Belief in Oneness of Allah (Tawheed)
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Belief in the Unity or Oneness of Allah is the 1st Article of Faith.
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Islam calls to the belief that the Creator, the Sustainer, the Cherisher and the Sovereign Lord of this immensely vast universe comprising billions of galaxies and stars is Allah who is one and unique without any partners.
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His nature is so sublime that it is far beyond our limited conceptions.
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Allah is the Eternal, without beginning or end, the Absolute, who is not limited by time or place or circumstance.
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He is the Creator, the Sustainer and Planner of the whole universe. There is no one else who has the right to be worshipped except Him.
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He has the Most Beautiful Names and the Loftiest Attributes.
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His knowledge extends to everything seen and unseen, present and future, near and far and His Grace and Mercy are unbounded.
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He is the All Mighty, the All Wise.
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He is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Eternal and Absolute, the Law Giver, the One who single-handedly administers the whole universe as its Sovereign Lord
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The Holy Quran speaks of Allah as under:
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“And have they not looked into the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and all things that Allah has created?” (7:185)
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“He is Allah, the One; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begets not, nor is He begotten; and there is none equal or comparable to Him.” (112:1-4)
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The opposite of Oneness or Unity of Allah is Shirk which means associating partners with the Supreme Lord. The Holy Quran considers Shirk to be an unpardonable sin. It says:
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“Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him, but He forgives anything else to whom He pleases; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin most heinous indeed.” (4:48)
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The Islamic belief of Oneness of Allah or Tawheed cuts across the Doctrine of Holy Trinity and or the worship of multitude of gods and goddesses by the Pagans. It also contradicts the stand of the atheists who claim that this universe came into being as a result of some accident and would continue to function in a mechanical manner till it completes its circle of life and dissolves into oblivion.
Influence of Tauheed on believers
Believer understands that only Allah has power over his affairs and only He wields authority. He never bows his head or stretches his hand before any one else other than Allah.
He knows that Allah is his only means of success and salvation. He does not look to others as his gateway to prosperity.
He is affectionate; he tries to help people without expecting any rewards from them, because he believes that Allah will grant him better reward. He believes that Allah is watching him all the time. This prevents him from committing any evil deeds even in the places where there is no body to see him. He performs good deeds and avoids committing evil deeds since he believes that very thing is in the knowledge of Allah. A person who knows that everything is created by Allah becomes a slave of Allah not His creatures. He relies on and trusts in Allah only; he asks from Him and takes shelter in Him. He does not become a slave of another slave. “To You we worship and You we ask for help” Al- Fatiha.