The Quran’s Violation of Tauhid Pt. 1

In this post I will show from both the Quran and ahadith that the Salafi belief in a threefold division of tauhid, i.e., Islamic monotheism, is false. The threefold classification of tauhid are:   

Tauhid al-rububiyyah: the sole lordship of Allah, being the one and only absolute sovereign owner and ruler of all creation.

Tauhid al-uluhiyyah/al-ibadah: worshiping Allah solely.

Tauhid al-asma wa’sifat: the uniqueness of Allah’s names and attributes/characteristics. Allah possesses specific names, titles, qualities that cannot be ascribed to any creature.

I will demonstrate that the Quran and hadith literature contradict all these classifications by proving that the Islamic corpus does not teach absolute, pure monotheism.

Allah’s Partner in All Things

The Quran elevates Muhammad to divine status, making him Allah’s partner in the divine will, decree, submission, etc.

Note, for instance, the following verse:

But no, by thy Lord, they will not be true believers until they make thee judge in all that is in dispute between them and then find not in their hearts any demur concerning that which thou decidest and submit with full submission. S. 4:65 Sher Ali

Hence, true Islam is the complete submission and surrender to Muhammad’s whims and decisions.

Furthermore, Allah makes Muhammad his partner in his pleasure:

They swear to you by Allah in order to please you, while Allah AND (wa) his Apostle are most entitled that they should seek HIS pleasure (yurduhu). S. 9:62

The word yurduhu is singular and yet, as the context makes it clear, it is used in relation to a dual subject, namely Allah and Muhammad his apostle. In other words, if this is not simply yet another grammatical error, then the singular is presumably being employed in order to group Muhammad and his deity together in their pleasure, in what pleases them.

This is reflected in the way some of the English versions of the Quran translate this particular text:

“… while God AND His messenger IS more worthy to be pleased if they were those who acknowledge.” Quran: Reformist Translation (QRT)

Notice here the use of the singular verb is, as opposed to are.

“… the while it is God and His Apostle WHOSE pleasure they should seek above all else…” Muhammad Asad

“… But it is more just that they should please God and the Apostle…” N. J. Dawood

This means that Allah has taken Muhammad to be his partner in his pleasure, so that Allah’s pleasure becomes Muhammad’s pleasure and Muhammad’s pleasure becomes Allah’s!

To put this simply, the verse is essentially saying that whatever pleases Muhammad pleases his god and vice-versa.

In fact, it is clear from other passages that Allah seems to have gone out of his way to make sure that his messenger was satisfied and happy.

For instance, in order to please him Allah made sure to make Muhammad rich:

Your Lord will give you and you will be pleased. Did he not find you an orphan and He sheltered you? He found you lost, and He guided you? He found you in need, so He gave you riches? S. 93:5-8 QRT

Here is how N. J. Dawood renders this text:

Did He not find you poor and enrich you? Dawood

Allah also changed the prayer direction just so that Muhammad would be happy:

We have seen thee [O Prophet] often turn thy face towards heaven [for guidance]: and now We shall indeed make thee turn in prayer in a direction which will fulfil thy desire. Turn, then, thy face towards the Inviolable House of Worship; and wherever you all may be, turn your faces towards it [in prayer]. S. 2:144 Asad

Here is how Dawood translates it:

“Many a time have We seen you turn your face towards the sky. We will make you turn towards a kiblah that will please you…”

Allah even allowed Muhammad to have more wives than his own followers, and permitted him to have any woman that offered herself freely without having to pay a dowry. Muhammad was also given the freedom to visit whichever wife he so desired, and even postpone seeing any one of them if he so wished:

O prophet, We have made lawful for you the wives to whom you have already given their dowry, and the one who is committed to you by oath, as granted to you by God, and the daughters of your father's brothers, and the daughters of your father's sisters, and the daughters of your mother's brothers, and the daughters of your mother's sisters, of whom they have emigrated with you. Also, the acknowledging woman who had decreed herself to the prophet, the prophet may marry her if he wishes, as a privilege given only to you and not to those who acknowledge. We have already decreed their rights in regard to their spouses and those who are still dependants. This is to spare you any hardship. God is Forgiver, Compassionate. You may postpone whom you will of them, and you may receive whom you will. Whomsoever you seek of those whom you have set aside then there is no sin upon you. Such is best that they may be comforted and not grieve, and may all be pleased with what you give them. God knows what is in your hearts. God is Knowledgeable, Compassionate. S. 33:50-51 QRT

Thus, whereas Muhammad’s followers could only have up to four wives, if they could treat all of them fairly, and had to pay them their dowries, 

If you fear that you cannot treat orphans with fairness, then you may marry other women who seem good to you: two, three, or four of them. But if you fear that you cannot maintain equality among them, marry one only or any slave-girls you may own. This will make it easier for you to avoid injustice. Give women their dowry as a free gift; but if they choose to make over to you a part of it, you may regard it as lawfully yours. S. 4:3-4 Dawood

Muhammad, on the other hand, didn’t have to follow such rules and restrictions.

What makes this rather interesting, if not outright comical, is that Muhammad’s child bride started to take notice that the Islamic deity seemed to be going out of his way to make sure that Muhammad’s desires and wishes were being fulfilled:

Narrated Aisha: I used to look down upon those ladies who had given themselves to Allah’s Apostle and I used to say, “Can a lady give herself (to a man)?” But when Allah revealed: “You (O Muhammad) can postpone (the turn of) whom you will of them (your wives), and you may receive any of them whom you will; and there is no blame on you if you invite one whose turn you have set aside (temporarily).” (33.51) I said (to the Prophet), “I feel that your Lord hastens in fulfilling your desire and wishes.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 311)

Can it be any more obvious that Allah not only made Muhammad’s pleasure his top priority, but made Muhammad’s pleasures his very own?

This brings me to the Arabic conjunction wa (“and”), which is used all throughout the Quran to conjoin Muhammad with his lord. Muslim scholars admit that this is deliberately employed to make Muhammad Allah’s partner:

The fact that mention of the Prophet is directly connected to mention of Allah also shows that obedience to the Prophet is connected to obedience to Allah and his name to Allah’s name. Allah says, “Obey Allah and His Messenger” (2:32) and “Believe in Allah and His Messenger.” (4:136) Allah joins them together using the conjunction WA WHICH IS THE CONJUNCTION OF PARTNERSHIP. IT IS NOT PERMITTED TO USE THIS CONJUNCTION IN CONNECTION WITH ALLAH IN THE CASE OF ANYONE EXCEPT THE PROPHET.

Hudhayfa said that the Prophet said, “None of you should say, ‘What Allah wills and (wa) so-and-so wills.’ Rather say, ‘What Allah wills.’ Then stop and say, ‘So-and-so wills.’”

Al-Khattabi said, “The Prophet has guided you to correct behaviour in putting the will of Allah before the will of others. He chose ‘then’ (thumma) which implies sequence and deference as opposed to ‘and’ (wa) WHICH IMPLIES PARTNERSHIP.”

Something similar is mentioned in another hadith. Someone was speaking in the presence of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, “Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has been rightly guided, and whoever rebels against them both (joining them together by using the dual form)…” The Prophet said to him, “What a bad speaker you are! Get up! [Or he said: Get out!]”

Abu Sulayman said, “He disliked the two names being joined together in that way BECAUSE IT IMPLIES EQUALITY.”… (Qadi ‘Iyad, Kitab Ash-shifa bi ta’rif huquq al-Mustafa (Healing by the recognition of the Rights of the Chosen One), translation by Aisha Abdarrahman Bewley [Madinah Press, Inverness, Scotland, U.K.; third reprint 1991, paperback], p. 8; capital emphasis mine)

The following Islamic reference concurs that this conjunction is used to show partnership and equality, which is why it must be used with caution:

A Jewish man came to the Prophet and said: “Verily, you (Muslims) commit Shirk, for you say: ‘As Allah wills AND as you will;’ and you say: ‘By the Ka’bah!’” And so the Prophet ordered whoever wanted to swear, to say: “By the Lord of the Ka’bah” and to say: “As Allah wills, THEN as you will.” (An-Nasaa’ee, it was declared saheeh by Albanee in as Saheehah # 137 and declared saheeh by by Adh-Dhahabee in his checking of Al Mustadrak and declared saheeh by Ibn Hajar in Al Isaabah 4/389)

A man came to the Prophet and he said: “As Allah AND you will,” at which the Prophet said: “Would you set me up as a partner besides Allah? As Allah Alone Wills” (An-Nasaa’ee, declared authentic (hasan) by Albanee in as Saheehah # 139)

On the authority of At-Tufail the half brother of Aishah it is reported that he said: “I saw in a dream that I came upon a number of Jews and I said to them: ‘You are indeed a good people were it not that you claim ‘Uzair is the son of Allah.’ They replied: ‘You too are good, were it not that you say: As Allah wills AND as Muhammad wills.’ Then, I came upon a number of Christians and I said to them: ‘You are indeed a good people were it not that you claim the Messiah (Jesus) is the son of Allah.’ They replied: ‘You are also good, were it not that you say: As Allah wills AND as Muhammad wills.’ When I awoke I told someone about this then I went to the Prophet and repeated it to him. He asked me: ‘Have you told anyone about this?’ I said: ‘Yes.’ Then he went to the pulpit and, after praising Allah, he said: ‘At-Tufail had a dream which he has already communicated to some of you. You used to say something which I was prevented from forbidding to you until now. Henceforth do not say: As Allah wills AND as Muhammad wills, but say: What Allah Alone Wills.’” (Ibn Maajah, Albanee mentioned it in as Saheehah # 138, Al Haythamee said in Majma Az-Zawaaid: the men in its chain are reliable according to the conditions of Imam Muslim) (Takhreej of Kitaab at Tawheed, posted by SalafiManhaj.com, 2004, Chapter 43: Saying: “As Allah Wills and You Will”, pp. 21-22; See also Kitab At-Tawheed, by Sheikh ul-Islam Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab, translated by the Compilation and Research Department Dar-us-Salam [Dar-us-Salam Publications Riyadh-Saudi Arabia, 1996], Chapter No: 44. How it is to say “What Allah may will and you may will”; emphasis mine)

And yet the Quran repeatedly joins Muhammad and his god through the use of this conjunction, particularly in contexts which make them equal in authority and dominion.

I cite a few examples:

Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind): If ye love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. Say: Obey Allah AND the messenger. But if they turn away, lo! Allah loveth not the disbelievers (in His guidance). S. 3:31-32 Pickthall

And it behooves not a believing man and a believing woman that they should have any choice in their matter when Allah AND His Apostle have decided a matter; and whoever disobeys Allah AND His Apostle, he surely strays off a manifest straying. And when you said to him to whom Allah had shown favor AND to whom you had shown a favor: Keep your wife to yourself and be careful of (your duty to) Allah; and you concealed in your soul what Allah would bring to light, and you feared men, and Allah had a greater right that you should fear Him. But when Zaid had accomplished his want of her, We gave her to you as a wife, so that there should be no difficulty for the believers in respect of the wives of their adopted sons, when they have accomplished their want of them; and Allah's command shall be performed. S. 33:36-37 Shakir

Allah serves Muhammad

As if this isn’t bad enough, the Muslim sources make it much more blasphemous by insinuating that Allah actually worships Muhammad!

Case in point:

Verily, God and His angels pray for the prophet (Allaha wa’mala-ikatahu yusalloona ala al-nabiyyi). O ye who believe! pray for him (salloo alayhi) and salute him with a salutation! S. 33:56 Palmer

Here we have Allah joining the angels in praying for Muhammad, and exhorts Muslims to do the same.

According to some of the early Muslims, Allah’s prayers for Muhammad consist of praising him in front of all the angels:

The Command to say Salah upon the Prophet

Al-Bukhari said: "Abu Al-`Aliyah said: "Allah's Salah is His praising him before the angels, and the Salah of the angels is their supplication.'' Ibn `Abbas said: "They send blessings.” Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi said: "This was narrated from Sufyan Ath-Thawri and other scholars, who said: `The Salah of the Lord is mercy, and the Salah of the angels is their seeking forgiveness. There are Mutawatir Hadiths narrated from the Messenger of Allah commanding us to send blessings on him and how we should say Salah upon him. ((Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 33:56: https://www.alim.org/quran/tafsir/ibn-kathir/surah/33/56/; emphasis mine)

Some Muslims claim that Allah’s salah means his blessings, which is simply nonsense. Allah’s salah is distinguished from his baraka (blessing), a fact which is even admitted by Muslim authorities, including Muhammad’s own companions:

“Allah makes the merit of His Prophet clear by first praying blessing on Himself, and then by the prayer of the angels, and then by commanding His slaves to pray blessing and peace on him as well. Abu Bakr ibn Furak related that one of the 'ulama interpreted the words of the Prophet, ‘The coolness of my eye is in the prayer,’ as meaning Allah's prayer, that of the angels and that of his community in response to Allah's command until the Day of Rising. The prayer of angels and men is supplication for him and that of Allah is mercy.

“It is said that ‘they pray’ means they invoke blessing (baraka). However, when the Prophet taught people the prayer on himself, he made a distinction between the word salat (prayer) and baraka (blessing). We will return to the meaning of the prayer on him later.” (Qadi 'Iyad, Ash-Shifa, Part One. Allah’s great estimation of the worth of His Prophet expressed in both word and action, Chapter One: Allah’s Praise Of Him And His Great Esteem For Him, Section 8: Concerning Allah instructing His creation to say the prayer on the Prophet, His protecting him and removing the punishment because of him, p. 25; bold emphasis mine)

And:

“The Prophet made a distinction between salat (prayer) and baraka (blessing) in the hadith in which he taught about making the prayer on him. This indicates that they have two separate meanings.” (Ibid., Part Two. Concerning the rights which people owe the Prophet, Chapter Four: The Prayer On The Prophet And Asking Peace For Him, And The Obligation Of Doing It And Its Excellence, Section 1: The meaning of the prayer on the Prophet, p. 250; bold emphasis mine)

Again:

“Salama al-Kindi said: ‘Ali used to teach us the prayer on the Prophet as follows: ‘O Allah, the One who spread out the flat expanses and created the heavens! Bestow YOUR NOBLE PRAYERS, Your increasing blessing and the compassion of Your tenderness upon Muhammad…’”

"‘Ali also said about the prayer on the prophet in the ayat, ‘Allah and his angels pray on the Prophet’ (33:56) ‘At your service and obedience, my Lord. The PRAYERS OF Allah, the good and Merciful, the near angels, the true ones, the martyrs, the salihun, and anything that glorifies You, O Lord of the worlds, be upon Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah…’” (Ibid., Section 4: Concerning the manner of doing the prayer on the Prophet and asking for peace for him, p. 257; capital and underline emphasis mine)

This next one is particularly interesting:

“Ibn Mas'ud used to say, ‘When you bless the Prophet, then make the prayer on him excellent. You do not know; perhaps it will be shown to him. Say, “O Allah, bestow YOUR PRAYERS, Your MERCY and Your BLESSING on the Master of the Messengers, the Imam of the God-fearing, the Leader of the Good and the Messenger of Mercy.”’” (Ibid., p. 258; underline and capital emphasis mine)

Here we see the words prayers, mercy and blessing being used together in the same sentence, which therefore conclusively proves that they do not have the same meaning.

Moreover, the hadiths which instruct Muslims to pray for their prophet actually distinguish between Allah’s prayer (salah) and his blessing (baraka):

The Command to say Salah upon the Prophet

Al-Bukhari said: "Abu Al-`Aliyah said: “Allah's Salah is His praising him before the angels, and the Salah of the angels is their supplication.” Ibn `Abbas said: “They send blessings.” Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi said: “This was narrated from Sufyan Ath-Thawri and other scholars, who said: `The Salah of the Lord is mercy [sic], and the Salah of the angels is their seeking forgiveness.’” There are Mutawatir Hadiths narrated from the Messenger of Allah commanding us to send blessings on him and how we should say Salah upon him. We will mention as many of them as we can, if Allah wills, and Allah is the One Whose help we seek. In his Tafsir of this Ayah, Al-Bukhari recorded that Ka`b bin `Ujrah said, “It was said, `O Messenger of Allah, with regard to sending Salam upon you, we know about this, but how about Salah?’ He said…

<<Say: ‘O Allah, send YOUR SALAH upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent YOUR SALAH upon the family of Ibrahim, verily You are the Most Praiseworthy, Most Glorious. O Allah, send YOUR BLESSINGS upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent YOUR BLESSINGS upon the family of Ibrahim, verily You are Most Praiseworthy, Most Glorious.’>>” Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn Abi Layla said that Ka`b bin `Ujrah met him and said, “Shall I not give you a gift? The Messenger of Allah came out to us and we said, `O Messenger of Allah! We know how to send Salam upon you, but how can we send Salah?’ He said…

<<Say: ‘O Allah, send YOUR SALAH upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent YOUR SALAH upon the family of Ibrahim, verily You are the Most Praiseworthy, Most Glorious. O Allah, send YOUR BLESSINGS upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent YOUR BLESSINGS upon the family of Ibrahim, verily You are Most Praiseworthy, Most Glorious.’'>>” This Hadith has been recorded by the Group in their books with different chains of narration. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 33:56; capital and underline emphasis mine)

And:

Another Hadith

Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri said: “We said, `O Messenger of Allah, this is the Salam upon you, but how do we send Salah upon you?’ He said…

<<Say: ‘O Allah, send YOUR SALAH upon Muhammad, Your servant and Messenger, as You sent YOUR SALAH upon the family of Ibrahim, and send YOUR BLESSINGS upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent YOUR BLESSINGS upon the family of Ibrahim.’>>” Abu Salih narrated that Layth said…

<<Upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You sent YOUR BLESSINGS upon the family of Ibrahim.>> Ibrahim bin Hamzah told that, Ibn Abi Hazim and Ad-Darawardi told, that Yazid, i.e., Ibn Al-Had said…

<<As You sent YOUR SALAH upon Ibrahim, and send YOUR BLESSINGS upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent Your blessings upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim.>> This was also recorded by An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah. (Ibid.; capital and underline emphasis mine)

Allah prays for Muhammad by glorifying him in heaven, a clear act of worship!

This is because prayer can be an act of worship that consists of praising and glorification, which is what Muslims do when they pray to Allah. As such, Allah is worshiping Muhammad.

Allah creates the universe for Muhammad’s sake

To add to the blasphemy, certain reports deemed authentic state that Allah created the heavens and earth for Muhammad!

Ad-Dailami recorded in al-Firdaws bi Ma`thur al-Khitab through Ibn 'Abbas that the Prophet said, "Jibril came to me and said: 'Allah said: 'If it were not for you [Muhammad] I would not have created Paradise and if it were not for you I would not have created Hellfire."

The same hadith was mentioned by Ibn 'Asakr in Tarikh Dimishq from the narration of Salman al-Farsi in his wording: "I have created the world and its inhabitants to demonstrate your honor and status [I hold you in]. And if it were not for you O Muhammad, I would not have created the world."

Al-Hakim included in al-Mustadrak and Abu al-Sheikh in Tabaqat al-Asfahanin through Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas a hadith mawquf which states:

"Allah revealed to Isa and said: 'O Isa! Believe in Muhammad and order those from among your people who will be present at his time to believe in him. For if it were not for Muhammad, I would not have created Adam and if it were not for Muhammad, I would not have created Paradise or Hellfire. I have placed the throne over water and it quavered, but when I wrote on it that there is no Deity except Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, it became still."

Al-Hakim declared it authentic. Bukhari and Muslim did not record it.

The hadith included by al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak and by al-Baihaqi in Dala`il al- Nubuwwa from the narration of Umar Ibn al-Khattab, who said:

"The Prophet said, "When Adam sinned he said, O Allah! I ask for Your forgiveness for the sake of Muhammad." Allah asked him, "How do you know Muhammad when I have not yet created him?" He (Adam) said, "O Allah! After you created me and breathed into me of your soul I raised my head and saw 'There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah' written on the Throne. I then came to know that You would not put anyone's name next to Yours except the name of the one who is dearest to You from among creation." Allah said, "O Adam! You have spoken the truth. Indeed, he [Muhammad] is the dearest to me from among all creation. Supplicate to me through his sake for indeed I have forgiven you. If it were not for Muhammad, I would not have created you."

Al-Hakim declared it authentic and al-Taqi as-Subki declared it fair in Shifa` as- Siqam.

The preceding narrations have been taken from this article: Did God create the world for the love of Prophet Muhammad?

It is obvious that these traditions are depicting Muhammad as a Christ-like figure in order to erase and replace Jesus from the devotion and love of Muslims. This is because the New Testament expressly teaches that God created all things through and for his beloved Son:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people... The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him... And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

“He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created THROUGH HIM and FOR HIM. He himself IS before all things, and IN HIM all things hold together.” Colossians 1:13-17 NRSVUE

“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” Hebrews 1:1-3 NRSVUE

I will have more to say in the next part in the series: The Quran’s Violation of Tauhid Pt. 2.