Comparison between Islam, Christianity and Judaism in tawheed of worship
Tawheed of worship "uluhiyyah" means that the believer is firmly convinced that there is no true God except Allah and he is the one who created the universe and direct his worship to him. And don't join any partners with him. Some scholars defined it as complete love accompanied with complete submission. So it is based upon worship that is dedicated, both in its inward and out ward expression, to Allah.
Between those three religions we can find that all of them are convinced that there is one god who created the universe, but they vary in tawheed of worship.
in Judaism
(1) Introduction:
First Judaism is one of the important religions and its followers believe in the prophetic mission of Prophet Moses. The Jews are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They believe that God addressed Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and established a special relationship with them. So they believe that God is their own god and that he chooses them and preferred them over the whole mankind to be his slaves.
(2) Concept of god in Judaism:
"Hear, o Israel. The lord our God is one lord"
[The Bible, Deuteronomy 6:41]
"I, even I, am the lord; and beside me there is no savior."
[the Bible, Isaiah 43:11]
"I am God, and there is none else; I am god, and there is none like me."
[The Bible, Isaiah 46:9]
Judaism condemns idol worship in the following verses:
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth."
"Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the lord thy god am a jealous god."
[The Bible, exodus 20:3-5]
But instead of the verses shown above, Jews take their rabbis as equals to god. In the Quraan Allah says verse 9:31 "واتخذوا أحبارهم ورهبانهم أربابا من دون الله" that means that "they took their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah."
On one occasion, the prophet's companion, 'adee ibn haatim, who convert from Christianity, heard the prophet recite this Qur'anic verse, so he said: "surely we did not worship them." The Prophet (pbuh) turned to him and said "'did they not make forbidden (haraam) what Allah had made allowable (halaal). And you all made it haraam, and did they not make halaal what Allah mad haraam and you all made it halaal?" He replied, 'We certainly did." The Prophet (pbuh) then said. "That was how you worshipped them."
In Christianity:
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
--Jesus, Matthew 28:19
Christians regards their religion as monotheistic, since Christianity teaches the existence of one God - Yahweh, the God of the Jews. It shares this belief with two other major world religions, Judaism and Islam.
However, Christian monotheism is a unique kind of monotheism. It holds that God is One, but that three distinct "persons" constitute the one God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This unique threefold God of Christian belief is referred to as the Trinity (from Latin trinitas, "three").
They believe that God the Son (Jesus) is fully, completely God. God the Father is fully, completely God. And God the Holy Spirit is fully, completely God. Yet there is only one God.
But we can find many verses in the bible that completely contradict these believes about the trinity and the divinity of Jesus. A study of the Christian ******ures reveals that Jesus never claimed divinity to him self saying "I am god" or 'worship me". In fact the Bible contains statements attributed to Jesus (pbuh) in which he preached quite the contrary. The following statements in the Bible are attributed to
Jesus Christ (pbuh):
(i) "My Father is greater than I."
[The Bible, John 14:28]
(ii) "My Father is greater than all."
[The Bible, John 10:29]
(iii) "…I cast out devils by the Spirit of God…."
[The Bible, Mathew 12:28]
(v) "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."
[The Bible, John 5:30]
(5)"… and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me."
[The Bible, John 14:24]
You can see also that Jesus Refuted even the Remotest Suggestion of his Divinity.
"And behold, one came and said unto him, ‘Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?’
And he said unto him, ‘Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.’ "
[The Bible, Mathew 19:16-17]
The following statement from the Bible supports the Islamic belief that Jesus (pbuh) was a prophet of God.
"Ye men of Israel hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know."
[The Bible, Acts 2:22]
The Bible does not support the Christian belief in trinity at all. One of the scribes once asked Jesus (pbuh) as to which was the first commandment of all, to which Jesus (pbuh) merely repeated what Moses (pbuh) had said earlier:
"Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord."
[The Bible, Mark 12:29]
In spite of the previous statement from the bible saying that there is one god, Christians influenced by the teaching of saul from the Tarsus, defied Prophet Jesus and directed their prayer to him and his mother. The Catholics among Christians have saints for every occasion to whom they direct their prayers in the belief that these saints can directly influence the affairs of this world. The Catholics also use their priests as intercessors between themselves and Allah in the belief that the priests are closer to Allah due to their piety, and thus more likely to be listened to by Allah. And that is similar to the makkans when they were questioned about directing their prayers to their idols, they answered,
ما نعبدهم إلا ليقربونا إلى الله زلفى
"we only worship them so that they bring us closer to Allah”
soorah az-zumar, 39:3.
In Islam:
In spite of the importance of tawheed of lordship in Islam, yet belief in it alone is not enough to fulfill Islamic requirements of Tawheed. It must accompanied with tawheed of worship in order that believer faith to be completed. The idolators of the Prophet's time confirmed many aspects of the tawheed of lordship. In the quraan Allah says
"say; "who is it that gives you all sustenance from the sky and earth. Governs sight and hearing, brings forth life from dead (matter) and death from the living, and plans the affairs of man?" they will all say: 'Allah'." Soorah yoonus 10:3
"If you asked them who created them, they would surely say, 'Allah'." Soorah az-zukhruf, 43:87
The makkans all knew that Allah was their creator, sustainer, their lord and master yet this knowledge did not make them muslims according to god, Allah said:
"Most of them do not believe in Allah exept while joining partners to him" soorah yoosuf, 12:106
In spite of the makkans confessions of tawheed and their knowledge of Allah, Allah classified them as disbelievers and pagans because the worshipped other gods along with their worship of Allah.
So that in Islam it's very important to maintain the unity of Allah worship. all forms of worship should be directed to him because he is the only one who deserve worship and he alone who can grant benefit to man as a result of his worship. Actually in Islam the main purpose of the creation of man is to worship Allah. "I didn't create the jinn and mankind except for my worship" soorah adh-dhaariyaat, 51:56.
"Verily, we have sent to every nation a messenger (saying), 'worship Allah and avoid false gods'."
The prerequisite for the tawheed of uluhiyyah:
The tawheed of Allah in worship obliges us to direct towards him alone all types and forms of worship. This includes obligations:
1.The obligation of sincere dedication of love to Allah. That means that believers should not love any thing or anyone even himself more than or even equal to Allah.
"And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides Allah as rivals (to Allah). They love them they love Allah. But those who believe love Allah more"
And even the things that we naturally love like parents, offspring, homeland and money. To complete the requirements to be completely the servant of Allah, even these things shouldn't be more beloved to you than Allah. They should take the second place after our love to Allah. That means that we are ready to sacrifice these things for the sake of Allah.
"say: if your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, you kindred; the wealth that you gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in wich you delight are dearer to you than Allah and is messenger, and striving hard and fighting in his cause (jihad), then wait until Allah brings his decision (torment). And Allah guides not the people who are al faasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah)"
2.the obligation of devoting supplication, reliance and hope to Allah alone. Prophet Muhammad confirmed the unity of worship saying," if you ask in you prayer ask only Allah, and if you seek help, seek it only from Allah."
The absence of any need for intercession is further emphasized by the many verses indicating his closeness to man. "when my servants ask you (O Muhammad) about me (tell them), 'verily I am close (to them), I listen to the prayer of every one who calls on me. So let them respond to me and believe in me in order that they may be guided aright."
And Allah says: "and invoke not besides Allah, any that will neither profit you, nor hurt you, but if you did so, you shall certainly be one of the Zaalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers)"
3. The obligation of fearing only Allah. He who believes that some of Allah's creation could cause him harm by their own will and power, and fears them, is in fact association others with him, Allah says:
"then fear me (Allah) much"
Allah also says:
"And If Allah touches you with hurt, there is none who can remove it but He; and if He intends any goo for you, there in none who can repel his favour which he causes it to reach whomsoever of his slaves he wills. And He is the Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful"
4.he obligation of dedication purely and solely to Allah all physical forms of worship, such as prayer, prostration, fasting, animal sacrifice as well as verbal forms such as vows and seeking forgiveness. All that should be done for only Allah and no one beside him. Allah says:
"Verily! Allah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners in worship with him, but he forgives whom he pleases sins other than that, and whoever sets up partners in worship with Allah, has indeed strayed far away
Tawheed of worship "uluhiyyah" means that the believer is firmly convinced that there is no true God except Allah and he is the one who created the universe and direct his worship to him. And don't join any partners with him. Some scholars defined it as complete love accompanied with complete submission. So it is based upon worship that is dedicated, both in its inward and out ward expression, to Allah.
Between those three religions we can find that all of them are convinced that there is one god who created the universe, but they vary in tawheed of worship.
in Judaism
(1) Introduction:
First Judaism is one of the important religions and its followers believe in the prophetic mission of Prophet Moses. The Jews are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They believe that God addressed Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and established a special relationship with them. So they believe that God is their own god and that he chooses them and preferred them over the whole mankind to be his slaves.
(2) Concept of god in Judaism:
"Hear, o Israel. The lord our God is one lord"
[The Bible, Deuteronomy 6:41]
"I, even I, am the lord; and beside me there is no savior."
[the Bible, Isaiah 43:11]
"I am God, and there is none else; I am god, and there is none like me."
[The Bible, Isaiah 46:9]
Judaism condemns idol worship in the following verses:
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth."
"Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the lord thy god am a jealous god."
[The Bible, exodus 20:3-5]
But instead of the verses shown above, Jews take their rabbis as equals to god. In the Quraan Allah says verse 9:31 "واتخذوا أحبارهم ورهبانهم أربابا من دون الله" that means that "they took their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah."
On one occasion, the prophet's companion, 'adee ibn haatim, who convert from Christianity, heard the prophet recite this Qur'anic verse, so he said: "surely we did not worship them." The Prophet (pbuh) turned to him and said "'did they not make forbidden (haraam) what Allah had made allowable (halaal). And you all made it haraam, and did they not make halaal what Allah mad haraam and you all made it halaal?" He replied, 'We certainly did." The Prophet (pbuh) then said. "That was how you worshipped them."
In Christianity:
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
--Jesus, Matthew 28:19
Christians regards their religion as monotheistic, since Christianity teaches the existence of one God - Yahweh, the God of the Jews. It shares this belief with two other major world religions, Judaism and Islam.
However, Christian monotheism is a unique kind of monotheism. It holds that God is One, but that three distinct "persons" constitute the one God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This unique threefold God of Christian belief is referred to as the Trinity (from Latin trinitas, "three").
They believe that God the Son (Jesus) is fully, completely God. God the Father is fully, completely God. And God the Holy Spirit is fully, completely God. Yet there is only one God.
But we can find many verses in the bible that completely contradict these believes about the trinity and the divinity of Jesus. A study of the Christian ******ures reveals that Jesus never claimed divinity to him self saying "I am god" or 'worship me". In fact the Bible contains statements attributed to Jesus (pbuh) in which he preached quite the contrary. The following statements in the Bible are attributed to
Jesus Christ (pbuh):
(i) "My Father is greater than I."
[The Bible, John 14:28]
(ii) "My Father is greater than all."
[The Bible, John 10:29]
(iii) "…I cast out devils by the Spirit of God…."
[The Bible, Mathew 12:28]
(v) "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."
[The Bible, John 5:30]
(5)"… and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me."
[The Bible, John 14:24]
You can see also that Jesus Refuted even the Remotest Suggestion of his Divinity.
"And behold, one came and said unto him, ‘Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?’
And he said unto him, ‘Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.’ "
[The Bible, Mathew 19:16-17]
The following statement from the Bible supports the Islamic belief that Jesus (pbuh) was a prophet of God.
"Ye men of Israel hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know."
[The Bible, Acts 2:22]
The Bible does not support the Christian belief in trinity at all. One of the scribes once asked Jesus (pbuh) as to which was the first commandment of all, to which Jesus (pbuh) merely repeated what Moses (pbuh) had said earlier:
"Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord."
[The Bible, Mark 12:29]
In spite of the previous statement from the bible saying that there is one god, Christians influenced by the teaching of saul from the Tarsus, defied Prophet Jesus and directed their prayer to him and his mother. The Catholics among Christians have saints for every occasion to whom they direct their prayers in the belief that these saints can directly influence the affairs of this world. The Catholics also use their priests as intercessors between themselves and Allah in the belief that the priests are closer to Allah due to their piety, and thus more likely to be listened to by Allah. And that is similar to the makkans when they were questioned about directing their prayers to their idols, they answered,
ما نعبدهم إلا ليقربونا إلى الله زلفى
"we only worship them so that they bring us closer to Allah”
soorah az-zumar, 39:3.
In Islam:
In spite of the importance of tawheed of lordship in Islam, yet belief in it alone is not enough to fulfill Islamic requirements of Tawheed. It must accompanied with tawheed of worship in order that believer faith to be completed. The idolators of the Prophet's time confirmed many aspects of the tawheed of lordship. In the quraan Allah says
"say; "who is it that gives you all sustenance from the sky and earth. Governs sight and hearing, brings forth life from dead (matter) and death from the living, and plans the affairs of man?" they will all say: 'Allah'." Soorah yoonus 10:3
"If you asked them who created them, they would surely say, 'Allah'." Soorah az-zukhruf, 43:87
The makkans all knew that Allah was their creator, sustainer, their lord and master yet this knowledge did not make them muslims according to god, Allah said:
"Most of them do not believe in Allah exept while joining partners to him" soorah yoosuf, 12:106
In spite of the makkans confessions of tawheed and their knowledge of Allah, Allah classified them as disbelievers and pagans because the worshipped other gods along with their worship of Allah.
So that in Islam it's very important to maintain the unity of Allah worship. all forms of worship should be directed to him because he is the only one who deserve worship and he alone who can grant benefit to man as a result of his worship. Actually in Islam the main purpose of the creation of man is to worship Allah. "I didn't create the jinn and mankind except for my worship" soorah adh-dhaariyaat, 51:56.
"Verily, we have sent to every nation a messenger (saying), 'worship Allah and avoid false gods'."
The prerequisite for the tawheed of uluhiyyah:
The tawheed of Allah in worship obliges us to direct towards him alone all types and forms of worship. This includes obligations:
1.The obligation of sincere dedication of love to Allah. That means that believers should not love any thing or anyone even himself more than or even equal to Allah.
"And of mankind are some who take (for worship) others besides Allah as rivals (to Allah). They love them they love Allah. But those who believe love Allah more"
And even the things that we naturally love like parents, offspring, homeland and money. To complete the requirements to be completely the servant of Allah, even these things shouldn't be more beloved to you than Allah. They should take the second place after our love to Allah. That means that we are ready to sacrifice these things for the sake of Allah.
"say: if your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, you kindred; the wealth that you gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in wich you delight are dearer to you than Allah and is messenger, and striving hard and fighting in his cause (jihad), then wait until Allah brings his decision (torment). And Allah guides not the people who are al faasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah)"
2.the obligation of devoting supplication, reliance and hope to Allah alone. Prophet Muhammad confirmed the unity of worship saying," if you ask in you prayer ask only Allah, and if you seek help, seek it only from Allah."
The absence of any need for intercession is further emphasized by the many verses indicating his closeness to man. "when my servants ask you (O Muhammad) about me (tell them), 'verily I am close (to them), I listen to the prayer of every one who calls on me. So let them respond to me and believe in me in order that they may be guided aright."
And Allah says: "and invoke not besides Allah, any that will neither profit you, nor hurt you, but if you did so, you shall certainly be one of the Zaalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers)"
3. The obligation of fearing only Allah. He who believes that some of Allah's creation could cause him harm by their own will and power, and fears them, is in fact association others with him, Allah says:
"then fear me (Allah) much"
Allah also says:
"And If Allah touches you with hurt, there is none who can remove it but He; and if He intends any goo for you, there in none who can repel his favour which he causes it to reach whomsoever of his slaves he wills. And He is the Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful"
4.he obligation of dedication purely and solely to Allah all physical forms of worship, such as prayer, prostration, fasting, animal sacrifice as well as verbal forms such as vows and seeking forgiveness. All that should be done for only Allah and no one beside him. Allah says:
"Verily! Allah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners in worship with him, but he forgives whom he pleases sins other than that, and whoever sets up partners in worship with Allah, has indeed strayed far away
