of the Divine attributes in perfection; His Oneness in works implies that none can do that which God has done, or which God may do.2 The doctrine of Unity is beautifully summed up in one of the shortest and earliest chapters of the Holy Qur’ān: “Say: He , Allāh, is One; Allāh is He on Whom all depend; He begets not, nor is He begotten; and none is like Him” (ch. 112).
The opposite of Unity (Tauḥīd) is shirk, implying partnership.3 In the Holy Qur’ān, shirk is used to signify the associating of gods with God, whether such association be with respect to the person of God or His attributes or His works, or with respect to the obedience which is due to Him alone. Shirk is said to be the gravest of all sins: “Surely, ascribing partners to Him (shirk) is a grievous iniquity” (31:13); “Allāh forgives not that a partner should be set up with Him and forgives all besides that to whom He pleases” (4:48). This is not due to a feeling of jealousy on the part of God — in fact jealousy, according to the Holy Qur’ān, is quite unthinkable as an attribute of the Divine Being; it is due to the fact that shirk demoralizes man, while Divine Unity brings about his moral elevation. According to the Holy Qur’ān, man is God’s vicegerent (khalīfa) on earth (2:30), and this shows that he is gifted with the power of controlling the rest of the earthly creation. We are told expressly that he has been made to rule the world: “Allāh is He Who made subservient to you the sea that the ships may glide therein by His command, and that you may seek His grace, and that you may give thanks. And He has made subservient to you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, all, from Himself; surely there are signs in this for a people who reflect” (45:12, 13). Man is thus placed above the whole of creation. He is placed even above the angels who are spoken of as making obeisance to him (2:34). If, then, man has been created to rule the universe and is gifted with the power to subdue everything and to turn it to his use, does he not degrade himself by taking other things for gods, by bowing before the very things which he has been created to conquer and rule? This is an argument which the Holy Qur’ān has itself advanced against shirk. Thus the words, “Shall I seek a lord other than Allāh, while He is the Lord of all things” (6:164), are followed in the next verse by “And
2 Some have explained Oneness in attributes as meaning that He does not possess two powers, two knowledges, etc., and Oneness in works as meaning that no other being has influence over Him.
3 Sharīk (pl. shurakā’) means a partner.