Tawhid ar-Rububiyyah — Oneness of Lordship

Tawhid ar-Rububiyyah is the affirmation that Allah alone is the Rabb (Lord) of all creation. He alone creates, sustains, gives life, causes death, provides, governs, and controls all affairs of the universe. No one shares in His sovereignty, and nothing occurs except by His will and decree. The Quran repeatedly emphasizes this: "Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is, over all things, Disposer of affairs" (Quran 39:62), and "Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion, and He is over all things competent" (Quran 67:1).

What Rububiyyah Encompasses

The Lordship of Allah includes several dimensions. He is al-Khaliq (the Creator): "That is Allah, your Lord, Creator of all things" (Quran 40:62). He is al-Razzaq (the Provider): "And there is no creature on earth but that upon Allah is its provision" (Quran 11:6). He is al-Mudabbir (the Controller of affairs): "He arranges the affair from the heaven to the earth" (Quran 32:5). He is al-Muhyi and al-Mumit (the Giver of life and death): "He gives life and causes death, and to Him you will be returned" (Quran 10:56). He is al-Malik (the Sovereign): "Say: O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will" (Quran 3:26).

Historical Context

Remarkably, even the pagan Arabs of Quraysh acknowledged Tawhid ar-Rububiyyah. When asked who created the heavens and the earth, they would say "Allah." The Quran records: "If you asked them who created the heavens and earth and subjected the sun and the moon, they would surely say Allah" (Quran 29:61). However, this acknowledgment alone was not sufficient for them to be considered monotheists or Muslims, because they failed in Tawhid al-Uluhiyyah by directing worship to intermediaries alongside Allah. This demonstrates that mere belief in a Creator God is not the essence of Islam. The crucial matter is directing worship exclusively to that Creator.

Implications for the Believer

Understanding Allah's Rububiyyah has practical implications. Since Allah is the sole Creator and Sustainer, the believer places their ultimate trust in Him for provision, protection, and guidance. Since He alone controls benefit and harm, fear and hope should be directed primarily to Him. Since He has knowledge of all things, the believer submits to His wisdom even when unable to understand the reasons behind events. The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught: "Know that if the entire nation gathered to benefit you, they could not benefit you except with something Allah has already written for you; and if they gathered to harm you, they could not harm you except with something Allah has already written against you" (Sunan al-Tirmidhi).

Deviations from Rububiyyah

While few people deny the existence of a Creator entirely (atheism being rare historically), deviations from Rububiyyah include: attributing creative power to other beings, believing that stars or planets control human destiny (astrology), believing that any being can independently benefit or harm without Allah's permission, and materialistic philosophies that attribute the universe's existence to blind chance. Each of these contradicts the Quranic affirmation that "Not a leaf falls but that He knows it" (Quran 6:59).