TAWHEED - FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS

 

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TAWHEED – FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS

What is the meaning of tawheed?

Tawheed means monotheism or unicity of Allah. Allah is One, kul huwa allah ahad. It is the fundamental principle of Islam. Tawheed also means that this One harmonizes all the contradictory principles. Allah gives life and death, Allah is angry as well as merciful, it gives night and day. It has the capacity to dissolve all differences. 

Allah is also unique, laysa ka mithlihi shayun [there is nothing like him [42:11]

Wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad [there is not one thing like him [112:4]. 

Tawheed also means Allah Unites. It causes atomic, subatomic cellular and stellar reality to come together over seemingly irreconcilable differences. Its serves as a principle of unity and not dominance and control. It harmonizes, makes all in a complete whole, supporting each other, balancing each other. 

How do we apply this principle of unity to our daily lives?

We do a big disservice to Islam when we confine tawheed to just the divine. There is a reason why tawheed has a central place in Islamic theology. While it is expected that tawheed plays a central role in defining human relationship with the Creator, it is not enough to keep it within the divine parameters. Tawheed must mean something to me in my daily life. How can I apply tawheedic principle in my interactions and engagements with fellow human beings. 

So how do we actually do it?

If the meaning of tawheed is to harmonize, to bring in oneness, to bring in unity, should harmony, unity not be an important human trait? If Allah harmonizes, should humans do the opposite? If Allah unites, should humans disintegrate? Clearly not. Humans have to do what Allah does for humans, bring in harmony and unity and oneness amongst not just humans but amongst all its creation. So to begin, we must treat all human and non-human creations as divine, as manifestation of the divine. Our task is to bring in harmony and unity where ever we are, in which ever situation. If one believes in tawheed, then equality is essential. I cannot treat anyone as my subpar if I believe in the principle of tawheed. And that without doubt includes gender relationship. In our own heads, it is important to believe in gender equality as a given in a world today where women’s consciousness has risen exponentially. So the first job is to put women and men on a common and equal pedestal. There cannot be a hierarchical relationship between the sexes vis-à-vis the Creator. 

How else can this be done, especially taking the help of the Quran?

To understand human beings from the Quranic perspective, we need to understand what is our purpose of being born as humans. What did Allah envisage for us? This is stated in the verse, 2:30, Inni jaa’ilun fi al-ard khalifah, I will surely create on the earth a khalifa. So the purpose of human creation on earth is to be a khalifa. A khalifa is an agent of the divine will. And the divine will to be maintain the divine harmony and oneness, equality and balance. So human beings are agents of Allah to bring in harmony and oneness. 

What is the tawheedic paradigm  

The dominant patriarchal understanding of women-men relationship is hierarchical. It goes like a vertical line                                                                  

                                                                GOD 

                                                                 ⬇️                                                                 

                                                               MEN                                                                                                                                                                    ⬇️

                                                            WOMEN 

God-men-women. This arrangement in not harmonious and equal. It puts men in between women and her Creator. Putting one human being as superior to another does not indicate oneness and harmony. It is not in line with the tawheedic understanding of Allah. Women and men are khalifa on earth, fulfilling the purpose of a harmonious and balanced creation. Not just women-men but all relationships are to move towards harmony. And not just relationships among humans but relationships with all other non-human creations must also be equal and harmonious. To keep oneself over another person is the mind of the satan. It is a sign of takabbur [pride]. Patriarchy is satanic logic, reeking of superiority and unequal relationship. 

Every person, female or male is a khalifa before Allah. Women are full agents in the family, in the society, in Islam and as human beings. We have the capacity and responsibility to fulfill all role, public, private and spiritual. Hence the tawheedic paradigm thus looks like this:

                                                               GOD 

                                                   ↙️.               ↘️

                     MEN    ⬅️    ➡️     WOMEN 

Reference: 

The Ethics of Tawheed over Ethics of Qiwamah, Amina Wadud, Men In Charge, Rethinking Authority in Muslim Legal Tradition.