The eminent scholar Shaykh Bakr Abū Zayd—may Allah preserve him—said:

“This classification, derived by systematic examination and found among the early scholars of the pious predecessors, was mentioned by Ibn Mandah, Ibn Jarīr al-Tabarī, and others. It was affirmed by the two Shaykhs of Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, as well as by al-Zabīdī in Tāj al-ʿArūs and our teacher al-Shinqītī in Adwāʾ al-Bayān, among others—may Allah have mercy on them all. It rests on an exhaustive survey of the scriptural texts. This method is regularly employed by scholars in every discipline, as when grammarians examined Arab speech and classified its words into nouns, verbs, and particles. The Arabs themselves never articulated this classification, yet no one reproached the grammarians for it. The same applies to other forms of systematic examination.”1

Anyone who does not believe in these three categories, derived from the scriptural texts, does not believe in monotheism. For the monotheism required by revelation is belief in Allah’s oneness in His lordship, His right to be worshipped, and His names and attributes. Whoever does not affirm all of this is not a monotheist.

Indeed, the declaration of monotheism, “There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah,” which is the foundation and basis of the religion, itself indicates the three categories of monotheism. As Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah have mercy on him—said:

“The testimony that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah encompasses matters concerning the Divine, namely the three fundamentals: Allah’s oneness in His lordship, His right to be worshipped, and His names and attributes. These three fundamentals are the axis around which revolve the religions of the Messengers and the revelations sent down to them. They are the great fundamentals to which reason and innate human nature point and bear witness.”

How this mighty declaration indicates the three categories of monotheism is perfectly clear to anyone who reflects upon it: it affirms worship for Allah and denies it to anyone besides Him. It also indicates His oneness in lordship, for one who is powerless cannot be a deity. It further indicates His oneness in