(An Article by By the Eminent Shaykh Zubayr ʿAlī Zaʾī (may Allah have mercy on him) – See his Maqālāt: Vol. 2, pp. 13-14 – See his biography here: https://zubairalizai.com/)
The Almighty Allah says:
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ
And We have indeed sent a messenger to every nation, saying: “Worship Allah and avoid the Ṭāghūt.” (An-Naḥl: 36)
When our Sayyid and beloved Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), sent Sayyidunā Muʿādh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) to Yemen as a governor, he said:
فليكن أول ما تدعوهم إلى أن يوحدوا الله تعالى
“Let the first thing to which you invite them be that they should profess the Tawḥīd of Allah the Almighty.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 7372, Kitāb al-Tawḥīd)
It is narrated by Sayyidunā Ḥārith bin Ḥārith al-ʿĀʾidhī (may Allah be pleased with him): “When I came to Makkah during the days of Jāhiliyyah, I saw people gathered around the Nabī (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).” I asked my father, “Why have these people gathered?” He replied, “They have gathered around a Ṣābī (one who has changed his religion).”
فإذا النبي يدعو إلى توحيد الله والإيمان
I drew closer and saw that the Nabī (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was inviting the people toward the Tawḥīd of Allah and toward Īmān.
(Al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr by al-Bukhārī: 2/262; Isnād Ṣaḥīḥ and it was authenticated by Abū Zurʿah al-Dimashqī as in Tārīkh Dimashq by Ibn ʿAsākir: 12/213-214; also narrated by Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim in al-Āḥād wal-Mathānī: 5/374, 29762)
Both aforementioned Aḥādīth highlight the significance of the Tawḥīd of the Divine. They establish the path for a caller, illustrating that in the field of Da‘wah, the call to Tawḥīd must never be overlooked. Tawḥīd is the very foundation of the religion of Islam; therefore, the primary invitation must be toward the Tawḥīd of Allah. Ṣalāh and Jihād will only be acceptable when they are free from any defect or the contamination of Shirk (associating partners with Allah).
From the exemplary pattern of the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the lives of the pious predecessors, it is evident that the invitation to Tawḥīd holds ultimate priority. Thus, it is an obligation upon every human being to adopt the path of Tawḥīd and Sunnah, spending their entire life in the worship of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, and performing all acts of devotion purely for Him alone. One must firmly engrave this creed in the heart: “Verily, my Ṣalāh, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are for Allah alone, the Lord of all the worlds. He has no partner; with this I have been commanded, and I am the first of those who submit.” (Al-An‘ām: 162-163)
Whosoever abandons Tawḥīd and chooses another path, Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, will render all their deeds void. The Word of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, is:
إِنَّهُ مَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَأْوَاهُ النَّارُ
“Indeed, he who associates others with Allah – Allah has forbidden him Paradise, and his refuge is the Fire.” (Al-Mā’idah: 72)
O Allah! Keep us alive upon Tawḥīd and Sunnah, and grant us our end upon the same. Āmīn.