What is Tawheed of Lordship (Tawheed Ar-Rububiyyah)?
Shaykh Sulayman Ar-Ruhayli حفظه الله
The Tawheed of Lordship is to affirm the Oneness of Allah, exalted is He, in His actions, such as creation, provision, giving life, causing death, and disposing the affairs.
Thus, the Tawheed of Lordship here means that the servant acknowledges and believes that Allah, exalted is He, is the Creator with no partner, and that He, glorified is He, is the Provider with no partner, and that He, glorified is He, is the Giver of life, and that He, glorified is He, is the Causer of death.
And this Tawheed, the Tawheed of Lordship, is an obligatory duty upon every Muslim; however, adhering to it alone is not sufficient for entering into Islam. It is an obligatory duty for the Muslim to affirm Allah’s Oneness in His Lordship, but if a person affirms Allah’s Oneness in Lordship alone, can we say that he is a Muslim by mere affirmation of Lordship? The answer is no; that alone does not enter him into Islam, as he has not brought forth the key whose explanation will come, in sha’ Allah. The disbelievers at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) affirmed the Tawheed of Lordship and believed that the Creator is Allah, the Provider is Allah, and the Giver of life is Allah; yet that did not enter them into Islam. Allah, exalted is He, said: “Say: Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth, or who controls hearing and sight, and who brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living, and who disposes the affairs? They will say, ‘Allah.’ So say: Will you not then fear Him?” [Yunus: 31].
Glory be to Allah, my brothers, you notice here that affirming the Tawheed of Lordship necessitates Tawheed of Worship; hence, Allah, exalted is He, said at the end of the verse, “So say: Will you not then fear Him?!” Since you affirm that Allah is the One who provides, that Allah is the One who gives life, and that Allah is the One who causes death, then how do you not fear Him?!
Therefore, the Tawheed of Lordship is an obligatory duty; however, adhering to it alone is not sufficient for entering into Islam and considering a person to be a Muslim.
[Explanation of Kitab at-Tawheed by Shaykh Sulayman ar-Ruhayli حفظه الله]
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