TAWHEED IS DIVIDED INTO THREE CATEGORIES

1– Tawheed al-Ruboobiyyah (Oneness of Divine Lordship): means believing in Allaah as One and Unique with regard to His actions such as creation, sovereignty, control, giving life and death, and so on.

Allaah says:{And if you were to ask them: ‘Who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sun and the moon?’ they will surely reply: ‘Allaah.’ How then are they deviating (as polytheists and disbelievers)?”}

[al-‘Ankaboot 29:61]

Allaah says: {[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds} Al-Fatihah 1:2

2– It is called Tawheed al-Uloohiyyah because it is based on ta’alluh lillaah which is worship and devotion of Allaah accompanied by love and veneration.

It is also called Tawheed al-‘Ibaadah (oneness of worship) because it means that a person worships Allaah by doing that which He has commanded and avoiding that which He has forbidden.

Allaah says: {Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him...} An-Nisa' 4:36

Allaah says: {And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.} Adh-Dhariyat 51:56

Allaah says: {And your Lord has decreed that you worship not except Him} Al-Isra' 17:23

3– Tawheed al-Asma’ wa’l-Sifaat (Oneness of the Divine Names and Attributes), this means affirming the names and attributes of Allaah and believing that there is none like unto Allaah in His names and attributes.

This Tawheed is based on two principles:

First: Affirmation: i.e., affirming that which Allaah has affirmed for Himself in His Book or that His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has affirmed of His beautiful names and sublime attributes in a manner that suits the Majesty and Greatness of Allaah, without distorting them, twisting their meanings, denying their reality or discussing how they are.

Second: Denial: i.e., denying that Allaah has any faults and denying any shortcomings that He has denied Himself. The evidence for that is the words, Allaah says:{There is nothing like Him, and He is the All‑Hearer, the All‑Seer} [al-Shoora 42:11]

Allaah says: {Say, "Call upon Allah or call upon the Most Merciful [ar-Rahman]. Whichever [name] you call – to Him belong the best names." And do not recite [too] loudly in your prayer or [too] quietly but seek between that an [intermediate] way.} Al-Isra' 17:110

Allaah says: {And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them. And leave [the company of] those who practice deviation concerning His names. They will be recompensed for what they have been doing} Al-A'raf 7:180

Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sent Mu’aadh ibn Jabal to Yemen, he said to him:

“You are going to people from among the People of the Book, so let the first thing to which you call them be belief in Allaah alone (Tawheed). If they accept that, then tell them that Allaah has enjoined on them five prayers every day and night. If they pray then tell them that Allaah has enjoined on them zakaah from their wealth to be taken from their rich and given to their poor. If they agree to that then take it from them but avoid the best of people’s wealth.”

Saheeh al-Bukhaari (7372) and Saheeh Muslim (19)