furqān al-tawḥīd; ʿilm al-tawḥīd; tawḥīd-i ʿaqlī; tawḥīd-i ʿāmma; tawḥīd-i khāṣṣa; tawḥīd-i huwiyya; tawḥīd-i wujūdī; tawḥīd-i dhāt; waḥdāniyya
Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī said: "Walk in the field of tawhid (the oneness of God) until you reach the abode of tafrīd (absolute singularity)! Fly in the field of tafrīd until you attain the valley of eternity! If you are thirsty, He will quench you with a cup of water, and your mouth will never again be dry from dhikr (remembrance of God), nor will you thirst again."
When Abū Yazīd al-Bisṭāmī was asked what tawhid is, he said: "It is yaqīn (certainty)." When asked, "What is yaqīn?" he replied: "It is to know that the movements and stillnesses of people are the actions of Allah, and that no one can be a partner to Him in His actions. When you have recognized your Lord, and your Lord has established Himself in you, then you have found Him. This means: you understand that Allah is the only being without any partner in His actions, and that no one can perform His actions."
Tawhid (the oneness of God) is a secret, and maʿrifa (gnosis, experiential knowledge of God) is birr (goodness). Iman (faith) is to preserve the secret and to witness the birr. Islam is to show shukr (gratitude) for the birr and to surrender the qalb (the heart) to the secret. For tawhid is a secret, and the servant can only attain that secret through Allah's hudā (guidance) and by Him providing a proof. Otherwise, without Allah's support and hudā, one cannot comprehend it by intellect alone.
Maʿrifa (gnosis) is a grace and beneficence from Allah. For before the servant deserves it, Allah opens the door of blessing and beneficence for him, and bestows hudā upon him. The servant has iman (faith) that all of these are from Allah. He both grants him a blessing and enables him to show ihsan (spiritual excellence) in gratitude for that blessing. Without Allah's tawfīq (divine enabling), the servant cannot show shukr (gratitude) to Him. This, too, is a new blessing and beneficence from Allah to His servant. Thus, the servant sees Allah's grace and preserves His secret. For only He enables him to succeed in this. For the servant cannot comprehend the nature of His rubūbiyya (lordship). Thus, His oneness remains...