May Allah have pity on Sheikh Muhammad bin Salih Al-Uthaimin, who emphasized that Tawhid is the most essential basis of all worship.

Any act of worship that is not based on monotheism is void (not allowed). (Majmū‘ Al-Fatāwā, 37/9)

The short version of the advice above:

What he said is that Tawhid (the act of worshiping Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala alone) is the most important part of any act of worship.

This indicates that all acts of worship, such as prayer, supplication, charity, fasting, remembering Allah, and others, must be done with the goal of committing them only to Allah and getting rid of all types of shirk (associating partners with Allah in worship).

If an act of worship is tainted by shirk (associating partners with Allah) or is conducted without sincerity for the sake of Allah, or if the performer does not believe in Tawhid correctly, then that act of worship is not accepted, even if it appears quite positive on the surface.

This is what Allah says:

“And it was already revealed to you and to those before you that if you should associate [anything] with Allah, your work would surely become worthless, and you would surely be among the losers.” (Surah Az-Zumar: 65)

And Allah also says:

“That is the guidance of Allah by which He guides whomever He wills of His servants. But if they had associated others with Allah, then worthless for them would be whatever they were doing.” (Surah Al-An’am: 88)

What you can learn or get from the advice above:

1. That Tawhid is a requirement for the acceptance of actions.

Allah will not accept good deeds, no matter how numerous, without accurate Tawhid.

2. That it is more necessary to stay away from acts of shirk (worshiping other gods alongside Allah) than to do more beneficial deeds.

This is because acts of shirk (especially substantial shirk) will make all acts of worship useless.

3. The advice above encourages us to be cautious about being sincere while we worship.

That’s why those who worship Allah with an act of worship should always examine their hearts by asking themselves:

“Is this worship just for Allah, or is it for someone else?”

4. The advice above also illustrates that monotheism is the basis of religion.

The whole temple of worship will fall down without this base.

5. The suggestion above also pushes us to really study monotheism before moving on to other areas of knowledge and devotion.

This is the end of this short talk. I hope this short piece of advice can help all of us learn more.

And may Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala always guide us and help us succeed so that we stay true to Tawhid and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, Shollallohu Alaihi Wa Sallam, till the end of our lives.

Written by: Abu Abdirrohman Yoyok WN Sby