The Philosophy of Islam- Nadarbeg K Mirza

Lailah Illallah!

There is no God but God.

That is the simple yet profound creed on which the mansion of Islam rests. It is technically known as the doctrine of Tawhid or the blessed Oneness, and is usually taken in its literal sense to mean that there is in the universe only one God. Strictly speaking, however, this is not a correct rendering. It really means that there is nothing but God in the whole universe; that everything that exists, whether animate or inanimate is He. The one is merely a belief in the Oneness of God while the other is its realization. The realization is reached in four stages: First comes the belief, next follows seeking, then comes knowledge, which is finally followed by the realization of the Oneness.

It is as well to follow these stages from the lowest to the highest. The elementary teaching of Islam commences with the belief:

Qul huwa ‘llahu ahad.

Say, the Lord is One.

This teaching is again and again repeated in several verses in the Quran; but the following quotations bring out the fact clearly enough.

Wa ilahukum ilahum wahid

And your God is one God.

Allahu La ilaha illa Huwa.

God! There is no God but He.

Wa ma min ilahim illa illahun wahid.

And there is no God but one God.

© "The Theosophist" (November 1999) published by The Theosophical Publishing House, Adyar, Chennai 600 020, India. Website: www.ts-adyar.org. Reprinted with permission.

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