. JJ É J . (cont.)

No one should heed these statements for the people who were most perfect in tawhid are the prophets (peace be on them all) . . . No tawhid can be more complete than the tawhid which the messengers stated, preached and struggled for. That is why Allah commanded His Prophet (peace be on him) to follow in their footsteps. After describing Abraham's argument with his people in support of tawhid and his denunciation of shirk, and after mentioning other prophets 1 al-Jalood, vol. 1, pp. 1 36-137. Hadith #2: The Hadith of Jibreel among his descendants, Allah says, "Those were the ones who received Allah's guidance; follow then their way" (al-Anaam 90). No one can be more complete in tawhid than those whom the Prophet (peace be upon him) was told to follow . . . The millah (way, religion) of Abraham is tawhid. The religion of Muhammad is every statement, action, and belief that He brought from Allah. The 'statement of sincerity' is the testimony that there is no god but Allah. The .fitrah of Islam is the natural disposition man has been given to love and worship only Allah without ascribing any partner to Him and submitting to Him with complete servitude, humility and reverence. This is the tawhid of the most elite or dear from among the chosen ones of Allah. Whoever turns away from it is the fool of all fools. Allah has Himself said, "Who turns away from the faith of Abraham but such as debase their souls with folly? Him We chose and rendered pure in this world, and he will be in the Hereafter in the ranks of the righteous. Behold! His Lord said to him, 'Submit to me,' [and] he said, 'I submit to the Lord and Cherisher of the Universe"' (al-Baqara 1 30-13 1). The second and third types of tawhid, which have been called the tawhid of the elect and of the elect of the elect, culminate in the passing away of the self (Jana) which most Sufis strive for. It is a dangerous alley which leads to [the false concept of] union (ittihad). Read these lines which Shaykh al-Islam Abu Ismail al-Ansari al-Harwi, may Allah have mercy on him, composed, 1 "No one affirms the unity of the One, For whoever affirms His unity denies it. Whoever describes Him, His description of Unity is void and unacceptable to the One. The real affirmation of His unity is what the One Himself does, and whoever tries to describe Him is a heretic." Although the author of these lines did not mean to imply union (ittihad), he has used vague words which an exponent of union is likely to interpret on his lines and think that the author belongs to his way of thinking. If he had used the words which the shariah uses and which are clear and non-misleading, it would have been more proper. Had we been required to 1For a review and criticism of Al-Ansari's views expressed in these lines of poetry, see ibn Qayyim, Madaarij al-Saalikeen, vol. 3, p. 5 1 8. lbn al-Qayyim makes the point that in various verses of the Quran, Allah has testified that His angels, His prophets and their followers who have knowledge affirm and expound His unity. It is not, therefore, correct for anyone to say that no one has truly affirmed God's unity and that those who have so ventured have been guilty of heresy. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi believe in what these lines suggest, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would have mentioned it, invited people to believe in it, and explained it at length. But there is no proof that he ever distinguished between a tawhid of a commoner, a tawhid of the elect and a tawhid of the elect of the elect. There is absolutely no allusion to it anywhere. In fact, there is nothing even close to it. Here is the Book of Allah, the hadith of the Prophet (peace be on him), the traditions of the best people of all ages after the age of the Prophet and the works of the leading scholars. Is there any mention of Jana in any of them? Has anyone of them talked about these stages of tawhid? In fact, this concept developed later when some people became excessive with respect to some parts of the religion, just as the Khawaarij did earlier in Islam or the Christians did in their religion. Allah has condemned all excess in religion and has strictly prohibited them. Allah states, "O People of the Book! Commit not excesses in your religion; nor say aught of Allah except the truth" (al-Nisa 171).