Regarding the Science of Divine Unity
Indeed the science of Divine Unity is the most honorable of the sciences and the foundation of the shari`a. For belief in Allah, His Divine Unity and knowledge of Him is the sole reason Allah ta`ala revealed His Heavenly Books and sent the Messengers. By means of the Divine Unity and knowledge of Him, its possessor will enter into the Garden which is the ultimate goal for spiritual bliss;
as the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said:
“Whoever dies and testified that there is no deity except Allah, will enter the Garden.”
It is for this reason that Abd’r-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Akhdari said in his Mukhtasar:
“The first that is obligatory upon the responsible person is the rectification of his
belief.”
Sidi Ibn `Aashir said in his al-Murshid’l-Mu`een:
“The first of the obligations upon the one made responsible
Who is well established in his discernment is to know
Allah and the Messengers by means of the attributes
From which the clear signs have been established.”
That is to say, that the first element which is obligatory upon every responsible
person is to know Allah, His Messenger and everything which he came with in the
realm of sound faith, as it has been clarified in the Qur’anic verses, and sound
prophetic traditions. Allah ta`ala says:
“However, true righteousness is for the one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Heavenly Books and the Prophets.”
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace said as
it was related by Muslim on the authority of Umar ibn al-Khataab when he was asked
about the reality of faith:
“It is that you believe in Allah, His Angels, His Heavenly Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day; and that you believe in the decree, its good and evil.”
Thus, belief is the source of the religion and its foundation.
It comprises knowledge of Allah, and acceptance of His Absolute Existence and that He is described with the Attributes of Perfection, and is free of all attributes of defect. It comprises acceptance of the existence of the Angels and that they are as Allah ta`ala described them:
“…honored servants.”
It comprises acceptance of the Heavenly Books, that they are the Speech of Allah, and what they contain is the Truth.
It comprises acceptance of the Messengers, that they are truthful in all that they
conveyed from Allah, regarding the Last Day, and what will occur during It, such as
death, the Reckoning, the Scales, the Garden, the Fire, and others than these from the
matters of the Unseen.
It comprises acceptance of the fact that Allah ta`ala knows the
destinies of all things and their allotted times before their existence, then He causes
them to exist based upon His prior knowledge of them; and that every created thing
comes into existence from His Knowledge, Power and Will.