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Everything has a maker. Every action has a doer. Every word has a writer. Every city has a governor. So, this great universe has a maker, too. Someone has created it. Someone manages and maintains it.
Tawhid is to declare that there is only one god who is the creator and sustainer of everything. Tawhid has been the message of 124,000 prophets sent to humanity. From Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), including Prophet Isa and Moses, every single prophet has declared that there is only one god.
Islam puts tawhid to the centre of the belief. It proves that everything has been created by Allah Subhanahuwata’ala; and He is the only god.
We will reflect on two Divine Names related to tawhid: Wahid and Ahad.
Vahdaniyyah (Oneness) is one of the attributes of Allah. It means Allah is unique and one; there is no other god but Allah. He has no partners in His Self, His attributes and His actions. This leads us to the Divine Names “Wahid” and “Ahad”.
Wahid means unique. It is more related with the unity that looks to the great circle of creation. We will focus on the “glory and majesty” side of it. It is related with the macrocosm, in other words, the universe. When we have a look at the entire universe, we observe that there is a majestic creation occurred (and actually still occurring). In the totality of the universe we see massive stars, planets, and celestial bodies in hundreds of thousands of systems, all of which work in perfect order. How can this perfect order be established and how is it managed without any chaos? Can you imagine the billions of stars and planets revolving constantly but not causing any disaster by crashing at each other? Everything in the universe has a perfect measure and balance. And we, as humans, are just in one of those billions of planets travelling across the universe.
In this vast universe maintaining the order constantly is only possible with a unique management and power. This cannot be the work of blind chance or apparent causes; because all the things going on can only be the result of a conscious mind. All these facts leads us to accept that there must be someone who has an absolute power to create and sustain all these wonderful creations. And He is indeed our creator, Allah Subhanahuwata’ala.
Allah has total disposal over the universe and makes the huge sun as a servant, a lamp, and a heater for the living beings in the earth. He makes the great earth a hostel, a market and a trade centre for human; and the clouds a strainer; and the mountains storehouses and treasuries; and the air a fan for living beings for breathing in and out; and the water a seller of sweet drinks and supplier of water of life to animals.
Although we can see these great works of art and creation and say SubhanAllah, many people may not be aware of them. In other words they may not reach the truth of the existence and unity of the creator. Even though they try to understand, the minds might be overwhelmed and the hearts forget the creator.
Therefore, these majestic works in the universe, macrocosm, requires a broad perspective so that a person can realize it. In fact, only a capable mind can truly comprehend this magnificent creation and order; and it can rightfully understand Wahidiyyah.
Here comes Ahadiyyah (Divine Oneness). Allah is Ahad. That is, He is single, undivided. He is all-present everywhere. If we look at the earth and the beings in it (microcosm), we will see the beauty and mercy aspects of the divine creation. Animals, plants, mountains, seas and anything we see leads us to the Ahadiyyah. Moreover, everyone can see these evidences of oneness easily.
For instance, the difference of human faces and finger prints is exactly a proof to the Oneness. From the first person to the last lived (will be living) in this world, no one has the same face or finger print. This means there is someone who has been all-present in the creation of every person and determined the features of them. In other words, these things are not coincidental and show that there has been a purposeful creation.
Sustenance is great proof of Ahadiyyah, too. We realize that the living beings, like flowers, trees, insects, and fishes, are fed perfectly. From the deepest oceans to the highest peaks of the mountains they are all sustained perfectly. None of them are forgotten. Especially the weakest of them are best sustained. For example,
the baby animals (and actually human babies, too) are served perfectly from the moment they are born. The purest and most nutritious food, mother’s milk is sent as their sustenance.
While we cannot even manage to feed a few fish in an aquarium at home, every creature on the entire earth is sustained perfectly. This means that there is someone who sees the needs of every creature and sends them their sustenance. Allah bestows every member of the living beings (plants, animals, humans) their regular provisions. This proves and demonstrates that He is Ahad.
There are some other facts that clearly prove the oneness of the creator. For example, within boundless abundance of beings, there are endless subtleties of art in every member of the creation. And there is highest degree of mastery and elegance of art within infinite multiplicity. Within utmost intermingling there is greatest distinction and differentiation. There is highest worth and most supreme beauty as regards creation within the greatest abundance.
To conclude, the macrocosm and the microcosm present us the proofs that there is only one god who has created everything and maintains the order in the entire universe. And He is our Creator, Allah Subhanahuwata’ala.