What is Tauhid?

Tauhid is the opposite of idolatry (Shirk): it is pure monotheism. As short and simple as this definition may appear, most people do not understand the implications that accompany it. This is because the definition of idolatry encompasses very much more than merely the worship of stones and figures of gods. We shall attempt to understand the concept of Tauhid by sharply distinguishing it from all forms of idolatry.

First of all, we must understand the very purpose of our creation. The Qur'an says:

We are therefore created to serve God and to worship Him. That is the meaning of our being. Whoever does not understand this meaning inevitably commits idolatry, even if he may believe in one God. For he will serve something other than God alone, for example his fatherland, his career, his family, his material prosperity, and other things, above all his own ego. Naturally, the first questions will arise at the latest here, such as: "But does a Muslim not work and not exert himself for his family?" Yes, he does, but his intention should be a different one. To understand this, we shall shed light on the various forms of idolatry:

There are three forms of idolatry:

1. The greater idolatry (Shirk Akbar).

2. The lesser idolatry (Shirk Asghar).

3. The inconspicuous idolatry (Shirk Khafi).

What does this mean concretely?

1. Shirk Akbar

Whoever commits Shirk Akbar is not a Muslim! It is the sin that Allah will not forgive:

Shirk Akbar is divided into four categories, and we shall see that many people commit this great sin without being aware of it.

a. Shirk in Worship

This includes not only the worship of another god beside Allah, but also the request for help that is due to Allah alone: when we ask someone to show us the way to the post office, this is of course not Shirk; but if we ask, for example, a doctor to preserve us from death, then that is very much Shirk, for this is a request that only God can fulfil. Only God has power over life and death.

b. Shirk in Intention

If, for example, we go to war for the sake of our fatherland and not for Allah, then this too is Shirk, and we die for something other than Allah. Our intention would have to be to serve God and to defend His religion, not however to defend man-made borders and constitutions.

c. Shirk in Obedience

This is the Shirk to which most of today's so-called Muslims fall victim: obedience to laws that are man-made, while disregarding the laws of God.

When one day a verse from the Qur'an was read to a Christian by the name of 'Adi bin Hatim, who later embraced Islam, he thought that taking someone as a god meant bowing down and prostrating before him. He therefore contradicted the Prophet (s.a.w.) and said that the Christians did not take the priests and monks as gods. Then the Prophet (s.a.w.) explained this verse: "...taking their priests as gods beside Allah":

This therefore means that when a scholar / state forbids something that God has permitted and vice versa, and the people willingly follow him in it, then they worship him or place him beside God.

d. Shirk in Love

One commits this Shirk when one loves something or someone with a love that is due only to God. Here in Europe one inevitably thinks of Jesus, who is placed beside God by the Christians, partly not only in worship but above all also in love. We also recall the test that Abraham (a.s.) was given, namely to sacrifice his son, whom he had not seen for years and loved most dearly. Abraham passed the test because his love and his obedience toward God were stronger than his love for Ishmael.

2. Shirk Asghar

The lesser idolatry is Ar-Riya, actually a form of Shirk in intention, though without causing one to leave Islam: one does not perform one's worship purely for Allah, but in order to be praised by other people for one's own "piety."

However, Ar-Riya can also become great Shirk if "all" deeds are continually done only in order to be praised by society (eye-service). Then one is a Munafiq, a hypocrite.

3. Shirk Khafi

This Shirk means that one is discontent with fate, although Allah has already determined it for one. Allah is the Creator of everything. When something happens that we do not like, we must remember and believe that it happens because of our own sins and that we are to draw a lesson from it, or that Allah thereby wishes to purify us, or that there is some other wisdom behind it. But if we become angry, we show in essence that we are not content with God as Creator, or that we believe something else had power besides Allah. This widespread Shirk, too, does not cause one to leave Islam.

The Worship of the Ego

The above forms of idolatry are those that are commonly named. But we shall now see that in principle every sin is also a form of Shirk. For once again: we are created to serve God. If we serve something other than God, this is Shirk. Ergo, everything that does not serve God is also Shirk. And normally, everything that does not serve God serves our ego. This is confirmed in several places in the Qur'an:

Most people worship their ego and serve it by following their inclinations and desires. But, one will now ask, one must after all eat and sleep; those are quite natural inclinations. Right! There must therefore be a criterion that tells us when something serves God and where the boundary is from which we serve our ego.

God created us as human beings together with our natural needs. God in His grace has now determined that when we satisfy our (basic) needs, this is counted as an act of worship. We must eat in order to be strong for worship. Eating itself thus becomes worship. But everything must be practised within its established limits and in the right balance.

The first criterion that establishes these limits is the Shariah, the divine law: for example, eating only what is halal and also not during the daytime in Ramadan. Our inclinations are thus set limits:

The Shariah determines which things are permitted and which are not. Yet even with the good things that are permitted, there is a limit that one should not transgress. The Shariah alone, however, is not yet sufficient to define this limit.

The second criterion is the example of the Prophet (s.a.w.). It is said that Muhammad (s.a.w.) is the perfect example for us human beings. He showed us what a God-willed life looks like in practice. And if we want to love God and serve Him, we must follow the example of Muhammad (s.a.w.):

But since the example of the Prophet (s.a.w.) is generally a shining ideal for the ordinary believer, which he strives for, it is at the same time hardly or not at all attainable in everyday life. Therefore a third criterion is added: the voice of one's own heart.

Each of us must feel what, in one's own present situation, is pleasing to God and serves God, or else serves our ego. The ideal is to make our entire life into worship, beginning with our prayer, our work, eating, sleeping, learning, taking a journey, indeed even going to the toilet! What makes all these activities into worship is:

a) our sincere intention (for and because of God alone) and

b) the performance of this activity in accordance with the example of the Prophet (s.a.w.)

But our intention can only be sincere if we are "awake." Only when we are "awake" can we see whether what we are just doing truly serves God or not. One exercise to keep ourselves awake is, for example, the recitation of the Basmallah ("Bismillahirrahmannirrahim": In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) before an activity. In this way we can see relatively easily whether an activity is pleasing to God or not. A simple example: one cannot possibly light a cigarette while reciting the Basmallah! Smoking cannot possibly serve God; on the contrary: it destroys our health and also our money, both of which we should employ for our religion. Ergo: it serves 100% our ego, and if we are extreme, we could say it is therefore 100% Shirk. If after one plate of food we are already full but pile up a second because it tastes so good: again, we serve our ego and distance ourselves from pure Tauhid.

Someone who is truly awake can observe his thoughts and will not entertain thoughts that are useless or bad and follow the desires. Should such thoughts arise, he will concentrate again on God and occupy himself with productive thoughts.

Here one requires a great deal of wisdom (and actually also a spiritual guide [sheikh], whom one hardly finds nowadays). The art here is not to fall into extremism but to choose a middle way that slowly but surely approaches the example of the Prophet, while at the same time not becoming proud of what has already been achieved (and thus again serving one's ego). This path is individually different and dependent on our personal strength and abilities, on external circumstances, and ultimately ... on God!

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