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/1 1 1 U ,,,. "And [remember] when Abraham said to his father and to his people, 'Verily, I am innocent of what you worship, except Him Who did create me, and verily, He will guide me.' And he made it a lasting word among his offspring, that they may turn back [to Allah]" (al-Zukhruf 26-28). Abdul Rahmaan ibn Hasan pointed out that in this verse, Ibrahim says, "I am innocent of what you worship," this means that there is none worthy of worship, love and adorationexcept, "Him Who did create me," who is Allah. The Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him) was stating, in different words, the testimony of faith. Hence, part of the testimony of faith is that one completely frees himself and absolves himself from anything that is worshipped besides Allah. 1 Allah has obligated the believers to be free of and dissociate themselves from any form of polytheism or polytheist. The believer is ordered to oppose their falsehood and to have dislike for them in general. The key behind this aspect is the proper and complete love for Allah and the pure and total worship of Allah. If a person truly and correctly loves Allah, Allah will be more beloved to him than anything else. In addition, he will love whatever Allah loves and despise whatever Allah despises. In particular, he will be disgusted and have complete contempt for anything that is an affront to his Beloved, Allah. Obviously, associating partners with Allah and the worship of others while only Allah is deserving of worship is the greatest insult to and disrespect of Allah. It is part of the testimony of faith that one opposes such deviations from Allah's guidance. If the Muslim does not do so, then he does not have the correct understanding or implementation of his statement of faith, "There is none worthy of worship and adoration except Allah." Mahmaas al-Jalood wrote, Those who give loyalty to the disbelievers and do not oppose them are not worshipping Allah in the proper way that He is to be worshipped. In worship, they are associating others with what is exclusively His. This is because if they were worshipping Allah properly, how could they openly show approval, love and support for the enemies of Allah and the enemies of His religion, of the disbelievers, polytheists and apostates. If a Muslim obeys the disbelievers, shows love and support for them in their disbelief, supports them with wealth, 1 lbn Hasan was quoted in Mahmaas al-Jalood, al-Muwaalat wa al-Muaadaat ft al-Shariah al­ Islamiya (Al-Mansoorah: al-Yaqeen li-1-Nashr wa al-Tauzee', 1987), vol. 1 , pp. 132-1 33. A similar analysis of Quranic statements being restatements of the testimony of faith may be made for al-Kah/ 16 and ali-Imraan 64. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi weapons, manpower or advice and helps them in those matters, and cuts off his relationship with the Muslims or makes his ties with the disbelievers stronger than his ties with the Muslims, then he has violated the meaning of, "There is none worthy of worship except Allah," and apostatized from Islam. The ruling concerning him is that he has fallen into disbelief. Because, in such a case, he will be considered one of the polytheists, with respect to both legal ruling and in action. He did not fulfill the meaning of, "There is none worthy of worship except Allah," denying what it denies and affirming what it affirms, even ifhe says it tens of times. This is because the truthfulness of a statement is indicated by actions. 1 An Incorrect Conceptualization of Tauheed The term tauheed is used quite often by many sects in Islam. Everyone claims to have tauheed. The only true tauheed is that which was taught by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to his Companions and which came down from them. In later years, philosophers and scholastic theologians developed their own concepts of tauheed which shared some aspects with the true tauheed but also strayed from it in many aspects. Similarly, the Sufis developed their own concept and levels of tauheed. In reality, in many cases, what they claim to be tauheed is nothing but shirk (associating partners with Allah) and kufr (disbelief). Hence it is important to be aware of some of their misconceptions that they spread among Muslims. Concerning their views of tauheed, ibn Abu al-Izz wrote, Now that it is established that al-tawhid al-uloohiyah is what the prophets preached and what the heavenly books taught, as has been pointed out, then one should not listen to the statement of those who divide tawhid into [the following] three types: This first type of tawhid, they say, is the tawhid of the commoners. The second type is the tawhid of the elect which, they say, is the tawhid that is realized in mystical experience. The third is the tawhid of the elect of the elect (khaasat al­ khaasah ). This tawhid, they believe, is affirmed by the Eternal Being Himself.