Ep 10 — Tawhid in the Islamic Worldview

Session 8: Tawhid in the Islamic Worldview. delivered Thursday, 4 Mehr 1353 / 9 Ramadan al-Mubarak 1394 Surat al-Baqarah (2:255). God — there is no deity but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what lies before them and what lies behind them, and they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills. His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and the guarding of them does not weary Him. He is the Most High, the Most Great. In brief, here is what we are setting out to do. We will single out the verses about tawhid in the Qur'an and translate them here for you, so that you yourselves may deduce two things: first, what tawhid means from the Qur'an's standpoint; and second, what commitment, what practical conduct in life, it implies. And of course you have not forgotten — and must not forget — our earlier discussions. There we laid down two things faith must be. First, faith in any idea, in any religious principle, must be conscious: it must rest upon understanding, awareness, and insight, not be blind. Second, faith must be accompanied by commitment. Whatever we are to believe in inevitably lays a commitment upon our shoulders, in our lives and in our conduct — whether individual conduct or social conduct, whether it concerns our own person, or our own community, or humanity at large, or the future of history. Inevitably, it places a commitment upon our shoulders. With this introduction in mind, when we enter the discussion of tawhid, this discussion will naturally be, for us, a discussion that imposes commitment. We will examine tawhid in such a way that, first, we may arrive at tawhid consciously; and second, that we may see what commitments tawhid places upon our shoulders. Is tawhid merely a kind of irresponsible, commitment-free understanding — a knowing of some truth without that knowing imposing any obligation upon us? Or is it otherwise? Is tawhid a form of awareness and knowledge such that, following upon this knowing, duties, obligations, and responsibilities devolve upon the human being? When we turn to the Qur'an, we will find the answer to this question. Therefore, the verses we have in view today concern tawhid from one particular standpoint. Tomorrow, the verses will again concern tawhid, but from a different standpoint; and on the coming days, again there will be verses about tawhid, each from a standpoint of its own. And I do not claim that, with a discussion lasting a few days about tawhid, drawing upon the verses of the Qur'an, I will be able to set forth all the dimensions of Quranic and Islamic tawhid. Certainly, if some people, with a more precise eye, with greater clarity of vision, and with a more leisurely study, were to turn to the Qur'an, they would find a boundless ocean in the field of tawhid. I will speak only to the measure that our gathering's time allows. For even all that we ourselves know about tawhid cannot be set forth in summary form in this gathering — so I will speak to the extent that the capacity of our time and the scope of our assembly permit. (There is one point I should mention beforehand: the discussion of tawhid, within the Quranic verses and in the style in which we will present it, may perhaps seem a bit heavy. It may perhaps seem like a lesson rather than a lecture. But I have always thought, and still think, to myself: what necessity is there that our public gatherings should not have the character of a lesson, and that a lecture should be something other than a lesson? What objection is there to it, that in a public gathering, with a large crowd, the minds present in the assembly should be ready to listen — ready to hear difficult things that require reflection and thought, just as in a classroom? What necessity is there that — especially during the days of the month of Ramadan, since it is the month of Ramadan and mouths are fasting — the speaker should see himself obliged and compelled to present the material in a more entertaining, more pleasant manner, mixed with more diversionary matters? Why? Until when must we, in our public gatherings and assemblies, give up the hope of thinking better, higher, and deeper? Why should we give it up? Therefore, you brothers and sisters who are present in this gathering, and who will be present on the coming days — I do not know whether the material will seem heavy to you or not; it may seem heavy, it may seem quite ordinary — but if the material seems weighty and heavy to you, treat it as something that, in the end, must be understood: think about it, study it. Mobilize all the power of your mind in order to understand the material. Keep the words in your mind, hold onto them; if it is difficult, then later raise it with your friends and companions. If the discussion is one that seems unfamiliar to your mind, do not try to push it away from your mind immediately on the grounds that this discussion is heavy and weighty — no indeed; try, rather, to make your mind familiar with it. And of course, as we have said in many of our discussions, lectures, and lessons: we never expect, even from a single person, that he should accept what we say one hundred percent and as a certainty — no. On the contrary, we expect of our friends, brothers, and sisters, at whatever level you are: that which is given to you as nourishment and intellectual substance — even if you are not like this elsewhere, here be like this — that which is given to you, place under the laboratory of your own perception, understanding, discernment, and independent judgment, and make yourselves an instance of this noble verse of the Qur'an, which says: So give good news to My servants — those who listen to the word and follow the best of it.) In any case, we have considered tawhid from two standpoints — though, in the course of arranging the material, other branches may perhaps come up that need to be mentioned. First, we consider tawhid within the worldview of Islam. There is, most certainly, tawhid within the worldview of Islam. What is tawhid in the worldview of Islam, and what does it mean? And how does the verse of the Qur'an, the eloquent and articulate language of the Qur'an, expound the tawhid that figures within the worldview of Islam? Second, we consider tawhid in the ideology of Islam. Of course, I will give a brief explanation of the term "worldview" for those who do not know it, and of the term "ideology" for those who do not know it; for tawhid is part both of the worldview of Islam and of the life-constructing ideology of Islam. Beyond these, tawhid manifests and shows itself in every one of the subsidiary ordinances of Islam. And wherever you observe a ruling, a law, or a command put forward in the name of religion, in which tawhid limps — in which there is something anti-tawhid, and tawhid is absent — know that this is not from Islam. For tawhid is like a spirit within the body of all the ordinances of Islam. It is like a fine, subtle air present in all the parts of this edifice and frame whose name is Islam. It is like pure, clean, clear, fresh blood throughout this body and frame whose name is Islam and religion — it is even present in all the capillaries. You cannot find a single ruling in Islam that does not bear some color and trace of tawhid. Therefore today's discussion is about tawhid in the worldview of Islam. What does the worldview of Islam mean? When you, as a human being, turn to your own thought, to your own perception, concerning the universe, the human being, and the world, you arrive at certain conceptions. It may be that you have not given thought to this; but the one who does give thought to it — when he thinks about the world, thinks about the human being, thinks about the relationship between the world and the human being, thinks about something beyond nature and beyond the human being and the world — arrives at a chain of conceptions and ideas. This is what is called a worldview. Every school of thought has a particular vision, a particular standpoint, a particular conception, a particular understanding of the world; this particular conception of the world, this special understanding of the universe, this manner of seeing the universe — its name is worldview. It is among the terms that have only in the last several years come to be seen and noticed in Persian expression. "Worldview" does not mean breadth of outlook, in the sense commonly used in colloquial expression — "so-and-so is a person of worldview," meaning he is broad-minded — no; worldview does not mean this. In brief, worldview can be defined thus: worldview means a human being's conception of the world, a human being's apprehension of the world, a human being's understanding of the world or of the human being. We said "a human being's conception"; but you may, in place of "a human being," put "a school," "a creed," "a religion," "a social practice" — it has a conception of the world, and this conception is what is called its worldview. Islam has a worldview; Islam has a conception of the world. Islam's conception of the world, to the extent that it bears upon our discussion of tawhid, I will set forth briefly. Islam holds that the whole of this aggregate whose name is "the world" is a servant — a thrall, a creature, dependent upon an exceedingly mighty power. From top to bottom, from the most insignificant and lowly beings to the great and conspicuous beings; from the basest living or lifeless thing to the noblest and most powerful of living beings possessed of intellect, that is, the human being — all of it, every part of it, every corner of this universe, is dependent upon that power. Beyond this surface that you and I see, beyond what the keen-sighted spectacles of empirical science can reach, beyond all the phenomena that can be sensed and touched, there is a truth higher than all truths, more exalted, nobler, dearer; and all these phenomena of the universe are made, fashioned, and brought into being by the hand of His power. To that higher power we give a name; its name is "God," its name is "Allah." So the world is a truth that has no independence in itself; it did not bring itself into existence; it did not well up from within and from inside itself. Rather, a powerful hand created and brought into being these various phenomena — which, with every passing day that knowledge advances, show themselves more and more. It is a powerful hand that created that tumult in the heart of the atom. And it is that same hand that brought into being the highest unknown worlds — the galaxies, and what lies beyond the galaxies, where it may be that there are things to be discovered billions of times greater than all we have discovered to this day. This factory has a maker; this apparatus has an originator; it is not a matter of chance, it is not self-existent. Islam regards the world as just such a thing. These are the materials of the Islamic worldview in the field of tawhid, which I am stating in just this way, little by little, briefly. (Commit them to your minds, so that, God willing, if tomorrow's written text is ready, in the writing too we shall set down something in brief.) Consider that God who is higher than the world and the worldly, that hand of power that turns all the beings of the universe. He made them, and moment by moment He has kept them enduring. And this powerful hand — whose name is Allah, whose name is God — is characterized, in an original and essential manner, with all the good and goodness-creating attributes: that is, He possesses knowledge, He possesses power, He possesses life, He possesses will and resolve, and all that springs and derives from these attributes. His life was not taken from anyone; His knowledge was not acquired or obtained from anywhere; and so on. He is the Sovereign of the universe. Who are the inhabitants of the universe? What are the particles of the universe in relation to Him? Once the particles of the universe have been made and fashioned by Him, did they then become separate — like a child that separates from its mother and is thereafter independent? No; the matter is not at all like that. At every moment, for their remaining and their being, they are in need of Him — in need of His power and His will; and all are His servants. All beings are His servants, His thralls, His artifacts, His creatures. He can dispose over all of them; He created all of them with a particular order, brought all of them into being with regular and precise norms and laws. Today, science is discovering these laws — though, of course, my discussion is not in this field. That is, the argument for the existence of God and the proof of the Maker is not part of my discussion; there are abundant books in this field — go and read them. Nevertheless, it would not be amiss to recall this one statement, on the authority of several scholars of the empirical sciences — not philosophers, but scholars whose work has to do precisely with the laboratory, with industry, with construction, and with such things. It comes from a book the work of several non-Iranian scholars and authors, which two or three accomplished Iranian translators have rendered into Persian, titled The Proof of the Existence of God (it is a good book, it would not be amiss to consult it). In it, several scholars of today's empirical sciences say that, with the advance of knowledge, with penetration into the inmost nature of creatures and beings and the discovery of regular laws, we come to understand that the world has an originator. From the sheer extent to which we see that order exists, the sheer extent to which orderliness and discipline are at work in the affairs of the universe, we understand that the world has a Creator and a Maker. Well, then: all the beings of the universe are His servants, His originated ones, all under His authority and within the grip of His power — and the human being too, like the rest of the other beings. In the worldview of Islam, tawhid is just such a thing; tawhid means that the world has an Originator and a Maker, and, in a manner of speaking, has a pure and subtle spirit. The world has an originator, and all the parts of this universe are reckoned as servants, thralls, and beings under the authority of that God and that Originator. Tawhid in the worldview of Islam is this; that is, when a Muslim looks upon this universe from the standpoint of Islam, he does not see this universe as an independent being, but rather sees a being dependent upon a higher power. What effect does this have? What benefit does it have? It has a remarkable effect; in the subsequent discussions that we hold about tawhid, it will then become clear what effect this vision, this particular worldview, this perception and conception of the universe, this apprehension of the world and the worldly, has upon the building of life. We turn to the verses of the Qur'an, and we see that the Lord of the universe has mentioned precisely this same matter in the Quranic verses. From two places in the Qur'an we have selected verses to be recited and translated today. The first is from Surat al-Baqarah, the verse famous as Ayat al-Kursi. The first part of Ayat al-Kursi is in this field, which we will now recite, translate, and reflect upon. It is verse 255. In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. God — there is no deity but He. "Allah" — this is a name for which an equivalent, by way of exposition and elucidation, cannot be found. What is "Allah"? It is God. And who is God? He is that being of whom it is said: La ilaha illa Huwa — there is no deity but He. Understand ilah as "object of worship." Ilah means any being before whom the human being submits in the manner of sanctification, of veneration and reverence — hands over his own free will to him, entrusts the reins of his life to him, sets him up as one given a free hand and unrestrained over his own life. This, in Quranic terminology, is called ilah. Those who make the desire of the self the holder of the reins of their lives — their ilah is the desire of their self. Those who give a free hand to a rebellious, transgressing human being in the affairs of their lives — their ilah is that very Satan. Those who submit, unconditionally and unreservedly, to hollow customs and beliefs — their ilah is that very hollow custom and belief. Whatever, in the human being's existence and in the human being's life, has a free hand unconditionally, and rules and dominates — that is an ilah. Here it says: La ilaha illa Huwa — there is no ilah, no object of worship, but He. What does "there is not" mean? Does it mean there is none in the world? There were thousands of objects of worship in the world; three hundred and sixty of them were hung and set up within the House of the Ka'ba itself — three hundred and sixty idols. And just as many living idols, too, were ruling in the world. How then is there no ilah! So this that says La ilaha illa Huwa — "there is no ilah but He" — means there is no real ilah, no rightful ilah, no true ilah but Him; that is, anyone other than Allah whom you have accepted in divinity — in that sense of worship-worthiness which I described — you have committed a sin, you have performed an act contrary to right. For other than Allah, no one is worthy of being an object of worship and of divinity. Allahu la ilaha illa Huwa — what is the distinctive quality of this Allah, this unique and single ilah? He enumerates some of His qualities: al-Hayy — He is the Living. All the others are dead; the others are dead beings and corpses; He is the Living. The lifeless ones — that is plain; but the living ones too are dead. A living thing that on one day did not exist and on another day will not exist; a living creature whose very life is constantly under threat; a living being whose life, with the movement of a single hair, with the stirring of the brain, is sometimes threatened with annihilation and destruction — what kind of life is this? The everlasting Living, the original Living, the true Living, is the one to whom life truly belongs, and which is His gift, His bestowal, His grant to all living things — and He is God. Al-Hayy — the Living. Al-Qayyum — the Enduring and Sustaining; the one whose life is permanent, eternal, and perpetual; the one by whose life the living are alive, and if He were not, if He did not will, if He did not so resolve, not a single living thing and not a single manifestation of life would remain in the world. Al-Qayyum. La ta'khudhuhu sinatun wa-la nawm — neither drowsiness nor sleep takes hold of Him; light sleep — let alone heavy sleep. It does not seize Him away from Himself. What does this mean? It means that a moment of heedlessness, a moment of inattention, has no way into His being and into His life. The other beings, the false lords, are heedless — of themselves, of the people under their authority, of the world that is in their grip; they are heedless from head to foot, constantly in heedlessness; and even where they claim awareness and knowledge, their awareness and knowledge is false. What prevails over them is heedlessness and ignorance. Have you not seen those who exchanged the blessing of God for ingratitude, and brought their people down into the abode of ruin — Hell, which they will enter; and an evil place of settlement it is. It was this verse of the Qur'an that Musa ibn Ja'far (peace be upon him) recited to Harun al-Rashid. Musa ibn Ja'far (peace be upon him) was saying to Harun, "You are among them." Well, if Harun is not heedless, why would he drag himself and his people into the Fire? So the other gods are heedless from head to foot. The One whom heedlessness does not seize is the real ruler of this world; that is, Allah. La ta'khudhuhu sinatun wa-la nawm. Do not imagine that sina, meaning drowsiness — light sleep — and nawm, meaning ordinary or heavy sleep, being removed from God and negated of Him, served no purpose here. They did. In the subsequent discussions we will see why. For every allusion in tawhid, every fine point in tawhid, is an allusion to the negation of the divinity of other-than-God, and an allusion to the deficiencies of other-than-God. Everything that is affirmed of God is precisely those things that are negated of the claimants to divinity. What is said in tawhid is precisely those things that must be reflected in the practical life of the monotheists and the worshippers of God. All the qualities and fine details of tawhid must have their instances in the lives of the monotheist people — which comes up in the subsequent discussions and recitations. Therefore, la ta'khudhuhu sinatun wa-la nawm is an allusion to the heedlessness, the slumbers, the lapses of the false lords and lordlings. La ta'khudhuhu sinatun wa-la nawm; lahu ma fi al-samawati wa-ma fi al-ard — His is whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth; it belongs to Him, it is His servant. Man dha alladhi yashfa'u 'indahu illa bi-idhnih — who is there that can intercede before Him, mediate, except by His permission? We know of no other power that, even to the measure of the power of a single intercessor, could stand up before God. If anyone intercedes for others, he still does so by the permission of God. The prophets who intercede; the saints, the Imams, the righteous, the believers, and the martyrs who intercede before God — they do not do so except by the permission of God. Therefore they too are not powers set up against the power of God, not shops set up against God. It is not that they too are a separate establishment and apparatus set up against the establishment and apparatus of God — no; they are servants of God, only servants who are objects of God's grace and love. Man dha alladhi yashfa'u 'indahu illa bi-idhnih — who is it that can intercede before Him except by His permission and leave? Ya'lamu ma bayna aydihim wa-ma khalfahum — whatever is before them and behind them, He knows; that is, He encompasses the whole life of human beings and of all beings. Wa-la yuhituna bi-shay'in min 'ilmihi illa bi-ma sha' — they do not encompass, their knowledge does not extend to anything of the knowledge of the Lord, except what He Himself wills. See how He divides the whole of the universe into two ranks. One rank: the rank of God; the other rank: the rank of the other beings. In this other rank, all the particles of the universe are servants of God in a single degree. I mean to say that, with respect to servanthood to God, there is no distinction between any two beings in the universe. In this respect — that they are servants of God, that they are under the power and within the grip of God — they are all alike, all of them! Even the greatest being of the universe, the dearest and most precious human being of history — that is, the sacred person of the Noble Prophet (God's blessings be upon him and his household) — with respect to being a servant of God, being under the authority of God, being a slave of God, is like all the other particles of existence. To the same degree that they are under the authority of God, to that same degree the Prophet too is under the authority of God. It is not that a certain prophet, a certain station, a certain great human being, because he is great, because he is select, because he is beloved of God, because he is dear to God, should have some store of power set up against God — no; they are bound-handed servants, submitted to the Lord, and their very greatness lies in just this. In the tashahhud of the prayer you recite: Ashhadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa-rasuluh — you bring being a servant of God forward first; I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant — His slave — and His Messenger. You first mention being a servant. Wasi'a kursiyyuhu al-samawati wa-l-ard — His throne of power has spread wide over the heavens and the earth. Wa-la ya'uduhu hifzuhuma — the safeguarding of the heavens and the earth is not heavy or burdensome upon Him. Wa-Huwa al-'Aliyyu al-'Azim — He is the Most High and Most Honored in rank; He is the Great and Majestic. From these verses, what do you understand from the whole? Set aside the fine details that are in the verse, the subtleties and intricacies that are in every single sentence. Of these you may grasp some part, or I may grasp some part, and there are tens or hundreds of other subtleties and fine points that no one understands except the chosen servants of God. From the phrase Allahu la ilaha illa Huwa, Imam al-Sajjad understands subtleties and fine points that you and I do not understand. So set aside these fine points, set aside these subtleties, set aside the social or doctrinal matters that are present here — from the whole of it, what do you understand? From the whole, you grasp well the vision of Islam concerning God. And what is it? Throughout the entire domain of existence there is one power, named God; one center of power, one focus of knowledge, life, and force, named God. And on the opposite side, all the phenomena, facing that mighty and majestic power in a state of destitution, in a state of servitude, in a state of servanthood — all of them, all of them. And there is no difference, either, among the phenomena of the universe with respect to servitude before that center of power. From a tiny particle to a mighty galaxy, from a believing human being to a disbelieving one, from a worthless being to a worthy human being — all, before that being, are bound-handed, submitted, slaves, servants, thralls; whatever expression you wish to use. Of course, understanding this subject has effects in the recognition of the ideology of Islam, in the recognition of the practical programs of Islam for society. Let me give an example — I point it out now so that a flash of lightning may strike in your minds, that you may know we do not wish to engage in philosophical hairsplitting. Once we have understood that all human beings are, in sum, equal before this power and this center of force, then it no longer makes sense for the emperor of Rome — Valerian, for instance — in a state of pride and arrogance, to have his statue built there with a slave, a bondsman, fallen at his feet. We ask: why? On what grounds? Has this exalted-stationed emperor found, apart from the rank of the servants of God, some other rank? And has this human being who has now fallen at the emperor's feet, who is prostrating himself before him, who is bowing and abasing himself before him — has he found, apart from the rank of servants, some lower, baser rank? Are not the two of them both attached to one and the same rank? Then why this situation? Look: were it not for this worldview, this vision, this conception of the world, the tyrants would be free to claim a separate rank for themselves. The emperors of the universe, the bullies of history, the great landowners and the wealthy and the great aristocrats who existed throughout history — those who had thousands and millions of servants, thralls, and captives of power, obedient to their command and order — these could say, "Sir, I am a thing apart, woven from a different cloth; I am other than that one; he must fall at my feet, I must set my foot upon his head; I was created to give commands, he was created to obey; I was created to live as a lord, he was made to be wretched; I am the servant of a god whose power is greater, he is the servant of a god whose power is less." It is like the thing the Children of Israel used to say. The Children of Israel used to say that our God, the God of the universe, is Yahweh, and Yahweh's favor toward the Children of Israel is greater. The idol-worshipping polytheists of India used to say that society is divided into four classes, each class having a particular god of its own, and that each was created from a particular place. But the pure tawhidi Islamic vision says that all possible existents and beings were created, made, and fashioned from one place, from one origin, from one hand of power; all are servants and thralls before Him; all are captives of His power before Him; all must obey His command. No one has the right to lay his head at the feet of another, just as no one has the right to set his foot upon the head of another. Just as you have no right to set your foot upon someone's head, you have no right to lay your head at someone's feet. For what reason? For the reason that, in either case, you have acted contrary to right and truth. The one who is mounted upon a horse, with servants and thralls writhing beneath the hooves of his horse, is no different from those servants and thralls. Man dha alladhi yashfa'u 'indahu illa bi-idhnih — who is closer to Him? Who has, before Him, any power? Who can have, before Him, any sense of self-importance? Yes — illa bi-idhnih: some can intercede, but by His own permission. He never grants the permission of intercession to tyrants; He grants the permission of intercession to the Imams. He never grants to the corrupt the permission of nearness and the leave of intercession. To the prophets, to the saints, to the righteous, to the martyrs, to the high-stationed humble ones — those servants for whom worldly life passed bitterly and poisonously, yet whose spirits grew strong; who moved along the path of duty, who were hard and severe upon themselves so that they might draw one step nearer toward duty — they can; they can intercede before God. And even they — the reason they are able to intercede is this: that they performed the servanthood of God more fully; for they placed themselves more fully under the power of God. No one performed the servanthood of God in the time of the Prophet as the Prophet of God did; no one performed the servanthood of God in the time of the Commander of the Faithful as the Commander of the Faithful did; no one performed the servanthood of God in the time of Imam al-Sajjad as Imam al-Sajjad did. This that the Prophet is the highest of people, that 'Ali is the highest of people, that Imam al-Sajjad is the highest of people — it is not on account of, say, supposing a man of Shushtar against a man of Dezful; it is because they performed the servanthood of God more fully that their station is higher, that their station is more honored. From the overall situation of this verse — which is Ayat al-Kursi — this meaning emerges: that the Lord of the universe is that absolute power, and that before Him all beings, all created things, the whole universe, are servants, obedient, bound-handed, and submitted; and whoever wishes to draw nearer to Him must be more fully His servant. This is one verse. The other verse is in Surat Maryam; we have selected from Surat Maryam, verse 88 onward: And they said, 'The Most Merciful has taken a son.' They said that the Merciful God has chosen a son for Himself. The disbelievers have voiced this claim in various forms: the Christians in one way, the Jews in another, the polytheists of Quraysh and the polytheists of Arabia in another, the polytheists of other places in yet another. Some said God has a daughter; some said He has a son; some said He has a daughter and a son; some said He has one; some said He has an infinite number — He has a household! In any case, they said: Ittakhadha al-Rahmanu walada — God has a child. From what angle did they say "He has a child"? Note this point carefully: that God having a child — which was claimed by a group of polytheists, or Christians, or Jews — meant that among the creatures of the universe, among the beings, there is one individual whose relation to God is not the relation of being a servant — note this carefully — but the relation of being a child. He is a young lord's son, not a bondsman; though he is not the lord himself. The Jews, who used to say 'Uzayr ibn Allah — that is, the prophet 'Uzayr is the son of God — wanted to say that, even if all the beings of the universe are servants and thralls of God, 'Uzayr is outside this category; he is no longer a servant of God, he is the young lord's son of God, the light of the eye of God. The Christians, too, who voiced this claim concerning the Messiah; and the disbelievers, too, who said concerning al-Lat, Manat, and al-'Uzza that these are the daughters of God; and the polytheists of Greece and Rome, who likewise held that God had numerous god-sons and lordly sons — all of them held this same view. That is, in reality, these two ranks that we have considered — one the rank of God, and one the rank of all the servants and beings, all of whom are humbled before God — these two ranks they were turning into three ranks. They said: God; the servants; and the elite [a class in between] — a child, a young lord's son, a god-son, something. The verses of Surat Maryam negate this matter. Pay close attention to the verses through to the end. And they said, 'The Most Merciful has taken a son.' Surely you have brought forth a monstrous, grievous thing. The heavens are nearly torn apart by it, and the earth split asunder, and the mountains brought down in collapse — that they should ascribe a son to the Most Merciful. Wa-qalu ittakhadha al-Rahmanu walada — they said that the Merciful God has chosen and taken a son; laqad ji'tum shay'an idda — you have indeed brought forth an awful and weighty saying. See what God's expression is: a weighty saying, an awful saying, a very dangerous belief you have advanced. Laqad ji'tum shay'an idda — truly a heavy and awful saying you have brought forth. Takadu al-samawatu yatafattarna minhu wa-tanshaqqu al-ardu wa-takhirru al-jibalu hadda — the heavens were near to bursting apart from one another, to splitting open, and the earth to rending asunder, and the mountains to crumbling down in ruin. An da'aw li-l-Rahmani walada — that they called upon the Merciful a son and held a son for Him. It is plain that the matter is very grave. God is not such that some obscenity, some bad word, would offend Him; the Lord of the universe is not subject to feelings. That which He gives to the people as a belief is that which has a part in securing the divine aims. And that which He negates as a corrupt belief is that which, believing in it, has a part in securing the corruption of society. The negation of a corrupt belief means the negation of a vein of corruption in human society. And the belief that God has offspring — that He has a god-son and a lordly son, has a child, that there is an intermediary between God and humankind, a separating link — this belief has corrupting effects in society. Those corruptions, of course, will become clear gradually in the course of the tawhidi discussions. This is, in reality, a pretext for the servants, besides becoming the servant of God, to become the servant of yet another as well. And it does not befit the Most Merciful that He should take a son. There is none in the heavens and the earth but that he comes to the Most Merciful as a servant. He has indeed counted them and numbered them, numbering. Wa-ma yanbaghi li-l-Rahmani an yattakhidha walada — it does not befit the Merciful that He should take a son. In kullu man fi al-samawati wa-l-ardi illa ati al-Rahmani 'abda — all who are in the heavens and the earth are nothing but ones who come before God in servitude and servanthood; all are servants of God, all are God's servants. Laqad ahsahum wa-'addahum 'adda — He has enumerated them, He has taken them in His grip and counted them, a thorough counting. This too is the other verse that was in Surat Maryam. Well, then: in brief, the discussion we had today amounted to this — what does tawhid in the worldview of Islam mean, and what is it? The examination of tawhid as one of the materials of the principles of the worldview. Tomorrow, God willing, we will come to the examination of tawhid as one of the materials of the principles of the ideology of Islam. See, these two differ from each other; this is the introduction to the other, this is the ground for the other. The Islamic vision is this; it sees the world, the universe, the realm of existence, in this way. Well, now — what does this vision inspire in us? What course, what plan, what design for life does it set forth? What is that? What role does tawhid play there? "Tawhid in the ideology of Islam."