Importance of Tawheed in Living Islam
By Bilal Philips | 2026-01-15T16:42:32.690744+00:00 | Topic: Allah
The Importance of Tawheed in Living Islam
Opening
(الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ الْكَرِيمِ، وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَمَنِ اسْتَنَّ بِسُنَّتِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الدِّينِ - alhamdulillahi rabbil 'ālamīn, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu 'alá rasūlihil karīm, wa 'alá ālihi wa ṣaḥbihi wa man istanna bi sunnatihi ila yawm ad-dīn)
All praise is due to Allah and may Allah's peace and blessings be on the last Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, and on all those who follow the path of righteousness until the last day.
Introduction
The topic that I have been given to close off the morning session is that of tawheed for living Islam. The importance of tawheed in living Islam. And if we look at the position of tawheed in the Quran and in the sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, we will see that it is the core of Islam. Without tawheed, there is no Islam.
With tawheed, properly practiced, there is Islam. Everything of Islam is built on the foundation of tawheed. If it doesn't have tawheed as its foundation, any act, any word, any thought, if it doesn't have tawheed as its foundation, then it is of no use.
It will not benefit us in this life or the next. So we have to understand that tawheed is the foundation. And that foundation is so important that Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, had said:
(Source Name)
"Man qala la ilaha illallah, dakhala aljannah."
Hadith Reference: Similar narrations found in Sahih Muslim and other collections.
Whoever says la ilaha illallah will enter paradise. We refer to la ilaha illallah as what? Kalimatul tawheed. It is kalimatul tawheed.
It is the word or the statement of tawheed. And that statement is enough to take one to paradise. So is there anything else in Islam that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, said, if you say this, you will enter paradise? Do we know of any other practice? If you do hajj, you will enter paradise? Did he say that? No.
If you make salah, you will enter paradise? Did he say that? No. If you give zakah, you will enter paradise? Did he say that? No. But he said, if you say la ilaha illallah, you will enter paradise.
Tawheed: The Reason for Creation
Secondly, the implementation of tawheed is the very reason for creation. For our creation, the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, Allah had informed us:
"Wa ma khalaqtul jinna wal insa illa liyabudoon."
I only created the jinn and humankind to worship Me.
And that worship of Allah, sincerely (إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ - iyyaka na'budu), you alone do we worship. When that worship is restricted to worshiping Allah alone, that is tawheed in implementation. That is the highest level of implementation, is that we worship Allah alone, without any partners, without any intermediaries.
That worship is tawheed implemented. Furthermore, the application of tawheed is the goal of the pillars of Islam. When we look at the rituals that we are taught as children, we grow up with, we learn, we implement, those rituals, that application of the teachings of Islam, in particular, the fundamental pillars of Islam and iman, that application, its goal is implementation of tawheed.
It is at the core. That's why Allah had said:
(أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي - Aqimus salah li dhikri)
Establish the prayer in order to remember Me. Remembering Allah, that is tawheed.
In our hearts, in our minds, in our souls, that is tawheed. Tawheed applied. So even the very pillars of Islam, all of them, hajj, zakah, fasting, the goal of it all is the remembrance of Allah. That is applied tawheed.
Internalization of Tawheed
And the internalization of tawheed is itself the realization or actualization of Islam. When we internalize tawheed, meaning it's in our thoughts, in our minds, in our actions, tawheed is there.
And the core of tawheed is about Allah, about knowing who Allah is and who He is not. And that is why, how do we know this internalization is the actualization of Islam? Because the very first question that we will be asked at the end of this life, when it is all over, everything has been said and done, that very first question that Munkar and Nakir will ask us is what? Who is your Lord? Who is your Lord? How do you know who Allah is? Through tawheed. If you have not realized tawheed in all of its various aspects, you will not be able to answer that question.
Though you might know that that's what you're supposed to say, on that day in the barzakh, when we are asked, (مَنْ رَبُّكَ؟ - man rabbuk?) Who is your Lord? We will only be able to say, ah, ah, ah. Allah, the term Allah will not come out of our mouths. We will not be able to express it, because we didn't translate the knowledge into actual faith.
So, my brothers and sisters, when we hear that surah Ikhlas is equivalent to one-third of the Quran, and we wonder why is surah Ikhlas considered one-third of the Quran? It's so short. Ah, the greatest verse of the Quran was Ayatul Kursi. Ayatul Kursi.
What is Ayatul Kursi about? Ayatul Kursi is about describing the unique characteristics of Allah. Every single statement in Ayatul Kursi is describing various aspects of the uniqueness of Allah, so that we would know who Allah is. This is Tawheed.
And that knowledge, reciting Ayatul Kursi is so powerful that it protects us from shaitan. When we recite it before we go to bed at night, it protects us throughout the night, till the morning. And we are encouraged to recite it after our daily prayers.
Ayatul Kursi.
Defining Tawheed
So, the question comes and remains, what is Tawheed? Tawheed may be defined as maintaining the unique
unity of Allah in all aspects of our lives. Maintaining the unique unity of Allah in all aspects of our lives.
"Qul huwa Allahu ahad."
Quran 112:1
Allah didn't say Qul huwa Allahu wahid. In other parts of the Quran he has described himself as being al-wahid, al-qahhar, al-wahid.
But in Ayatul Kursi he said and described himself as ahad. Those were the words of Bilal when he was being tortured. What? (أَحَدٌ أَحَدٌ - Ahadun ahad).
That Allah is not only one, but he is unique in his oneness. This is the point. Maintaining that unique oneness of Allah, this is Tawheed.
When we maintain it in all aspects of our lives. Meaning, we live lives dedicated to the Almighty God, Allah. That our life is dedicated.
As Allah said:
"Qul, inna salati, wa nusuki, wa mahiyaya, wa mahmati, lillahi rabbil alameen."
Say indeed my prayers, my sacrifices, my living, and my dying, are for Allah the Lord of all the worlds.
Implementing Tawheed in Prayer
Salati. How do we implement that? Our salah is for Allah.
We implement it by praying the way that the Prophet taught us to pray. He lived Tawheed. He taught us how to live Tawheed.
So regarding the prayer he said:
(Sunan Ibn Majah 4171)
"Sallu salata muwatta'in."
Say or pray a farewell prayer. Whenever you are praying, you pray as if this was the last prayer you had to make in this world. You have no more time. Time is up. You have time only to make one more prayer.
If you've made that prayer, that farewell prayer, you know it is completely different from the prayer that we make now. The prayer we made for Fajr, the prayer we're going to make for Dhuhr, the rest of the day. That prayer is a ritual prayer.
We go through the motions. We have learned how to do it correctly, physically, ritually, but the essence of the prayer is missing. And that's why our prayers don't have the impact that they should in our lives.
So we need to get back to that prophetic recommendation to pray each prayer like a farewell prayer. Strive for it. I'm not saying, okay, now that I told you, you go and praise Dhuhr and it's perfect.
No. We are human beings. We have been so used to praying ritual prayers.
To now go and actually pray a farewell prayer is a huge struggle. And you know that's how things are, aren't they? The greatest reward comes for the greatest struggle. The greater we struggle, the greater the reward.
So let us try when we leave here today for salah. Let us try to pray that farewell prayer.
Making Sacrifices for Allah
And my sacrifices.
Sacrificing, whether it's sacrificing of an animal or making sacrifices in our lives. Prophet Muhammad told us what? Whoever gives up, sacrifices something for the sake of Allah. That job in the riba bank.
You sacrifice that job for the sake of Allah. Allah will replace it with something better. May not be right away, immediately.
It may take some time. You have to be patient. It's up to Allah.
Whether He gives you that replacement immediately or it takes time. But the bottom line is that you make that sacrifice, then Allah will give you better. That's the promise of Allah. As told to us by Prophet Muhammad. Our living and our dying.
Living and Dying for Allah
How does our living and dying become dedicated to Allah? Well, Prophet Muhammad told us before we go to sleep at night, we say what?
(بِاسْمِكَ اللَّهُمَّ أَمُوتُ وَأَحْيَا - bismika allahumma amūtu wa aḥyā)
Bismikallahumma amutu wa ahya.
Bismikallahumma, in the name of Allah, I die and I live. In the ayah, Allah speaks about He mentions the life first, then death after.
But in the dua, we say we mention death first. Why? Because sleep is the sister of death. And that's what we're going into right now.
At that point that we're going to sleep at night, we're dying. Our soul is actually taken from our bodies. And some, the souls are returned and others, it's not.
So we're entering into a death situation. So we say Bismikallahumma amutu wa ahya. I die in your name, O Allah.
And I hope to be brought back to life in your name. And of course, throughout our lives, we have Bismillah before eating, before doing so many things in our lives. Bismillah is there.
That's the reminder that we should be doing it for the sake of Allah alone. And also, Prophet Muhammad had told us:
(Sahih Muslim)
Laqinu mawtaakum la ilaha illallah.
We should remind those who are dying, they're on their deathbeds, remind them to say la ilaha illallah.
Sincerely, so that that may be the last words before they leave this life. To die on that state, in that state, with that in mind, with those words on our lips, this is ideal. So we try to help our friends and our relatives when they're in that situation.
And we pray Allah give us the same opportunity.
The Necessity of Knowledge
Now, in order to maintain this unique unity of Allah, we must have knowledge. If we are ignorant of Allah, we are ignorant of Islam, we will be ignorant of this life and ignorant of Tawheed.
Though we may know some of what I've said before, we will not be able to implement it in our lives if we do not have solid knowledge of Islam. And that is why Prophet Muhammad had said:
طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ
Talabul ilmi faridu ala kulli muslim.
Seeking knowledge is a religious obligation on every Muslim.
And if we follow the principle of first things first, what we need the most knowledge of in our lives is what? Allah. So that's where our knowledge should begin, in the knowledge of Allah. And after that, we know or should know the knowledge of the sunnah, which gives us the methodology for living according to the knowledge of Allah, living according to Tawheed.
He demonstrated, Allah sent him to demonstrate to us how we should live Tawheed. And that is why when we talk about knowledge, many times people go to other knowledge, areas of knowledge in this life, management, education, many other areas of knowledge. It's all included in the command to seek knowledge, but the starting point, the most critical area to have knowledge is knowledge of the Qur'an and the sunnah.
And that is why Prophet Muhammad said:
(Al-Muwatta 1594)
Taraktu feekum amreina, Inta masaktum bihima, Lanta dillu abada: Kitabullah wa sunnati.
I've left with you two things, if you hold on firmly to them, you will never go astray: the book of Allah and my sunnah.
Holding on firmly to Allah's book is having knowledge of Allah's book.
We can't hold on firmly to it if we don't have actual knowledge of it. What we have done, unfortunately, is to turn holding on firmly to Allah's book into rituals that we have added around Allah's book, which the Prophet never even taught us. So we put Allah's book on the highest shelf.
We take it off the shelf, beginning of Ramadan, blow off the dust, we read it through Ramadan, then we put it back on the shelf. So that is the ritual. And if the book falls, we pick it up, we kiss it.
And we have all kinds of rituals around it, which the Prophet never told us. Because it's much easier for us to focus on rituals than it is to hold on firmly to the Quran by understanding it. That is the firm hold.
Understanding the Quran and implementing it. When we do that, we have held on firmly to it. And holding on firmly to the sunnah is living our lives according to the example of Prophet Muhammad, which he has left for us and which he has carried down to us.
The Accessibility of Knowledge of Tawheed
And in closing, I would just like to point out that in the Prophet's time, that knowledge of Tawheed and the practice of Islam was available to all. It was accessible to all. So much so, that when the Prophet asked a slave girl:
أَيْنَ اللهُ؟
Ayn Allah?
Where is Allah? She said فِي السَّمَاءِ Fissama above the heavens, immediately.
No hesitation, no reflection, no contemplation. She just responded, above the heavens. End of story.
But, as time passed, we had philosophers and others bringing all kinds of different ideas, so that now the question is, where is Allah? I don't know. I'm not sure. Some people made it a part of their belief system that you say, Allah fi kulli makan.
La yakhlu minhu makan, wa huwa fi kulli makan. There is nowhere where He isn't. La yakhlu minhu makan, and He is everywhere, wa huwa fi kulli makan.
Which is confusion, confusion. Allah is everywhere. They couldn't answer that simple answer given by the slave girl, found in Sahih Muslim, above the heavens, end of story.
No, He's like everywhere. And the problems that come with that, confusion. The faith and the understanding of the faith became confused.
And it's not to say all Muslim scholars held that belief, no. A group, a group that became so powerful, that it became the state belief. For a number of years.
So, that knowledge became distant and difficult to achieve. But Alhamdulillah, in our times that knowledge has come back to us. It has become available on a scale unknown before in history. Due to the internet. The internet has now made that knowledge available to anyone and everyone. And Alhamdulillah, Allah blessed me to establish the first authentic Islamic university on the internet.
The Islamic online university, which is available to each and every one of you. There are over 450,000 students from across the world studying in its diploma, free diploma. 6,000 in the degree programs.
Among them, 30,000 here in Nigeria have registered. Gone into courses, taken one course or another course, etc. It's available.
I'm sure still many of you have no idea. There's such a university? Free? Yeah. It's there.
So we don't have any excuse today. With the internet and accessibility of knowledge, we don't have any excuse today to say, well I didn't know. We all can access it, benefit from it, and help ourselves in our lives.
You don't necessarily have to go and take a degree, but you can take courses which will help you. You're already qualified. Most of our students are professionals.
They qualified in different areas, but they never had the chance to get Islamic knowledge. That was missing. So Alhamdulillah, with that opportunity, they have grasped it, and so many of them have benefited from it.
Similarly, women. Women who normally don't get the chance to seek knowledge, to go out and seek knowledge. Men are the ones who go to Medina, Azhar, whatever, get knowledge. Women, 99.9% stay home. But now it's possible to be ironing your clothes, cooking your food, looking after the kids, and studying the deen at the same time. It's there at your fingertips.
Conclusion
So Tawheed is the imperative. The obligation on each and every one of us. In order to make our lives, lives lived according to the belief in the unique oneness of Allah, and the application of it in all aspects of our daily lives.
I ask Allah to give us the reality of Tawheed, and to remove from our hearts any objections, any misunderstandings, any sins in relationship to the unique oneness of Allah, worshipping Him according to that oneness.
Closing Dua
I say this and ask Allah to forgive me and you and all Muslims of every sin. So ask His forgiveness. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
Astaghfirullah al-'Azeem alladhi la ilaha illa Huwa al-Hayyul Qayyum wa atubu ilayh.
Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.