| |
|
Tawhid has three aspects: Tawhid ar-Rububiyya, Tawhid al-Asma wa as-Sifat and Tawhid al-ibada.
Tawhid ar-Rububiyya is the conviction that God, and only God, creates and sustains the universe, that without his will the universe could not continue to exist. Failure to do this results in either polytheism or atheism.
Tawhid al-Asma wa as-Sifat is understanding of God as characterized by his 99 names and characteristics, that failing to ascribe any one of these characteristics to God is to have a diminished concept of God and therefore is not God.
Tawhid al-ibada means "declaring God one through our service", to worship God and only God both in those actions that are visible to others and in those actions and thoughts that are hidden from other men. This requires one to worship God alone, with pure and sincere intent and dedication.
Thus true monotheism in Islam requires one to have the correct knowledge (tawhid ar-rububiyya), the correct understanding (tawhid al-asma wa as-sifat), and the correct motivation (tawhid al-ibada).