Who is Allah?
Tawhid, the oneness of God
Tawhid means affirming that Allah is One. It is the heart of Islam and the message of every prophet. Surah Al-Ikhlas, one of the shortest chapters of the Quran, sums it up:
Surah Al-Ikhlas (112)
قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ
Qul huwa-llāhu aḥad. Allāhu-ṣ-ṣamad. Lam yalid wa lam yūlad. Wa lam yakun lahū kufuwan aḥad.
Say: He is Allah, the One. Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, and there is nothing comparable to Him.
In practice
- Pray and make dua (personal prayer) to Allah directly. There is no intermediary, and you can speak to Him in any language.
- Allah is not like His creation: “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.” (Quran 42:11)
- He is the Most Merciful. Almost every surah begins with His names ar-Raḥmān and ar-Raḥīm.
Sources: Quran 112, 42:11, 2:186