MUHAMMADIYAH.OR.ID, SURAKARTA – Pure tawhid, which holds that only Allah is deserving of worship and that no one else should be linked with Him, is the foundation of Islam Berkemajuan (Progressive Islam). It has become the cornerstone of the prophets’ teaching and the focal point of Muslims’ lives. Tawhid refers to the liberation of people from polytheism, syncretism, and religious relativism.
Abdul Mu’ti, the General Secretary of Muhammadiyah, disputed the notion that some parties associate true Islam with extremism and radicalism. They think that militant organizations that support violence are not all that far from genuine Islam. This judgment is inaccurate and misleading.
The command to worship only Allah and not associate anyone with Him is repeatedly mentioned in al-Qur’an. The idea doesn’t lie on the doctrine of pure tawhid and Islam, but on the interpretation and implementation of religious and social lives. According to Mu’ti, the cultivation of pure Tawhid will genuinely lead the entire community to unite.
Allah is the only creator, and everything in this universe is His creature. There is no other creator of the cosmos than Allah. The notion brings a principle of the unity of creation.
“Everything is Allah’s creature. Angels, humans, demons, plants, and animals are creatures. What arises from pure Tawhid is an attitude of placing creatures in their respective positions,” said Mu’ti at the Ramadan Preaching of the Muhammadiyah Regional Board of Central Java: The Treatise of Progressive Islam & Its Implementation in Life at the Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta on Sunday (16/4).
As a unity of creation, humans are not allowed to oppress other humans because we are all one in the creation. Tawhid is not practiced by humans who oppress other humans. Islam forbids the practice of slavery. There is always violence in slavery. Therefore, pure tawhid produces free humans who do not harm other people.
In addition, understanding pure tawhid creates optimistic individuals. Islam does not teach people to pessimistically look at life. Allah forbids believers from giving up hope in His mercy (Surah Yusuf: 87 and Az-Zumar: 53), from losing hope when evil touches them (QS. Al-Isra: 83), and from becoming utterly desperate, ungrateful (QS. Huud: 9). Based on these verses, despair is forbidden by Allah and indicates disbelief.
Optimism is within believers. They will not lose hope. In Islam, optimism is shown by having good expectations of Allah in every difficulty and believing surely with hardship comes ease (Surah Ash-Sharh: 5).
“Those who believe and practice pure tawhid are optimistic because life and death are determined by Allah. Those who apply pure tawhid never give up in difficult times because they believe that with hardship comes ease,” said Mu’ti.
