Knowing Allah

[b]The need and obligation of every single Muslim is to seek knowledge of this deen. That being said, a new Muslim might ask:: ”Where do I begin and what exactly do I need to know”. Good questions! The place to begin is at the beginning, tawheed. Mankind’s most pressing need is the need to know his Lord by His names and attributes. He must know Him by His actions and he must know that none has a right to be worshipped except His Lord, Allah, the Great.
Ibn Qayem mentioned: “Mankind’s need for knowledge at his Lord is greater than his need for food and drink.” And Ibn Mubarak said: “The pitiful people of the world left it without knowing the best thing in it.” He was asked: “And what’s the best thing in it?” He answered: “Knowing Allah. In order to truly know Allah and understand and fulfill our roles as his slaves we must be aware that Allah is our sole Creator. Then we must realize that He alone sustains us and provides for us. This understanding is called “tawheed’. (Ar-Ruboobiyyah (The Unity of Lordship).
This is an undeniable truth. So much so, that ever the disbelievers of the past agreed upon this point. They all knew that there was One all – powerful, all – knowing Creator that brought this Universe into existence and sustained it constantly. They only stayed with their associating partners with Allah in worship. This is indeed a far straying. As for the evidence from the Quraan – then he says in Suratul Fatiha ( Praise be to Allah, Lord of all the worlds ) and in Suratul Zumar ( Allah is the Creator of everything ), verse 62 and in Suratul Yunus He mentions: “Say: Who provides you with sustenance from the heavens and the earth and who owns the hearing and the seeing and who brings the living from the dead and who brings the dead from the living and who is in control of everything? Then they will say: Allah.”( verse 31 ).
We, as Muslims must be aware and conscious of this characteristic of Allah every second of the day. If we have this conscious near, we will reap many benefits. Amongst them, we will learn to depend on Allah alone. Since He is the one who provides for all that exists, there is no sense turning to others in times of need and distress. We turn directly to Him. Prayer, supplication and reliance upon Him , all serve to set our affaires straight.
Another important aspect at Ruboobiyyah is that Allah’s will is Supreme. He only wills for wise purposes. If this principal is understood, we will not become desperate or depressed as we face hardships in our lives. On the hard, once we know that all good is from Allah and not ourselves, we will remain humble and thankful for the blessings we do have. The salve who comprehends his place in this world is never arrogant. And the fruits at Tawheed Ar-Ruboobiyyah are many, but only for the believers.
Next, we must know and practice Tawheed- ul- Ulaahiyyah, also known as Tawheed- ul Ibaadah. Tawheed- ul- Ulaahiyyah means the oneness of Allah in deserving to be worshipped. If we understood the first branch of Tawheed, then this branch is a natural extension of it. The connection between the two branches is clear. If a person truly believes that Allah alone created and provides for all there is, who will this person worship? Will he worship the sun or the moon, stones and statues made by human hands? Or will he worship the One who created all these things? The answer is that any sane person will worship the One who created all these things. If a man were hungry, sick, destitute and he needed money, food and medicine, would he ask a man in his same situation for help or would he ask a rich man? No doubt, he would ask a rich man. Allah is exalted above all things. He is free of all needs and all wants and He owns everything. We, on the other hand are poor and destitute. We need His help every second of every day. So we must worship Him alone each and every day. And hearts must be connected and dependent on Him not on the creations. The fruits of the tree of Tawheed- ul- Ulaahiyyah are many but the greatest is that it saves the slave from hell and causes him to enter Paradise. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) said: “Whoever met Allah without associating any partner with entered Paradise whoever met Allah having associating partners with him entered hell.” There are so many verses and sayings of the Prophet (P.B.U.H.) concerning this issue. Amongst them is the verse 36 from Suratul Nisa’ :” And worship Allah and don’t associate any partner with him”. And verse 23 from Suratul Israa:” And Allah decreed that you shouldn’t worship anything except Him.” And the verse 56 from Suratul Dhariyaat:” And I didn’t create men and jinn except to worship me”. And the ones who denied this branch of Tawheed are many including idolaters and grave – worshippers.
The final branch of Tawheed is Tawheed – ul Asmaa wa Sifaat. This is the oneness of Allah’s names and attributes. Allah has called himself by many beautiful names and described himself with many perfect, noble attributes. We find these names and attributes mentioned in Quraan and Sunnah. Any name affirmed in other of these sources belongs to Allah. We must affirm these names and attributes and believe in them. We should call on Allah by these names and attributes in times of distress. Lastly, we must be conscious of all their meanings and what they necessitate throughout our lives. For example, in Suratul Fatiha, allah says that He is “Ar – Rahman / Ar – Raheem” ( The Merciful and the bestowal of his mercy on the believers. Since we find it in the Quraan , we believe it that this is a name and attribute of Allah. We call on Allah by these names in our prayers and supplications. And since Allah is merciful, he has mercy on his slaves. We keep this in mind, and we ask for His mercy often. When we sin, we repent and ask for His mercy. And we are never in despair at His mercy, because we know that He forgives all sins. And this is how we understand all of his names and attributes. We mention them, believe in them and implement this understanding in our lives. Some proofs for this branch of tawheed are found in verse 11 of Suraat Shu’Araa: “There is nothing like Allah and He is the hearing, the seeing “ and in verse 180 from Suratul A’Raf: ”To Allah belongs the most beautiful names, so call him by them…”. And every name or attribute that belongs to Him is affirmed in the most perfect way, in a manner that suits his Majesty. For instance, Allah sees and humans see. They share this attribute in a fundamental way. The basic meaning is the same whether is applied to Allah or to humans. But the similarity ends here. For human vision is limited and weak. The Creator, however, has perfect vision. He sees all things at all time perfectly from every single angle. He sees large things and small things. He sees microscopic organisms at once. He sees humans, angels and jinns. He sees movements and shapes and colors all at once perfectly and nothing escapes His sight. This is how we understand all of his attributes. This topic, Tawheed is fundamental and very vast and must be learnt well.
Any good is from Allah alone and any evil is from Shaytan and the evil at my own soul. I seek Allah’s mercy and I turn to Him in repentance.