the later revelations than in the earlier, although that opposition grew more and more powerful as days went on. The following three verses belong to three different periods: “Till when they see that which they are promised, they will know who is weaker in helpers and less in number” (72:24). “Or say they, We are a host allied together to help each other? Soon shall the hosts be routed and they will show (their) backs” (54:44, 45). “Say to those who disbelieve: You shall soon be vanquished” (3:12). And all this did happen a few years after these things had been foretold, though at that time there was nothing to justify such prophecies and all the circumstances were against them. No man could possibly have foreseen what was so clearly stated as certain to come about, and no human power could have brought to utter failure the whole nation with all its resources ranged against a solitary man and determined to destroy him. Divine revelation thus affords the clearest and surest testimony of the existence of God, in Whose knowledge, past, present and future are alike and Who controls both the forces of nature and the destiny of man.

SEC. 2 — THE UNITY OF GOD

The Unity of God

All the basic principles of Islām are fully dealt with in the Holy Qur’ān, and so is the doctrine of faith in God, of which the corner-stone is belief in the Unity of God (tauḥīd). The best-known expression of Divine Unity is that contained in the declaration of lā ilāha ill-Allāh. It is made up of four words, (no), ilāh (that which is worshipped), illā (except) and Allāh (the proper name of the Divine Being). Thus these words, which are commonly rendered into English as meaning “there is no god but Allāh,” convey the significance that there is nothing which deserves to be worshipped except Allāh. It is this confession which when combined with the confession of the prophethood of Muḥammad — Muḥammad-un Rasūlullāh —, admits a man into the fold of Islam. The Unity of God, according to the Qur’an, implies that God is One in His person (dhāt), One in His attributes (ṣifāt) and One in His works (af'āl). His Oneness in His person means that there is neither plurality of gods nor plurality of persons in the Godhead; His Oneness in attributes implies that no other being possesses one or more