The most prominent Christian tenet is trinity, i.e. belief in three gods. According to Christians, there are, may Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us from saying so, three gods: Allâhu ta’âlâ, Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’, and the Ruh-ul-quds (the Holy Spirit). However, the Biblical expression, “My Son,” is an indication of excessive love. It is written in the existing books called Gospels, “Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ is equal to Allâhu ta’âlâ in all the attributes such as knowledge and power. After being killed by crucifixion, he was scorched for ten days in Hell, and then, according to Paul, mounting the accursed tree, [may Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us against saying so], he ascended to heaven, placed his throne on the right hand side of Father, and assumed the task of creating and making. Now the Son has the control. After resurrection as well, Father having abdicated His active role, the Son will be the Absolute Ruler.”
According to the belief held by Muslims, Allâhu ta’âlâ is One. He does not have a partner or a likeness in His Person or in His Attributes.
[Imâm-i-Rabbânî Mujaddid-i-elf-i-thânî Ahmad Fârûqî Serhendî ‘rahmatullâhi aleyh’, an extremely profound savant who is best in his prowess of elucidating the accurate belief concerning Allâhu ta’âlâ as held by those true Muslims stringently adherent to the Sunnat, Sharî’at, of Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’, gives the following account in the sixty-seventh letter of the second book of his work (Mektûbât):
“Be it known that Allâhu ta’âlâ is One in His eternal [that which never ceases to exist] Person. He created everything except Himself. He existed eternally. That is, He is eternal in the past. In other words, He always existed. There cannot be nonexistence previous to His existence. All beings other than He were nonexistent. He created them all afterwards. What is eternal in the past will be eternal, everlasting in the future. What is of recent occurrence and created will be mortal, transitory, and prone to cease to exist. Allâhu ta’âlâ is One. That is, His existence, alone, is indispensable. He, alone, is worthy of being worshipped. Existence of things other than He is not essential. It makes no difference whether they exist or not. Nothing except He is worthy of being worshipped.
“Allâhu ta’âlâ has Attributes of perfection. These Attributes are Hayât, ’Ilm, Semi’, Basar, Qudrat, Kalâm, and Tekwîn. These Attributes, too, are eternal. Their existence is with Allâhu ta’âlâ. Creation of creatures afterwards, and all these momentary changes in them do not detract from the eternal being of His Attributes. The eternal being of His Attributes is not affected by the later creation of these beings to which they are related. Philosophers, relying only on their imperfect mentality, and the Mu’tazila group of Muslims, not being keen enough to see the truth, closed the matter by saying that since creatures are of recent occurrence the Attributes which create and control them are of recent occurrence. Thus they denied the eternal Sifât-i-kâmila (Attributes of perfection). They said that “the Attribute of Knowledge cannot penetrate tiny motes. That is, Allâhu ta’âlâ does not know small, trivial things. For, otherwise, changes taking place in things would cause changes in the Attribute of Knowledge, too. What is eternal should not change.” They did not know that the Attributes are eternal, but their relation to things is of recent occurrence.
“Allâhu ta’âlâ does not have imperfect attributes. Allâhu ta’âlâ is free and far from the attributes of substances, things and states, and He is independent of their needs. Allâhu ta’âlâ is free from time, free from place, and free from direction. He is not in a place or in a location. He created time, places and directions afterwards. An ignorant person will imagine that He is on the Arsh, up above us. The Arsh, places above and below us are all His creatures. He created them all afterwards. Could something that was created afterwards be a place for one who exists eternally? However, the Arsh is the most honourable of creatures. It is purer and more resplendent than anything else. Therefore, it is like a mirror. Greatness of Allâhu ta’âlâ is seen there. It is for this reason that it is called the (Arshullah). Nevertheless, the relation of the Arsh to Allâhu ta’âlâ is no different from that of any other being. They are all His creatures. Only, the Arsh is like a mirror. The other beings do not have this capacity. Could a man seen in a mirror be said to be inside the mirror? The man’s relation to the mirror is identical with his relation to other things. His relation to all other things is the same. However, there is difference between the mirror and other things. The mirror can reflect a man’s image, and other things cannot.
“Allâhu ta’âlâ is not a substance, or an object, or a state. He does not have boundaries or dimensions. He is not long, short, wide or narrow. We say that He is (Wâsî’), which means (wide) literally. Yet this wideness is beyond our knowledge of width. He is (Muhît), that is, He contains all. Yet this containing is unlike what we understand from the word. He is (Qarîb), that is, close to us, with us, yet not as we understand! We believe in that He is Wâsi’, Muhît, Qarîb, and with us. Yet we cannot know what these Attributes mean. We say that anything that comes to mind concerning the Person and Attributes of Allâhu ta’âlâ is wrong. Allâhu ta’âlâ does not unite with anything. And nothing unites with Him, either. Nothing enters Him. And He does not enter anything, either. Allâhu ta’âlâ does not divide into parts or break into pieces; He is not analyzed or synthesized. He does not have a likeness or a partner. He does not have a wife or children. He is unlike the things we know or we can think of. It cannot be known or imagined how He is. There cannot be an image or a copy of Him. We know to the extent that He exists. And also His Attributes exist as He stated. Yet He is far from everything that may come to our mind or imagination concerning Him, His existence or His Attributes. Men cannot comprehend Him. Translation of a Persian distich:
When asked, “Am I not thine
Rab?”
“He is,” said the wise, and kept mum.
“The Names of Allâhu ta’âlâ are (tawkîfî), that is, they are dependent upon and subject to Islam’s dictation. It is incumbent upon us, therefore, to pronounce His Names prescribed by Islam. Names that are not prescribed by Islam cannot be used. They should not be pronounced no matter how beautiful they may be. (For instance), Jawâd, being a Name prescribed by Islam, can be used (for Allâhu ta’âlâ). On the other hand (Sahî), which is synonymous with (Jawâd) and means ‘generous’, cannot be pronounced (as a Name for Allâhu ta’âlâ) because Islam has never called him (Sahî). [Therefore, He cannot be called Tanrı, or God. Especially in worships, such as calling the azân (or adhân), it would be a grave sin to use the word Tanrı, or God, instead of the Name, Allah.]
“Qur’ân al-kerîm is the Kelâm, the Word, of Allah. Placing His Word into Arabic letters and speech sounds, He has sent it down to our Prophet, Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’. Through His Word He has informed His born slaves of His commandments and prohibitions.
“We creatures talk by means of our (organs of articulation such as) vocal cords in our throat, tongue, palate, etc. We put our desires into letters and speech sounds. By the same token, Allâhu ta’âlâ, the almighty, has sent His Word in letters and sounds without the intermediation of vocal cords, mouth or tongue to His born slaves. He has revealed His commandments and prohibitions in letters and sounds. Both modes of Word belong to Him. In other words, both the (Kelâm-i-nafsî), i.e. His Word before being transacted through letters and sounds, and (Kelâm-i-lafzî), i.e. His Word in the mode of letters and sounds, are His Word. It would be correct to call them both ‘Kelâm (Word).’ As a matter of fact, our word belongs to us when it is nafsî, before being said, as well as when it is lafzî, after it is said. It would be wrong that the Kelâm-i-nafsî is real and the Kelâm-i-lafzî is metaphorical or like the Kelâm. For something which is metaphorical can be denied. And it is kufr (disbelief) to deny the Kelâm-i-lafzî of Allâhu ta’âlâ and to say that it is not Word of Allah. All the heavenly Books and Pages revealed to former Prophets ‘alâ nebiy-yi-nâ wa alaihimus-salawâtu wa-t-teslîmât’ are the Word of Allah, too. All the contents of those Books and Pages, and also of Qur’ân al-kerîm, are Ahkâm-i-ilâhî (Divine Laws of Allah). He has sent every generation laws suitable for their time.
“In Jannat (Paradise), Believers shall see Allâhu ta’âlâ in a manner beyond the limits of mind, beyond the boundaries of place such as location, direction, form. We believe in the fact that Allâhu ta’âlâ shall be seen in the hereafter. But we do not ponder over how this seeing will be. For seeing Him is not something within mind’s comprehensive capacity. There is no other way than believing. Shame on philosophers and those Muslims belonging to the Mu’tazila group and all groups of Muslims except the Ahl-us-sunna! They have blindly deprived themselves of believing in this felicity. Attempting to compare what they have not seen or known with things they have seen, they have divested themselves of the honour of attaining îmân.
“Allâhu ta’âlâ, who is the Creator of men, is the Creator of their deeds, too. All virtues and vices depend on His decree [will]. However, He likes good deeds and dislikes bad deeds. Everything, whether good or bad, is dependent upon His Will and Creation; yet it would be insolent to describe Him as merely the Creator of a certain vice. We should not call Him ‘the Creator of vices’. We should say He is the Creator of the good and the wicked.” This is the end of our translation from (Mektûbât).
Fakhr-ud-dîn Râzî[83] ‘rahimahullah’ has stated twenty or so of the evidences furnished by the ’Ulamâ of Kelâm to prove the unity (being one) of Allâhu ta’âlâ. We shall cite some of them in the following passage:
1 — The twenty-second âyat of Enbiyâ sûra purports, “If there were gods besides Allâhu ta’âlâ on the earth and in heaven, order in these places would become deranged and a complete disorder would prevail.”
This âyat-i-kerîma signifies a (Burhân-i-temânû’). That is: Supposing the universe had two creators; the courses of action chosen by these two creators would be either disparate or identical. If they were disparate, then the universe would get into mischief. That is, heavens and earth would be thrown into disorder and perish, or two contradictory things would coexist. For instance, if one of the two gods wished a certain person named, say, Zeyd to move and the other god wished him not to move, when their godly powers affected Zeyd, two opposite things would happen at the same time. [And this, in its turn, is impossible. For two opposite things cannot coexist. In other words, it is impossible for two opposite events to take place at the same time. That is, Zeyd cannot be both moving and not moving at the same time. He is either moving, or not moving.]
If the courses of action chosen by the two gods were identical, disagreement between them would be either possible, or impossible. Disagreement would be impossible because they chose the same course of action. According to the second case, that is, if disagreement between them were possible, then one of them would necessarily be powerless. And being powerless, in its turn, would mean being a creature, having been created afterwards, which would be incompatible with the honour of being a god. Something created afterwards could not be a god.
2 — Supposing the universe had two creators, [may Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us from saying so], either one of them would be either capable, or incapable, of doing whatever he wished to do. If one of them were sufficiently capable of creating whatever he wished to create, the second god would be null and void, nonessential and superfluous, which would mean imperfection. And he who were imperfect, in turn, could not be a creator. If the second god were sufficient to do whatever he wished to do, this time the first god would become null and void.
3 — Supposing the universe had two creators, [may Allâhu ta’âlâ protect us from saying so], they would either need each other, or not, in their power of effecting [creatures]. Or, one of them would need the other, and the latter in turn would not need the former.
In the first case, i.e. if they both needed each other, they would necessarily be imperfect. In the second case, that is, if they did not need each other, neither would be a god. [For each would be nonessential and superfluous in comparison with the other, which would be incompatible with a godly character.] For a god must be an all-inclusive being whom everything needs every moment. Not needing him, therefore, would be out of the question. In the third case, the one that needed the other would normally be imperfect, which would mean only the latter one were a god, and hence only one god.
Qâdî Baydâwî[84] ‘rahmatullâhi aleyh’ states: If there were supposedly two creators of the universe, both of the gods would be equally omnipotent in their command over all the dispensable beings. For omnipotence is the prerequisite of creating and annihilating. On the other hand, susceptibility of coming into existence and ceasing to exist, that is, being dispensable, is an attribute commonly shared by all beings. Accordingly, no being would exist in the universe. For either none of the gods would be effective, or one of them would be effective and the other ineffective, in the creation of a being. Either case would require a process termed (terjîh-i-bilâ murej-jih). [Terjîh-i-bilâ murej-jih means to prefer either of two certain things to the other without any reason to do so, which would be a false process.]
It is out of the question for two gods to be effecting the creation of the dispensable beings [creatures]. For if there were no effect on the creation or non-creation of the dispensable beings, the dispensable beings would be nonexistent. If there were no one to prefer, there would be nothing preferred. In other words, if there were no creator there could not be any creatures.
In the second case, i.e. if one of the two supposed gods effected the creation of the dispensable beings while the other one did not; since the creation of the dispensable beings depended on each of the creators in an equal proportion, creation taking place with the effect of one of the two creators would absolutely be terjîh-i-bilâ murej-jih, which, in turn, would be false. If each of the two gods effected at the same time, this would mean two independent agents’ (gods’) effecting the same one subject, which would be impossible. That is, it would be impossible for two gods to have two contradictory effects on the same dispensable being at the same time. This means to say that an event where “two independent agents (gods) effected the same thing and their effects gave their results” would be quite contrary to fact. Therefore, it would be impossible for each of the two indispensable beings (gods) to effect the same thing at the same time. Then, the universe could not have two creators. [There is absolutely One Creator of this universe. He decreed to create the universe, and did create it. Nothing would exist if He did not decree and create it. There is definitely a Creator of everything. A pen cannot write by itself. It certainly needs an agent to make it write. And this agent, as everyone knows, is the writer. As it would be impossible for a pen to write without a writer, so would it be impossible for the universe to exist without a Creator.]
4 — Supposing the universe had two creators and one of these creators wanted Zeyd to stand up and the other god wanted him to sit down. Zeyd would either stand up or sit down; either case is possible. But when both gods’ wishes took effect at the same time, Zeyd would have to both stand and sit at the same time. And this, in its turn, would mean to make two opposite things one, which is impossible. If only what one of them wished were to happen, then the other would be incapable. It is out of the question for a god to be incapable, for incapability is peculiar to dispensable beings, that is, creatures. On the other hand, it is impossible for a creature to have existed since eternity. As eternal incapability is impossible, so it is impossible for a creature to have existed since eternity. As eternal incapability is impossible, so it is impossible for a god to be incapable or of recent occurrence. For a god’s incapability would be possible only if he lost his power which he had had in eternity. And this, in its turn, would mean his losing his being eternal. If it were impossible for the other god to will that Zeyd should sit down, this would mean that one of them outacted the other’s will, which, in turn, would mean the other’s incapability. And he who is incapable could not be a god.
The word (fî-himâ) in the twenty-second âyat of Enbiyâ sura, which we have quoted above, denotes the effects of two gods. And this is a definitely authentic documentary evidence for the fact that there could not be two gods. Sa’d-ud-dîn Teftâzânî[85] ‘rahimahullah’ stated, “This âyat-i-kerîma is a convincing document, and an evidence that anyone will understand clearly, concerning the fact that there could not be two gods.”
As will be understood from what we have said so far, Allâhu ta’âlâ is the Creator, the only One worthy of being worshipped, of all the existence, and He has no partner or likeness. Ancient Greek philosophers stated some ten evidences in order to prove that Allâhu ta’âlâ is one. The ’Ulamâ of Kelâm, by using the method termed innî (categorical, or a posteriori, or from effects to causes, argument), infer the cause from the effect. The Hukemâ, on the other hand, use the method called limmî, that is, see the power of the cause, and deduce that this power is the cause of all beings. [Limmî means ‘with limma’ (in Arabic), that is, ‘with (the interrogative) why’. And innî means ‘with inna (categorically so)’.]
Beings existing in the universe cannot come into existence or cease to exist from themselves. There is a being who effects, creates them. Since there are worlds, and creatures in these worlds, there is a being who creates these worlds and the creatures in these worlds. Existence of creatures is an evidence for the existence of a Creator [and this Creator is Allâhu ta’âlâ]. Creatures in the universe have attributes. Then, Allâhu ta’âlâ, who creates them, has these attributes.
[Everything other than Allâhu ta’âlâ is called (Mâ’siwâ) or (’Âlem), for which the term (Tabî’at) (Nature) has been used recently. All the ’âlems (worlds) were nonexistent. Allâhu ta’âlâ created them all. All the ’âlems are dispensable and of recent occurrence. That is, they may come into existence from nonexistence or cease to exist, and they came into existence from nonexistence. The hadîth-i-sherîf, “Allâhu ta’âlâ was. Nothing was,” expresses this fact.
Another proof evincing that the universe is of recent occurrence is the fact that the universe is subject to a continuous process of changing. Everything is changing. What is eternal, on the other hand, will never change. Allâhu ta’âlâ Himself and His Attributes never change. In the universe, on the contrary, physical changes take place in substances, and chemical reactions change essence, construction of matter. We see objects’ ceasing to exist and changing into other objects. According to recent findings, atomic changes and nuclear reactions cause substances and elements to cease to exist and turn into energy. These changes in ’âlems and substances and their coming into being from one another could not be happening since eternity. They must have a beginning, a first set of substances and elements that were created from nothing and from which they came into being.
Another evidence to prove that the universe is dispensable, that is, that it may come into being from nothing, is the fact that the universe is of recent occurrence. In fact, we see that all things around us have come into existence from nothing. Things are ceasing to exist. Other things are coming into existence from them. However, according to our latest chemical knowledge, the hundred and five elements never cease to exist in chemical reactions. Only their constructions change. Radioactive events have shown that elements, and even atoms, cease to exist and that matter changes into energy. As a matter of fact, the German physicist named Einstein[86] has formulated this change mathematically.
This continuous process of changes in substances and their coming into being from one another must not be coming from eternity. It could not be said that it has always been this way and it will always be. These changes have a beginning. To say that the changes have a beginning means to say that the existence of substances has a beginning. It means to say that all beings were nonexistent and were created from nothing afterwards. If the first substances had not been created from nothing, if their coming into being from one another went back into eternity, this universe would necessarily be nonexistent today. For beings’ coming into existence from one another in eternity would require preexistence of other beings to give birth to them, and these other beings’ existence would require yet other beings’ existence before them. Existence of later ones would depend on the existence of earlier ones. If earlier ones did not exist, later ones would not exist, either. Eternal means without beginning. A being’s coming into existence from nothing in eternity would mean that there were not a first being. And if the first being did not exist there could not be any beings later. As a result, everything would necessarily be always nonexistent. There could not be an endless chain of beings each of which would need another being previous to it for its existence. All of them would necessarily be nonexistent.
The fact that the universe exists now shows that it has not existed since eternity in the past and that there was a first being created from nothing. It is necessary to believe that the universe has been created from nothing and that today’s universe has been formed after successive chains of things coming into being from one another since that first being.
Wujûd means ‘to exist’. The opposite of the word (wujûd) is (adam). Adam means ‘nonexistence.’ Âlems, that is, all beings, were in adam before coming into being. That is, they were nonexistent.
There are two sorts of existence: First, mumkin (dispensable); second, wâjib (indispensable). If the only type of existence were the mumkin (dispensable) and the Wâjib-ul-wujûd (indispensable being) did not exist, then nothing would exist. For it is a change, an event, to come into existence from nothing. According to our knowledge of physics, an event’s taking place in something requires a preexisting power’s effecting that thing from without it. Therefore, the existence which is mumkin (dispensable) could not come into existence or maintain its existence by itself. If some power did not effect it, it would always remain nonexistent; it could never exist. Something which could not create itself, could not create others, either. Creator of the mumkin (dispensable) has to be the Wâjib-ul-wujûd (indispensable being). Existence of the universe shows that there is a Creator who created it from nothing. As it is seen, the only Creator of all dispensable beings is Allâhu ta’âlâ, who is the only Wâjib-ul-wujûd, and who is not of recent occurrence or dispensable.
It is necessary to believe that Allâhu ta’âlâ is the Wâjib-ul-wujûd, the real and only being to be worshipped, and the Creator of all beings. We have to believe definitely that Allâhu ta’âlâ, alone, created everything in this world and in the world to come, from nothing, without any raw material, without time factor, and without any likeness previous to it. He, alone, creates from nothing, and always keeps in existence, every substance, atoms, molecules, elements, compounds, organic substances, cells, life, death, all events, all reactions, all kinds of power and energy, motions, laws, souls, angels, all living and inert beings. As He created all beings in âlems from nothing in one moment, so He is creating them from one another every moment. When the time comes for the end of the world, He shall annihilate everything in one moment, too. He, alone, is the Creator, the Owner, the Ruler of everything. We have to believe that there is no one to dominate over Him, to command Him, or to be superior to Him. All kinds of superiority, all attributes of perfection belong to Him. He does not have any deficiency, any imperfect attribute. He does whatever He wills. His makings are not intended to be useful to Himself or to others. He does not make something in return for something else. Nevertheless, each of His makings comprises hikmats, uses, blessings and kindnesses. He is eternal. That is, He always existed. (Wâjib-ul-wujûd) means ‘Being whose existence does not depend on someone or something else and who eternally exists only by itself.’ He is not created by someone else. Were it not so, He would necessarily be dispensable and of recent occurrence and someone else’s creature, which, in its turn, would countermand all our reasoning so far. In Persian (Hudâ) means ‘(He) who eternally exists by Himself.’
Allâhu ta’âlâ cannot be thought of as dependent upon passing of time such as day and night. Since there will be no change in any respect in Allâhu ta’âlâ, it cannot be said that He was like this in the past or will be like that in the future. Allâhu ta’âlâ does not enter anything. He does not unite with anything. Allâhu ta’âlâ does not have an opposite, a counterpart, a prototype, a partner, an assistant, or a protector. He does not have a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, or a spouse. He is always present with everyone, always contains and sees everything. To everbody He is closer than their jugular vein. Yet how He is present, how He contains, how He is together and close are beyond our comprehension. His closeness cannot be understood through the knowledge of ’Ulamâ, the intellect of scientists, or the kashf and shuhûd of Awliyâ[87] ‘qaddes-allâhu ta’âlâ esrârahum.’ The human mind cannot grasp their inner essence. Allahu ta’âlâ is One in His Person and Attributes. No change occurs in any of them.
We see that the universe is in an amazing order. Every year science makes new discoveries on the system of relationship among the creatures of the universe. He who has created these systems must be Hay[88] (living, alive), ’Âlim (knowing), Qâdir (having power enough), Murîd (willing), Semî’ (hearing), Basîr (seeing), Mutakallim (saying),and Khâliq (creating). For such things as dying, not knowing, not having enough power, being compelled to do, deafness, blindness and being unable to say, are all defects, things to be ashamed of. Existence of such deficient attributes in a Person who has created this universe in such an order and who protects it from perishing is impossible.
From atoms to stars, every being has been created with some calculations, laws. Orders, laws and connections discovered so far in physics, chemistry, astronomy and biology are astounding. In fact, Darwin had to say, “When I consider the order, the delicate particulars in the construction of the eye, I am so bewildered that I feel on the verge of insanity.” Could attributes of imperfection ever be ascribed to Allâhu ta’âlâ, who is the Creator of all these laws and delicate calculations that are being taught in science classes?
Furthermore, we see these attributes of perfection on creatures as well. He has created them in His creatures, too. How could He have created these attributes in His creatures if He Himself did not have them? If He did not have these attributes, His creatures would be superior to Him.
He who has created these ’âlams has to have all the attributes of perfection and none of the attributes of imperfection. For one who is imperfect could not be a Hudâ, a Creator.
Let alone all these mental proofs, âyat-i-kerîmas of Qur’ân al-kerîm and hadîth-i-sherîfs of our Prophet Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ state plainly that Allâhu ta’âlâ has attributes of perfection.
It is not permissible to doubt this fact. Doubt will cause kufr (disbelief). His eight Attributes of perfection written above are called (Sifât-i-thubûtiyya). That is, the Sifât-i-thubûtiyya of Allâhu ta’âlâ are eight. Allâhu ta’âlâ has all Attributes of perfection. There is no defect or confusion or change in His Person, Attributes, or Deeds.]
We have stated (above) that Qur’ân al-kerîm teems with âyat-i-kerîmas expressing the fact that Allâhu ta’âlâ is One in His Person, in His Attributes and Deeds. The first âyat of Ikhlâs sûra purports, “[O Muhammad!] Say [unto those who inquire about Allâhu ta’âlâ]: Allah is One [in His Person, Attributes and Deeds].” The hundred and sixty-third âyat of Baqara sûra purports: “Thine Ilâh (God) is Allah, who is One. There is no Ilâh other than He. He bestows His blessings on everybody in the world, yet He shall be compassionate and kind only to Believers in the hereafter.” There are many such examples in Qur’ân al-kerîm.
According to ’Ulamâ of Lughat (Semantics), the words (Ahad) and (Wâhid)[89] are synonymous. Yet a closer observation will show that they differ in usage. When the word (Ahad) is used, ‘(Wâhid) in every respect’ is meant. Ahadiyyat, that is, being one, signifies one being as opposed to many in number; one being which is not made up of many components and which is free from such dependencies as co-ownership, amount, change, colouredness, being light or dark. One who is (Ahad) does not have a prototype or a likeness. Neither mind nor feelings will afford His being broken into parts. Also, Ahad is free from concrete fractions, such as various component substances, indivisible parts, tiny solid substances, and appearance, and from abstract fractions such as kind and category. (Ahad) is the sole Person who does not have a likeness or a partner, or anyone besides Him, that is, Allâhu ta’âlâ. [Another difference between Wâhid and Ahad is that Wâhid can be in Ahad. On the other hand, Ahad will never go into Wâhid. In other words, Ahad is Wâhid, yet not every wâhid is Ahad. Wâhid is used in the affirmative and Ahad in the negative. For instance, “Ra-aytu rajulan wâhidan (I saw a man),” versus “Mâ ra-aytu ahadan (I saw no one).”]
Allâhu ta’âlâ has mercy upon His born slaves. The thirtieth âyat of Âl-i-’Imrân sûra purports, “Allâhu ta’âlâ commands you to fear and avoid His torment. Allâhu ta’âlâ is very compassionate over His born slaves.” [Our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wasallam’ stated, “Meditate over the creatures of Allâhu ta’âlâ. Do not ponder over His Person. For you could not appreciate or comprehend His Greatness.” No work could comprehend its maker. In another hadîth-i-sherîf, our Prophet ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam’ declared, “Allâhu ta’âlâ is far from everything that will come to mind.”]