ISLAMIC THEOLOGY IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ACEH

This paper examines ‘Abd al-Ra’ūf al-Sinki>li>’s concept of tawh} i>d. Using a historical approach and content analysis, this paper argues that tawh} i>d is an important aspect in Islam and becomes an interesting discourse in the Islamic intellectual tradition, especially Sufism. ‘Abd al-Ra’ūf al-Sinki>li> stated that the first commitment for a human being is to accept the Oneness of Allah, and purity it from all things inappropriate to Him with the statement of lā ilaha illā Allāh. This affirms that Allah is believed to be the only Being. There is no existence without the existence of Allah (lā ilāha illā Allāh). This statement of creed implies two meanings: to negate any existence (al-nafyu), and to confirm only one existence (al-ithbāt), which is the existence of al-H{aqq (the true Being). Al-Sinki> li> also states that Allah is One, without our attempt to make Him One. Allah is true without a need to truth legitimation from humans. [Artikel ini menjelaskan lebih lanjut tentang konsep tawh} i>d ‘Abd al-Ra’ūf al-Sinki>li>. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan historis dan analisis konten, artikel ini berkesimpulan bahwa tawh} i>d adalah aspek yang cukup penting dalam Islam dan menjadi diskursus yang menarik dalam tradisi intelektual Islam, khususnya dalam tradisi tasawuf. Menurut ‘Abd al-Ra’ūf al-Sinki>li> kewajiban pertama bagi manusia adalah menerima Keesaan dari Allah SWT, dan memurnikannya dari segala hal yang sepantasnya dengan pernyataan lā ilaha illā Allāh. Melalui konfirmasi ini, Allah diyakini sebagai satu DOI: 10.21274/epis.2020.15.1.121-143


Introduction
Islam considers that religion is the basic principle and the regulator of life, and tawh} i> d is the basis of all aspects of life. Tawh} i> d which is manifested everywhere in the Qur'an and the prophetic tradition (h} adi> th) and becomes qaidah fikriyah (rationale) or a principle upon which the whole foundation of thought and human science is built. In Islam, everything revolves around the axis of the unity of God (tawh} i> d) and the feasibility of science and technology is also based on that creed. Tawh} i> d is a tool that lead humans to the knowledge about God, and can be effective in establishing an independent tawh} i> d society.
This Islamic paradigm instructs humans to build all their thoughts based on Islamic aqi> da (creed). We can understand this from the first Qur'anic verse to be revealed (meaning): "Read by (mentioning) the name of your God who created. : 1). This verse means that humans have been ordered to read in order to obtain various thoughts and understanding. But all of his thoughts must not be separated from the Islamic aqi> da, because the command of reading (iqra`) must be linked to God (rabbika). In other words, reading must be based on faith in Allah, which is the basic principle of Islamic aqi> da. The explanation above shows that tawh} i> d is the most important aspect in Islam. It becomes an interesting discourse in the Islamic intellectual tradition, especially in the tradition of Sufism. This article examines the concept of tawh} i> d in Sufism, especially according to 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li> (1616-1693), a seventeenth century very influential scholar in the Malay world.
A study on 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li> is initiated by a Dutch scholar, D. A. Rinkes. He is investigates the influence of al-Sinki> li> and the spreading of his mystical ideas and teachings in Sumatera and Java in particular, and in the Indonesian archipelago in general. 1 Research on al-Sinki> li> also attract the attention of Indonesian scholars Syamsul Bahri. He examines the mystical thought of al-Sinki> li> . Bahri highlights al-Sinki> li> 's thought on wahdah al-wujūd (the unity of existence) based on one of al-Sinki> li> 's works, namely Tanbih al-Māshi. Bahri discovers that 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li> emphasized the importance of tawhi> d as the basis of religious life in general and Sufism in particular. Regarding the ontological status between Allah and the universe, al-Sinki> li> , according to Bahri, asserts the transcendence of Allah upon His creation (the universe). Meanwhile, in the case of the doctrine of wahdah al-wujūd, Bahri arrives at a different conclusion from other researchers on al-Sinki> li> . According to Bahri, al-Sinki> li> rejected wahdah al-wujūd, but embraced wahdah al-shuhūd. Bahri concludes that al-Sinki> li> 's Sufism is a Sunni one, not a philosophical (falsafi) one. Al-Sinki> li> 's tendency to the Sunni Sufism, according to Bahri, is demonstrated by his thought which emphasizes on the importance of the Qur'an and sunnah as the foundation and guidance for muslim especially those who follow the sufis path, the significance of tawhi> d, and his attention to rites ('amal) and ethics (akhlāq). 2 Oman Fathurrahman also observes the mystical thought of al-Sinki> li> in his book. The book is developed from his Master thesis defended at University of Indonesia. Fathurrahman uses a philological approach to the manuscript of Tanbih al-Māshi by editing the text, employing content analysis and translating the text from Arabic to Indonesian. 3 Another important academic research on this topic has been conducted by Baihaqi. In his bachelor's thesis, Baihaqi conducts a comparative study between the thought of Shams al-Di> n al-Samat} ra'i> and 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li> . 4 Another study has been conducted by Rasyad, Hermansyah and Zulkhairi who analyze the Arabic literary aspects in the works of 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li> . 5 Meanwhile, Ridwan Arif discusses the role of 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li> in reconciling Sufism and the shari'ah in the 17 th century Malay world. 6 And a study by Abid Syahni focuses more on al-Sinki> li> as a Qur'an interpreter with his commentary Turjuman al-Mustafid. 7 Azyumardi Azra partially discussed 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li> in his Ph.D. thesis which was later published as Jaringan Ulama Timur Tengah dan Kepulauan Nusantara Abad XVII & XVIII. In his book, Azra investigates the relation and network between Muslim scholars in the Malay world and their counterparts in the Middle East. In his analysis, Azra places al-Sinki> li> as one of the most important reformers (mujaddids) beside Nūr al-Di> n al-Rāni> ri> , Yusūf al-Makassāri> (from the 17 th Century), 'Abd al-Samād al-Palimbāni> , and Daud ibn 'Abdullah al-Pattāni (from the 18 th Century). This research contributes greatly to describing the network of Muslim scholars in the Middle Eastern countries. Contrary to al-Rāni> ri> who employed the radical approach, al-Sinki> li> , according to Azra, presented himself as an evolutionist reformer. It means that al-Sinki> li> emphasized more on a reconciling approach when facing two contradictory views. Azra briefly touches upon al-Sinki> li> 's mystical thought. 8 Despite the richness of studies on 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li> , there has not been any single study which attempts to investigate the concept of tawh} i> d according to 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li> . Most of the existing studies discuss al-Sinki> li> 's mystical thought, commentary of the Qur'an, explanation of some prophetic tradition, and concepts of shari> 'ah. This study is a library research, using a historical approach to obtain data and conducting content analysis. This study aims to explain further the concept of tawh} i> d according to 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li> .

A Biographical Sketch of 'Abd al-Ra'u> f al-Sinki> li>
The full name of 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li> is 'Abd al-Ra'ūf bin 'Ali> al-Fans} ūri> al-Jāwi> al-Sinki> li> . He was a Malay scholar coming from Fans} ūr, Singkil (modern: Singkel) in the Northwest Coast of Aceh. His father was an Arab, named Shaikh 'Ali> . It is not known for sure when he was born, but according to Rinkes, as quoted by Azyumardi Azra, al-Sinki> li> was born around the year 1024/1615 and possibly had a relation with H} amzah Fans} ūri> , because in part of his works his name is always followed by the statement "the nation of Fans} ūri> " 9 Concerning the birth of al-Sinki> li> , Rinkes tracks the time when al-Sinki> li> returned from the Middle East to Aceh in 1661 AD. According to him, the reasonable age for people starting to wander is the ages between 25 and 30 years old. Some evidences show that al-Sinki> li> certainly lived in Arabia for 19 years. Therefore, Rinkes suggests that 1615 is a perfect estimation as the year when al-Sinki> li> was born. Rinkes's conclusion has been later adopted by many scholars researching al-Sinki> li> .  According to Hasjmi, al-Sinki> li> 's ancestors came from Persia. They came to the Samudera Pasai Empire in the late 13 th century. They then settled in Fans} ūr (Barus), an important old port city in the coast of West Sumatera. Al-Sinki> li> 's father was a brother of H} amzah Fans} ūri> , a prominent Sufi who spread the teachings of wujūdiyyah in Aceh at the time. 11 However, Azra doubts the statement of Hasjmi that al-Sinki> li> was really a nephew of H} amzah Fans} ūri> , because there were no other sources that support this relation. Nevertheless, Azra acknowledges that al-Sinki> li> did have a sort of family relationship with H} amzah Fans} ūri> , because al-Sinki> li> 's name was followed by an attribution "the nation of H} amzah Fans} ūri> " in some of his works, as mentioned above. 12 Yet, Azra's opinion is questioned by Oman Fathurahman who refers to Voorhoeve's analysis on the text. Voorhoeve views that the statement "the nation of H} amzah Fans} ūri> " in Javanese manuscripts is written as "kang abangsa Shaikh H} amzah Fans} ūri> ", and is not intended to refer that al-Sinki> li> had any direct connection with H} amzah Fans} ūri> , not even a teacher-student relationships, or family relationships. It is further intended to refer to places all over the West Coast of Sumatera, including Sinkil and Fans} ūr. However, because at a later stage there was a famous sufi of Fans} ūr, the statement "the nation of Fans} ūri> " was eventually associated with "a nation of H} Quoting from Peunoh Daly, Azra views that al-Sinki> li> 's father, Shaikh 'Ali> (al-Fans} ūri> ) was an Arab who married a local woman from Fansūr. They lived in Singkil, where their son, 'Abd al-Ra'ūf, was born. 14 This means that al-Sinki> li> 's father was not a Malay, but a settler who came from Arabia. However, no other sources confirm this.
Al-Sinki> li> is often called 'Abd al-Ra'ūf 'Ali al-Fans} ūri> or 'Abd al-Ra'ūf Singkel or 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li> . He is also called "Tengku Shiah Kuala", a more popular title among local people. At first, the title reads "Tengku Shaikh in Kuala" because of his knowledge in the field of religion. For the purpose of simplification, people started to call him Shaikh Kuala, and later it changes to "Shiah Kuala". Therefore, the title of Shiah Kuala given to 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li> has nothing to do with Shi'ia, a school of theology that has a strong basis in Iran and Iraq.
Little is known about the early life of al-Sinki> li> . He received his early education from his family. About 1642, al-Sinki> li> went to Mecca to continue his pursuit of knowledge and learn from the scholars in the H} aramayn. When he returned to Aceh (around 1661 AD), his religious views soon attracted the attention of Sult} āna S} afiyyah al-Di> n Shah, who ruled the Sultanate of Aceh from 1662 to 1675. The Sult} āna assigned him as Qad} i> Mālik al-'A> dil, or mufti> who had a responsibility over the administration of religious matters. Al-Sinki> li> was appointed as a royal judge (Qad} i> ) during the periods of Naqiyyah al-Di> n al-'Alam (1675-1678 AD) and Sult} ānah Zakiyyah al-Di> n (1678-1688 AD). Al-Sinki> li> died in 1693 AD and was buried beside the tomb of Teungku Anjong who is deemed as the most sacred person in Aceh, near to Aceh Kuala river, a village of Kuala Dayah Raya district, about 15 km from Banda Aceh. Hence, in Aceh, he was known as the Teungku in Kuala. Until now, his tomb has become a place of pilgrimage for many Muslims, either from Aceh itself or from other regions. Because of his fame, the name of al-Sinki> li> is taken as the name of a university in Aceh, the University of Shiah Kuala.
Like other sufi> , al-Sinki> li> is often connected with various mythical narratives. He is considered as the first scholar who Islamized Aceh, even though Islam might have been there since earlier times. Another narrative says that al-Sinki> li> was a man who managed to convert prostitutes who were allegedly offered to H} amzah Fans} ūri> in the capital. All of the various narratives did not always correspond with historical facts, but at least they demonstrate the fame and the role of al-Sinki> li> as a great scholar in Aceh.

The Works of 'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li>
As a scholar and expert in various fields of religious sciences, al-Sinki> li> had produced a variety of essays that covered the field of jurisprudence, hadi> th, Sufism, Qur'anic commentary, and other religious sciences. Al-Sinki> li> 's productivity is inseparable from his important positions in the kingdom of Aceh. He enjoy the patronage and the protection of the rulers of the kingdom. His works were written in Arabic and some in Malay. According to Azyumardi Azra, most of his works are written in Arabic, for he realized that his Malay language was not as good as his Arabic because he had lived for a long time in Arabia. However, Azra's opinion is questioned. Oman Fathurrahman argues that most of al-Sinkili's works are indeed written in Malay, using the Jawi script, the Arabic alphabets adopted for the Malay language. So far, there have been approximately 22 works written by al-Sinki> li> , which cover the issues of fiqh, tafsi> r, kalām, and Sufism.
His  Mir'ah al-T} ullāb is one of its primary resources. 16 Meanwhile, Tanbi> h al-Māshi> al-Mans} ūb ilā T} ari> q al-Qushāshi> contains an explanation of the ontological relationship between al-Haqq (God) and al-khalq (creature). The explanations given were intended, among other things, to answer questions such as the ontological status of al-khalq, whether nature is identical with God or whether the universe has no form at all. It is the only book written by al-Sinki> li> in Arabic. Another book by al-Sinki> li> , 'Umdâh al-Muh} tāji> n ilā Suluk Maslak al-Mufridi> n, contains some practices to be implemented by a mystic. Al-Sinkili divides this book into several chapters. After the introduction (muqaddimah), the first chapter is about some obligations on a mukallāf (religiously an accountable person) to know the nature of human duties. The second chapter discusses the manners and procedures of recitation. The third chapter talks about the prophetic tradition, which talks about the virtue of lā ilaha illā Allāh, one of the major pillars of Muslim faith. The fourth chapter discusses the benefits of remembering lā ilaha illā Allāh in depth. The fifth chapter contains an explanation of talqi> n between teachers and students with lā ilaha illā Allāh, ritual ordinances and talqi> n bai'a. The sixth chapter discusses recommendable (sunna) prayers and zikr recitation by a sālik. And the seventh chapter discusses the properties of the congregation and the explanation of the Apostle's companions about the attitudes of the believers. In the closing of the book, al-Sinki> li> introduces himself through his scientific autobiography just to confirm his genealogy of noble origin and high value of teaching. 17 It is worth noting that most of al-Sinki> li> 's works are written in the form of prose. Ma'rifah is the only work by al-Sinki> li> , which is written in a poetic style. Its manuscript was copied in Bukit Tinggi in 1859 AD. This poetic work discusses four components of Islam: faith, Islām, tawhi> d and ma'rifah. This poem work also asserts that these four components determine if a person is considered as the perfect man (Insān al-Kāmil).
According to Braginsky, the discussion above shows that al-Sinki> li> can be considered as the true successor of writing tradition on 'religiousmystical poetry', which previously had been initiated by H} amzah Fans} ūri> . Braginsky's conclusion is quite interesting because he does not choose ar-Rāni> ri> as a suceessor of that tradition, although al-Rāni> ri> writes many poetic verses in his Bust} ān al-Salāt} i> n.

Definition of Tawh} i> d
'Abd al-Ra'ūf al-Sinki> li> contributed to the development of the wah} dah al-wujūd doctrine, because he lived after the conflict over mystical thought, especially between the followers of H} amzah Fans} ūri> and Shams al-Di> n al-Samat} ra'i> who were the strong defenders of the wujūdiyyah teaching against the followers of Nūr al-Di> n al-Rāni> ri> , who emphasized the heterodoxy of wujūdiyyah at the cost of shari> 'ah. That fight was a big tragedy in Aceh, resulting in the burning of wujūdiyyah-related works and the killing of the followers of H} amzah Fans} ūri> and Shams al-Di> n al-Samat} ra'i> by al-Rāni> ri> and his followers. Following that tragedy, al-Sinki> li> wandered to Hijaz to learn religious knowledge, which later he greatly contributed to his career in the Malay world, especially in Aceh. Al-Sinki> li> lived in Hijaz for a long time and maintained intellectual dialogues with various streams of Muslim intellectuals. The fight against mysticism and tari> qah in Islam, especially in the H} aramayn, gave him the experience necessary for him to find a solution to the conflict in Aceh. Later, he developed the tari> qah of Shat} t} āriyyah from his beloved teacher, which is often seen to work under the shades of wujūdiyyah. Al-Sinki> li> brought much influence to the social religions situation and condition of the Acehnese people at that time. His mastery of religious knowledge, his close relation to the leaders of Aceh, and his intellectual network with the H} aramayn enabled him to play a bigger role in religious fields and to give a solution to religious problems at that time. Moreover, al-Sinki> li> was not a radical scholar like al-Rāni> ri> , who openly fought the teachings and practices of Islam, which were regarded as outside the framework of Islamic orthodoxy. 18 Al-Sinki> li> seems to be very much concerned with the theme of tawh} i> d, because in some of his work like Tanbi> h al-Māshi> , Kifāyah al-Muh} tāji> n and Sullām al-Mustafidi> n, he emphasizes the importance of tawh} i> d. For instance, after he explains the writing background of Sullām al-Mustafidi> n, al-Sinki> li> explains the first obligation of a matured Muslim which is to believe in the Oneness of Allah (obligation of tawh} i> d). These works of al-Sinki> li> explains the attributes of Allah and His prophets: the good attributes, the impossible attributes, and the possible attributes (jā'iz). 19 In Tanbi> h al-Māshi> , al-Sinki> li> in states that "actually the first obligation for you is to accept the Oneness of al-H} aqq, and purify Him from all things in appropriate to Him with the statement of lā ilaha illā Allāh, which covers the four stages of tawh} i> d". 20 After emphasizing the importance of tawh} i> d, he explains what he means with that tawh} i> d. It is an associated action, like association of something to the truth or association of something to the lies, instead of making. Allah is One, without we try to make Him One. Allah is true without having a truth legitimating from us and also the association of Allah to the nature or the action which is suitable to Him. 21 In our discussion on Tanbi> h al-Māshi> and Kifāyah al-Muh} tāji> n above, al-Sinki> li> explains that the tawh} i> d testimony (shahādah) stated by a student needs to be followed by a confirmation to release any attributes not suitable to al-H} aqq. That confirmation appears in one statement of lā ilāha illā Allāh, which covers four stages of tawh} i> d. Through this confirmation, Allah is believed as the one existence. There is no existence without the existence of Allah (lā ilāha illā Allāh). In that statement, there are two meanings, to negate any existence (al-nafyu), and to confirm only one existence (al-ithbāt), which is the existence of al-H} aqq.

The Oneness of God
According to the Qur'an, the unique and regular system which controls the entire universe is a clear evidence about the unique and the Oneness of the Creator and the Controller of the universe. We have been asked to think of the systematic and comprehensive system how to know the Oneness in the creation and command. 22 Al-Sinki> li> states that one of the evidences concerning the Oneness of Allah is not from the imbalance of the universe. His statement is strengthened by a Qur'anic quotation: "Had there been within the heavens and earth gods besides Allah, they both would have been ruined. So exalted is Allah, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe" (al-Anbiya' [21]: 22). So, unbroken sky and earth are the evidence of the Oneness of Allah, and because sky and earth cannot be separated from the universe. 23 When we state that "Allah is One" it means that God is the unique essence and nothing can equale Him. It is impossible to accept other existences equal to Him. Therefore, to understand the Oneness of God it is important to know God Himself truly; we ought to have a true conception regarding the term of "God" in our mind. If we understand this theme as to what it means, then we can reach a conclusion by our self that, if God is One, He cannot be two or many, and His essence cannot walk with the duality and multicity of concepts. 24 There are two perspectives about the Oneness of God in Islamic thought: tanzi> h and tashbi> h. Both of them have different perspectives in the foundation of tawh} i> d or the Oneness of God. Tanzi> h designates the meanings of incomparability, transcendence, or unreached being. With tanzi> h Allah is beyond the qualities and attributes of His creatures. Armstrong explains that the word of tanzi> h comes from the word nazzaha, which means to "protect something in order not to be mixed with something else". The rational faculty (al-'aql), Armstrong continues, is confirmed by the unreachability of Allah. Allah says "there is no one like Him" (QS. 42:11). It shows the incomparability of Allah. Meanwhile, in the same chapter Allah says "and He is the most Hearing also the most Seeing." It shows His immanence. Sufis claim to know Allah through Allah (al-'ārifūna bihi), feeling the unity of His transcendence (tanzi> h) and His immanence (tashbi> h). His transcendence associates Allah with the essence, while His immanence associates Him with God. 25 Kautsar Azhari Noer who defends Ibn 'Arabi> 's doctrine of wah} dah al-wujūd states that the doctrine does not only emphasizes on the immanency of God, but also on His transcendence. Ibn 'Arabi> , according to him, does not merely teach tashbi> h, but also tanzi> h. The unity of tashbi> h and tanzi> h are the principle of coincidencia oppositerum or al-jam' bayn al-'adād in the system of Ibn 'Arabi> . It also exists at both spiritual (al-bāt} in) and the empirical (al-z} āhir) levels, and between the oneness (al-wāh} id) and the multiplicity (al-kathi> r). 26 From those both perspectives, al-Sinki> li> emphasizes more on the tanzi> h than on the tashbi> h. It is because of his prudence in reinterpreting the concept of wah} dah al-wujūd that people in general did not understand precisely (unknowledgeable). Many times in his writing, he says about the inability of man to know the essence of God, and to know the essence of himself is the only way to the knowledge of God. In the understanding of self, al-Sinki> li> still confuses the ability of human to fully know himself. Therefore, when trying to give an interpretation of a prophetic saying (hadi> th), "man 'arafa nafsahu faqad 'arafa rabbahu" (one who knows himself knows his God), he gives more emphasis on a meaning that he quoted from Abū H} asan al-Shādhili> , "for a man who knows himself as a faqi> r (dependent), it confirms that he knows his God." 27 For him, human can never fully know himself. He says "...human's soul cannot reach the essence of himself (ih} āt} ah). This argument is strongly stated by the Qur'an, "Tell it (o Muhammad)! The spirit (rūh} ) is in my God knowledge". With that verse Allah reminds human that he will never fully know himself, even though he attempts to be close to God. If human knowing God is fully impossible, human will accordingly never know exactly the essence of His word (kalām), His attributes and His action. 28 One who knows that God is too great to be known really knows Him. 29 Although emphasizing on tanzi> h, al-Sinki> li> denies the existence of tashbi> h as implied in this statement, "and if connected to al-H} aqq, the universe looks like His shadow. There is no other essence beside the essence of Allah that has been known from the beginning." 30 So, this universe is different from Allah, but not really separated from Him, because separation needs two existences, each of which stands by itself, while in reality it is only Allah the Almighty who can stand by Himself.
From the explanation above, in relation to the causality, we can analyze that the law of causality for al-Sinki> li> is a big power in the system of the universe. Although this law is created by God, human also has power, but the relative one, because it is derived from God. With this power, human can do anything he wants under certain circumstances in this world. Therefore, in order to accomplish his actions, human needs to know the law of causality in his life. It is only through this law that man can act. Without knowing this law his actions become useless. Concerning human actions, it is God who enables human to act freely, to act whatever he wants as long as it is still under the rules of God.
It means that the causality system itself is under the domination of God's will. Human and other creatures can act only within the limits allowed by this system. But, God is beyond this system; it is not applied to Him because He is the Absolute and the Creator of this system. He creates causes with specific effects. When God has a will, He will create particular causes and surely make His will real. He can dismiss the power of fire that could have burned the Prophet Abraham, for example. 31 This shows how absolute God is.

The Signs of God
The Qur'an contains an explanation that not only does Allah have the bāt} in attributes but also the z} āhir. 32 Allah is al-bāt} in in the sense that He is hiding from any human knowledge. He is the transcendent God, the incomparable. Allah is also al-z} āhir in the sense that He is the real God, whose manifestation can be found in any places. The reality of Allah is connected with the existence of divine signs inside the universe. These signs are intentionally spread by Him as a way for humans to know Him.
He is like what is mentioned in a hadi> th "the hidden Wisdom".
Al-Sinki> li> differentiates between God's empirical attributes and His spiritual attributes, between al-z} āhir and al-bāt} in by giving an explanation to the incorrect concept of unity between God and His creation. He contends that the reality is the Truth except from the side of fusion, and there is no difference in the One. Now if everything has been seen in the reality, then the unity of everything is not needed anymore, because the seen realm has its own law, and so does the unseen. The unseen law is an indistinct law, while the seen law is the real law. 33 So, the empirical reality (z} āhir) of God is the evidence of His existence to us, and His bāt} in remains because human reason cannot catch His Essence, and His Substance cannot be seen either in this world. Al-Sinki> li> continues his explanation, "He is real from the side of knowledge, but unreal in the side of form". 34 Nothing is similar to the al-Haqq, but He covers the entire thing in this universe.
The reality of Allah cannot be illustrated by any appearance in this world. Because the physical eyes cannot catch Him, Allah shows His existence through physical evidences. His essence is manifested in multilevel empirical realities, a concept which in Islamic philosophy is known as emanation (fayd} ). Those evidences are His signs, which in the Qur'an are called as ayāt (signs). 35 Those multilevel evidences, on one hand, show the wisdom of Allah, and on the other hand, are directed to human in order for him to know God in an feasible way. In this regard, al-Sinki> li> states that it is only Allah Himself who can know Allah because human reason is incapable to know the substance of Allah. It is confusing for human to know the higher position of Allah 36 because human can only grasp His tajalliyāt (disclosures). 37 p. 15. 34 Ibid.,p. 13. 35 Al-Qur'an mentions this word around 400 times. In general the word āya means a sign that gives an information about a reality. More specifically, that word is used to show everything in the sky and in the earth that informs the existence of God. Sachiko Murata and William Chittick, The Vision of Islam (USA: Paragon House, 1994), p. 52-53. 36 The confused feeling is knowledge itself because from confusion human can attain knowledge. It is what has been illustrated by the Prophet when he prayed to God to give him knowledge about something. The Prophet did not pray in order for God to fix everything. The final step of knowledge is confusion. This knowledge will never be achieved except with sincere zhikr and pure akhlāq. p. 16. 37 Ibid., p. 14.
The signs of God, according to Sachiko Murata and William Chittick, can be categorized into two categories: (1) the prophetic signs that consist of (a) the writing signs, i.e. the scripture, and (b) the physical miraculous signs shown by a prophet (mu'jizah); and (2) the natural signs, which consist of (a) the external signs of Allah in the universe (nature or society), and (b) the internal signs of Allah, that exist beneath human consciousness. 38 Therefore, al-Sinki> li> suggests that we should go back to the Qur'an and hadi> th because the revealed knowledge with great spiritual importance has been delivered by the Prophet Muhammad in particular, and inside every human in general. 39 Through this knowledge, human can reach to and know Allah. Concerning natural signs, al-Sinki> li> contends that the world is created by Allah as a sign or as a facility in order for human to know His existence. Even he gives an analogy that the world is like khātam (stamp), whose function is a tool to know the stamped thing. 40 From this point of view, al-Sinki> li> emphasizes that there are two signs of God that lead human to the knowledge about His existence: metaphysical sign and physical signs. The metaphysical signs work in the reality, while the physical ones work in the phenomena. Although both signs have different laws and work in different worlds, they are inseparable. The metaphysical signs become the foundation of the physical signs because Allah is the ultimate cause for the universe that even human senses cannot know. The existence of Allah can be known through His signs in the universe.

The Names and the Attributes of God
As we have known, two statements of faith (shahādatayn, ashhadu an lā ilāha illā allāh wa ashhadu anna muh} ammadan rasūl allāh) are the most fundamental pillar of Islam. These shahādatayn become a formula that 38  differentiate Muslims from non-Muslims. People who have sincerely uttered the shahādatayn are considered as Muslims. On the contrary, people who deny the pledge of shahādatayn are called infidels or kuffār. Therefore, the shahādatayn have an important value in Islam.
Al-Sinki> li> states that it is compulsory for every mukallāf to pledge the shahādatayn as the recognition of the Oneness of Allah and the truth of His book that was revelaed to the Prophet Muhammad. The shahādatayn consist of the introduction to the attributes of God and His messenger: compulsory, impossible and also possible attributes. Al-Sinki> li> like other Ash'ari> ' followers states that Allah has 20 compulsory attributes, which are: wujūd, qidam, baqā ', mukhālafah li al-h} awādith, qiyāmuhu binafsih, wah} daniyyah, qudrah, irādah, cilmu, h} ayah, sama', bas} ar, kalām, qādir, mūrid, 'ālim, h} ayy, sāmi', bās} ir, mutakallim. 41 In addition to those compulsory attributes, Allah also has impossible attributes, which are completely contrary to the compulsory. They also consist of twenty attributes. The prophet is also known to have compulsory, impossible and possible attributes. The compulsory attributes of the Prophet are: S} iddi> q, amānah, tabli> gh, fat} anah. Meanwhile, the impossible attributes are: kidhb, khiyānah, kitman, and balāda, while the possible attribute of the Prophet is his human nature. 42

The Stages of Tawh} i> d
In his Shat} t} āriyya manuscript, al-Sinki> li> divides tawh} i> d into four stages. 43 The first is tawh} i> d ulūhiyyah, which is tawh} i> d in worship. This kind of tawh} i> d requires that Muslims always make Allah the only destination in all forms of worship; They should not worship except Allah. This tawh} i> d has two sides: Allah's side and human's side. Allah's side implies that there is no being that deserves to be worship except Allah. Meanwhile, human's side implies that human cannot worship other than Allah. The second is tawh} i> d af 'āl, which requires Muslims to believe that Allah is the Only Creator, the Ruler and the Controller of the universe. This tawh} i> d is an attribute to the Oneness of Allah by confessing that Allah is God for the entire creatures, the Ruler, the Creator, and the Substance who makes living and death, and gives human safety or danger.
The third is tawh} i> d s} ifat, which requires Muslims to believe in the singleness of God's attribute and His Substance. Both can never be separated from each other. Muslims should believe that Allah has asmā' (names) and attributes, without any tah} ri> f, ta't} i> l, takyi> f, and tamthi> l. And the forth is tawh} i> d dhāt, which requires Muslims to believe that Allah is wājib al-wujūd (Absolute Being). There is no duality or even plurality concerning the Substance of Allah. His Substance is pure, and not arrayed from several parts like the creatures.
According to al-Sinki> li> , tawh} i> d dhāt is the highest level of tawh} i> d for people who follow the paths to Allah. The form of tawh} i> d dhāt is like what has been explained by the author of al-Jawāhir, "You are not seeing in this substance except the substance itself, which is called as tajalli> dhāt. This stage is the end of human journey in seeking Allah. There is no place closer from that worship." 44 Like al-Junayd al-Baghdādi> and al-Ghazāli> , al-Sinki> li> divides tawh} i> d into many categories. Quoting Shaikh Muh} ammad al-Ghawth, he explains three types of tawh} i> d. The first is tawh} i> d for lay people to testify that there is no God other than Allah. The second is tawh} i> d for specific persons who testify that there is no anything other than Allah. The third is tawh} i> d for the most specific people who testify the Oneness of God's Substance, His undivided Substance". 45 This is like what Ibn al-'Arabi> has said that tawh} i> d is knowledge, thing, then knowledge. First, knowledge is a kind of tawh} i> d in terms of explanation. This is the general tawh} i> d for general people. The deep meaning of tawh} i> d is the esoteric one, ma'rifah Allāh (knowing God). He also places tawh} i> d in the maqām (station) position. It means that tawh} i> d can be reached by people who have passed a number of maqāms (stations). 46 Finally, al-Sinki> li> advise Muslims to return to the Qur'an and hadi> th, for both are the great legacy that Prophet Muhammad SAW left to his people. In the face of these problems, both are the right formula. Look at the Prophet's saying, "I leave two things for you, the Book of Allah and my sunnah, then explain the Qur'an with my sunnah, for your eyes will never be blind, your feet will not slip, and your hands will not be cut off as long as you held them tight. "With this hadi> th al-Sinki> li> emphasizes," Understand and hold fast the Qur'an and the Prophetic Sunnah, you will surely be guided and remain on the straight path." 47

Conclusion
Al-Sinki> li> is consistent to the theme of tawh} i> d, because in some of his works like Tanbi> h al-Māshi> , Kifāyah al-Muh} tāji> n and Sullām al-Mustafidi> n, he emphasizes the importance of tawh} i> d. It is the first obligation for Muslims to accept the Oneness of al-H} aqq, and purify it from all other things inappropriate to Him with the statement of faith lā ilaha illā Allāh, which covers the four stages of tawh} i> d. Al-Sinki> li> also states that tawh} i> d is an associated action, like associating something to the truth. Allah is One, without we try to make Him one. Allah is the Truth without a need to having a truth legitimation from humans. Humans should not associate Allah with nature or actions which are not suitable to Him.