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THE BELIEF IN
THE UNITY OF GOD
This seems to be a rather simple
and elementary concept. It should not be difficult for anybody to understand
the oneness of God, and there the matter seems to rest. But in fact there is
far more to this than meets the eye. When one examines the concept of Unity in
depth, the entire world of religion seems to revolve around this pivotal point.
This belief influences man's life in all its aspects. It also implies the
negation of all else but God. So belief in the oneness of God is not the
end-all of belief, but all other beliefs spring from this fountain-head of
eternal truth. This also delivers a message of liberation from all other yokes
and releases man from all obligations except such as is born out of his
submission to God.
This article has been further elucidated from different angles, both in the Holy Quran and the traditions of the Holy Prophet of Islam. For instance, the declaration 'La houl wala quat illa Billah' (There is no all-encompassing power except Allah) opens up new windows for a deeper and wider understanding of Unity. It negates all fears other than the fear of God. The second part of the same brings to the focus of attention another very important aspect of Unity. i.e. that the power to achieve good is solely dependent on God, and that He is Master of all sources of strength and energy.
Hence while the first part relates to the negative
aspects of power, the second part relates to the positive.
In application to human actions, intentions and motivations etc., these two forces are all-encompassing. Man's intentions and his subsequent actions are always guided and controlled either by fear or hope, and there is no exception to this rule. Those who do good deeds do so out of fear and hope, and those who indulge in vices are motivated by the same. The fears of non-believers belong to the negative ungodly category, and they shape their lives in accordance with these worldly fears. Sometimes they are afraid of earning the displeasure of monarchs and authorities, sometimes they are afraid of society in general or of despots and bullies. Again, sometimes they act evilly out of a fear of poverty and loss etc. So, in a world full of vices, a large part of human actions can be explained with reference to these fears.
The belief in Unity dispels
these fears altogether and brings to one's mind the importance of the fear of
God, which means that one must not be afraid of the displeasure of the ungodly,
but should always endeavour to avoid displeasing God, and shape one's life
according to that fear alone.
In the positive sense, the same applies to all
human motivations and consequent actions. Man always lives by some motive to please
someone, himself being no exception. In fact, more often than not, he works to
please himself even at the cost of those who are otherwise dear to him.
A more exaggerated form of
this attitude renders man a worshipper of his own ego. To achieve his purpose,
man has to please those on whom his pleasures depend. As such, again he has to
constantly strive to win the favours of monarchs, authorities etc. What we are
describing is the worst form of slavery. The hopes and fears of a slave are
completely dependent on the whims. pleasures and displeasures of his master.
But a godless man has not one master alone.
Every other human being in relation
to his personal interests can play as God to him. If you analyse the ultimate
cause of social, moral or political evils, it is such human worship which
destroys the peace of man's mind, and society as a whole begins to deteriorate
endlessly.
From this point of view, when
you cast another glance at the fundamental declaration, that 'there is no God
but Allah, the One and Only', all these fears and hopes relating to objects
other than God are dispelled, as if by the waving of a magic wand. In other
words, by choosing one master alone, you are liberated from slavery to all
others. To be a slave of such others as are themselves slaves to numberless
gods is a poor bargain indeed. But that is not all.
The gods that such people
worship are many a time products of their own imagination, which can do them
neither good nor harm. Most men, on the other hand, worship nothing but mortals
like themselves, their own egos being supreme among them all. Hence each of
them bows to numberless egotistic gods, their interests being at clash with
each other, creating a situation which is the ultimate of chaos.
The Islamic concept of Unity
also inculcates in man the realisation of the oneness of the human species, and
does away with all such barriers as divide man into racial, ethnic and colour
denominations. This gives birth to the universal concept of equality in Islam,
which is its distinctive feature. Hence from the vantage point of God, all
human beings, wherever and in whichever age they were born, stand equal in His
sight. As will be demonstrated shortly, it is this fundamental which gives rise
to all other fundamental beliefs and doctrines in Islam. As briefly mentioned
before, Islam's doctrine of Unity is absolute and unsplittable; it has no room
for adding to the Godhead in any form. He has neither a father nor a mother,
nor has He a spouse. For Him to give birth to sons and daughters is
inconceivable.
Another important aspect of
Unity of God as presented by the Quran relates to absolute harmony in His
creation. It is this harmony concept which appealed so strongly to Einstein. He
was compelled to pay tribute to the perfect symmetry in nature, which according
to him required the oneness of creator. He was a scientist, and his perception
of that harmony was limited to the material universe. But the Holy Quran speaks
of the harmony in creation in all its possible applications. The Holy Quran
claims that within nature, as created by God, and within the divine books
revealed by God, there is no disharmony; that there is complete concurrence
between one area of God's creation and another, and between one book and the
other.
It goes further to declare
that there is perfect consistency between the Word of God and the Act of God,
and that there can be no contradiction between nature and the divine word as
revealed to His prophets. This subject is beautifully expressed in the first
five verses of Surah Al-Mulk, and is also taken up in many other verses of the
Quran from various angles.
Coming to individuals, the
belief in Unity plays a very important role in the education and upbringing of
humans. It requires a consistency between man's views and actions, a
consistency between his relationship with God and his fellow beings, thus
binding creation in a single chain of unbreakable unity. This can be better
understood by bringing to focus the practices of some so-called religious
people, who preach hatred for one section of human society against another in
the name of the one and only God.
The principle of Unity of God is at variance
with this practice, and as such does not permit people to create divisions
between God and His creation and within the creation of God.
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