“Your God is One God, there is no God but He….” [Qur’an, 2: 163]
Undeniably, there is only one Creator of this universe as, it can be reasoned, no other possibility exists. Acknowledgement of this intrinsic Truth is a moral imperative which will preponderate when all other considerations will cease to weigh in. The time is of the essence, however. If we can rise above our predispositions, political and economic interests, religious bigotry, impulse for intellectual eminence by promoting fictional novelties, and conformity to culture and social trends that continue to shift far from once norms, our conscience will pierce through all layers of opacity to witness the obvious that the universe around us is the work of One Supreme solely in command of His Kingdom and Administration. An intelligent mind would reject any other notions as false.
Unfortunately, many minds are captivated by the misconception that Muslims worship a god other than theirs who incites them to follow a creed not compatible with the practices of their faiths. Nowhere this fallacy is entrenched deeper in the psyche of people than those living in the western societies; but not by coincidence. This disinformation smear is a well-organized, richly financed, and shrewdly executed operation by influential figures that are also behind the campaign of spiraling Islamophobia. A hybrid of religious bigotry, this operation is politically charged for fear mongering. The purpose is to distort the image of Islam, fuel hatred and animosity, and mutilate Islam’s irresistible appeal to fend-off its rising influence. This effort continues without a shred of sensitivity to the frailty of social order within and across religious communities. At least among the three monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – as one would expect, such a misconception has absolutely no room; but this is where, tragically, this surmise poses the greatest threat of polarization. It’s worth knowing that the Qur’an refers to Jews and Christians as the People of the Book, and grants them a reverential status for being the followers of two great Prophets.
What motivates to push this notion of a different god by those who pretend to have monopoly on the truth is the need for a differential around which their uninformed, otherwise sincere, devotees could be spurred to rally and be inspired to heedlessly reject any other framework to discipline their lives that might pose a challenge to their enterprise: “They also say among themselves: Do not follow anyone except him who follows your faith.” [Q, 3: 73] Electronic media, radio, print and podium are the tools readily available to create an alternate reality. The vilification of Islam and denigration of its Prophet is a routine practice protected under the ill-practiced freedom of speech. No effort is made to reach out to those who may look different yet cherish many of the same values.
The question of believing in the same deity or different ones would arise only if we could consider the possibility of the existence of multiple gods. As to the number of gods, there are only three possibilities: Zero, one, or one plus (0, 1, 1+). That is either there is no god, or only one there is, or many of them. These possibilities are mutually exclusive (only one can be true) and collective exhaustive (no other possibility exists outside this domain). Thus, if any two of them can be reasoned as false then the third must be true by elimination.
The proponents of godless (zero) theory attempt to explain the creation of the universe as an accident. Nothing could be more insulting to human intellect than this obtuse view. This accident does not bear the hallmarks of an accident; thus, it cannot be an accident. An accident is essentially preceded by the pre-existence of some forces, tangible or intangible elements, and the physical laws that govern their functioning. While an accident cannot be predicted, it occurs only when apriory system fails to perform as designed or some external forces, already in-play, interfere unexpectedly. The state of unpredictability forces one to investigate only after the fact what did go wrong.
Besides the issue of predictability, an accident is neither compatible with anything in its orbit nor can it be replicated fully or partially. No two accidents are identical. None leaves any patterns in the path of its aftermath that could be retraced or duplicated. Being itself a haphazard phenomenon, an accident cannot subsequently regenerate well organized and orderly manifested phenomena that continue to be observed in every corner of this universe since the time immemorial. Unlike an accident, these phenomena are replete with meanings and consequences and recur regularly. Just as an accident cannot occur in a vacuum, its wreckage does not look very pretty either, like this world.
On the contrary, wherever we look, we find perfect symmetry, uniformity, coordination, and compatibility across all elements of the universe. Everything runs flawlessly in recursive order without any conflicts, failures, or interferences. The sun rises and sets at its appointed times every day; the moon remains in its orbit; nothing in the sky overtakes the other; and all are constant on their courses. Day and night rotate regularly. The calendar year keeps cycling with fixed number of days discretely spread over fixed number of months. The rain revives dead earth and brings forth variety of fruits and vegetation as sustenance for all on the planet who breathe. Weathers follow annual routines, specific to each region. The birth of a child in every race and ethnicity occurs the same way with same anatomy, red blood, and gender balance. Each living object on land, under water, and in the air completes a life cycle before taken over by death. Innumerable forces and countless variables crisscross, configure, and reconfigure to produce marvelous spectacles keeping the cosmos a wonderland without frontiers. Simultaneously, but not incoherently, the rise and fall of nations continue enforcing the law of demise: Moral decline has consequences.
Thus, there is so much repetitiveness with predictability and sustainability in every functional area on the planet. Yet, there is so much diversity as well across all categories and sub-categories that no two units of the same class are identical, such as two trees of the same family, or two leaves of the same tree, or two fishes, or two stars, or even two eyes on the same face. The incredible creative power with innovative genius, so visible in this universe, is beyond comprehension. All this could not be possible had this universe been the result of an accident. A system resulting from an erratic accident is not capable of regenerating and sustaining a conflict-free web of sub-systems that would demonstrate, as observed, infinite perfection individually and collectively as an integrated continuum conforming to a central rule. The most intelligent agent on earth cannot accept this absurdity. This universe is a self-evidenced display of its Creator’s superbly executed Masterplan.
The idea of one plus (1+) gods is even more insane. In view of the very definition of God – the Creator – multiplicity assumption is again contrary to human rationality, critical observations, and scientific facts. Without an outright rejection of this notion as well, the functioning of this universe and many of its physical phenomena cannot be comprehended or explained. The Arabic equivalent of God, the name Islam adopts, is Allah, which means One and only worthy of worship. This Arabic noun has neither a plural nor it has any gender associated with it. The epicenter of this description is that Allah is the Creator of the universe and the Sovereignty belongs to none but Him.
If we observe the operations of this universe critically with our eyes, brain, and heart synchronized and in synergy with our conscience, we will find them loaded with signs to convince us that this gigantic system is absolutely subservient to the will of one indisputable Supreme – the Absolute: “He to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; Who has taken to Himself no son nor has He taken any partners in His kingdom; Who created everything and then determined its destiny.” [Q, 25: 2] This firm view has a transformational impact on our alignment with the universe around us. Embedded in this cosmic consciousness is the dawning of self-awareness with clarity of vision, intellectual resolution of internal conflicts, stability of perspective, and a global world-view with a firm frame of reference: “….through a firm word, Allah grants firmness to the believers both in this world and in the Hereafter….” [Q, 14: 27] The resulting transformation puts life on a mission track with a sense of responsibility and reckoning. In the final analysis: Happiness is in doing your duty with moral excellence; and nothing else.
Furthermore, this system seems to be such as to rule out all possibility of any interference from others whether independent of the Creator of the universe or in partnership with Him: “Had there been any gods in the heavens and the earth besides Allah, the order of both the heavens and the earth would have gone to ruin…” [Q, 21: 22] Even a man of the meanest intellect can easily grasp this simple yet profound argument against the conjecture of several gods. There is no socio-economic unit or organization, from an ordinary household to the highest office in the land that could function smoothly if it had multiple heads, not even a day. How much more so it would be true for the universe. There is no room for more than one at the very top. Had there been any other who shared with God His godhead, he would have certainly tried to place himself on God’s Throne.
If we assume the existence of several deities, then only two scenarios are possible. First, each is God and is independent of the others. Second, one of the gods is the True God, the rest are subordinate to Him but have some of the powers delegated to them. In the first case, it is inconceivable that several independent and sovereign deities would always concur on all matters, a necessary condition for perfect harmony, uniformity, and balance as visible in the workings of this universe. A multiplicity of gods would have resulted in power struggle for climbing to the top. In the second, the mettle of the creatures is such that if some of them were invested with some degree of divinity, it would be impossible for them to be satisfied with anything other than becoming the Lord of the universe. In either case, the universe would have turned into a total chaos. The only chaotic factor in this world is man’s unruly conduct and his abuse of the gifted freedom: “…And do not make mischief (abusing your freedom) in the earth after it has been set in order…” [Q, 7: 56]
The entire universe, right from the deep layers of the earth to the farthest planets, is subject to a mammoth law. This order of the universe cannot endure even for a moment unless there is perfect balance, coherence and co-ordination, tying its infinite objects and innumerable forces into a unified system. And all this is inconceivable unless there is a set of immutable laws that compels these objects to work together in perfect unison. If the universe were under the hegemony of several independent sovereigns, it would be impossible for a unified set of regulations to prevail in it. Hence, the multiplicity (1+) assumption must be rejected. The very existence of an orderly system implies that it has no more than one sovereign who controls everything. The wide range of laws which regulate the universe indicates that sovereignty, rather than being diffused, is concentrated in the One Supreme, Allah, as referred to in Islam
Thus, it does not require any genius to recognize the Sovereignty of Allah. It is instilled in the conscience of every soul. One only has to be genuinely curious and open minded to acknowledge this absolute Truth. It is only because of this fact that a person intrinsically keeps his hope alive with Allah alone and looks toward the sky as a sign of his surrender to Him during the critical moments of his life in desperation: “Lo, it is to Him alone that you cry and then …He removes the distress for which you had cried to Him. Then you forget the partners you had set up with Allah.” [Q, 6: 41] When he is surrounded by a storm, or a loved one is terminally sick, he still hopes some invisible power may help miraculously. Even the most rabid atheists experience once in a while such moments in their lives. When either some great calamity befalls a man or when death starkly stares him in the face, it is only One True God that he cries out to for refuge: “When they embark in the ships they call upon Allah, consecrating their faith to Him. But when He rescues them and brings them to land, they suddenly begin to associate others with Allah in His Divinity.” [Q, 6: 41]
So, brushing the semantics aside, the Qur’an urges people to focus on the substance: “Whether they are the ones who believe (in the Arabian Prophet Muhammad), or whether they are Jews, Christians or Sabians – all who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and do righteous deeds – their reward is surely secure with their Lord…” [Q, 2: 62] All other edicts of the creed being essential, the pivot of a conscientious life, however, is the belief in Allahand accountability by Him. Since Allah is the Lord of all creations and none else is in possession of any power, none is entitled to any share in His Lordship: “…Your Lord is One Lord; so submit to Him alone…” [Q, 22: 34]
The compelling nub of this discourse is that human wisdom cannot accept the concept of a godless universe nor it is run by multiple sovereigns. There is only One Sovereign of this universe: “Your God is One God, there is no God but He; the Merciful, the Compassionate….” [Q, 2: 163] We may differ in our description of Him or in His attributes. All other speculations being false, Muslims essentially believe in the God of Abraham, Moses and Jesus, however they defined Him. Additionally, the followers of the three monotheistic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – trace their roots to Abraham, who finally concluded after a along search for the Truth: “Behold, I have turned my face in exclusive devotion to the One Who originated the heavens and the earth, and I am certainly not one of those who associate others with Allah in His divinity.” [Q, 6: 79] It is, therefore, inconceivable to surmise that these three people would be taking as their God any god other than the God of Abraham.
With due respect for all faith denominations, a peaceful co-existence of human family is Islam’s imperative considered critical to fully realizing the virtues of the earthly life. Genuine pursuit of any code of life perceived convincing is a personal determination and responsibility. Just as there cannot be any compulsion in adopting a particular faith code, there must not be any animosity toward those who may be inclined differently. However, shared concerns must be addressed collaboratively for achieving the higher goals of the society. In this spirit and in pursuit of this aspiration, the Qur’an inspires Muslims to reach out to the Jews and the Christian to join the platform of their common allegiance for restoring humanity to its glory of human fellowship: “…People of the Book! Come to a word common between us and you: that we shall serve none but Allah…” [Q, 3: 64].
Islamic Point of View 