Al-Ikhlas (Purity of Faith)
Allah is one; He is neither two nor three. He has no spouse nor offspring. He is Supreme and Omnipotent. The Qur’an tells us: “God says, ‘Do not take two gods; He is the One God, so fear Me’” (al-Nisa: 51). Elsewhere in the Qur’an, we read: “Do not say, ‘Three gods.’ Refrain from saying so for your own good. God is but One God; far too highly glorified is He to have a son” (al- Nisa’: 171).
The principle of Tawheed is the very soul of Islam. In comparison to God, as we come to know Him through the Qur’an, everything and everyone else is utterly powerless and helpless. The Qur’an abounds with strong arguments supporting this principle:
Never has God begotten a son, nor has there ever been any other god besides Him. Were the opposite to be true, each god would govern his own creation, and some would have overwhelmed others. Exalted be God above their falsehood. He knows the unknown as well as the manifest. (al-Mu’minun: 91–92)
Were there were other gods in the heavens or earth besides God, both heavens and earth would have been ruined. None shall question Him regarding His works, but all else shall be questioned. (al-Anbiya: 22–23)
Advocates of the doctrine of the Trinity believe in three coequal partners in the godhead, who are in fact one: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, existing in total harmony.
They also believe in the crucifixion of Jesus, which raises the question: who was actually crucified: one of the three or all three? If the three are one, and the ‘one’ was crucified, does that mean that God was out of existence for a time before He came back to the world? But, if the Son only was crucified, how could he be ‘God’?
People are, of course, free to believe what they wish to believe, and this surah, which is said to be equivalent to ‘one third’ of the Qur’an, gives a most concise definition of the essence of Islamic belief. “Say, ‘God is One, the Eternal God. He begot none, nor was He begotten. None is equal to Him’” (1–4). God is unique, and there is nothing that can be likened to Him. There is nothing that can be equal to Him. He could, therefore, have neither been a father nor a son. He is the Eternal to whom all creation refers and will return.
The very nature of the cosmic structure does not allow for multiple gods. It is nonsensical to believe that there is an independent god for the sun and another for the earth, or one for the animal kingdom and another for the plants, or one for the African continent and another for Europe. The cosmic order is an integrated whole, set up, designed, run, and controlled by a single self-sufficient power. This power regulates the operation of the human digestive system and the orbiting of planets and stars in the infinite universe. The plants grow out of the ground, the dawn breaks every day, and the sun and the moon move in their charted courses in accordance with His will.
Rational and sensible contemplation of these issues could only lead us to believe that there is only the one God, without a partner, the Sovereign, to Whom belongs all praise, the All-Powerful and Omnipotent.