2 The Islamic View of God
2.1 Allah
2.2 What Is Tawḥīd?
2.3 What Is Shirk?
2.4 The 99 Names of Allah
2.5 The Sovereignty of Allah
2.1 Allah
Allah is the Arabic word meaning “the God.”
Linguistically, it comes from the Arabic noun al-ilāh, which means “the deity.”
ilāh = a god, a deity, an object of worship
al- = “the”
ilāh is a generic term. It can refer to a true god, a false god, an idol, or anything treated as divine or ultimate.
For example, a tribe may speak of their ilāh, even if it was an idol.
Arabic-speaking Jews and Christians used Allah as the word for God before Islam started around 610 AD, and they still use it today, including in Jewish and Christian Scriptures translated into Arabic. The word Allah itself is not unique to Islam.
However, Islam gives the word Allah a very specific theological meaning. When Muslims say Allah, they are referring to a particular understanding of who God is and what God is like.
Jews/Christians: Allah = God of Abraham as understood through Torah/Gospel
Islam: Allah = God of Abraham as defined by Qur’anic revelation
Islam claims that these are both the same God when God is correctly understood.
In Islam, Allah is understood to be the one, singular, uncreated being. Everything else that exists does so because Allah willed it into existence. Allah depends on nothing; everything depends on Him. He did not come into being, cannot cease to be, and does not change.
One of the most important Islamic claims about Allah is that He is not part of creation in any sense. He does not occupy space, does not enter time, and does not share characteristics with created things.
Even when the Qur’an uses descriptive language (such as saying God “knows,” “wills,” or “acts”) Muslim theology insists that these attributes are not comparable to human qualities.
A key Qur’anic phrase summarizes this idea: “There is nothing like Him.” This statement functions almost like a theological boundary. Any idea that makes God resemble humans too closely is rejected.
At the center of the Islamic belief about Allah is the claim that there is only one God, who is eternal, uncreated, and absolutely without partners. This belief is known as tawḥīd, usually translated as “oneness,” but it goes beyond simply affirming that God is one.
To misunderstand tawḥīd is, in Islam, to misunderstand God Himself. Next, in 2.2, we will look at more details about tawḥīd.
2.2 What Is Tawḥīd?
Tawḥīd in Arabic means “making one,” “unifying,” or “affirming oneness.”
It comes from the Arabic root w-ḥ-d, which carries the idea of oneness, singularity, and unity without division.
In Islam, tawḥīd is not merely the belief that there is only one God instead of many. It is the claim that God is one in such a total, uncompromising way that nothing else can even partially share His nature, authority, or rights.
This means God is not only one in number, but one in being, essence, authority, and worship. Any idea that introduces division, partnership, mediation, or shared status is seen as a violation of tawḥīd.
Tawḥīd is the central organizing principle of Islam. Law, ethics, worship, salvation, politics, and daily life all flow from it.
To affirm tawḥīd correctly is righteousness.
To violate tawḥīd is the gravest possible error.
God is not composed of parts. He does not have persons, manifestations, or modes of being.
Saying things like, “God is one essence in three persons” introduces division into God’s being. Thus the Trinity in Christianity is rejected by Muslims because God’s unity must be absolute and indivisible.
Tawḥīd is a verbal noun and thus Islam treats tawḥīd as something you practice — not something you merely agree with intellectually. Practicing tawḥīd means practicing exclusive loyalty to Allah as defined by the Qur’anic revelation.
God alone has the right to be worshiped, prayed to, trusted for salvation, or invoked for supernatural help. No angels, prophets, saints, or intermediaries may share in acts of worship. Each believer stands completely alone before God as His servant.
In Islam, there is no priesthood, no sacramental mediator, and no incarnate presence of God. The priesthood in the Torah is recognized as a legitimate institution for its time, but Islam holds that it did not grant priests independent spiritual authority and was later replaced by a direct, non-priestly form of worship and law under Qur’anic revelation.
The opposite of tawḥīd is shirk. In Islam, shirk is unforgivable if a person dies without repenting of it.
We will look at shirk in more detail in 2.3.
2.3 What Is Shirk?
Shirk means “association” or “sharing.” In Islamic theology, it refers to associating anything with God in a way that compromises His absolute oneness (tawḥīd).
Shirk occurs when something created is given a role that belongs only to God, or God’s uniqueness is divided, shared, or compromised in any way.
Shirk is not merely believing in multiple gods. It is any distortion of God’s exclusive status as the only divine being.
Islam treats shirk as the most serious sin because it is seen as a fundamental falsehood about reality itself. If God is truly one, uncreated, and incomparable, then associating anything with Him is not only a moral error—it is a metaphysical error.
The Qur’an repeatedly states that God may forgive any sin if He wills, except dying in a state of shirk without repentance.
This is not because God lacks mercy, but because shirk represents a rejection of who God is. From the Islamic perspective, it is refusing the very foundation of truth.
In other words, repentance is always possible during life, but dying while affirming shirk means a person has ultimately rejected God’s oneness.
The Trinity is considered a form of shirk because Islam views this doctrine as introducing division within God’s being.
Another subtle aspect of shirk is elevating humans beyond their proper status. In Islam, humans are servants of God, not children of God, and never divine. Any theology that blurs the Creator–creature boundary is considered dangerous.
This helps explain why Islam honors Jesus as a prophet, but rejects worship directed toward Him.
2.4 The 99 Names of Allah
In Islam, the 99 Names of Allah (al-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā, “the most beautiful names”) are titles and attributes drawn from the Qur’an and early Islamic tradition. Muslims consider learning these names a fundamental act of worship (dhikr).
A famous hadith (saying of the Prophet Muhammad) states that whoever “encompasses” these 99 names will enter Paradise. “Encompasses” means memorizing them, understanding their meanings, and living by the qualities they represent.
Each name highlights a quality of God’s nature, authority, or action. Together, they function as a theological map: not describing God’s essence directly, but pointing to how God relates to the world while remaining utterly unlike it.
Islam teaches that God is one and indivisible, so these names are not separate parts of God. They are different ways of speaking about the same unified divine reality. God does not have mercy, power, or knowledge as separate traits the way humans do; rather, He is merciful, powerful, and knowing in a way that is perfectly unified and incomparable.
Because Islam rejects incarnation and avoids relational metaphors like fatherhood, the names of Allah carry extraordinary weight. They are the safest way to speak about God without risking shirk (the unforgivable sin).
In daily life, Muslims frequently invoke specific names depending on circumstance. For example, one seeking forgiveness, may might call upon Al-Ghaffar (The Forgiving). One seeking sustenance, may call upon Ar-Razzaq (The Provider). One overwhelmed may call on Him as the Sustainer.
Many of the names emphasize God’s mercy. Two of the most frequently repeated are “The Most Merciful” and “The Especially Merciful.” Nearly every chapter of the Qur’an begins by invoking these attributes, reinforcing the idea that God is compassionate and generous toward His creation.
At the same time, other names emphasize absolute power, authority, and judgment. God is described as the King, the Judge, the Subduer, and the Compeller. These names remind believers that mercy does not eliminate accountability. God forgives, but He also rules, commands, and judges.
In Islam, mercy is never detached from sovereignty. God is merciful because He chooses to be, not because He is obligated by covenant, sacrifice, or relationship.
In 2.5 we will look more at the sovereignty of Allah.
2.5 The Sovereignty of Allah
When Islam speaks about the sovereignty of Allah, it means that God possesses absolute, unrestricted authority over all reality.
Nothing exists independently of Him, nothing acts outside His will, and nothing limits His power.
Allah is not merely the highest authority; He is the only true authority. All power, causation, and judgment ultimately trace back to Him.
Kings, rulers, judges, parents, prophets, and even angels exercise authority only insofar as Allah permits it. Their power is real but entirely contingent.
Islam teaches that everything that occurs does so by the will of Allah. This includes natural events, historical outcomes, human actions, success and failure, life and death. Nothing surprises God, escapes Him, or frustrates His purposes. This belief is known as qadar (divine decree).
While Islamic theology affirms human responsibility, it places much greater weight on divine determination than most Jewish or Christian systems do. The emphasis is on affirming that God’s control is total and unquestionable.
As a result, submission to God’s will is not only moral obedience; it is acceptance of reality itself.
A key difference between Islam and biblical traditions is that Allah’s sovereignty is not framed within covenantal constraints. God is not bound by promises in the way He is in the Hebrew Bible, nor does He limit Himself through incarnation, self-giving, or suffering.
Allah is merciful because He chooses to be, not because He has bound Himself to a people or entered into reciprocal obligation. He forgives whom He wills and judges whom He wills. His sovereignty is not balanced by covenantal vulnerability or relational dependence.
Because Allah is sovereign, His will becomes law. Moral truth is not grounded in God’s character as revealed through relationship, but in His commands as revealed through instruction.
Good is good because Allah commands it.
Evil is evil because Allah forbids it.
This understanding explains why Sharia law occupies such a central place in Islam. To obey God’s law is to align oneself with divine sovereignty. Disobedience is not merely moral failure; it is resistance to the rightful ruler of the universe. We will look at Sharia law in more detail in module 9.
Allah’s sovereignty is also expressed in judgment. God alone judges hearts, actions, and final destiny. No sacrifice constrains Him, no mediator obligates Him, and no external standard limits His verdicts.
Salvation, therefore, is not guaranteed by status, lineage, or covenant membership. It rests on obedience, repentance, and God’s mercy as exercised through judgment. Even faithful believers often speak with humility and uncertainty about their final standing, because God’s sovereign judgment is ultimate.
This view of sovereignty shapes Muslim psychology in powerful ways. On one hand, it can produce deep trust and resilience: whatever happens is within God’s control. On the other hand, it can foster fear of misalignment, since God’s authority is absolute and His judgment final.
Phrases like “if God wills” (Inshallah, or In sha’ Allah) are not clichés; they reflect a deeply internalized worldview in which human plans are always provisional and divine will is decisive.
Once God is understood as absolutely sovereign, transcendent, and law-giving, a crucial question arises: how does such a God communicate His commands?
Islam’s answer is revelation through a messenger.
Because Allah does not enter creation, does not covenant relationally, and does not indwell believers, His will must be delivered verbally, precisely, and finally.
This is where Muhammad becomes central.
In Module 3, we will look at Muhammad.