Oneness of God: The crown and the head upon which everything else depends is Tawheed (Oneness of God): “No diety except Allah” (La ilaha illa Allah). This testimony is our Creed, our Law, and our Way of Life.
“Allah! There is no deity save Him, the Alive, the Eternal. Neither slumber nor sleep overtaketh Him. Unto Him belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. Who is he that intercedeth with Him save by His leave? He knoweth that which is in front of them and that which is behind them, while they encompass nothing of His knowledge save what He will. His throne includeth the heavens and the earth, and He is never weary of preserving them. He is the Sublime, the Tremendous.” (2:255)
The first word in the testimony is a negation, in Arabic Laa which translates to “No.” It stands as a counter and is a clarion call throughout the centuries defining Islamic Civilization. It rings loudly “NO” to the deities of oppression, injustice, tyranny, slavery, desires, to the spiritualities of superstition and falsehood.
It is a call to fulfill resistance to the ideologies that enslave man, that withhold him from maximizing his true potential, that make him a beast of the field or a violent animal with no regard for responsibility or the rights of others and the sanctity of life.
It is a renewal of memory, a reminder of our nature and meaning. The reminder is of God, His existence above Creation but closer to it than the jugular vein. “We verily created man and We know what his soul whispereth to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.” (50:16)
Wayfaring (Sulook): This life is a journey and we are told by the Prophet pbuh to be travelers on this journey. This is crystallized in the verse. “Verily to Allah we belong and verily unto Allah is our return.” (2:156)
Questions attend the wayfarer before and during the journey: Why am I on this journey, what will I find, what am I seeking, how will it be sought. Experiences will be interpreted, signs and milestones along the path, why did this happen, how did this happen, what does this mean, where am I on the journey, how did I get here.
The journey requires actions, planning, provisions, a beginning and an end, a place and a destination, patience (sabr) and complete trust (tawwakul) in the One. The guide is the Qur’an and the shinning example of the Prophet.
It requires a heart, an understanding heart that penetrates with deep insight into the condition of man and the separations between us and our Lord. It is heart that is Saleem (at peace) with Ilm al yaqeen (certain knowledge). The tribulations, destruction and devastation so apparent on the surface of the earth are a mirror of the inside, of the hearts of man.
State of Worshipfulness (‘Ubudiyyah): This is the condition of the believer. It is achieved through Istiqamah (consistency), and is crystallized in the verse: “Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death are for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds.” (6:162)
MT. Akbar 
January 20, 2009 at 4:52 am
As-Salaamu-Alaikum wa-Rahmatullahi wa-Barakatuhu
Jazak ALLAH Khair for a very spiritually inspiring post. A sincere understanding of Surah Fatiha and Ayatul Kursi will definitely make the Muslim World much freer from evil doing. What else should a Muslim need when he/she sincerely seeks Guidance and Help from ALLAH (SWT) to be in the path of Seerathal Mustakeem? Consistent and sincere Taqwa is essential.
Salaam,
Sultana Afroz
March 6, 2009 at 5:23 am
I’m sort of out of my league in one sense here as I’m not Muslim myself and have a terrible memory and thus don’t remember the Qur’an as well as I should, though I was re-reading it not all that long ago with my co-blogger as a guide. I don’t know why I don’t remember, “Verily to Allah we belong and verily unto Allah is our return.” (2:156) since it is so beautiful and also such a large part of my own Faith. Beautiful words though. I will re-read that now. I just remember having trouble with the 2nd chapter as a non-Muslim, I believe it was the 2nd in which I started having to ask the tough questions….lol….I’m sure you understand.
I also know, however, that it is not at all necessary to be a Muslim to have incredible discussions about God and His nature with someone of another Faith. Some of my favorite discussions about oneness, the threads that run through our lives, the beauty of God in everything around us and how music and even physics tie into these things were with a Muslim friend. The discussions were even more a part of this oneness as well, as we did not sit there conscious of the fact that I am Christian, he is Muslim, we’re going to get all “inter-faith” now. It was just a natural conversation that grew into something beautiful.
If I might ask though, what is Taqwa? I’m learning but my Arabic is still very poor.
March 6, 2009 at 5:25 am
Oh, and I forgot, lovely post. Lovely and a good reminder for me to reread that one verse;)
March 6, 2009 at 8:27 am
Thank you for the wonderful comment Lex. Inter-faith is a big part of my life especially with the brothers and sisters of the Book. Reading your story about discussions and conversations on God’s Oneness and existence with your friend reminds me of my friend.
One of my dearest friends, also a blogger Jorge is a Christian and we have had incredible conversations and experiences sharing our Faith and putting into practice our Faiths.
Yes, the verse that you mentioned is very significant for me as well, it sums up one theme that is recurrent in the Quran: the journey from God, away from Him and back to Him.
I can understand anyone having trouble with the Quran, or a specific Chapter. It requires patience for understanding of it to come sometimes and then there is the importance of knowing the context, or asbab an-nuzul. For me it is a life long meditation over its signs and I pray for understanding.
You might be referring to something else though when you speak about having tough questions and I would love to hear about your interactions and thoughts. It’s nice to hear someone actually sincerly reading it though for once. 🙂
Taqwa essentially is used by Muslims to mean “Fear of God” which is usually a bad translation. Taqwa is like your shield, your fortification that has been powered and strengthened by your beliefe and reverence of God. It comes from the tri lateral root Qaa-waw-yaa, which means to becom strong, vigorous.
Hope that helped. 🙂
March 6, 2009 at 8:48 am
Very true. Love of God/ Allah is transcendent. Most of my Muslim friends actually are very, very secular, not very observant. One who is though, honestly, we had one of the best talks about Mary/Miriam I’ve ever had as well!
The trouble I was referring to in Book II is just the trouble most non-Muslims have there. I was re-reading the Qur’an for the first time in 5 years and this time with my friend guiding me, but I found the admonitions against non-believers hard to handle. When I told my friend he just said that he knew I’d have plenty of questions when I got to that! This was many months ago though, I’d have to read it over again to remember what on Earth I had trouble WITH. I’m getting senile or something. Either that or reading these sites for more grist for my little mockery mill has eaten my brain….HAHA! I think enough Pamela could do that, especially the videos. I had had no idea about The Young Turks interview until you posted it though, so thank you.
Taqwa sounds like what the others of us Abrahamic Faiths learn, and I understand in one sense, but it is a very hard thing to describe from my standpoint as well.
I’m glad that you like that I’m occasionally reading The Qur’an though. I didn’t know it was that unusual, but then I have over 4,000 books (I’m not even remotely kidding) and had been given a newer translation at a Mosque I visited last year. I saw that United 93 movie and it was so aggravating and when I was walking out some man said something loudly about how “we should nuke Mecca”. I was angry at that man, at the terrorists, everything, so I went to the new Islamic Center near me to find balance between all of those other viewpoints. It was sunset, so prayers were going on. I talked for a long time afterwards to the few there though. I will go back there, it was a great experience.
Ooops. I wrote too much again. I only do this at night when it’s too late….sorry….I won’t KEEP doing this. I’ll shut up now. Wait, one more question, did you see my hijab pic over at my blog? Sphinx and I thought we could confuse a lot of readers….LOL….
June 3, 2009 at 8:43 am
I can understand Hindus talking about oneness of existence because they believe that the creator and His creation are essentially one. But how can Muslims talk about the oneness of existence when they believe that the creator and His creation are separate entities with no scope for creation to aspire to become one with the creator?