Believing in the Oneness of God - Tawhid

Taken from www.bbc.co.uk website with some adjustments. Please note God and Allah were used interchangeably in this post.

Tawhid

Tawhid is the word used to express the Islamic belief in the oneness of Allah (God). This also includes worshipping one God. Muslims believe that there is only one God, who is not divided in any way into parts: Allah Himself witnesses that there is no God except Him (Surah 3:18).

Affirming the belief that Allah is the one and only God forms the first part of the Shahadah.

Shirk

Shirk linguistical means setting up a partnership. In Islam shirk means believing in more than one God or holding up anything or anyone as equal to Allah. This would also include claiming that God can be divided into parts or persons. For example, Muslims could never accept the Christian doctrine of the Trinity or any form of polytheism. Muslims believe that shirk is the worst of all sins.

The Attributes of Allah

The opening surah of the Qur’an, called the Surah Al-Fatihah, tells the reader that Allah is:

1. the Most Beneficent, which means the most loving

2. the Most Merciful

3. the Lord of everything that exists – in Arabic, 'Alamin

4. the only one worthy of worship

5. the only owner of the world and everything in it, and the only ruling judge

6. the only divine source of help and guidance

7. one who blesses people who follow Him and please Him, and punishes people who do not

Additionally, Muslims believe that Allah is:

• Transcendent – Allah is above and beyond everything that exists in the world.

• Fair and just – Allah judges everyone with no injustic.

• The omnipotent creator – The Qur’an states that Allah is the originator of the heavens and the earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is (Surah 2:117).

• There are many more attributes (names) of God that Muslims believe in. Sometimes Muslims refer to these attributes as the 99 names of Allah. However God in Islam is not limited to a specific number of names or attributes.