Allah is One

Allah is One

Inna mallahu ‘ilahunw-wahid:
“For Allah is One God.”
(The Qur’an 4.171)

Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “The Qur’an accepts the fact that ultimately there is only one God.”

(Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 18.190)

In this statement Mahaprabhu stresses the existence of one God. Thus he dismisses the misconception that many gods exist and rejects polytheism or worship of many gods. Shree Chaitanya believes and preaches that there is only one God for everyone and all others are His servants.

One of the missions of Holy Prophet Muhammad (S. A. W.) was to establish worship of one God and stop polytheism which was prevalent in Arabia then. Therefore the Holy Qur’an firmly establishes oneness of God.

In the sura “Al-Kahf”, or “The Cave”, of the Holy Qur’an, Allah declares:

Qul ‘innama ‘ana basharum-mislukum yuha ‘ilaya ‘annama ‘ilahukum ‘ilahunw-wahid: “Say (O Muhammad): I am but a man like yourselves. It is revealed to me by my Lord that your God is only one God.” (18.110)

The first principle and pillar of faith in Islam is the belief in the existence of One, and only One, Great, Eternal, Self-Subsisting, Unseen God. This creed, called Tauheed, is expressed as “La ilaaha illallah” – “No god but Allah.” Allah is one. He does not beget, nor is He begotten. He is the Creator and Destroyer. He is the embodiment of Truth, Love, Peace and Justice.

The Holy Qur’an states,

Wa ilahukumu ilahun wahid / la ilaha illahu: “Your God is One God; there is no God but He.” (2.163)

Inna mallahu ‘ilahunw-wahid: “Allah is only One God.” (4.171)

Wa qale llahu la tettahidu ilahayni tnayin / Innama huwa ilahun wahid / Fa iyyaya farhabun: “Allah has said: Take not (for worship) two gods. There is only One God. Then fear Me, (and Me alone).” (16.51)

Allahu la ‘ilaha ‘illahu lahul ‘asma ‘il-husna: “Allah! There is no God but He. To Him belong the most beautiful names.” (20.8)

Ustad Abdullah Yusuf Ali comments:

“Allah is the One and the most beautiful things we can think of are referable to Him. His names refer to His attributes which are like titles of Honor and Glory.” (9, p. 880)

It is stated in the sura “Al-Imran”, or “The Family of ‘Imran”:

Shahid allahu ‘annahu la ‘ilaha ‘illahu wa walmala-’ikatu / wa ‘ulul-’ilmi qa-’imam-bil-qist / la ilaha ‘illahu wa l-’Azizul-Hakim: “Allah bears witness that there is no God but He. And so do the angels and those endowed with knowledge. Maintaining His creation in justice, there is no God but He, the Mighty, the Wise.” (3.18)

Ustad Abdullah Yusuf Ali writes in his commentary:

“Allah Himself speaks to us through His revelations (through angels) and through His Creation, for all Nature glorifies Allah. No thinking mind, if it only judges the matter fairly, can fail to find the same witness in his own heart and conscience. All this points to the Unity of Allah, His exalted nature, and His wisdom.” (9, p. 144)

It is stated in the sura “As-Saffat”, or “Those Ranged in Ranks”:

Inna ‘ilahakum la-wahid: “Surely your God is One!” (37.4)

“That divine Message is summed up in the gospel of Divine Unity, on which the greatest emphasis is laid: “verily, verily your God is One”. It is a fact intimately connected with our life and destiny. Your Lord is one Who cares for you and cherishes you; you are dear to Him. And He is One; it is only He that you have to look to, the source of all goodness, love and power. You are not the sport of many contending forces or blind chances. There is complete harmony and unity in heaven, and you have to put yourselves into unison with it – by discipline in ranks, by unity of plan and purpose in repelling evil, and by concerted action in promoting the Kingdom of Allah. Here is the mystery of the manifold variety of creation pointing to the absolute Unity of the Creator.” (Commentary by Ustad Abdullah Yusuf Ali, 9, p. 1341)

It is explained in the sura “Al-Ikhlas”, or “Purity”:

Qul huwa – allahu ahad

Allahu samad

Lam yalid wa – lam yulad

Walam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad:

“Say: He is Allah, the One,

Allah, the Independent.

He begets not, nor was He begotten.

And there is none like unto Him.” (112.1-4)

Ustad Abdullah Yusuf Ali comments:

“Here we are specially taught to avoid the pitfalls into which men and nations have fallen at various times in trying to understand Allah. The first thing we have to note is that His nature is so sublime, so far beyond our limited conceptions, that the best way in which we can realize Him is to feel that He is a Personality, “He”, and not a mere abstract conception of philosophy. He is near us; He cares for us; we owe our existence to Him. Secondly, He is the One and Only God, the Only One to Whom worship is due; all other things or beings that we can think of are His creatures and in no way comparable to Him. … This is to negative the idea of Polytheism, a system in which people believe in gods many and lords many. Such a system is opposed to our truest and profoundest conceptions of life. For Unity in Design, Unity in the fundamental facts of existence, proclaim the Unity of the Maker.” (9, p. 2028)

Furthermore the Holy Qur’an says:

Subhanah / huwe llahu lwahidu lqahhar: “Be He glorified! He is Allah, the One, the Absolute.” (39.4)

Wa ma min ilahin illa ilahun wahid: “There is no god except one God.” (5.73)

Huwe lhay / la ilaha illahu: “He is the Living One. There is no God but He.” (40.65)

In this way the Holy Qur’an explains, that there is only one God. God means the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being means nobody can be higher or on the same level, otherwise the word “Supreme” has no meaning. There cannot be two Supremes. Allah, God means One. God is the Supreme One and all others are under His supervision. The word “God” excludes the possibility of any one else being God. A statement that, “There are two Gods, or many Gods” is meaningless and illogical. No one is equal to or above Allah. He is the primeval Lord. God is one without a second. He is like the vaidurya stone, which changes color yet still remains one. All scriptures claim that the ultimate goal of life is love for God. But this love for God presupposes that God is one. When we speak about love of God we mean supreme spiritual love which is far different from material love which is based on sense gratification. The supreme love is meant for the Supreme Being, the Supreme One. The supreme love cannot be for two persons. The supreme love suggests the Supreme One, who is superior to everyone. We cannot love two persons with supreme love, we can only love one. Therefore, the Supreme Lord is one without a second. All bona fide scriptures of the world describe one God. There cannot be a Jewish God, a Christian God, a Muslim God, a Hindu God. The scriptures of the world speak about the same one God, but in different languages. They give Him different names like Jehovah, Saviof, Allah, Krishna, etc., but they approach the same Supreme Being, the same one God. We should understand, that the Supreme Lord is not a Jew, Christian, Muslim or Hindu. He is above of all these designations. He is situated in transcendence. He is the One Supreme God and we are all His servants.