None Beside Him

I’m writing this post to clarify how main stream Muslims have always understood monotheism throughout the ages. It’s not intended to raise debates, or attack other people’s understanding, nothing of that sort, it’s just something that I believe has been misunderstood for a very long time, and needs to be addressed in a direct unwavering manner. Hence, if you are not open minded enough, skip this post, and don’t continue reading.

Unlike what some people believe, the concept of “Oneness of God” is not something that Islam invented, or came up with. This concept had always been the token around which all monotheistic religions, and ancient philosophies, revolve and preach. None of the prophets mentioned in the Bible ever preached the division of God, or that He exists in any multifaceted form. None of the early prophets preached the holiness of any entity other than our creator, besides whom none else exists, neither other gods, nor saviors.

This concept is clearly stressed by Moses P.B.U.H. in the Jewish creed of faith, in Deuteronomy (6:4), where we read: “Hear, O Israel The Lord our God is one Lord.”
And also Deuteronomy (4:39): “Know therefore this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD, he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.”

From Isaiah, read (43:10-11): “You are my witnesses, says the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and beside me there is no savior.”

Isaiah (44:5-6): “Thus says the LORD the King of Israel and his redeemer the LORD of hosts, I am the first, and I am the last, and beside me there is no God.”

Isaiah (45:6): “I [am] the LORD, and [there is] none else, [there is] no God beside me: I girded you, though you has not known me: That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.”

Isaiah (45:18): “For thus says the LORD that created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth and made it, he has established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD, and there is none else.”

And from Isaiah: (45:21-23) “Declare, and bring [them] near, let them take counsel together: who has declared this from ancient time? [who] has told it from that time? [have] not I the LORD? and [there is] no God else beside me, a just God and a Savior, [there is] none beside me. Look unto me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth [in] righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”

And from Jeremiah (10:10): “But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king.”

So as you can see, the prophets were trying to tell us that there is a Creator, He is the one and only God, and there is none else beside him. He watches all of His creation and knows what they do, and He will judge their deeds on the judgment day. Those who were righteous shall rejoice with His mercy, and those who were wicked evildoers shall be punished for their sins.

The Messiah Jesus P.B.U.H. also taught the same thing as came in the gospel of Mark (12:29-30): “And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments [is,] Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: this is the first commandment…”

And he emphasized P.B.U.H. the importance of the previous where he says in Matthew (5:17-19): “Think not that I have come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, TILL HEAVEN AND EARTH PASS, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

If you sincerely search inside the New Testament, you will find that no where does Jesus call himself God, nor does he explicitly claim to be the second person in any Trinity, wholly equal to God. On the contrary, he taught that he was God’s messenger, or as he himself said in the gospel of John (17:3-4): “And this is life eternal, that they might know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You has sent. I have glorified You on the earth: I have finished the work which You gave me to do.”

Prophet Muhammad P.B.U.H. came along approximately 600 years after Jesus P.B.U.H., bringing the same message:

“And your God is One God: there is none other God but He.” [The Qur’an (2:163)].

“Allah there is none other God but He, the Living the Everlasting. Slumber does not seize Him, neither sleep, to Him belongs all that is in the Heavens and the Earth. Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them (i.e. what happens to them in this world) and what is behind them (i.e. what happens to them in the hereafter), and they do not encompass anything of His knowledge except what He wills. His Throne extends over the Heavens and the lands (i.e. the universe), the preservation of them does not burden Him, He is the Most High, the Greatest.” [The Qur’an (2:255)].

If you think, or believe that “Allah” is different from “God,” then kindly read my previous post Unravelling Allah.

Again, this post is not meant to debate with, or attack others; it is meant to shed some light on main stream Muslims’ faith, as intended by the whole blog.

Written By: Ehab Shawky

In Response To: None
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/none/