Monotheism
Allah is One in the sense that
He has no partner in His Divinity. He has said:Say:He is Allah, the
One.1
If He had a partner, there would have been conflict between the two and
that would have caused disorder, as Allah has said:Had there been several
gods in the heavens and the earth, they would have been disordered.
2
ABSTRACT:
Allah is not
composed of anything. If He had been made up of several parts, He would
have depended on them, and a dependent cannot be self-existing.
IMMATERIAL:
Allah is not a
body, nor a quality nor an essence, for if He had been any such thing, He
would not have been self-existing and would have required a maker. And
that is impossible.
INVISIBLE:
Allah cannot be
seen by the sense of sight, neither in this world, nor in the next, for He
is Abstract. Everything visible must have a body and a direction while
Allah is free from them. He has said:You will never see Me.3
He has also said:"Eyesight does not perceive Him.4
UNCHANGEABLE:
Allah is not
subject to any eventualities, or else He would have become transient, but
His transience is impossible.
NON-INCARNATION:
Allah can not
be described as incarnate, for that would mean the combination of the
self-existing with what is not self-existing and that is
impossible.
NON-COMBINATION:
Allah does
not combine with anything else, for combination turns two things into one
without any addition or subtraction and that is impossible. Nothing that
is impossible can be attributed to Allah.
HIS ATTRIBUTES ARE HIS 'SELF':
Allah does not have any additional concepts or attributes in the sense
that He is not knowing with knowledge and He is not Able with ability, for
if He had any additional attributes, He would have been subject to
even-tualities if these attributes originated in time, and there would
have been several eternal and ever-lasting beings if these attributes had
no beginning. Both these things are impossible. More-over, in this case
the Self-existing Being will be in need of His attributes supposed to be
distinct from Him and thus will no longer remain self-existing, which is
absurd.
INDEPENDENT:
Allah is
Independent in the sense that He is not in need of anyone or anything
else, for being Self-Existing He cannot be needy. Allah has no direction
and no place, for anyone having direction and place is in need of them.
Further, it has proved that Allah is not an organism, nor is He an essence
nor a quality. Therefore He does not have a place or a direction.
ABSOLUTE:
Allah does not have
a child or a wife for it has been proved that He is not in need of anyone
else. Further all that is besides Him is not Self-Existing. Then how can a
non-self-existing being become self-existing? The Holy Qur'an says:There
is not anything like Him.5
Jesus is like Adam. Allah created him from clay. 6
1 Surah
al-Ikhlas, 112:1
2 Surah
al-Anbiya’, 21:22
3 Surah
al-A’raf, 7:143
4 Surah
al-An’am, 6:104
5 Surah
ash-Shura, 42:11
6 Surah
Aal-e-Imran, 3:59