The nature of God
And your Allah is One Allah. There is no god but He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Muslims believe that Allah:
- is the one true God - all worship and praise is directed towards him
- should be treated with respect as he is the supreme being
- is the creator, designer and sustainer of the world
The word is used to describe the oneness of Allah, which is the fundamental belief of Islam. It means believing in Allah, believing that he is the one and only God. It helps Muslims to think of Allah as the centre point of life.
If Allah had so willed, we should not have worshipped aught but Him. … But what is the mission of the messengers but to preach the clear Message? For We assuredly sent amongst every people a messenger.
Confirming that Allah is the only God is the first part of the . It is to believe in other gods, which means it is the worst sin.
The attributes of Allah
Muslims believe that Allah is:
- Transcendent – Allah is above and beyond anything that exists in the world.
- Fair and just - Allah judges everyone equally.
- Immanent - Allah is close to every human and within all things on Earth.
- Omnipotent - Allah is all-powerful.
- Beneficent - Allah is all-loving.
- Merciful - Allah shows compassion and , and he forgives people.
Muslims believe that Allah is just and created the world in a fair way (Adalat). They also believe that he always behaves in a merciful way.
Allah in the Qur’an
Allah has many different descriptions and it is hard to represent him in a few words, so the Qur’an teaches that Allah has 99 names. Each of the 99 names relates to a particular attribute of Allah, making him easier to understand and relate to.
Al-Hakim (The Wise), Al-Hakam (The Judge) and Al-Rahim (The Most Merciful) are examples of Allah’s 99 names in the Qur’an. beads are used in prayer when Muslims are remembering the 99 names of Allah.
Say ‘He is Allah, [who is] One.
