Al-Tawḥīd

The Book of Divine Unity

By: Shaykh Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-Ṣaduq

Translator: Sayed Ali Raza Rizvi


al-Tawḥīd is an esteemed work authored by the revered early Shīʿī scholar Shaykh al-Ṣadūq. This work explores an array of theological themes concerning God's nature and the relationship between God and the Creation. Rather than crafting a dialectic theological or Kalām text, Shaykh al-Ṣadūq has uniquely drawn from the Ḥadīths— the reported sayings of the Prophet (s) and the Imams (as)— to grapple with profound subjects such as God's Oneness, the conundrum of free will versus predestination, the nature of the Qurʾān, the nature of God’s attributes and the impact of revelation. This approach underscores the notable, yet often overlooked, role that the Ḥadīths of the Imams have played in shaping early Muslim theology.

Chapter 1

35 Aḥadīth
Reward for the Monotheists and Gnostics

Chapter 2

36 Aḥadīth
Divine Unity and‬‬ Negation of Anthropomorphism

Chapter 3

3 Aḥadīth
The Definition of One, Divine Unity, and the Believer in Divine Unity

Chapter 4

15 Aḥadīth
The Commentary of Chapter 112 the Unity [al-Tawhid]

Chapter 5

3 Aḥadīth
The Meaning of Divine Unity and Divine Justice

Chapter 6

20 Aḥadīth
The Mighty and High is Devoid of both Body and Image

Chapter 7

8 Aḥadīth
The Blessed and Exalted is a Thing

Chapter 8

23 Aḥadīth
What is Related Regarding the Vision

Chapter 9

17 Aḥadīth
Omnipotence

Chapter 10

16 Aḥadīth
Knowledge

Chapter 11

19 Aḥadīth
Attributes of Essence and Attributes of Actions

Chapter 12

11 Aḥadīth
The Commentary of verse 88 of Chapter 28 the Narrative [al-Qasas] Everything is perishable but He.

Chapter 13

2 Aḥadīth
The Commentary of Verse 75 of Chapter 38 Sad O Iblis! What prevented you that you should do obeisance to him whom I created with My Two Hands?

Chapter 14

3 Aḥadīth
The Commentary of Verse 42 of Chapter 68 Qalam - On the Day when there shall be a severe affliction, and they shall be called upon to make obeisance

Chapter 15

5 Aḥadīth
The Commentary of Verse 35 of Chapter 24 the Light [al-Nur]

Chapter 16

1 Ḥadīth
The Commentary of Verse 67 of Chapter 9 the Repentance [al-Tawbah] They have forsaken Allah, so He has forsaken them.

Chapter 17

2 Aḥadīth
The Commentary of Verse 67 of Chapter 39 the Companies [al-Zumar] And the whole Earth shall be in His Grip on the Day of Resurrection and the Heavens rolled up in his Right Hand.

Chapter 18

1 Ḥadīth
The Commentary of Verse 15 of Chapter 83 the Defrauders [al-Mutaffifin] Nay! Most surely they shall on that day be debarred from their Lord.

Chapter 19

1 Ḥadīth
The Commentary of Verse 22 of Chapter 89 the Daybreak [al-Fajr] And your Lord comes and (also) the angels in ranks.

Chapter 20

1 Ḥadīth
The Commentary of Verse 210 of Chapter 2 the Cow [al-Baqarah] They do not wait aught but that Allah should come to them in the shadow of clouds along with the angels.

Chapter 21

1 Ḥadīth
Meaning of Scoffing, Mockery, Planning and Deception of Allah

Chapter 22

2 Aḥadīth
The Meaning of Allah’s Side

Chapter 23

4 Aḥadīth
The Meaning of the Waistband

Chapter 24

1 Ḥadīth
Meaning of the Eye, the Ear, and the Tongue of Allah

Chapter 25

2 Aḥadīth
The Meaning of Allah’s Hand is Tied Up

Chapter 26

4 Aḥadīth
The Meaning of His Pleasure and His Anger

Chapter 27

6 Aḥadīth
The Meaning of Allah’s Breathing of Spirit And I breathed into him of My Sprit.

Chapter 28

22 Aḥadīth
Negation of Space, Time, Stillness, Motion, Descending, Ascending, and Transference from Allah

Chapter 29

13 Aḥadīth
The Names of Allah, the Exalted,‬‬ and the Difference between their Meanings and the Meaning of the‬‬ Names of Creation

Chapter 30

7 Aḥadīth
What is the Qur’an?

Chapter 31

5 Aḥadīth
The Meaning of “In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful”

Chapter 32

2 Aḥadīth
The Explanation of‬‬ the Letters of the Alphabet.

Chapter 33

2 Aḥadīth
The Explanation of the Letters of the Alphabet According to Their Numerical Value

Chapter 34

2 Aḥadīth
The Explanation of the Words of the Calls to Prayer

Chapter 35

4 Aḥadīth
The Commentary of Guidance, Misguidance, Direction, and Forsaking is from Allah, the Exalted

Chapter 36

6 Aḥadīth
The Refutation of the Dualists & the Atheists

Chapter 37

1 Ḥadīth
There is no‬‬ god but the One God

Chapter 38

10 Aḥadīth
The‬‬ Remembrance of Allah’s Greatness, Mighty be His Glory

Chapter 39

1 Ḥadīth
The Subtlety of Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted

Chapter 40

5 Aḥadīth
The Least Required for Recognizing Diving Unity

Chapter 41

10 Aḥadīth
He, the Mighty and High, in not Recognized, Except by Himself.

Chapter 42

7 Aḥadīth
The Assertion of the Emergence of the Universe

Chapter 43

2 Aḥadīth
The Tradition of Dhi`lib.

Chapter 44

2 Aḥadīth
The Tradition of Subakht, the Jewish Man

Chapter 45

3 Aḥadīth
The Meaning of “Glory be to Allah” [Subhan Allah]

Chapter 46

2 Aḥadīth
The Meaning of Allah is the Greatest [Allahu Akbar]

Chapter 47

2 Aḥadīth
The Meaning of the First and the Last

Chapter 48

9 Aḥadīth
the Most Compassionate is Firm on the Empyrean.

Chapter 49

2 Aḥadīth
His Empyrean was on the Water

Chapter 50

1 Ḥadīth
The Empyrean and Its‬‬ Description

Chapter 51

1 Ḥadīth
The Empyrean was Created in Quarters

Chapter 52

5 Aḥadīth
The Meaning of `His Knowledge Extend over the Heavens and the Earth’

Chapter 53

10 Aḥadīth
Allah made the Nature of the Creation upon Divine Unity

Chapter 54

11 Aḥadīth
The Appearance [Al-Bada’]

Chapter 55

13 Aḥadīth
The Will and the Intent

Chapter 56

25 Aḥadīth
Capability

Chapter 57

3 Aḥadīth
The Trial and the Test

Chapter 58

6 Aḥadīth
Privilege and Adversity

Chapter 59

12 Aḥadīth
The Negation of Determinism and Relinquishment

Chapter 60

36 Aḥadīth
Predestination, Divine Decree, Trials, Means of Sustenance Rates, and Restricted Powers

Chapter 61

13 Aḥadīth
Children and Allah’s Justice Concerning Them

Chapter 62

13 Aḥadīth
Allah only does what is best for His servants

Chapter 63

10 Aḥadīth
Command, Prohibition, Promise and Threat

Chapter 64

17 Aḥadīth
Recognition, Explanation, Evidence, and Guidance

Chapter 65

1 Ḥadīth
A Session of al-Ridha (AS‬‬) with Theologians from Among the Rhetoricians and Various‬‬ Religions about Unity in the presence of al-Ma`mun

Chapter 66

1 Ḥadīth
A Session of al-Ridha (a.s) with Sulayman al-Marwazi, the Theologian of Khurasan, in‬‬ the Presece of al-Ma`mun concerning the Subject of Divine Unity.

Chapter 67

35 Aḥadīth
The Prohibition of Discussing, Debating, and Arguing about Allah