Allah Is One Without Partner; Nothing Is Like Him

Article 1. Inna Allāha wāḥidun lā sharīka lah. Allah is one without partner.

That is a very, very simple statement, but really it is very comprehensive. This book can be read in two hours; but it could really be opened up, and all the underlying points in it discussed as well. Inna Allāha taʿālā wāḥidun lā sharīka lah: Allah is one without partner.

When he says one here, he does not mean it in a very simplistic sense, as in not two, not three, just one. One here refers to one in the full sense of the word: that He is unique. This is the place for any reader not already taking notes to begin, because these things really need to be understood to their depth. That is when they are truly appreciated; that is when they benefit us. Everybody goes around saying Allah is one; but then, when it comes to some confusing issues, they start to falter.

What this basically means is that Allah is one in His essence: there is nothing like unto Him. There is no other essence or entity like Allah (swt). Now, somebody could say: “I agree with that; there is no other essence like Allah; there is only one necessary being. But there may be others who have the same attributes as Allah, or some of the same attributes of Allah (swt).” By saying that Allah is one, we are also saying that He is one in His attributes.

Somebody could then say: “Fine, we agree with that as well; nobody can have the same attributes as Allah.” Allah's attributes are eternal, because He is eternal. That works. His attributes, His ṣifāt, are associated with Him. Others are not eternal. They cannot have the same attributes as Allah, which are eternal; for a non-eternal being, it just does not work. So they might say: “We agree with that as well, that Allah is one in His essence and attributes. But there may be people who can do actions like Allah, in the same way that Allah (swt) can do them, and who have the ability; there may be somebody who has that as well.”

So this statement also negates that kind of possibility, which might arise in somebody's mind. Allah is one in His essence, in His attributes, and in His actions. There is nobody else who can do anything like that. And He does all of this without a partner: He does it alone, without any partner whatsoever. Lā sharīka lah: without partner in His essence, attributes or actions.

Article 2. Wa lā shayʾa mithluh. Nothing is like Him.

Wa lā shayʾa mithluh, number two: nothing is like Him. This further clarifies that once it is understood that He is one, there is nothing else like Him. So we understand this, and put everybody in their own categories. And obviously He has no partner, which basically means that nothing is like Him. If there were a like like Him, He would not be one anymore; He would not be unique anymore. So this second point, nothing is like Him, emphasises the first point even more.

Wa lā shayʾa yuʿjizuh. Nothing debilitates Him.

Wa lā shayʾa yuʿjizuh. All of this is set out in a logical order, to a certain degree. It has been established that Allah is one, and that there is nothing like Him. Can there be somebody who can debilitate Him, who can enfeeble Him in one way or another? That is clarified as well: no, there is nothing like that. Nothing debilitates Him. Wa lā shayʾa yuʿjizuh: there is nothing that can make Him powerless. That refers both to this, that there is nothing that can force Him to bring something into existence that was not existing, and to this, that there is nothing that can force Him to put something out of existence either. He does as He wishes.