First Principle: Belief in Allah
Introduction
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First Principle: Belief in Allah
This is the bedrock and foundation of the creed. It means holding with absolute certainty that Allah is the Lord and Sovereign of everything; that He alone is the Creator, the One who directs the entire universe; that He alone deserves worship and has no partner whatsoever; and that anything worshipped besides Him is false and its worship is invalid. Allah, Exalted is He, says: “That is because Allah alone is the Truth, whereas what they call upon besides Him is sheer falsehood; and indeed Allah is the Most High, the All-Great.” 1 He, glorified be He, possesses every attribute of perfection and majesty and is exalted above every flaw or deficiency. Such conviction is the essence of tawḥīd in its three forms: tawḥīd al-rubūbiyyah (affirming His Lordship), tawḥīd al-ulūhiyyah (affirming His exclusive right to be worshipped), and tawḥīd al-asmāʾ wa-l-ṣifāt (affirming His names and attributes).