Oneness of God (Islam)
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For the concept of monotheism, see monotheism.
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Glossary of Islamic terms

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Oneness of God or Tawḥīd (Arabic: توحيد; also transliterated Tawheed and Tauheed; Turkish: Tevhid) is the act of believing and affirming that God (Arabic: Allah) is one and unique (wāḥid). The Qur'an asserts the existence of a single and absolute truth that transcends the world; a unique and indivisible being who is independent of the entire creation.[1] The indivisibility of God implies the indivisibility of God's sovereignty which in turn leads to the conception of universe as a just and coherent moral universe rather than an existential and moral chaos (as in polytheism). Similarly the Qur'an rejects the binary modes of thinking such as the idea of duality of God by arguing that both good and evil generate from God's creative act and that the evil forces have no power to create anything. God in Islam is a universal god rather than a local, tribal or parochial one; an absolute who integrates all affirmative values and brooks no evil. [2]

Tawhid constitutes the foremost article of the Muslim profession. [3] To attribute divinity to a created entity is the only unpardonable sin mentioned in the Qur'an. [2] Muslims believe that the entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of Tawhid. [4]

Contents

Etymology

In the Arabic language, Tawhīd literary means "To make something one, or to assert the oneness of something."[5] Both the terms Tawhīd and its verbal form wahhada do not occur in the Qur'an while the principle of God's singularity does occur numerous times (for example God is described as “sole divinity” (ilāh un wāhid) 13 times in the Qur'an). [3]

Description of Tawhid

The Qur'an asserts the existence of a single, absolute truth that transcends the world; a unique being who is independent of the creation; a real being indivisible into hypostatic entities or incarnated manifestation. According to the Qur'an:[1]

"Say: He is God the Only; God the Indivisible; He gives not birth, nor is He begotten, and He is, in Himself, not dependent on anything" (Sura 112:1-4)
Your Lord is utterly independent, All-Engineering. If he wills, he can expel you and replace you with others, just as he multiplied you from the seed of others" (Sura 5:133)

According to Vincent J. Cornell, the Qur'an also provides a monist image of God by describing the reality as a unified whole, with God being a single concept that would describe or ascribe all existing things:"He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward; He is the Knower of everything (Sura 57:3)"[1] Some Muslims have however vigorously criticized interpretations that would lead to a monist view of God for what they see as blurring the distinction between the creator and the creature, and its incompatibility with the radical monotheism of Islam. [6]

The Qur'anic passages Sura 34:20-24, Sura 35:40 and Sura 46:4 provide a basic understanding of assigning partners or equals to God, a sin known in Islam as Shirk. The verse 34:20-24 rejects the idea of duality of God by arguing that both good and evil generate from God's creative act and that the evil forces have no creative power. [7]

In Islamic mysticism (Sufism), Tawhid is not only the affirmation in speech of God's unity, but also as importantly a practical and existential realization of that unity. This is done by rejecting the concepts tied to the world of multiplicity, to isolate the eternal from the temporal in a practical way. The ideal is a radical purification from all worldliness. [8]

Certain theologians use the term Tawhid in a much broader meaning to denote the totality of discussion of God, his existence and his various attributes. Others go yet further and use the term to ultimately represent the totality of the "principles of religion". In its current usage, the expressions "Tawhid" or "knowledge of Tawhid" are sometimes used as an equivalent for the whole Kalam, the Islamic theology. [3]

Arguments

Polytheism

God as the Cause of Causes

Against the polytheism of pre-Islamic Arabia, the Qur'an argued that the knowledge of God as the creator of everything rules out the possibility of lesser gods or divine powers since these beings must be themselves created. For the Qur'an, God is an immanent and transcendent deity who actively creates and maintains the universe. The reality of God as the ultimate cause of things is however veiled from human understanding because of the secondary causes and contingent realities of things in the world.[1] Later Muslim theologians elaborated and developed the idea by rejecting cause and effect in essence, but accepting it as something that facilitates humankind's investigation and comprehension of natural processes. These medieval scholars argued that the nature was composed of uniform atoms that were "re-created" at every instant by God. The laws of nature were only the customary sequence of apparent causes (customs of God), the ultimate cause of each accident being God himself.[9] Thus the belief in the oneness of God is equated in the Qur'an with the "belief in the unseen" (Sura 2:3).[1] The Qur'an summarizes its task in making this "unseen", to a greater or lesser degree "seen" so that the belief in the existence of God becomes a Master-Truth rather than an unreasonable belief. The Qur'an states that the God's signals are so near and yet so far, demanding its students to listen to what it has to say with humility (Sura 50:33, Sura 50:37). The Qur'an aims to draw attention to certain obvious facts, turning them into "reminders" of God instead of providing lengthy "theological" proofs for the existence and unity of God. [10]

The Qur'an relates the story of Abraham in order to provide an example of an intellectual quest for understanding God as the Cause of Causes: Related in verses 6:75-79, Abraham moves progressively from worshipping the stars, the moon, and the sun to acknowledging God as the sole cause of the heavenly phenomena. [1]

Indivisibility of God's sovereignty

The Qur'an argues that there can be no multiple sources of divine sovereignty since "behold, each god would have taken away what [each] had created, And some would have Lorded it over others!"[2] The Qur'an argues that the stability and order prevailing throughout the universe shows that it was created and is being administered by only one God (Sura 28:70-72).[3][11] Verses 27:60-64 for example read: [12]

And who other than Him created the heavens and the earth and sent down for you water from the sky, whereby We cause to grow lush orchards - for it is not up to you to cause their trees to grow! Is there any other god besides God? Yet, these are the people who ascribe partners to Him!
And who other than Him made the earth a firm abode [for you], and set rivers traversing through it, and put firm mountains therein and sealed off one sea from the other? Is there any other god besides God? Indeed, most of them do not know!
And who other than Him responds to the distressed one when he calls Him and He relieves him of the distress and Who has made you [mankind] His viceregents on earth? Is there any other god besides God? - little do you reflect!
And who other than Him guides you in the darkness of the land and the sea? And who sends forth winds heralding His mercy [rain]? Is there any other god besides God? Far exalted be He above what they associate with Him!
And who other than Him brings forth His creation and then re-creates it? And who gives you sustenance from the heaven and the earth? Is there any other god besides God? Say [O Muhammad!]: Bring your proof if you are right [in associating others with God]

The Qur'an in verse 21:22 states: "If there were numerous gods instead of one, [the heavens and the earth] would be in a sorry state". Later Muslim theologians elaborated on this verse saying that the existence of at least two gods would inevitably arise between them, at one time or another, a conflict of wills. Since two contrary wills could not possibly be realized at the same time, one of them must admit himself powerless in that particular instance. On the other hand, a powerless being can not by definition be a god. Therefore the possibility of having more than one god is ruled out. [3][11]

Other arguments

The Qur'an argues that human beings have an instinctive distaste for polytheism: At times of crisis, for example, even the idolaters forget the false deities and call upon the one true God for help. As soon as they are relieved from the danger, they however start associating other beings with God (Sura 29:65).[11]

Next, the Qur'an argues that polytheism takes away from human dignity: God has honored human beings and given them charge of the physical world, and yet they disgrace their position in the world by worshiping what they carve out with their own hands.[11]

Lastly, the Qur'an argues that monotheism is a not a later discovery made by the human race, but rather there is the combined evidence of the prophetic call for monotheism throughout human history starting from Adam. The Qur'an suggests several causes for deviation from monotheism to polytheism: Power — especially absolute power — may lead one to think that he is God-like; such claims were accepted by those who were subject to the ruler. Also, certain natural phenomena (such as the sun, the moon and the stars) inspire feelings of awe, wonder or admiration that could lead some to regard them as deities. Anther reason for deviation from monotheism is when one becomes slave of his or her base desires and passions. In seeking to always satisfy the desires, he or she may commit a kind of polytheism.[11]

Atheism

The Qur'anic verse 45:24 is sometimes cited as a qur'anic argument against atheism. The verse reads: "And they say, 'This worldly life of ours is all there is — we die and we live, and nothing but time destroys us.' But they have no knowledge of it; they are only speculating." According to Mustansir Mir, however, the concept of atheism was unknown to the qur'anic audience and it is highly unlikely that atheist individual or groups existed at the time of Muhammad. The above verse therefore, according to Mir, refers to the pre-Islamic view that the rise and fall of nations is governed not by any definite moral laws but rather by the impersonal hand of fate.[11]

Discerning unity of God

Discerning unity of God in the multiplicity of created things has been one of the key problems of Islamic theology. Vincent J. Cornell, a scholar of Islamic studies quotes the following statement from Ali:[1]

To know God is to know his oneness. To say that God is one has four meanings: two of them are false and two are correct. As for the two meaning that are false, one is that a person should say "God is one" and be thinking of number and counting. This is false because that which has no second cannot enter into the category of number. Do you not see that those who say that God is a third of a trinity fall into this infidelity? Another meaning is to say, "So-and-So is one of his people," namely, a species of this genus or a member of this species. This meaning is also false when applied to God, because it implies likening something to God, whereas God is above all likeness. As to the two meaning that are correct when applied to God, one is that it should be said that "God is one" in the sense that there is no likeness to him among things. Another is to say that "God is one" in the sense that there is no multiplicity or division conceivable in Him, neither outwardly, nor in the mind, nor in the imagination. God alone possesses such a unity.[1]

Names of God

Main article: 99 Names of God

In order to explain the complexity of unity of God and of the divine nature, the Qur'an uses 99 terms referred to as "Excellent Names of Allah" (Sura 77:180). Aside from the supreme name "Allah" and the neologism al-Rahman (referring to the divine beneficence that creates and maintains the universe), other names may be shared by both God and human beings. According to the Islamic teachings, the latter is meant to serve as a reminder of God's immanence rather than being a sign of one's divinity or alternatively imposing a limitation on God's transcendent nature. Attribution of divinity to a created entity, shirk, is considered as a denial of the truth of God and thus a major sin.[1]

Sufi literature

For Muslim mystics (sufis), the affirmation in speech of God's unity is only the first step of Tawhid. Further steps involve a spiritual experience for the existential realization of that unity. Categorizations of different steps of Tawhid could be found in the works of Muslims Sufis like Junayd Baghdadi and al-Ghazali. It involves a practical rejection of the concepts tied to the world of multiplicity.[13] Al-Junayd for example "distinguishes four steps, starting from the simple attestation of unicity which is sufficient for ordinary believers, and culminating in the highest rank reserved for the elite, when the creature totally ceases to exist before his Lord, thus achieving al-fanā fi al-tawhīd [annihilation in unity]."[3]

Annihilation and Subsistence

According to the concept of Annihilation and Subsistence, "Man's existence, or ego, or self-hood...must be annihilated so that he can attain to his true self which is his existence and "subsistence" with God. All of man's character traits and habits, everything that pertains to his individual existence must become completely naughted and "obliterated" (mahw). Then God will give back to him his character traits and everything positive he ever possessed. But at this stage he will know consciously and actually - not just theoretically - and with a through spiritual realization, that everything he is derives absolutely from God. He is nothing but a ray of God's Attributes manifesting the Hidden Treasure." [14]

Unity of Existence

The first detailed formulation of "Unity of Existence" (wahdat al-wujud) is closely associated to Ibn Arabi. Widely different interpretations of the meaning of the "Unity of Existence" have been proposed throughout the centuries by critics, defenders, and Western scholars. Ibn Arabi himself didn't use the term "Unity of Existence" and similar statements had been made by those before him. For example, according to al-Ghazali "There is nothing in wujud [existence] except God...Wujud [Existence] only belongs to the Real One". Ghazali explains that the fruit of spiritual ascent of the Sufi is to "witness that there is no existence in the world save God and that 'All things are perishing except his face' (Qur'an 28:88)" [15][16]

Many authors consider being or existence to be the proper designation for the reality of God. While all Muslims believe the reality of God to be one, critics hold that the term "existence" (wujud) is also used for the existence of things in this world and that the doctrine blurs the distinction between the existence of the creator and that of the creation. Defenders argued that Ibn Arabi and his followers are offering a "subtle metaphysics following the line of the Asharite formula: “The attributes are neither God nor other than God.” God’s “signs” (ayat) and “traces” (athar)—the creatures—are neither the same as God nor different from him, because God must be understood as both absent and present, both transcendent and immanent. Understood correctly, wahdat al-wujud elucidates the delicate balance that needs to be maintained between these two perspectives."[16] Shah Wali Allah of Delhi argued that the Ibn Arabi's "unity of being" was experiential and based on a subjective experience of illumination or ecstasy, rather than an ontological reality. [17]

Influences on the Muslim culture

The Islamic doctrine of Tawhid puts forth a God whose rule, will or law are comprehensive and extend to all creatures and to all aspects of the human life. Early Muslims understood religion to thus cover the domains of state, law and society. [18] It is believed that the entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of Tawhid.[19] In the following, we provide a few examples of the influences of Tawhid on the Muslim culture:

Interpersonal relationship

According to the Qur'an, one consequence of properly conceived relationship between God and Man as the served and servant, is the proper relationship among humans. In order to achieve the former, the Qur'an consistently "reminds" men of two points: 1. That God is one; everything except God (including the entirety of nature) is contingent upon God. 2. With all his might and glory, God is essentially the all-merciful God. [20]

Satanic Logic

According to the Qur'an, Satan deviated from the oneness of God in the story of creation of man by permitting his own hierarchical value system to supersede God's will: God asked the angels to bow to Adam, who he had created from clay. Satan refused, saying that "I am better than him; you created me from fire and created him from clay". The Medieval Muslim scholar, al-Ghazali pointing out that the only legitimate "preference principle" in the sight of God is piety, writes: "every time a rich man believes that he is better than a poor one, or a white man believes that he is better than a black one, then he is being arrogant. He is adopting the same hierarchical principles adopted by Iblis [Satan] in his jahl [ignorance], and thus falling into shirk [opposite of Tawhid]." [21]

Secularism and the evolution of public policy

The modern secular state (a by-product of European positivism) resulted from the evolution of public policy in west. Islamic scholarship has not however gone through the same process for a variety of reasons: The doctrine of Tawhid implies that the cosmos is a unified harmonious whole, centered around the omnipotent and omnipresent God. As interpreted by Muslim scholars, national sovereignty thus exclusively belonged to God and no room was left for evolution of nation-state ideas or scientific investigation. According to Ozay Mehmet, "Secularism, i.e. policies based on science and man-made rules rather than divine criteria, has been rejected as anti-Islamic. Traditionally, a Muslim is not a nationalist, or citizen of a nation-state; he has no political identity, only a religious membership in the Umma. For a traditional Muslim, Islam is the sole and sufficient identification tag and nationalism and nation-states are 'obstacles'" [22]

Islamic art
See also: Depictions of Muhammad

The desire to preserve the unity and transcendence of God led to the prohibition of Muslims from creating representation or visual depictions of God or Muhammad. Many Arab Muslims later extended the ban to any representations in art of the human form. The key concern is that the use of statues or images may lead to idolatry. The dominant forms of expression in the Islamic art, thus, became calligraphy and arabesque. [18]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Vincent J. Cornell, Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol 5, pp.3561-3562
  2. ^ a b c Asma Barlas (2002), p.96
  3. ^ a b c d e f D. Gimaret, Tawhid, Encyclopedia of Islam
  4. ^ Tariq Ramadan (2005), p.203
  5. ^ See for example Lisaan ul-'Arab (3/450) of Ibn Mandhoor
  6. ^ Roger S. Gottlie (2006), p.210
  7. ^ R. Kevin Jaques, Shirk, Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, pp.630-631
  8. ^ Carl Ernst (1984), p.29
  9. ^ Robert G. Mourison (2002)
  10. ^ Fazlur Rahman (1980), p.2
  11. ^ a b c d e f Mustansir Mir, Polytheism and Atheism, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an
  12. ^ Fazlur Rahman (1980), p.67, 6
  13. ^ Carl Ernst (1984), p.29
  14. ^ William Chittick (1983), p.179
  15. ^ Amin Banani, Richard G. Hovannisian, Georges Sabagh (1994), p.71
  16. ^ a b William Chittick, Wahdat Al-Wujud, Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, p.727
  17. ^ John Esposito (1998), p.121
  18. ^ a b John Esposito (1998), p.24
  19. ^ Tariq Ramadan (2005), p.203
  20. ^ Fazlur Rahman(1980), p.2-3
  21. ^ Azizah Al-Hibri (2003)
  22. ^ Ozay Mehmet (1990), p.57

References

Encyclopedias
  • Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Ed. P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912. 
  • Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World. (2003). Ed. Richard C. Martin, Said Amir Arjomand, Marcia Hermansen, Abdulkader Tayob, Rochelle Davis, John Obert Voll. MacMillan Reference Books. ISBN 978-0028656038. 
  • Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd edition). (2005). Ed. Lindsay Jones. MacMillan Reference Books. ISBN 978-0028657332. 
Books
Journal articles
  • Robert G. Mourison, The Portrayal of Nature in a Medieval Qur’an Commentary, Studia Islamica, 2002
  • Al-Hibri, Azizah Y. (2003). "An Islamic Perspective on Domestic Violence". 27 Fordham International Law Journal 195.
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