Tawhid Excerpts from Quran & Hadith Say, "I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God. So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone." (18:110)

Say, "It is only revealed to me that your god is but one God; so will you be Muslims [in submission to Him]?" (21:108)

And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him (17:23)

Say, "Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? Or who controls hearing and sight and who brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living and who arranges [every] matter?" They will say, " Allah ," so say, "Then will you not fear Him?" (10:31)

The Day they come forth nothing concerning them will be concealed from Allah . To whom belongs [all] sovereignty this Day? To Allah , the One, the Prevailing. (40:16)

And do not argue with the People of the Scripture except in a way that is best, except for those who commit injustice among them, and say, "We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one; and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him." (29:46)

َ‫ ﻗَ َﺎل " أَ ْن ﻳَـ ْﻌﺒُ ُﺪوﻩُ َوﻻ‬.‫ ﻗَ َﺎل اﻟﻠﱠﻪُ َوَر ُﺳﻮﻟُﻪُ أ َْﻋﻠَ ُﻢ‬." ‫ﱠﱯ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ " ﻳَﺎ ُﻣ َﻌﺎذُ أَﺗَ ْﺪ ِري َﻣﺎ َﺣ ﱡﻖ اﻟﻠﱠ ِﻪ َﻋﻠَﻰ اﻟْﻌِﺒَ ِﺎد‬ ‫ﻗَ َﺎل اﻟﻨِ ﱡ‬ ِ " ‫ ﻗَ َﺎل " أَ ْن ﻻَ ﻳـُ َﻌ ﱢﺬﺑَـ ُﻬ ْﻢ‬.‫ ﻗَ َﺎل اﻟﻠﱠﻪُ َوَر ُﺳﻮﻟُﻪُ أ َْﻋﻠَ ُﻢ‬." ‫ﱡﻬ ْﻢ َﻋﻠَْﻴ ِﻪ‬ ُ ‫ أَﺗَ ْﺪ ِري َﻣﺎ َﺣﻘ‬،‫ﻳُ ْﺸ ِﺮُﻛﻮا ﺑِﻪ َﺷْﻴﺌًﺎ‬. Narrated by Mu`adh bin Jabal: The Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬said, "O Mu`adh! Do you know what Allah's Right upon His slaves is?" I said, "Allah and His Apostle know best." The Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬said, "To worship Him (Allah) Alone and to join none in worship with Him (Allah). Do you know what their right upon Him is?" I replied, "Allah and His Apostle know best." The Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬said, "Not to punish them (if they do so). (al-Bukhari 7373)

Tawhid Nasheed: Ahad- The Story of Bilal [Native Deen] Listen to the song “Ahad” by Native Deen & read the lyrics below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C6J-H06x8A See, I was born in enslaved, these men they bought and sold me They found me well-behaved, their reason would control me This creed, this land, these stones, they had become my master But doubt lived in my soul, these Gods – they could not answer But then one day I heard, about this pious man Who spoke amazing words, I’ll meet him when I can It all makes sense to me now, I feel my soul revive I have the true faith inside, there is only one God‚Ķ AHAD, AHAD, AHAD , ONE GOD! ONE GOD! ONE GOD Oh now they’re me dragging me, into this scorching heat! Endlessly lashing me, they want to see me beat They place these boulders on me, they try to crush my spirit, But don’t really know me, I stay so strong and bear it, They hope and pray I’m weak, na my blood is African I found the truth I seek, I’ll wont go back again Unshakable belief, I endure this suffering My heart will always beat, with one word that flows within AHAD, AHAD, AHAD , ONE GOD! ONE GOD! ONE GOD His word was true again, my voice is strongest now With freedom I ascend, atop this sacred house I am the chosen one, to call this land to prayer No mind this native’s tongue, God knows that I’m sincere My voice will rise the masses, bring light upon their face So know under the darkest ashes, there is a glowing blaze There is only one God, lets reignite the flame This message in my heart, this word my every vein…

Questions 1. Why is this song titled “Ahad”? 2. Why do you think Bilal gained strength by repeating the word ahad when he was being tortured by his master, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, for following the religion of Muhammah (SAW)?

Tawhid Book excerpt: Ma’ariful Qur’an” by Mufti Muhammad Shafi Usmani “The Surah [Fatihah] begins with the words Al-hamdulillah, signifying that all praise essentially belongs to Allah. Whosoever praises anything anywhere in the world is ultimately praising Allah. [Everything Indicates Towards Allah] The sensible world contains millions of things which compel man’s attention and admiration for their beauty and usefulness, but if one tries to look behind the veil of appearances, one would find in each and every thing the manifestation of the same creative power. Admiring anything that exists in the created world is no more than showing one’s admiration for a work of art or craft, which in fact is a praise of the artist or the craftsman. [Only Allah is Worthy of Praise] This small statement of the Holy Qur’an opens a new perspective for man lost in the labyrinth of multiplicity, and shows him how the many are knit together in the same unity, and how all praise in reality belongs to One whose power is absolute, and that it is only in our ignorance or indifference that we regard this praise to be due to anyone else. [Only Allah is Worthy of Worship] If there is only one Being in the whole universe who inherently deserves all praise, it necessarily follows from it that this Being alone should be Worthy of adoration and worship. Thus we can see that although the phrase, Al-hamdulillah, has been used to signify praise, yet, by implication, it cuts the very root of polytheism or the worship of created beings, and at the same time brings out in a self-evident manner the first and the basic principle of the Islamic creed – Oneness of God.”

Questions 1. Explain the meaning of Alhamdulillah in your own words. 2. Why does all praise belong to Allah? 3. The author writes that people are “lost in the labyrinth of multiplicity”. What does this mean? 4. How does the phrase Alhamdulillah indicate the Oneness of God? 5. Why do you think we begin Surah Fatihah with the phrase Alhamdulillah?