What are the pillars of Tawheed Al-’Uloohiyyah (Maintaining Oneness of the Worship of Allaah)?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds.  I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, the meaning of Tawheed Al-’Uloohiyyah is to single out Allaah The Almighty and perform acts of worship solely for Him. In other words, the servant must not love, fear or have hope in anyone or anything besides Allaah The Almighty; and must  dedicate all acts of worship, such as prayer, Zakah (obligatory charity), supplication, vowing, and all words and actions that Allaah The Almighty may be pleased with, to Him Alone.

On the other hand, scholars maintain that there are different types of Shirk (polytheism) in worshipping Allaah The Almighty:

1-      Shirk because of failing to dedicate supplications or rites of sacrifice to Allaah The Almighty Alone

2-      Shirk because of failing to make one's sincerity of  intention, purpose and will exclusive to Allaah The Almighty Alone while doing acts of worship.

3-      Shirk because of  loving others besides Allaah The Almighty

4-      Shirk because of obeying others besides Allaah The Almighty

According to the aforementioned classification, it is possible to say that the pillars of Tawheed Al-’Uloohiyyah are based on:

1-      Supplicating and performing acts of sacrifice solely for the Sake of Allaah The Almighty

2-      Forming one’s sincere intention, purpose and will solely for Allaah The Almighty

3-      Focusing one’s love and allegiance solely for Allaah The Almighty

4-      Dedicating  acts of obedience exclusively to Allaah The Almighty

The purpose behind mentioning this classification is to clarify and explain the meaning of Tawheed Al-’Uloohiyyah.  This meaning is originally derived from the verses in which Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):

•        {Say, "Is it other than Allaah I should take as a protector, Creator of the heavens and the earth, while it is He who feeds and is not fed?"}[Quran 6: 14]

•        {[Say], "Then is it other than Allaah I should seek as judge while it is He who has revealed to you the Book explained in detail?"}[Quran 6: 114]

•        {Say, [O Muhammad], "Indeed, I have been commanded to worship Allaah, [being] sincere to Him in religion.}[Quran 39: 11]

•        {Say, "Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allaah , Lord of the worlds}[Quran 6: 162]

Allaah Knows best.