A Second Look at Tawhid

Every vulture tears your limbs in every direction

Since you are no carrion, but rather the falcon of the Beloved, why is this so?

It is unlikely that Rumi did not draw the theme of this rich and wondrous couplet from the following verse:

"And whoever associates others with Allah—it is as though he had fallen from the sky and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had blown him to a remote place." (Hajj/31)

"And whoever associates partners with God, it is as if he has fallen from the sky, and the birds [of prey] have seized him, or the wind has cast him into a distant place."

According to this verse, committing shirk (associating partners with God) is consenting to fragmentation and offering oneself like carrion to vultures and snatchers. Meister Eckhart used to say, "Lord, they snatch me away from myself," and I wish to be snatched away only by You.

With regard to the verse, "Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties..." (Tawbah/111), Rumi would say that only God is worth selling oneself to:

My purchaser is God, it is He who

Draws me aloft, for "Allah has purchased."

Leave these bankrupt buyers be;

What purchase could a handful of clay make?

(Masnavi / Book Two)

It is stated in the Quran: "Allah has not made for any man two hearts in his interior." (Ahzab/4); God has not placed two hearts within any man's breast.

It seems that, from the Quran's perspective, our nature is such that it is compatible with attachment to one side and turning one's attention to a single qibla, and tawhid is, in truth, dedicating oneself to God:

Turning your face from God to anything else is pure shirk;

Pure tawhid is that we turn our face from all toward God.

(Sa'di)

With two qiblas, one cannot walk straight on the path of tawhid;

Either the Beloved's pleasure is needed, or one's own desire.

(Sana'i)

Like a sunflower that orients itself with the sun's movement, the person of tawhid also accepts God as their existential orientation. When Abraham said he was turning his face, sincerely and purely, toward God, did he have anything else in mind but that God is his "ultimate concern" and "sole qibla":

"Indeed, I have turned my face toward He who created the heavens and the earth, inclining toward truth, and I am not of those who associate others with Allah." (An'am/79); I have, with pure-hearted sincerity, turned my face toward the One who originated the heavens and the earth, and I am not among the polytheists.

Purity (ikhlas) is one of the important consequences of tawhid. Purity is that collectedness of mind and single-heartedness found in our literary and mystical sources: "O my idol, make my heart single with you," "Return from the thought of dispersion so that you may become collected."

In tawhid, God is not merely the giver of direction and the indicator of the way, but the very direction and orientation of the individual. With this explanation, tawhid is a way of life, not a mental belief, a specific utterance, or a particular behavior. It is a way of life that shines especially in the element of "purity."

It is clear that coloring one's life with God does not negate other loves, but rather guarantees the purity of those other loves. Commitment to God and entrusting oneself to God is, in truth, commitment to "justice," "moral goodness," "beauty," and "truth." That is, orienting one's life toward ethical ideals. The Quran, which teaches not to abandon the side of justice and not to let biases and attachments influence your judgments, says:

«يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ لِلَّهِ شُهَدَاءَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلَا يَجْرِمَنَّكُمْ شَنَآنُ قَوْمٍ عَلَى أَلَّا تَعْدِلُوا»(مائده/۸)؛ «O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for God, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just.»

Rising up for God in truth means disregarding personal loves and hatreds and making justice the foundation.

«قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَعِظُكُمْ بِوَاحِدَةٍ أَنْ تَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ مَثْنَى وَفُرَادَى»(سبأ/۴۶)؛ «Say, 'I only advise you of one thing – that you stand for God, in pairs and individually.'»

The main counsel has been that our actions and movements be entirely for God.

God is the quintessence of our ethical ideals, and if God is the qibla, the direction, and the color and scent of life, it means everything has been placed in the service of ethical ideals.

From this perspective, Tawhid is a profound and foundational transformation and, in the words of the mystics, is not of the genus of 'knowing' but of the lineage of 'becoming.' Becoming one for the good and the truth. For God, who is the crystallization of our values.

Become one and make Tawhid witnessed,

Make its absent presence existent through action.

(Iqbal Lahori)

«What have you to do with the world of Tawhid? What is it to you that He is One? Since you are a hundred thousand and more: each part of you in a direction, each part of you in a world... Become unified, or else what is His Oneness to you? Since you are in the world of dispersion... you are a hundred thousand particles, each particle carried off by a whim, each particle carried off by a fancy! Each particle scattered in worlds, withered, frozen solid...» (Maqalat-e Shams)

Tawhid is the coloring of life with God in such a way that God becomes the direction and orientation of the heart. It is the purification of life and the total integration of the self. It is the dedication of oneself to God and the entrusting of oneself to good ideals. Tawhid is making oneself single-hearted in the pursuit of 'Truth, Beauty, and Goodness.'

Among the most important dimensions of Tawhid is catching the scent of God and taking on His color, and in the words of Abul-Hasan Kharaqani: «I smelled all things, and the scent of that thing emanated. From the believers, the scent of the Real emanated.» (Tazkirat al-Awliya)

The monotheist individual strives to make God the direction and qibla of their life. Like Abraham, who said, 'I am going, migrating toward my Lord':

«إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَى رَبِّي سَيَهْدِينِ»(صافات/۹۹)؛ «Indeed, I am going to my Lord; He will guide me.»

«إِنِّی مُهَاجِرٌ إِلَى رَبِّی»(عنکبوت/۲۶)؛ «Indeed, I am emigrating to my Lord.»

Hijra (migration) is a beautiful expression. It is as if one must always be a person of migration. Migration toward God. Another expression is 'tabattul' (devoted detachment):

«وَاذْكُرِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ وَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ تَبْتِيلًا»(مزمل/۸)؛ «And remember the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with complete devotion.»

Baha' al-Din Walad says the main message of the Quran is to become more connected to God:

«I have examined the entire Quran, and the sum of the meaning of every verse and every story I have found to be this: O servant, sever yourself from other than Me, for what you find from other than Me, you will find from Me without the obligation of creation, and those things you find from Me, you will find from no one else. And O you who are connected to Me, become more connected.» (Ma'arif-e Baha' Walad)

The Quran says the common mission of all the prophets is to call to the worship of God and the avoidance of Taghut (false gods):

«وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ»(نحل/۳۶)؛ and indeed We raised in every nation a messenger [to say]: Worship God and shun false gods.

But what does the worship of God mean? Let us consult the Quran:

«أَلَمْ أَعْهَدْ إِلَيْكُمْ يَا بَنِي آدَمَ أَنْ لَا تَعْبُدُوا الشَّيْطَانَ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُبِينٌ. وَأَنِ اعْبُدُونِي هَذَا صِرَاطٌ مُسْتَقِيمٌ»(یس/۶۰-۶۱)؛ Did I not enjoin upon you, O children of Adam, that you not worship Satan, for he is a manifest enemy to you, and that you worship Me? This is a straight path.

It is clear that most of those addressed by this verse do not perform specific ritual acts of worship for Satan in the conventional sense. They do not prostrate to Satan, they do not make vows or sacrifices to Satan, and they do not bow their heads in reverence before Satan. It seems that "Why did you worship Satan?" means: why did you place yourselves entirely at Satan's disposal? Why did your lives take on the color of Satan? Why did you sell yourselves to Satan?

From this verse we understand that performing ritual ceremonies is not the entirety of worship, but rather a part of it. Worship means being at God's disposal.

Let us reflect on another verse:

«أَفَرَأَیتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ»(جاثیه/۲۳)؛ Have you seen the one who takes his own desire as his god?

It is clear that no one prostrates or falls to the ground for their own whims and desires. They do not make vows, circumambulate, or offer sacrifices. Is there anyone who believes their carnal desires are the creator and disposer of the worlds? What could it mean that some have taken their own desire as a god?

Is self-worship anything other than a person making their entire concern their own personal interests and purposes, and acting solely on the basis of the dictates of desire, heedless of truth and righteousness? Self-worship means placing oneself at the disposal of the soul's desires.

Here too, it can be understood that worship and tawhid are a way of life, not a specific belief or a particular behavior.

In a hadith from the Prophet, it is stated: «تَعِسَ عَبْدُ الدِّينَارِ وَالدِّرْهَمِ», meaning, wretched is the servant of the dinar and the dirham. He then explains what the worship of wealth means: «إِنْ أُعْطِيَ رَضِيَ وَإِنْ لَمْ يُعْطَ لَمْ يَرْضَ». That is, the individual's satisfaction and dissatisfaction revolve around wealth. Any event that has a positive financial outcome for him is good, and if not, it is a bad event.

As we see in the hadith, worship is used in the sense of ultimate attachment and heartfelt devotion. One for whom wealth is the basis of his decisions worships wealth. The expression "being in bondage" is very telling in this context. We are the servant of the one to whom we are in bondage. Sheikh Abu Ali Daqqaq says:

"You are the servant of that to which you are in bondage. If you are in bondage to the self, you are a servant of the self, and if you are in bondage to the world, you are a servant of the world." (Al-Risala al-Qushayriyya)

Self-worship is one of the most important rivals to God-worship and, in the words of Rumi, is the mother of other idols:

The mother of idols is the idol of your self,

For that idol is a serpent, and this idol is a dragon.

(Masnavi, Book One)

Shams Tabrizi says: "God-worship is to abandon self-worship." (Maqalat-e Shams); Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani also says: "Until you are free from self-worship, you cannot be a God-worshipper." (Tamhidat)

When we understand self-worship and Satan-worship, we will also well understand God-worship, tawhid, and the worship of God.

Empty of self and abiding in the Friend

How wondrous that they are not, yet they are

These are the folk, the people of Tawhid

The rest are all self-worshippers

(Sheikh Bahai)

It was said that worship and Tawhid mean devoting oneself to God. Just as self-worship and devil-worship have no meaning other than surrendering oneself to the hands of desires and to the devil.

I said to him, "In my heart are many a Lat and Manat"

He said, "This idol-house must be turned upside down"

(Iqbal Lahori)

But Tawhid is not merely abstaining from self-worship or devil-worship. One of the most important requisites of Tawhid is abstaining from the worship of human beings. The Quran says that one of the most important commonalities among religions is that you should not worship one another:

«Say, "O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you – that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah..."» (Aal-e-Imran:64); Say, O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you, that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him, and that some of us will not take others as lords instead of God.

Elsewhere, the Quran refers to the subject of human-worship more concretely:

«They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah, and [also] the Messiah, the son of Mary. And they were not commanded except to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him.» (Tawbah:31); These have taken their scholars and monks and the Messiah, son of Mary, as lords besides God, though they were commanded only to worship one God; there is no deity except Him. Exalted is He above whatever they associate [with Him].

Here too, it is readily apparent what is meant by worshipping one another. What does "let us not worship one another" mean? Does it mean let us not perform prayers, make vows, offer sacrifices, or circumambulate for one another? Obviously not. It means we should not ascribe divine attributes to anyone. We should not surrender ourselves entirely to anyone. We should not follow anyone unconditionally and without reason. For only God sits in the station of Truth, and others are not the final judge. God reproaches the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) for worshipping their religious thinkers and elders. We all know that the Jewish and Christian religious scholars and elders were not worshipped in the sense we have in mind today. Worshipping the scholars and religious elders means surrendering oneself unconditionally to them.

In explanation of the mentioned verse, hadiths have also been narrated in both Shia and Sunni sources.

Adi ibn Hatim was a Christian before becoming Muslim. When he came to the Prophet, he heard this verse from the Prophet's tongue: «They have taken their scholars and monks as lords besides Allah.» He objected that the People of the Scripture did not worship them. The Prophet explained that:

«When they made something lawful for them, they deemed it lawful, and when they forbade them something, they forbade it.» (Sunan al-Tirmidhi).

The scholars and rabbis of the People of the Scripture would commit alterations to the Sharia and tamper with the lawful and unlawful, and the other Christian and Jewish believers would follow and trail after them, and this is precisely the meaning of worshipping and serving them.

It is narrated from Imam Sadiq that, regarding the meaning of the verse, they have said: «أَحَلُّوا لَهُمْ حَرَاماً وَ حَرَّمُوا عَلَيْهِمْ حَلاَلاً فَعَبَدُوهُمْ مِنْ حَيْثُ لاَ يَشْعُرُونَ» (Al-Kafi/Volume One, Kitab Fadl al-Ilm); “They made lawful for them what God had forbidden, and forbade what He had made lawful; thus they worshipped them unknowingly and without understanding.”

Worship and Tawhid, in the sense conveyed by the above verses and allusions, guarantee respect for human reason and are a source of intellectual liberation and a kind of “ethics of belief.” No one is permitted to follow something unknowingly. No one is God, so unconditional obedience to anyone is not permissible:

«وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولًا» (Al-Isra/36); And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight, and the heart—all of those will be questioned.

For a better understanding of the worship of human beings, the story of Pharaoh can be very illuminating. According to the Quran, Pharaoh claimed divinity:

«فَقَالَ أَنَا رَبُّكُمُ الْأَعْلَى» (An-Nazi'at/24); And he said, “I am your most high lord.”

«وَقَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمَلَأُ مَا عَلِمْتُ لَكُمْ مِنْ إِلَهٍ غَيْرِي» (Al-Qasas/38); Pharaoh said, “O eminent ones, I have not known you to have a god other than me.”

Pharaoh’s self-proclamation as god does not seem to be of the sort that he claimed to be the creator and disposer of the universe. As the Quran said, Pharaoh wanted everyone to obey him unquestioningly and to impose what he deemed fit upon others:

«قَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ مَا أُرِيكُمْ إِلَّا مَا أَرَى وَمَا أَهْدِيكُمْ إِلَّا سَبِيلَ الرَّشَادِ» (Ghafir/29); Pharaoh said, “I do not show you except what I see, and I do not guide you except to the path of right conduct.”

Even when the sorcerers lost in the contest with Moses and believed in him, Pharaoh’s objection was: why did you believe in him before consulting with me and obtaining my permission:

Pharaoh considered his people lowly and wanted them to remain so, and through humiliation and contempt, he had secured their obedience:

«فَاسْتَخَفَّ قَوْمَهُ فَأَطَاعُوهُ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَوْمًا فَاسِقِينَ» (Az-Zukhruf/54); He made a fool of his people, and they obeyed him. Indeed, they were a defiantly disobedient people.

This is while the Quran informs us that Pharaoh also had gods, and it seems he worshipped other deities for performing religious rites and devotional rituals. But his divinity lay in his desire to be the ultimate decision-maker and the absolute authority over everyone:

«أَتَذَرُ مُوسَى وَقَوْمَهُ لِيُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَيَذَرَكَ وَآلِهَتَكَ» (Al-A'raf/127); Will you leave Moses and his people to cause corruption in the land and abandon you and your gods?

From this perspective, Tawhid can be a supporter of social freedoms and a deterrent against tyranny and the cult of personality, and as our spiritual sages have said, servitude is coupled and intertwined with freedom.

How long this fawning at the courts of sultans?

Learn from your own God the coquetry of divine pride.

(Iqbal Lahori)

Man, out of blindness, worshipped man;

He possessed a gem, yet offered it in tribute to Qobad and Jam.

That is, from the habit of servility, he is more abject than dogs;

I have never seen a dog bow its head before another dog.

(Iqbal Lahori)

Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani says: “Until you become a servant, you will not find freedom; until you turn your back on both worlds, you will not attain Adam and Adamhood; and until you flee from yourself, you will not reach yourself; and if you do not lose and sacrifice yourself in the path of God, you will not be accepted by the Presence; and until you trample upon everything and turn your back on everything, you will not become everything and find the way to the whole; and until you become poor, you will not become rich, and until you become annihilated, you will not be everlasting.” (Tamhidat); Hamdun Qassar was asked, “Who is a servant?” He said: “One who does not worship and does not like to be worshipped.” (Tazkirat al-Awliya); Ahmad Khidruya says: “Complete servitude lies in freedom, and in the realization of servitude, freedom becomes complete.” (ibid.); Junayd of Baghdad was asked: “Who is a servant?” He said: “One who is free from servitude to others.” (ibid.); Abu al-Abbas Qassab has said: “Until you are free, you will not become a servant.” (ibid.); A dervish asked Shaykh Abu Sa'id Abu al-Khayr, “O Shaykh, what is servitude?” Our Shaykh said: “Khalaqaka Allahu hurran, kun kama khalaqak. God created you free, be free.” He said: “O Shaykh, my question is about servitude.” The Shaykh said: “Do you not know that until you become free from both worlds, you will not become a servant?” (Asrar al-Tawhid, Muhammad ibn Munawwar)

Since in freedom, prophethood is the guide,

For the believers, freedom comes from the prophets.

O group of believers, rejoice,

Like the cypress and the lily, be free.

(Masnavi / Book Six)

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A Second Look at Tawhid

Author: Seddiq Qotbi

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