all other creation, though many who enunciate it will not get the full weight in their balance.
10) The text showing that there are seven earths like seven heavens.
11) That the seven earths and heavens are full of creatures.
12) Confirmation of the Attributes of Allah, contrary to the claims of Ash‘ariyah.
13) Undoubtedly, if you understand the Hadith of Anas R.A. you would understand the statement in the Hadith of Itban R.A.
“Indeed Allah has forbidden for Hell the person who testifies: ‘There is nothing worthy of worship in truth (no true God) but Allah,’ seeking thereby nothing but Allah’s Face (pleasure)”
that it constitutes abandonment of Shirk practically and not merely confessing La-ilaha illa-Allah by the tongue.
14) Reflection and consideration of the shared characteristics of Muhammad (SAW) and 'Isa (A.S.) both as Prophets and slaves of Allah.
15) Knowing the peculiarity of Jesus (A.S.) being created as Kalimat-Allah (the Word of Allah)
16) Knowledge that Jesus (A.S.) is a spirit from Allah (Ruhan Minhu).
17) Knowing the merits of belief in Paradise and Hell.
18) Knowledge of the meaning of the statement (of the Prophet SAW) “….whatever his deeds might be.”
19) Knowledge that Al-Mizan (the Scale) consists of two sides.
20) What is meant by the mention of the “Face” (of Allah).