Allah’s Oneness and the Three Aspects of Tawḥīd

1. Allah is One, without a partner

إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَاحِدٌ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ.
Indeed, Allah Most High is One; He has no partner.

Wāḥid affirms Allah's oneness, and lā sharīka lah makes clear that He has no partner.

Tawḥīd is understood through three aspects: oneness in lordship (rubūbiyyah), oneness in worship (ulūhiyyah), and oneness in attributes (ṣifāt).

2. The three aspects of tawḥīd

1. Rubūbiyyah — Allah alone sustains all the worlds; no one else is their Sustainer.
2. Ulūhiyyah — Allah alone deserves worship; no one besides Him may be worshipped.
3. Ṣifāt — Allah is unique in His attributes, with no partner sharing them.

Lordship concerns sustaining and governing creation; worship concerns who alone deserves it; and attributes concern Allah's uniqueness in His attributes. These are three aspects of tawḥīd.

3. Oneness in lordship

Tawḥīd fī al-rubūbiyyah is the belief that Allah alone sustains all the worlds. There is no other Sustainer besides Him.

All worlds depend upon Him for nurture and provision. This lordship includes recognizing Allah as Creator, Owner, Provider, and Governor of the universe.

The designation Rabb al-ʿālamīn, Lord of all worlds, does not confine His lordship to a single region or creature; it embraces all worlds.

4. Creator, Owner, Provider, and Governor

Creator — Allah creates everything.
Owner — true ownership belongs to Allah.
Provider — creatures receive their sustenance from Allah.
Governor of the universe — the affairs of creation remain under Allah's governance.

These descriptions express distinct aspects of tawḥīd in lordship. Creation, ownership, provision, and governance all belong to this understanding of His rubūbiyyah.

5. Lord of all worlds

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ. (al-Fātiḥah 1:2)
All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.

Rabb al-ʿālamīn describes Allah as Lord of all worlds, without restricting His lordship to one kind of creature or a single world.

Thus lordship does not mean merely that Allah nurtures one thing; He is the Sustainer of every world.

6. Creator of everything

اللَّهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ. (al-Zumar 39:62)
Allah is the Creator of everything.

Khāliq means Creator, while kulli shayʾ means everything. The creation of all things is attributed to Allah.

Recognizing Allah alone as Lord also includes believing that He is the Creator of everything. This is an essential aspect of rubūbiyyah.

7. Allah provides for every creature

وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا. (Hūd 11:6)
There is no living creature moving on earth except that its provision rests with Allah.

Dābbah refers to a creature moving upon the earth, while rizquhā is its provision. The provision of creatures upon the earth rests with Allah.

Being the Provider means that the sustenance of creation is under Allah's care. Provision, as well as creation, is an aspect of His lordship.

8. Oneness in worship

Tawḥīd fī al-ulūhiyyah means that Allah alone is worthy of worship; worshipping anyone besides Him is not permissible.

Worship is Allah's right, in which no other being may be made a partner.

Rubūbiyyah affirms that Allah is Creator, Owner, Provider, and Governor. Ulūhiyyah affirms that worship is directed to Allah alone.

9. Worship Allah and associate no partner

وَاعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا. (al-Nisāʾ 4:36)
Worship Allah, and do not associate anything with Him.

Waʿbudū Allāh is the command to worship Allah. Wa-lā tushrikū bihi shayʾā prohibits associating anything with Him.

Two obligations are joined together: worship Allah and do not associate a partner with Him in that worship.

10. Worship none except Him

وَقَضَى رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ. (al-Isrāʾ 17:23)
Your Lord has decreed that you worship none except Him.

Allā taʿbudū illā iyyāh reserves worship exclusively for Allah; worship of another is thereby excluded.

The command to worship Allah and the prohibition of worshipping others together express tawḥīd in worship.

11. Oneness in divine attributes

Tawḥīd fī al-ṣifāt is the belief that Allah is unique in His attributes. No one shares in His divine attributes.

Attributes exclusive to Allah cannot be affirmed of anyone else in the same meaning. Recognizing His uniqueness in His attributes is an essential aspect of tawḥīd.

This includes not assigning a partner to Allah in His knowledge, power, or other exclusive divine attributes.

12. Attributes exclusive to Allah

ʿĀlim al-ghayb — Knower of the unseen.
Mukhtār-i kull — Possessor of complete authority.
Qādir-i muṭlaq — Possessor of absolute power.
Mushkil-kushā — Remover of difficulties.
Ḥājat-rawā — Fulfiller of needs.

These are Allah’s attributes. It is not permissible to affirm these attributes of anyone else. Allah is unique in His attributes, and no one shares them with Him.

13. The Ever-Living, untouched by sleep

اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ. (al-Baqarah 2:255)
Allah—there is no deity but Him—the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all; neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him.

Al-Ḥayy affirms His life, and al-Qayyūm His sustaining of all things. Lā taʾkhudhuhu sinatun wa-lā nawm denies drowsiness and sleep of Allah.

His life and sustaining power are not dependent on created bodily needs.

14. Knowledge of the unseen belongs to Allah

قُلْ لَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ الْغَيْبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ. (al-Naml 27:65)
Say: None in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allah.

Al-ghayb refers to the unseen, and illā Allāh reserves this knowledge to Allah.

Allah is ʿĀlim al-ghayb, the Knower of the unseen. Affirming this as His exclusive attribute, without assigning a partner to Him, forms part of tawḥīd in attributes.

15. Hearing, seeing, and speaking

Some terms for attributes are used in the Qur'an and Sunnah of both Allah and created beings. These include Samīʿ, Baṣīr, and Mutakallim.

Samīʿ — one who hears.
Baṣīr — one who sees.
Mutakallim — one who speaks.

Using the same terms for both does not mean that Allah and His creation hear, see, or speak in the same manner.

16. Created faculties and their dependencies

Created beings hear through ears.
Created beings see through eyes.
Created beings speak through the tongue.

These bodily dependencies are part of how created beings hear, see, and speak. Their condition cannot be imposed upon Allah's attributes.

When the same words are used of Allah, they do not mean that He depends upon the bodily faculties of creation.

17. Allah hears, sees, and speaks without bodily need

Allah is Samīʿ—He hears, but does not depend upon ears.

Allah is Baṣīr—He sees, but does not depend upon eyes.

Allah is Mutakallim—He speaks, but does not depend upon a tongue.

The meanings of hearing, seeing, and speaking that involve the bodily dependence of creatures are not intended of Allah. Terms may be shared, but the Creator's attributes are not to be understood as the attributes of created beings.

18. Oneness in lordship, worship, and attributes

Rubūbiyyah — Allah alone is Sustainer, Creator, Owner, Provider, and Governor of all the worlds.

Ulūhiyyah — Allah alone deserves worship; He has no partner in worship.

Ṣifāt — Allah is unique in His attributes. He hears, sees, and speaks, but does not depend on ears, eyes, or tongue as creation does.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى وَاحِدٌ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ.
Indeed, Allah Most High is One; He has no partner.