Tawhid: Unity Restored Through Equal Regard

Tawhid—the affirmation of God's absolute unity—stands as Islam's central doctrine. Rabia extended this principle: if all existence flows from divine unity, then our fragmentation into preferred and excluded, favored and forgotten, represents a fundamental denial of reality. Favoritism creates false divisions where unity actually exists. This costs us accurate perception and sustainable community. When we practice favoritism, we act as if certain people truly matter more, as if some belong more fully, as if hierarchy reflects reality. We create what Rabia would recognize as shirk—associating ultimacy with things other than God, including our own preferences. Tawhid demands a return to fundamental recognition: all beings emerge from the same source, possess equal inherent worth, and deserve equal regard. The practice of tawhid as applied to favoritism involves repeatedly asking: what would I see if I held all beings as equally valuable? How would I act differently in my family, workplace, community? This shift costs us the comfort of ranking and the convenience of preference but restores us to accurate vision. From this restored unity, authentic community becomes possible, legacy becomes inclusive, and devotion becomes truly pure.