It is of deep thought and wonder then, to ask how Ibn Firnas developed the first known process of human flight centuries before it became a global phenomenon.

How Umar (ra) essentially achieved a 0% poverty rate as zakat distributors could not find a single eligible person to distribute it to.

How Muslim women were enjoying the fruits of property ownership, knowledge, and wealth almost a millennium before feminism attempted to rescue European women.

How were such instances a regular occurrence if our metaphysical horizons have always been challenged and managed? The answer lies in Tawhid. The tawhid we are interested in here is not the type that occupies the scholastic ivory towers but the type that moves and becomes an enabler of action. The men and women engaged in the examples above understood that their historical development as a reality had been fetishized by idolatry and kufr, they sought their liberation through tawhid. Idolatry here signals what Ali Harfouch refers to as “second creators”, a hegemonic totality that serves as a veil, inhibiting reflection and awareness towards the divine. It totalizes itself in the background and mediates meaning and reality, becoming an unseen order, presenting itself as normal or “just the way things are”. In such a setting, alterity becomes near impossible, the human mind naturally does not challenge its limitations and remains functioning only as much as the second creator allows, in this case the limitations set upon the mind by idolatry and kufr. In the absence of alterity a community loses its ability to distinguish between its own source of existence and is naturally absorbed into an alien political and social center. In such a setting, such as in the secular setting, the Muslim self is absorbed into a metaphysical horizon of those second-creators and as individuals and as collective selves, is re-created by the subjectivities that those second-creators forge.

Thus, when Allah revealed in the Quran,

“Do they not then reflect on the Quran? Had it been from anyone other than Allah, they would have certainly found in it many inconsistencies,”

the first beams of liberation pierced the veil of their constructed realities, shattering the illusions of false creators and reconnecting them to The One, the original Creator. These words transcended mere rhetorical questions; they challenged their hearts and minds to engage deeply with divine truth, urging reflection.. And when Allah proclaimed,

“This is a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, ˹O Prophet,˺ so that they may contemplate its verses, and people of reason may be mindful,”

their hearts soared, unburdened by the temporal limitations of a fractured existence, they tasted the sweetness of a reality defined by divine harmony. In this alternative, governed by divine wisdom, they found themselves a profound sense of coherence that stood in stark contrast to the fragmented and shallow structures imposed by a life of kufr. These verses invited contemplation and reminded them that true liberation, intellectual and spiritual, came only from aligning with the divine will, transcending false dichotomies and inconsistencies of the world. They became like great titans, who walked proudly and onward while their immediate footsteps shook the ground around them with immense benefit, their intellects and hearts flew so high that their earthly actions naturally gave way to extraordinary developments and civilizational edge.

The earth saw many great civilizations, who may have excelled in specific areas—such as the Greeks in philosophy, the Romans in governance, or the Chinese in technological innovation—each of them lacked a comprehensive balance that allowed them to flourish in all dimensions of human life. The Greeks, despite their intellectual achievements, were plagued by moral inconsistencies and an elitist social structure. The Romans, despite their military prowess and legal advancements, built an empire on oppression and exploitation. Even civilizations known for cultural refinement, like the Chinese dynasties, often fell victim to internal strife and lack of spiritual coherence. In other words, a plurality of deities (shirk) by consequence justifies and sanctifies a plurality of norms, i.e. chaos. Allah says in surah Kahf,

“Those whose efforts are in vain in this worldly life, while they think they are doing good! ... It is they who reject the signs of their Lord.”

I would like to once again return to what exactly tawhid meant for the Islamic civilization. If it is the mere acknowledgment that Allah is one and that he is all-powerful, then it is bewildering why the Arabs could not form into a coherent and thriving civilization before The Prophet’s dawah. We must remember the Arabs did believe in Allah despite worshiping idols and forming their lived reality around them, it is well known that they recognized the ultimate power was Allah and that he alone shaped and controlled the universe. However, they made the same mistake that most Muslims make today as well, it was mere lip service, it sat on their tongues but not their hearts and minds. It did not inform their critical consciousness.

With the dawah of The Prophet, tawhid was renewed not merely as an objective Truth but as a critical metaphysical consciousness and praxis in an age of fetishization, it was a revolt against the world as sovereign and its second creators. Thus, the mizan (divine balance) was re-established and tawhid was instilled as a mover rather than a limitation, new possibilities and horizons became possible because of the introduction of tawhid not despite it. Allah says in the Quran,

“Indeed, We sent Our messengers with clear proofs, and with them We sent down the Scripture and the balance ˹of justice˺ so that people may administer justice.”

When Umar (ra) is able to eradicate poverty almost entirely he is able to do so not because of his personal excellence necessarily but because tawhid instills in him that level of consciousness that naturally endows man with a wisdom informed by the divine. When Muslim women were able to enjoy property ownership and seeking knowledge, they were able to do so because of the recognition of the proper life of man informed by tawhid and not simply for the sake of “freeing” them. When Ibn Firnas dedicates himself so devoutly to establishing a method of flight, he does so because his tawhid draws his attention to reflect and think, so he reflects on Allah’s verses about birds and humanity experiences flight for the first time.

In conclusion, tawhid has served the ummah as a source of fuel and energy for the intellect. There is no science of tawhid, it is a lived reality. Man is equipped with an ‘aql wherein he can return to a primordial desire to know the true reality of things. For the Muslim self, there is a recognition of an existential and primordial covenant between man and God. Allah says in the Quran,

“And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority."