What does monotheism mean in

Islam? Well, the translation

usually

accepted

is Tawheed.

Tawheed is

the

essence

Islam, and it is what

distinguishes

Islam from all other

religions.

This concept is the

most

important

facet of any

Muslim’s life, and nothing

else

matters if this is absent.

This is perfect, unadulterated

belief that entails the worship of

one single

deity, known in Arabic

Allah. Our

intention

is to

explain this concept as

it is

Islam.

There are three major elements

of Tawheed, or

Islamic

monotheism. If

any of

these

elements of

monotheism are

missing from a person’s belief

understanding, then their Islam

is incomplete.

Tawheed has been present

throughout history, and

is a

defining aspect of

the

People of

the Book.

However, we

will not

go over its history, nor will

compare it with polytheism.

Instead, this article will

answer

the primary

question:

What does

monotheism mean

in Islam

While Tawheed is essential to

Islam, it is not one of

the 5

pillars. Thus, it

possible for

someone to be

Muslim,

but not

have the correct belief.

The first element of Tawheed, is actually common in most people, Muslim

otherwise. This element is

the

belief that

there is only one God.

Believe it or

not, just about every human on this planet accepts

this belief.

Jews, Christians, and Muslims are

the three major monotheistic

religions. They all accept Abraham

their spiritual

father. And many trace

the origin of all three faiths to

Abraham also. But, it is natural for

all

humans, even those

that practice

polytheistic beliefs, to believe in one,

major, God.

Many past civilizations, such as the

ancient Arabs, had a distorted

definition

of Faith. The ancient

Greeks, for

example believed in many

deities, but

they believed Zeus was

the primary deity. The

ancient

Egyptians also

believed in many

deities, but they believed Horus, was

the

primary deity.

The second element of is much more exclusive. This element is to believe

that Allah alone deserves to

worshipped. This indicates that there are

no partners or associates with Allah whatsoever.

And the

99 names of

Allah

support the oneness and exclusivity of Allah.

Only true Muslims exhibit this characteristic. This aspect of Tawheed

means Muslims reject all

intermediaries, all

intercessors, and all members

of creation as objects of worship.

This second element is what really separates Muslims from all others. By

accepting this element

Muslims direct

their

worship towards Allah alone.

This means Muslims do not need or turn towards any

prophets, saints,

idols,

angels, or

any other created being to deliver their prayers to Allah.

Every religion, besides Islam, violates this belief. Every other belief

system

requires mankind to

worship Allah

through

a human, or an animal,

or an

idol or some other created being.

Islam requires

man to worship

Allah

directly, with no

intermediaries.

That is the essence of Islam.

The third and final aspect of is to accept all of the attributes of Allah.

Everything that exists must have

attributes.

And

Allah, the Creator of

everything that exists, also has attributes. And we humans also

have

attributes, though

they are not

comparable to Allah’s attributes.

For example, most humans can see, and Allah can also see. But human

sight cannot be compared to

Allah’s

sight.

Here is one simple example.

Human sight is totally dependent on the presence of light.

Light enters

the

eyeball,

travels through the optic nerve to the brain, and is translated

into

vision.

However, humans see nothing without light. If a man was in a completely

dark room with a plate of

food, he

would be

unable to see that food. A

man

could be in the same room with a plate full of food,

but without light,

could not see a

single morsel.

However, Allah does not need light to see the table, the plate, the food, or

anything else. The

absence of light

does not

prevent Allah from seeing

anything. And this goes for all of Allah’s

attributes. His divine attributes

are

completely

superior and incomparable to our corresponding

attributes.

It is the natural inclination of humans to worship one God. That is what

Allah created us for. Our only

purpose in

life is

to worship Allah. Once a

person accepts that purpose, they have submitted

themselves to Allah.

The term

for

submission to Allah is Islam, and a person who submits

themselves

to Allah is a Muslim.

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