Oneness of Allah (tawhid) is the basic pillar of Islam. For a common Muslim it is quite simple and easy but Fakirs and Mystics find great depth and profoundity in its meanings. For the masses first part of shahada is merely the proclamation of Oneness of Allah, ‘There is no God but Allah.’ He has no partners and is Alone. He deserves all the praise and adoration. He is the Creator and the Master.
On the other hand the interpretation of Sufis, Fakirs and Mystics consists of so many implications and graveness which at times overwhelm the scholars and theologians with admiration while at times they simply pass religious verdicts of paganism and heresy.
‘There is no God but Allah’ is negation as well as affirmation. Sufis interpret it as ‘Only Allah is manifest in the entire cosmos.’ It is quite true that He is One but if He is the only One then what is the need to negate any other? In the presence of only One there cannot be another. If there is no one like Him or He has no partner, He is incomparable and unprecedented then the very concept of any other god is only meaningless. ‘There is no God but Allah’ actually means ‘There is no one but Allah’. If there is only He then what is all that we see around?
There are two important concept in oneness of Allah
- WAHDAH AL-WUJUD
- (WAHDAH ASH-SHUHUD)
بیاں میں نکتہ توحید آ تو سکتا ہے
ترے دماغ میں بت خانے ہو تو کیا کہیے
Explanation: While delivering sermons scholars and ulema can talk about the Oneness of Allah and give lessons on this topic but they have cherished a lot many idols in their own thoughts, hence their minds are possessed by different gods instead of the Oneness of Allah. (Zarb-e-Kalim)
Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti says in his Sufi transcripts to his disciple Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaaki:
Qutbuddin! What is the Oneness of Being? It is the state in which a Mystic being intoxicated in the Oneness of Allah feels as if he himself and the entire universe are exactly the Divine Reality. This perception is the result of those imaginative concepts which our sages have established for annihilation in Allah and immortality with Him but actually to consider oneself the absolute Essence of the Reality is infidelity because it is against the Divine attribute of Transcendence (tanzih). Similarly the concept of Oneness of Divine shadow (Oneness of witnessing) developed by some Sufis who think that the universe is the shadow of Allah is also wrong. The reason is that the Holy Prophet’s sacred body had no shadow at all then how is it possible that Allah has any! Though it is true that the universe is the place of revelations of Divine names and attributes, and Divine names and attributes reveal the Divine Essence. In accordance to this, the Mystics in their state of spiritual intoxication do believe in the Oneness of Being or Oneness of witnessing. Otherwise the Divine Essence is indifferent and pure of everything.” (Maqabees Majalis, Urdu Interpreter Captain Wahid Bakhsh Sial)
Sultan-ul-Ashiqeen Quotes about Tawheed
- Allah is the ultimate force behind everything. There is no helpe besides Him, no one fulfils needs except Him and no one provides sustenance but Him. Health, honour and power come solely from Allah.
- Oneness of Allah means that only Allah exists in the inward and the outward.
- To reach the station of Oneness of Allah, it is important to detach from the love, desire and fear of everyone and everything other than Allah. Being indifferent to everything besides Allah is Oneness.
- For the believer, Divine Oneness entails annihilation, followed by immortality with Allah and ultimately complete oneness with Him.
- The Divine confidant is tested until and unless he reaches the level of oneness with Allah.