The Islamic concept of monotheism Islam is not, and was never, a religion first revealed to Prophet Muhammed .

Rather, Islam is the only religion ever chosen by Allah for His servants. Each and every one of Allahs prophets and books came to establish or re-establish Allahs right to be worshipped alone in times and places where people had lost sight of or strayed from the true path to their Lord and Creator. Because Islam essentially means submission, to be a Muslim means to submit completely and sincerely to Allah - the Creator of everything that exists - and obey Him in all that He orders or commands. Submission, however, is not limited to what one says or does, but rather includes all that one believes in terms of creed, and all that one holds in his heart in terms of inward acts of worship and intentions. All such forms of submission or obedience constitute worship and the worship of Allah, alone, is why mankind was created. It is important to bear in mind that the first part of the first pillar of Islam to bear witness that no deity is worthy of worship but Allah does not imply that no other deity exists. Indeed, false gods are virtually countless, since to merely take anything or anyone for worship aside from Allah or alongside Allah is to deify them or to make them a god, regardless of the fact that they are not worthy. While most religions, including the paganism practiced in pre-Islamic Arabia, acknowledge that Allah is the sole Creator of everything in existence, they do not corroborate this belief by directing all worship towards Allah. This, of course, is contradictory, as the acknowledgment of Allahs sovereignty, creatorship and absolute power must necessarily mean the acknowledgement of Allah as the only god worthy of worship. To affirm that Allah is the only Creator, and that He alone provides sustenance and nurtures every living creature on Earth, and that He alone gives life, and that He alone gives death by causing the soul to depart its body, and that He alone bestows us with all the favors and blessings we experience and benefit from, and then to take other helpless and completely powerless deities for worship instead of Allah - or alongside Him - is thus the single most heinous crime committable. With this in mind, it is easy to see that any act of worship cannot be considered righteousness if it is done for the sake of anyone or anything other than Allah,

regardless of how apparently praiseworthy it may seem. Rather, to direct worship to anyone or anything other than Allah is, itself, an act of betrayal. Indeed, sincerity towards Allah in undertaking any act of worship is one of two criteria that determine whether or not that act is, in fact, righteous, and therefore acceptable to Allah. The other criterion is that it conform with what the Prophet taught or approved of. Hence, to bear witness that Muhammed is the last and final prophet of Allah is the second part of the first pillar of Islam. Based on the above, only acts of worship that are done sincerely for Allah and in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet are acceptable to Allah. To direct ones worship to anything or anyone other than Allah, or to worship any deity alongside Allah is a form of shirk. While shirk might literally be translated as association, in this context it means to ascribe partners (no matter what form they may take) to Allah in anything that is unique to Him or in anything that only He has a right to. At its worst, Shirk takes a person beyond the fold of Islam, as it is directly opposed to Islams core principle; namely, that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah. Conversely, the acknowledgment of this right or privilege is one of the forms of tawheed - or the singling out of Allah for worship. Everything in existence was created so that this most fundamental of all principles would be upheld and so that man would be tested in his sincerity towards his Creator. Paradise and Hell with everything they contain were created for this reason, alone. Because supplications or invocations are at the heart of all worship, one of the examples of how people direct to Allahs creation that which only Allah has a right to are the supplications that scores of stray individuals direct to saints, prophets, angels and other creatures that are completely incapable of bringing benefit or harm to themselves - let alone others - of their own accord. But shirk and tawheed arent just opposites in the context of Allahs unique right to be worshipped. To ascribe any of Allahs unique attributes of perfection to any of His creation, or to ascribe attributes of Allahs creation to Allah when such attributes are not befitting of Him are also forms of shirk. One of the more common forms of ascribing that which is uniquely Allahs to His creation is to believe that someone other than Allah holds knowledge

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of the future. This, again, constitutes shirk. To claim that Allah has begotten a son, on the other hand, is an example of ascribing attributes of Allahs creation to Allah when such attributes do not befit Him. Also, to claim that Allah rests, or that He tires, or that He sleeps, or that He regrets, or to ascribe any form of weakness whatsoever to Allah is also shirk for the same reason. The term unbelief often used to translate the word kufr (as has been done in this translation) - only describes one of the dimensions of kufr; namely, the refusal to believe in Allah or in any part of what His prophets have informed us. Shirk and unbelief are, however, very interchangeable, as an Unbeliever or someone who does not believe in the existence of Allah, for instance, is someone who ascribes the creation of everything around him to someone or something other than Allah, thus committing shirk. Likewise, someone who does not believe in the Quran or any part of it is someone who ascribes the Quran or its contents to someone other than Allah, and this again is shirk. Based on the principle that all worship must be directed towards Allah, to take as valid laws or legislation that go against those of Allah is another form of shirk, as only Allah has the right to decree such laws. Because obedience is the essence of worship, to forsake obedience towards Allahs laws for other laws is, consequently, to forsake the worship of Allah for the worship of something or someone else. This applies at both individual and societal levels. For instance, to hold the opinion that dealing in interest is acceptable, or that homosexuality is acceptable, or that a Muslim woman has the right not to wear a veil are all forms of shirk for the reasons mentioned. It is also shirk or kufr to hold the view that a murderer should be sent to prison rather than executed, or that a thief should go to jail rather that have his hand cut off, etc. All legislation in Islam comes from the Quran and the Sunnah, and the Sunnah is essentially the Prophets living interpretation of the Quran. Based on this, worldly rulers or commanders are limited to implementing Allahs laws on Earth or instating laws that are derived from these two sources. In this sense, it becomes easier to see why paganism or idolatry is not limited to directing prayers to, or prostrating oneself before an idol or statue, just as it becomes easier to see how Islamic monotheism is not limited to the mere acknowledgment of Allah as the sole Creator and Orchestrator of everything

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in existence. Tawheed and, consequently, shirk are far more comprehensive in nature and must be regarded as such by anyone seeking to adhere to the path of Allah. May Allah bestow us all with His guidance. As Creator of the heavens and the Earth, Allah has ordained a religion that is completely harmonious with what He has created. For just as Allah has created man, He has also created the environment within which man lives. The proper functioning of all creation, therefore, depends on the actualization of the laws established by the Creator. More than this, the environment that Allah has created for man and has made subservient to mans needs can only serve man as it should if it is made to succumb to the laws ordained by Allah. Adherence to Allahs guidance, therefore, is the fundamental condition for the proper interaction between man and the world in which he lives. Islam is also the only religion that truly liberates mankind from the darkness of worshipping other than Allah to the enlightenment of worshipping Allah, the one and only deity worthy of worship. All other religions or belief systems subjugate man to the worship of mortal, if not lifeless, beings that have neither the power nor capacity to independently harm or benefit themselves, let alone others. All the meanings and terms mentioned in this introduction will Allah willing be expounded on throughout this first volume on the meanings of the Quran. It seemed wise, however, to briefly outline some of the fundamental principles that anyone seeking a proper understanding of Islamic monotheism needs to be familiar with.

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