Errors of Certain Groups Regarding the Meaning of Tawḥīd and a Clarification of the Truth

Among their leading figures is one who proclaims, “The Kaʿbah is the qiblah of the common folk, but praying toward the grave of Shaykh So-and-so—turning one’s back to the Kaʿbah—is the qiblah of the elect!”

Such a statement, and everything like it, amounts to explicit disbelief by the unanimous agreement of Muslim scholars. These issues could be treated at far greater length—citing the positions of the scholars and their proofs—than this abridged work permits. I have discussed them elsewhere in detail, but here I merely point out the main questions, the broad categories of evidence, and the higher purposes of the Sharīʿah: purifying the religion for Allah alone, worshipping Him without partner, and blocking every avenue—great or small—that leads to idolatry. This is the very foundation of faith, the essence of the messengers’ religion, and the true monotheism of the Lord of all creation.

Yet various groups, both among the speculative theologians and among those devoted to spiritual exercises, have erred in their understanding of Tawḥīd, to the point that they have overturned its reality. One faction imagined that Tawḥīd consists in negating the divine attributes—even the Most Beautiful Names—and they called themselves “the People of Tawḥīd.”