One of the shortest chapters in the Quran, “The
Oneness of Allah,” [9] summarizes the nature of God
in five verses, “In the name of Allah, the Infinitely
Compassionate, the Most Merciful: Say, 'He is Allah,
the One; Allah, the Eternal Originator; He does not
bear children, nor was He born; and He is beyond
compare.'”
The most fundamental Islamic teachings about God
are contained in the previous verses; there is only
one God, He is eternal, unique, and has no kinship,
creator, or resemblance to any human being.
Throughout their mission, every prophet stated some
of the divine attributes of God. Prophet Abraham
said, “My Lord is He who gives life and causes
death.” (2:258) When confronting Pharaoh, Moses
said, “Our Lord is He Who gave each thing its form
and nature then guided it aright” (20:50). These two
verses describe God and His relation to human
beings; however, God's being extends far beyond His
relation to mankind. Imam Ali described God in the
following manner:
” He who assigns to Him different conditions does
not believe in His oneness, nor does he who likens
Him, grasp His reality. He who illustrates Him, does
not signify Him; he who points at Him and imagines
Him, does not mean Him. Everything that is known
through itself has been created, and everything that
exists by virtue of other things is the effect of a
cause. He works but not with the help of
instruments; He fixes measures, but not with the
activities of thinking; He is rich, but not by
acquisition. Time does not keep company with Him,
and implements do not help Him. His being precedes
time, His existence precedes non-existence, and His
eternity precedes beginning. By His creating the
senses, it is known that He does not possess such
senses. By the contraries in various matters, it is
known that He has no contrary, and by the
similarity between things it is known that there is
nothing similar to Him. He has made light the
contrary of darkness, brightness that of gloom,
dryness that of moisture, and heat that of cold. He
produces affection among inimical things. He is not
confined by limits, nor counted by numbers.
Material parts can surround things of their own
kind, and organs can point out things similar to
themselves…Through them, the Creator manifests
Himself to the intelligence, and through them He is
guarded from the sight of the eyes…He has not
begotten anyone lest He be regarded as having been
born. He has not been begotten; otherwise, He
would be contained within limits. He is too high to
have sons…Understanding cannot think of Him so as
to give Him shape…” [10]
God expresses His own eternity and perpetuity in the
Quran when He states, “Everything on earth shall
perish, but the face of Allah will remain, full of
majesty and honor.” (55:26-27)

Monotheism of Allah (Tawheed)
Monotheism is the essence of Islam. It is the
affirmation of believing that there is no other
divinity other than God. For the most part, the spirit
of the Quran revolves around the theme of pure
monotheism. Thus, God is the center of a Muslim's
belief. Whereas other religions focus on individuals,
for example, Christianity's focus on Jesus Christ,
Islam focuses solely on God.
Islam is based on the Absolute (God), not His
manifestations. The Quran itself speaks about the
oneness of God, “Allah has borne witness that there
is no god other than Him, and the angels, and those
with knowledge also witness this. He is always
standing firm on justice. There is no god but Him,
the Mighty, the Wise.” (3:18)
The oneness of God is not only a philosophical
argument, rather it is also an affirmation which all
human beings once declared before their souls
entered their body, as God says, ”[Remember] when
your Lord brought forth the children of Adam from
their loins and made them testify over themselves,
saying, “Am I not your Lord?” They said, “Yes! We
testify,” lest you should say on the Day of
Resurrection, 'Verily, we were unaware of
this.'” (7:172)
In this event, every person to be created until the
end of time proclaimed God's majesty, sovereignty,
power, transcendence, and absolute oneness.
Such was the covenant God made with all people at
the time of their creation, whether people presently
claim to believe in God or not. Similarly, all people
today, regardless of their origin, are naturally
inclined towards the idea that God is one and does
not have a partner. The Quran informs Prophet
Muhammad of the following, “Set your face to the
true religion [the Islamic belief of monotheism], the
natural inclination [fitra] with which Allah has
created mankind. [Let there be] no change in what
Allah has made; that is the straight religion, but
most people do not understand.” (30:30)

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