What Are the Various Aspects of Divine Oneness (Tawhid)?
Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch
Question
Does reciting that Allah is one in every aspect and in every respect mean that I am going against His Attributes which are more than one, such as hands and eyes?
Also, Allah’s (Most High) Oneness in Attributes which is a part of believing in tawhid, implies that He has one of each Attribute, right? Like His Will is totally one Attribute, same with His knowledge, Hearing, and Seeing, right?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
To Allah Most High belongs all Qualities and Attributes of Perfection. They are innumerable and inexhaustible, as the Quran tells us:
“Say, (O Prophet,) ‘If the ocean were ink for (writing) the Words of my Lord, it would certainly run out before the Words of my Lord were finished, even if We re-filled it with its equal.’” [Quran, 18:109]
Despite the infinite perfections that Allah Most High is ascribed with, some Attributes are seen as the Core Attributes of Allah Most High (Ummahat al-Sifat):
- Life;
- Knowledge;
- Power;
- Will;
- Hearing;
- Sight;
- Speech. [Laqqani, Jawharat al-Tawhid]
It is to these Attributes that all other Attributes, in their uniqueness and perfection, relate. [Bajuri, Sharh Jawharat al-Tawhid]
For example, the Attribute of Mercy (al-Rahma) is taken as an extension of the Divine Will (al-Irada): it is the Divine Will to bestow bounties on His servant, e.g., Mercy. Another example is the Attribute of Creating. This is a combination of Allah’s Knowledge, Will, and Power.
Oneness (Tawhid)
Divine oneness (Tawhid) refers to three aspects:
- The Divine Essence;
- The Divine Attributes;
- The Divine Acts. [Ibid.]
First: The Divine Essence
Allah Most High is one is His essence. This means that Allah’s essence is not made up of parts. Allah Most High is the only Divine being. [Ibid.]
Please see:
Is Confirming Hands for Allah Kufr?
Does Allah Most High Have Eyes through Which He Sees? Does Allah Need Eyes to See?
Second: The Divine Attributes
Allah Most High is one in His attributes. His Attributes are not shared by any of the creations.
As for your question regarding an individual attribute not being made up of parts: for an attribute to be made up of parts is irrational and inconceivable, so there is no need to declare oneness in that regard. [Ibid.]
Third: The Divine Acts
The oneness of Allah Most High in Divine Acts means that only Allah Most High is the sole actor in creation. All other actions are merely means by which Allah manifests His will – in reality, the effects and the causes of those effects are from Allah Most High.
The Divine acts, however, are many, not one. [Ibid.]
Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.
He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.
In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.
