This category is based on the fundamental concept that Allaah alone caused all things to exist when there was nothing; He sustains and maintains creation without any need from it or for it; and He is the sole Lord of the universe and its inhabitants without any real challenge to His sovereignty. In Arabic the word used to describe this creator-sustainer quality is Ruboobeeyah which is derived from the root “Rabb” (Lord). According to this category, since God is the only real power in existence, it is He who gave all things the power to move and to change. Nothing happens in creation except what He allows to happen. In recognition of this reality, Prophet Muhammad (saws) used to often repeat the exclamatory phrase “La hawla wa laa quwwata illaa billaah” (There is no movement nor power except by Allaah’s will).
The basis for the Ruboobeeyah concept can be found in many Qur’anic verses. For example, Allaah says:

“Allaah created all things and He Is the agent on which all things depend."9

“And Allaah created you all and whatever you do."10

“It was not you who threw, when you threw, but it was Allaah who threw."11

“And no calamity strikes except by Allaah’s permission."12

The Prophet (saws) further elaborated on this concept saying, “Be aware that if the whole of mankind gathered together in order to do something to help you, they would only be able to do something for you which Allaah had already written for you. Likewise, if the whole of mankind gathered together to harm you, they would only be able to do something to harm you which Allaah had already written to happen to you"13

Thus, what man conceives as good fortune and misfortune are merely events predestined by Allaah as part of the tests of this life. The incidents follow patterns set only by Allaah. Allaah has said in the Qur’aan,

“O Believers! Surely there Is In your wives and children an enemy for you, so beware of them."14

That is, within the good things of this life there are severe tests of one’s faith in God. Likewise, in the terrible events of life there lies test as is mentioned in the verse,

“Surely We will test you with fear, hunger, loss of wealth and life and the fruits of your work, so give glad tidings to those who are patient."15

Sometimes the patterns are recognizable, as in the case of cause and effect relationships, and sometimes they are not, as in the case when apparently good results come from evil means or bad results from good means. God has explained that the wisdom behind these apparent irregularities is often beyond man’s immediate comprehension due to his limited scope of knowledge.

“Perhaps you may dislike something which is really good for you or like something bad for you, but Allaah knows (what is best for you), and you do not."16

Apparently evil events in human lives sometimes turn out to be for the best and apparently good things which people desire turn out to be harmful. Consequently, man’s realm of influence in the course of events which make up his life is limited to the mental choice between options presented to him and not the actual results of his choice. In other words “man proposes and God disposes”. Apparent “good fortune” and “misfortune” are both from Allaah and can not be caused by good-luck charms such as rabbit’s feet, four-leaf clovers, wishbones, lucky numbers, zodiacal signs, etc., or by omens of bad luck like Friday the thirteenth, breaking mirrors, black cats, etc. In fact, the belief in charms and omens is a manifestation of the grave sin of Shirk (association) in this form of Tawheed. ‘Uqbah, one of the companions of the Prophet (saws), reported that once a group of men approached Allaah’s messenger to give their allegiance to him, and he accepted the oath from nine of them but refused to accept it from one. When they asked him why he refused their companion’s oath, he replied, “Verily, he is wearing an amulet"17 The man who was wearing the amulet put his hand in his cloak, pulled the amulet off and broke it then made the oath. The Prophet (saws) then said, “Whoever wears an amulet has committed Shirk."18

As for using the Qur’aan like a charm or amulet by wearing or carrying Qur’anic verses on chains or in pouches to ward off evil or to bring good fortune, there is little difference between such practices and those of the pagans. Neither the Prophet (saws) nor his Companions used the Qur’aan in this fashion, and the Prophet (saws) said, “Whoever innovates in Islaam something which does not belong to it will have it rejected."19 It is true that the Qur’anic chapters, an-Naas and al-Falaq, were revealed specifically for exorcism (that is, for removing evil spells), but the Prophet (saws) demonstrated the proper method by which they should be used. On an occasion when a spell had been cast on him, he told ‘Alee ibn Abee Taalib to recite the two chapters verse by verse and when he became ill he used to recite them on himself.20 He did not write them down and hang them around his neck, tie them on his arm or around his waist, nor did he tell others to do so.

1. J.M. Cowan, The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, (Spoken Language Services Inc., New York, 3rd. ed., 1976), p.1055.
2. The word Tawheed does not actually occur in either the Qur’aan or in the statements (Hadeeths) of the Prophet (~). However, when the Prophet (~) sent Mu’aadh ibn Jabal as governor of Yemen in 9AH, he told him, “You will be going to Christians and Jews (ahl al-Kitaab), so the first thing you should invite them to is the assertion of the oneness of Allaah (Yuwahhidoo Allaah).” (Narrated by Ibn ‘Abbaas and collected by al-Bukhaaree (Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Sahih Al-Bukhari, (Arabic-English), (Riyadh: Maktabah ar-Riyaad al-Hadeethah, 1981), vol.9, pp. 348-9, no.469) and Muslim (Abdul Hamid Siddiq, Sahih Muslim (English Trans.), (Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf Publishers, 1987), vol.1, pp.14-5, no.27). In this Hadeeth the present tense of the verb from which the verbal noun Tawheed is derived was used by the Prophet (~).
3. Ibn Abil-’Ezz al-Hanafee, Sharh al-’Aqeedah at-Tahaaweeyah, p.78.
4. Ibn Hajar, Tahdheeb at-Tahdheeb, (Hydrabad, 1325-7)vol. 10, p.225.
5. ‘Abdul-Qaahir ibn Taahir aI-Baghdaadee, Al-Farq bain al-Firaq, (Beirut: Daar al-Ma’rifah), pp.19-20.
6. Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Kareem ash-Shahrastaanee, Al-Milal wan-Nihal, (Beirut: Daar al-Ma’rifah, 2nd ed., 1975), vol.1, p.30.
7. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ar-Radd ‘alaa al-Jahmeeyah, (Riyadh: Daar al-Liwaa, 1st ed., 1977), pp.41-43.
8. Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Kareem ash-Sharastaanee, Al-Milal wan-Nihal, vol.1, p.46.
9. Soorah az-Zumar 39:62.
10. Soorah as-Saafaat 37:96.
11. Soorah al-Anfaal 8:17. This was in reference to a miraculous incident which took place when the Prophet (~) gathered some dust in his hand and threw it at the enemy (at the beginning of the Battle of Badr). Allaah caused the dust to reach the faces of the enemy in spite of their great distance.
12. Soorah at-Taghaabun 64:11.
13. Reported by Ibn ‘Abbaas and collected by at-Tirmidhee. See Ezzeddin Ibrahim and Denys Johnson - Davies, An-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith, (English Trans.), (Damascus, Syria: The Holy Koran Publishing House, 1976), p.68, no.19.
14. Soorah at-Taghanbun 64:14.
15. Soorah al-Baqarah 2:155.
16. Soorah al-Baqarah, 2:216.
17. A charm worn to bring good fortune or avert evil.
18. Collected by Ahmad.
19. Reported by ‘Aaeshah and collected by al-Bukhaaree (Sahih Al-Bukhari, (Arabic - English) vol.3, p.535, no.861), Muslim (Sahih Muslim, (English Trans.) vol.3, i,. 931, no.4266 and no.4267) and Abu Daawood (Ahmad Hasan, Sunan Abu Dawud (English Trans.), (Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf Publishers, 1st. ed., 1984), vol.3, p. 1294).
20. Reported by ‘Aa’eshah and collected by al-Bukhaaree (Sahih Al-Bukhari, (Arabic-English), vol.6, p.495, no.535) and Muslim (Sahih Muslim, (English Trans.), vol.3, p.1195, no.5439 and 5440).
21. Soorah al-Fat-h 48:6.
22. Soorah ash-Shooraa 42:11.
23. Genesis 2:2, “And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done.” (Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version (Nelson, 1951), p.2).
24. In contrast Allaah says explicitly in the Qur’aan, “No tiredness overcomes Him nor sleep...” (Soorah al-Baqarah 2:255).
25. Exodus 32:14, “And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do to his people.” (Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version),
26. Allaah clearly states that in the following verse: “They ask you (Muhammad) about the spirit. Tell (them) that the spirit (exists) by my Lord’s command” (Soorah al-Israa 17:85).
27. Soorah ash-Shooraa 42-11.
28. Hebrews 7:1-3, (Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version).
29.
30. Muhammad Rida al-Muzaffar states in his book Faith of Shi’a Islam, (U.S.A.: Muhammadi Trust of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 2nd ed. 1983): “We believe that, like the prophet, an Imam must be Infallible, that is to say incapable of making errors or doing wrong, either Inwardly or outwardly, from his birth to his death, either intentionally or unintentionally, because the Imams are the preservers of Islam and it is under their protection.” (p.32). See also Islam, (Teheran: A Group of Muslim Brothers, 1973), p.35, by Sayed Saeed Akhtar Rizvi.
31. AI-Muzaffar further states: “We maintain that the powers of the Imams to receive inspiration has reached the highest degree of excellence, and we say that it is a Divinely - given power. By this means the Imam is able to understand information about anything, anywhere, and at any time, and he understands by means of this Divinely - given power at once, without recourse to methodological reasoning or guidance from a teacher.
32. Al-Khomeini states: “Certainly the Imam has a dignified station, a lofty rank, a creational caliphate, and sovereignty and mastery over all atoms of creation.” (Aayatullah Musavi al-Khomeini, al-Hukoomah al-Islaameeyah, (Beirut: at-Talee’ah Press; Arabic ed., 1979), p.52).
33. Soorah at-Tawbah 9:128.
34. (Sunan Abu Dawud, (English Trans.), vol.3, pp. 1385-86, no.4957).
35. Soorah Yoonus 10:31.
36. Soorah az-Zukhruf, 43:87.
37. Soorah al-’Ankaboot, 29:63.
38. Soorah Yoosuf, 12:106.
39. Mujaahid ibn Jubayr al-Makkee (642-722) was Ibn ‘Abbaas’ most outstanding student. The narrations of his Tafseer (commentary) of the Qur’aan has been compiled by ‘Abdur-Rahmaan at-Taahir and published in two volumes under the title, Tafseer Mujaahid, (Islamabad: Majma’ al-Buhooth).
40. Collected by Ibn Jareer at-Tabaree.
41. Soorah Aal’Imraan, 3:67.
42. Quoted in Sulaymaan ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhaab’s Tayseer al-’Azeez al-Hameed, (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islaamee, 2nd., 1970), p.34.
43. Soorah adh-Dhaariyiat, 51:56.
44. Soorah an-Nahl, 16:36.
45. Reported by Ibn ‘Abbaas and collected by at-Tirmidhee. See An-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith, (English Trans.), p.68.
46. Soorah al-Baqarah, 2:186.
47. Soorah Qaaf, 50:16.
48. Sunan Abu Dawud, vol.1, p.387, no.1474.
49. Soorah al-Anbiyaa, 21:66.
50. Soorah al-A’raaf, 7:194.
51. Abdul-Qaadir (1077-1166) was a principal of a school of Hanbalite Law and a Ribaat (monastery) in Baghdad. His Sermons (collected in al-Fat-h ar-Rabbaane, Cairo 1302) were strictly orthodox with some, mystic interpretations of the Qur’aan. Ibn ‘Arabee (born 1165) declared him the Qutb of his time and stated that he had a rank which placed him above all beings except God. ‘Alee ibn Yousuf ash-Shattanawfee (d. 1314 CE) wrote a book called Bahjat al-Asraar (Cairo, 1304) in which he attributed many miracles to ‘Abdul-Qaadir. The Qaadireeyah Sufi order is named after him and its spiritual exercises and regulations traced back to him. (Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam, pp.5-7 and 202-205).
52. Soorah al-An’aam, 6:17.
53. Soorah az-Zumar, 39:3.
54. Faatimah was the Prophet Muhammad’s youngest daughter who married the Prophet’s cousin ‘Alee ibn Abee Taalib, and Hasan and Husayn were their sons.
55. Soorah al-Baqarah, 2:165.
56. Soorah at-Tawbah 9:13.
57. Soorah al-Maa’idah, 5:23.
58. Soorah al-Maa’idah, 5:44.
59. Soorah at-Tawbah, 9:31.
60. Christian clergy made Haraam the marrying of more than one wife and the marrying of first cousins. Roman Catholicism forbade priests from marrying and forbade divorce in general.
61. The Christian Church made Halaal the consumption of pork, blood and alcohol. Some of them also made allowable painting and statues depicting God as a man.
62. Collected by at-Tirmidhee.
63. Soorah an-Nisaa, 4:48.
64. The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, p.468.
65. W.L. Reese, Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, (New Jersey: Humanities Press, 1980), pp.66-67 and 586-7. See also John Hinnells, Dictionary of Religions (England: Penguin Books, 1984) pp.67-8.
66. Dictionary of Religions, p.337.
67. Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, p.231.
68. Dictionary of Religions, pp.361-2.
69. Dictionary of Religions, p.358.
70. Ibid., p. 363.
71. Literally, “men of the unseen world”. The world is supposed to endure due to the intercessions of a hierarchy of “averting” Saints whose number are fixed, the place of one who dies being immediately filled. (Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam, p.582).
72. Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam, pp.55.
73. Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, p.72.
74. Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, pp. 262-3.
75. Soorah ash-Shooraa, 26:29.
76. Soorah an-Naazi’aat, 79:24.
77. Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, p.327.
78. Ibid., p.391.
79. Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, pp.508-9.
80. Soorah az-Zumar, 39:62.
81. Soorah ar-Rahmaan, 55:26.
82. Quoted in Francis Hitching’s, The Neck of the Giraffe, (New York: Ticknor and Fields, 1982), p.254 from Tax and Callender, 1960, vol.111, p.45.
83. Soorah an-Nahl, 16:36.
84. Soorah Aal’Imraan, 3:31.
85. Reported by Anas and collected by al-Bukhaaree (Sahih Bukhari (English- Arabic), vol.1, p.20, no.13) and Muslim (Sahih Muslim (English Trans.), vol.1, p.31, no.71).
86. Soorah an-Nisaa, 4:80.
87. Soorah Aal’Imraan, 3:32.
88. Reported by al-Bukhaaree (Sahih Bukhari, (English-Arabic), vol.8, p.296, no.443).
89. Soorah al-Furqaan, 25:43